Water in Fuel symptoms?

[London_Phil]

Hi Guys

Just had two very contrasting rides this weekend.
1st run down from London To Somerset for a weekend Rally.
Bike behaves perfectly, runs strong and clean 130miles, traffic and free roads mixed.
Arrive at campsite with a fairly low tank, park up on sidestand, erect tent, and go and enjoy bands, ( and as the teetotaller, watching all my mates getting Rat Ar**d, and forgetting were all in our 50's now!!!.)
Rains quite a lot during evening.
2nd Run, Pack up this morning, and set off, bike running well, about 30 miles up the road pulling around 60 in the A303, noticed hesitation, assumed low petrol, but no light.
Into reserve and carry on.
Bike starts getting really bad, wont pull, and slowing down, no untoward noises, just will not pull cleanly. Gets so bad I end up coasting along edge with hazards, until a Parking layby. Bike ticks over, but wont rev cleanly, Rats, thinks I.
Still fuel in tank, but quite low now.
Tried to fit my second hand crank sensor, as nothing else to do, bar call rescue service. No Torx heads in my kit....
Cover back on, Fires up, ticks over, and off we go, still playing the Donkey.
Fuelled up with 97Ron to the brim a few miles later, lot of petrol goes in, so bike low on fuel.
Bike then runs slightly less badly, and over the next 20 miles, once I'm off the dual carriage way, problem starts to go away, and bike starts running clean again.
Made it home with a few rough tickovers, but pulling hard on M25 for a few miles no probs.

Finally to the question

What do you guys think?

Ive ordered plugs and a sensor from Sprint, just in case.
Bike only does a few hundred miles a year, always runs like a pig when 1st used after more than a week, until jets clear.
34K on Clock, TT600 coils fitted early on in ownership.

Thank you for listening
I Love this bike, but its got to be reliable, I do feew enough miles as is, never going to get the OK to replace it....

[nickjtc]

Several of us here have had the same 'issue', especially with tanks near empty, or in situations where the bike has sat for a few weeks. Fresh fuel always solved the problem, so we put it down to the "ethanol attracting H2O and settling in the bottom of the tank" syndrome.

[JayDub]

sounds very like a blocked fuel filter or some kind of fuel starvation... don't forget the one in the T-piece on the main feed - which was the cause of my problem - after running low.

[Bixxer Bob]

Blocked filters usually stay blocked.  I've had water in the fuel on my 955iand it behaved exactly as you described.  I opened the filler on a forecourt in the rain to watch about an eggcupful pour into the tank.  It ran rough for about 20 miles then cleared itself.  I ran the tank almost dry then took it off and drained it.  there was about half a pint of water in the fuel so water had been getting in for a long time; the small amount that made it rum badly was just the last straw.  I now keep the tank filler drain clean and it hasn't happened again.

[nickjtc]

'They' say slinging in some stabiliser/methyl hydrate/Seafoam on a regular basis helps.....

[Sin_Tiger]

Get the tank empty, check for signs of water on a sample, check the drain from the filler neck is clear, spigot on the right underside rear. Take the petcock off and have a look at the two plastic strainers. Personally I'd ditch both of them in favour of an external filter.

[London_Phil]

Thanks Guys.
Sounds quite likely to be water/fuel related.
Going to have the tank off to change the plugs anyway, so will check the drain, and depending on the condition of the petcock screw mounts, may well remove the petcock, and ditch the strainers, as I already have an external filter.
Might even fit the brand new Steamer petcock I got from Ebay a few years ago, ( hell yeah) ,after removing the strainers on that.
Just like being married, no pain , no gain,

[London_Phil]

Quick update.
Drained out, or tried to drain my fuel tank.
Poor flow, which trickled off quickly. Switch to reserve, and poor flow too. Long story short, had to take tank off, upend, and remove tap. Removed filters, as Sin said, and although not as bad as Sins, (pics to follow) both collapsing. Refitted tap without them, and drained the rest of the tank ( 18L in total), with a nice strong flow.
Some evidence of water in fuel, but minimal, so Prime Suspects = Tap strainers......

[Sin_Tiger]

  It never ceases to surprise me how tolerant these engines are considering some of the abuse I've seen them get.

Go give it some real abuse now