My cats afraid of water :)

[Hossboro]

As some might remember I am the guy with very little or no practical knowledge of tech stuff, but still like to try anyway  :D

Recently had the tank off and plugs out, cleaned everything checked all the leads and conections, sprayed everything I could think of and assembled. Runs beautifully (well almost).
Due to running all through the winter I encounter most weathers!  but have found that my Cat does not like the rain one little bit, everytime it gets a bit heavy she struggles to gain power and coughs a lot when travelling, but stationary she's fine.  right now to the point.....

Before I go running off and replacing everything (money short) wondered if this is a common problem and is there an easy solution. Or do i just start eliminating things one by one.   :roll:

[rybes]

hmmmm. never had that on mine. i think id be lookin for ignition wires that might be broken and gettin wet. if its not that the only thing i could think it would be is water in the petrol by gettin in the air chamber thingys on the side of the frame. i reckon the water gets  kicked up by the rear tyre and gets in em somehow.
as far as i can think tho it can only be one of those. jus a case of checkin everythin

[rf9rider]

Could be the damp getting to your plug  leads?
You could try spraying them with some silicone sealer.

[Timbox2]

Coils themselves are a weak point I believe

[97tiger885]

As some might remember I am the guy with very little or no practical knowledge of tech stuff, but still like to try anyway  :D

Before I go running off and replacing everything (money short) wondered if this is a common problem and is there an easy solution. Or do i just start eliminating things one by one.   :roll:

I haven't had this problem.  My only suggestion is to try to reproduce the problem while stationary.  I would remove the front plastic and prep the tank for removal.  Drain the tank to a gallon or so.  It is easier to handle this way.  Then I would take a hose, start the bike and soak different areas.  I wouldn't use high pressure.  If you have a center stand, you can put the mc on the stand, put it in gear and try to reproduce it with the mc  running in gear.  The latter method is a bit riskier.  For a throttle lock, you can use a rubber o-ring between the bar weight and the grip.  When I use the centerstand, I try to put something under the centerstand to raise the the rear wheel a bit more and secure the front wheel to the ground.

[Mustang]

like rf9 says ...........the plug wires could well be junk . if they are the oems , the little spring clips that attach to the threaded plug tops usually wear out and have a not so good connection to the plug anymore

do the coils say "GILL" on them or "PVL"

if they are gills it could well be  this is where you should start

one of my tiggers always coughed and backfired whenever the weather was damp and foggy on a cool new england morning ................twas the coils

get yourself some pvl's off ebay

[rf9rider]

Or if money is tight, get yourself some Triumph TT600 stick coils, a good cheap upgrade.

[Hossboro]

Thnx guys  :)
I knew this was the place for good info ^-^

Looks like a good check of everything needed, good job I got the week off next week then  

[rf9rider]

Keep us posted  :)

[Hossboro]

I know its been a while since I asked the question, but I have not had any time to do much, and she has run well until we got some bad rain again yesterday.  
Gonna try the coil suggestion for deff,  but was wandering, could it be an air issue.  Coming home from work she started again in very heavy rain,  when trying throttle movements noticed that she ran ok at a gentle throttle but as soon as I asked for power "struggled".  I thought of air issues because when opening the throttle and she struggled, at the same time giving out lots of smoke every time,  could this be water in the air intake starving her of air and running too rich or even water getting into the mixture somehow, or am I just clutching at straws..... thnx for your info in advance guys/gals

[Mustang]

when was the last time you put a NEW air filter in ?

[PompeyLad]

I would refer you back to Mustangs post.  Missing under load is often a symptom of a weak spark. This is why sometimes you can have a nice blue spark with the plug out of the cylinder but when under a heavy load you get misfires. It is unlikely that water getting into the inlet is the problem as this would prevent the big cat from starting until it had dried out at best, more likely a carb strip and clean would be required.

[BruKen]

I don't think you are clutching at straws. If some how you do have a dirty filter and water is somehow getting in you could well be gasping for air. I had an XT that lost its airbox snorkel allowing the back wheel to throw water into the airbox exhibit exactly those symptoms. Of course its more likely to be an electrical issue, and even something stupid like the fuel filler cap water drain vent being blocked allowing water into the tank. I doubt its the carbs, but unfortunately the bottom line its going to be a process of elimination. So, check off all the things, no matter how improbable, that doesn't involve large cash layouts first including dielectric greasing all connections including TCI and emergency ignition cutoff, side stand and clutch cutoff etc, second, do items that are part of the service interval and then splurge out on coils unless you have a mate that's prepared to lend you his to test.

[Bixxer Bob]

when was the last time you put a NEW air filter in ?

Don't own a steamer so, working on older posts, is the snorkel setup correct? my wondering is whether it's allowing the air filter to get wet or just damp and choking the air supply.

And, thinking while typing, can you replicate the problem in the dry by putting in some choke at the lever? That would give you a clue whether it's an air issue or electrics.

[Mustang]

And, thinking while typing, can you replicate the problem in the dry by putting in some choke at the lever? That would give you a clue whether it's an air issue or electrics.

it won't the bastards run great on choke even when they are hot .............just idle at 3-4 k with the choke on and run superb , it's not really a choke it's an enrichener .
hell I've made it home with a broken throttle cable using the choke to keep the rpms up enough to ride home with no throttle