Headed off on a trip today, about 1400kms there and similar return. 7 days all up. Pack up did about 30km going up a steepish hill, through roadworks, went to speed up and "nothing", got to the side of the freeway with all cars missing me. Tried to start it up, just cranking no firing, got the helmet off etc. looked for anything obvious, nothing, bugger! Waited a little while then it fired up, beauty off I go. Headed up the freeway being careful to stay close to the left hand side, just in case. Yep it happened again with a similar outcome.
Long story short the same thing happened again and again, distances between varied but same result (doing the same thing expecting a different result!!) Stopped at a bike shop thinking it may have been fuel related, checked fuel flow etc. checked fuel tank was breathing etc. the guys were great (thanks Bridgeland Motorcycles, Murray Bridge) do I went on my way, beauty went well, for a while then the same.
I hate having my bike on a tow truck, so I got it home by doing short runs (30km)I now found that each time it stopped the tachometer went dead straight away.
So now I'm thinking crank sensor, interested in what you guys reckon
Cheers from Australia
Crank sensor?? I'm going to get one for trips away? They don't take up any room.
Classic crank position sensor death :nod
I had something similar happen to me last week, had a rough start in the morning, (cooler weather) and once i got going on a major roadway after about 3 km the bike just sputtered and stopped. fortunately i was in a blind corner on a busy roadway at an incline, luckily i was on the side of the road :augie
I waited a bit, and after a bit of cranking and putting it into reserve, the bike started and was on my way, put in some gas and all was good no further issues. reading leigh's post has got me thinking, is my issue the same or was it just a matter of the engine starving for fuel due to the low level of fuel in the tank?
Sounds exactly like crank sensor dying. they last about 30,000 miles.
Coils will tend to cause a low power, running on 2 feel, but will probably still allow the bike to tick over, generally.
Fuel starvation does not tend to be a sudden power loss.
Crank position sensor, will however, cause instant power loss/engine stop, and is the odds on favourite, imho.
as i think about it.. it was more of a sputtering stop.
+1 on the crank sensor. Exact symptom i had.
T300 owners should always have a spare to hand.
I always carry a spare with me. Agree to buy it now, as they probably won't get any less expensive in the future.
Thanks to everybody, has confirmed my diagnosis, but I now notice that the crank sensor connector is in the depths of the back engine mounts and the wires are looped all over the place, so it's tank, airbox, carbs etc. to get to it :BangHead :BangHead
My Steamer has done 37,000kms, still want to keep it and enjoy more riding
Thanks again
I carried a spare crank sensor in my tank bag which means I never had a problem if I would have left it at home then the old one would have failed.
Quote from: Sparky on November 09, 2017, 02:59:12 AM
I carried a spare crank sensor in my tank bag which means I never had a problem if I would have left it at home then the old one would have failed.
:thumbsup
Thats the reason why I carry so many tools etc, thanks Sparky, Its good to know that someone understands my reasoning :pottytrain2 :icon_biggrin:
Quote from: LeighSA on November 09, 2017, 01:03:08 AM
Thanks to everybody, has confirmed my diagnosis, but I now notice that the crank sensor connector is in the depths of the back engine mounts and the wires are looped all over the place, so it's tank, airbox, carbs etc. to get to it :BangHead :BangHead
My Steamer has done 37,000kms, still want to keep it and enjoy more riding
Thanks again
You should be just able to reach the connector block without having to strip half the bike down,including carbs!!!?? :icon_scratch:
:iagree
I can get to mine ok without removing anything. Depends if someone has decided to wrap it around something else in the past, but you should be able to get to it without too much hassle.
My black one had the cable wrapped around stuff inc the starter cable, probably due to the length.
Seeing as it was being replaced anyway I cut the cable a couple of inches from the connector and with a bit of contortion and wire hooks etc, I managed to untangle it... Just make sure you cut the bit you're replacing l.
So I got to the connector, but some fool (me) has placed the wiring all neat and tidy and now bloody awkward. That said are you guys replacing the crank sensor with OEM or ha anyone used the ones from IGNITECH ?
Certainly going make this job a LOT easier when I refit the new sensor/wiring.
Thanks again
I've not seen Ignitech, but there are unbranded ones which are no cheaper than the OEM (GIL) maybe you could be test pilot and see if you get more than 20-30k from them 👍
I'll give an IGNITECH a try and keep a spare on board.
A mate of mine has owned his Steamer since new, solo for 27km and another 60km with a sidecar, and I know the crank sensor has never been replaced. :m
I'll keep you all posted on the progress
Quote from: LeighSA on November 10, 2017, 10:18:04 AM
A mate of mine has owned his Steamer since new, solo for 27km and another 60km with a sidecar, and I know the crank sensor has never been replaced. :m
I'll keep you all posted on the progress
I have 4 steamers the 95 has had the sensor replaced twice (it's got 55,000 miles)
my 98 since new has had 1 (it's got 75,000 miles)
my 98 that hauls the sidecar (bought used at 30k has 55k miles on it now , no idea if sensor ever replaced)
and a 96 with 52 k miles that has had 1 sensor .........................
so my average life for sensors is right around 59k at the moment and if you throw out the data for the pig thats never needed one the average drops to 45k
I will throw out this bit of info..................the replacements tend to last longer than the originals , even though they are all made by gill........................ :Topes.
your results may be different ...............................
I fitted the PVL sensor from, Triumph Accessories ( Square Deals.co.uk). It was larger than the original, although still fitted fine. That was some 15-20,000 miles ago, no problems so far. They claim that it is better than the original, it certainly looked beefier.
Well all going again, pinched the crank sensor off my non going sidecar Tiger 900, am planning to do a few trips over Xmas/NewYear, so I also cleaned the carbs, replaced 3 diaphragms, needles etc. balance up. I was having trouble with over heating so I flushed out the radiator, new thermostat, hoses, new coolant, bleed and all seems great.
Biggish ride soon to see how it all pans out, just needed to do some maintenance before I get in my rides to a couple of classic bike racing meetings ( one being the Island Classic at Phillip Island, late January 2018)
Just can't bring myself to selling the Steamer
When draining the tank dose petrol flow freely.
Quote from: tonytiger on December 02, 2017, 06:12:18 PM
When draining the tank dose petrol flow freely.
Yes it does, I also put a new fuel tap as well, old one leaking
I only ask as I got cought out with that one, striped carbs 3 times before I tried the
petrol flow :BangHead
Quote from: Sparky on November 09, 2017, 02:59:12 AM
I carried a spare crank sensor in my tank bag which means I never had a problem if I would have left it at home then the old one would have failed.
I do the same. Keeping the tradition alive.