Cranky when wet

[malber]

My Special doesn't like being wet. Yesterday afternoon, when we had Seattle-like weather all day, I had major difficulty getting home. She didn't want to idle around 2k. I had to ride home with the enricher nearly wide open and keep the revs up between 3-4k. Any reason why this might be happening?

[trbig]

Sometimes after washing mine, it runs rough at lower rpm. I found that the plug wire was jumping spark over to my head before it went into the boot.... so not getting to the plug to cause ignition. I cleaned up the end of the plug wires really good and haven't had the problem any more.

[skids]

I have also heard that if your plugs are carboned-up, the resistance rises across the plug, and the spark can jump at the plug wire connection to the engine case. (Denny Z?)

Originally posted by trbig
Sometimes after washing mine, it runs rough at lower rpm. I found that the plug wire was jumping spark over to my head before it went into the boot.... so not getting to the plug to cause ignition. I cleaned up the end of the plug wires really good and haven't had the problem any more.

[malber]

Thanks fo rhte advice. But this sounds more like misfiring, sputtering, and dying with incapable to re-start.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Malber,

If you've got the stock airbox, then what they are saying is most likely what you are experiencing....it's not a fuel problem, but an ignition problem. The reason you were having to rev it so much was because it was probably running on only 3 or 2 cylinders, so you needed more revs to keep it spinning and provide enough power to move the bike since it was effectively a 550 twin!

Rain water is not very pure, lots of stuff in it, can leave residues on the plug wires after dries, that can then act like conductors next time they get wet. Inspect the wires where they lay against the engine for signs of rubbing, etc.. Also, the power connectors for the coils...the primary leads may also be shorting when wet, cleaning and dielectric grease can help there also! I've even heard of spark plugs that shorted along the outside of the plug due to rain residue contamination!
T.C.

[mcompton1973]

I just bought my bike on Saturday. They guy was all worried because he had just washed it and it was running really bad.

I could tell that it was missing on a cylynder, so I pulled the boot off of plugs 3 and 4 and it was worse, then same with plug one. When I pulled the boot off of plug 2, there was no difference. there was my culprit. Plug 2 getting no spark. after turning the bike off and pulling the plug to check for spark further, the boot part separated from the wire.

What was happening is that the wire and the plug boot were not sealed well, and water was in there keeping it from getting good spark the the #2. a little adjustment, and some dielectric greese, and I am running good now....although I plan on replacing the the wires and the coils with this that I found on the modifications section:

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...threadid=12452

Good luck with it, hopefully it is something basic on yours as well.

[The Lorax]

It is plug wires, same thing happened to me while riding in the rain. I found it while riding, I touched the tank and got a bit of a shock. I ended up riding home holding the tank up with one hand, it was enough to make the electrons find the proper path to ground. Replace your wires and boots, it'll help, really. have a nice day and ride safe.

[dale_1]

one more possible culprit........ coils ... check for cracks. I had mine try to strand me, it just stopped until it was dry enough. my coils were cracked up.... I put my backups in and went through rain the next time perfectly. This only works if the wires are good! Check those first.

it's worth a shot