Spitting an sputtering

[Bikeboy]

I,am baffled, or maybe depressed is a better word. I got my bike out friday night to ride it to the drag strip to see the bike races. It's about 30 miles away from my home. Bike was running real good, used the interstate so I could blow it out alittle. I was running along between 80 & 90 mph. When I got there, they were not racing that night (bummer). So I got back on the interstate for the ride home, bike still running good. Got off at my exit, pulled up to a red light ,the longest red light in the united states it seemed. Light turns green, I go, bike starts to spit & sputter. Sounded like running on 3 cylinders, maybe even 2 cylinders. No power, I could feel back fireing under my left leg, I placed my hand on the side of #1 carb and could feel it back fire in the carb when I would give it gas. Got it up to around 30 mph or so and it took off, stopped spitting and ran fine. Got up to 45 mph started again. It did this for the next 3 miles, run good,start spitting & sputtering, run good, start spitting & sputtering. There was no consistency or pattern. Got home, let it cool off. Problem went away, till I road it for another 40 miles or so and it started spitting & sputtering again. What could this be????????????

[DEmily]

Bikeboy,

Did you just get your bike out of winter sotage? Is the gas fresh? Is it possible you have sludge in the gas from the winter?
I had a similar problem with the XS11 I am still getting back on the road, and it endded up beind the coils. Once the bike heated up the number 2 and three coil would stop firing or would fire innermittantly.

[John]

Sounds almost like another case of the dreaded broken pick up coil wire. That will cause one ignition coil to stop firing, intermittantly. Check in the maintenence tips section here and you will find a way to troubleshoot and repair the problem. It's an easy job to troubleshoot, and repair.
There are two types of XS riders. Those who have experienced broken pick up coil wires, and there are those who will....

[mitch]

missing

Mine did the same thing twice once it was water in the gas, some methal hydrate cured that. The second time it was a bad coil, got a used coil for 30 bucks cured that . So it could be one of 3 things, as John suggested , pick up wires, water in the tank, or a weak coil cutting out when it gets hot. I would start with the water first its the simpilest to fix the the pick up wires then the coil. Good luck ....MITCH

[Bikeboy]

Coils

Ok, I have been wanting to change over to Accel coils, so I gess this is the time to do it. They tell me you get a little extra hp when you do it. So where do you get them, how much should I expect to spend. Which one's do I order. How hard are they to put on, I've heard I have to mod the brackets to make them fit. I might as well order the spark plug wires at the same time. Which wires do I order. These questions go out to those who have done this modifcation. Thank you in advance for your help.

[mitch]

Info

There is info on coils in the modifaction files , click on forum and scroll down. You should find all you need to know. Check for water first. the power gain is barely noticable from my understanding. But possible better starting etc all adds up . the group uses 1 0f two types. You can also do a search ie:coils or aftermarket coils etc . Good luck HTH....................MITCH

[mitch]

Chris

Click on FAQ to your left, above general info everything you want is right there a real good thread by Gary Granger alias 66............MITCH

[wildbill]

I agree with the above advice.What happened to me once along those lines was the connections going to the coils some were dirty and some were loose.I would check the connections to the coils while I was into it.By the way my bike has Accel coils,they work good but can test your resolve trying to make them fit.Good luck,you will be back on the road before you know it.

[randy]

Bikeboy,

Before you go swapping parts, isolate the problem. the last thing you should do now is introduce more variables, will only confuse the troubleshooting process. Isolate the problem first, fix it, then install the coils. If it is the coils, it's great that youv'e got another set to use.

BTDT,

Randy

[TopCatGr58]

One thing folks didn't mention is clogged fuel tank vent. Could also be intermittent action from vacuum controlled petcocks. When it happens after 30-40 miles, stop, pop the gas cap, then see if the problem doesn't go away quickly, if so, then you have a fuel flow problem!!! Good Luck.
T.C.

[pathfinder]

I agree with TC check the petcock & vacume tube, my right side petcock handles the 1 & 2 carbs. With a full tank it would get gas from both sides of the screen on the petcock If your down to below about 1/2-1 gal in the tank it only gets fuel from the back side. If it lower than 1/2 gal it will only pick up intermitantly unless your moving. First thing I'd do is check vacume tube for that side, or even change both for good measure. Mine only last about two seasons. Add 2 gallons of gas and check if you still have the problem if not fill it up and ride. If you do, pull petcocks and clean the screens.
Also if you have inline fuel filters check or change.