Octane and etc.
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Octane and etc. - 8/22/2008 5:13:56 PM
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devildogsc
Posts: 46
Joined: 1/3/2008
From: Greenville, SC
Status: offline
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Sorry that I''m always asking questions and never giving answers, but here''s another one. Could it be that my bike is tuned to run on something like 105 octane rather than 93? I never put in anything less that 93 (given that the octane rating of the gas is correct), but it I noticed that when I ran a tankful of fuel system cleaner through the bike, it ran much smoother. And when I ran the next tankful of plain gasoline through, it got choppy and hesitant especially during warm up.
Secondarily, could it be that my battery would be going slowly dead because the alternator is letting the charge drop slowly over a course of a couple of weeks or so? I have noticed since getting it running again recently that over the last couple of days it has gotten progressively harder to start, and today, on two occasions wouldn''t start with the start button at all, and I had to pop the clutch to get it running. The starter was turning but it just felt like there wasn''t enough power there to get the starter turning fast enough to run the motor. I remember you guys saying that it takes a lot of power to get these big guys up to speed, but I don''t want to go buy a new battery and ruin it if there''s a fix I should be doing.
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If we had ham we could have ham and eggs, if we had eggs.
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RE: Octane and etc. - 8/22/2008 9:35:55 PM
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MarkR
Posts: 975
Joined: 8/20/2005
From: Gold Coast, Australia
Status: offline
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With the battery thing, check the water levels and use a multi-meter and check the voltage
Use only distiled water when topping up the battery and the voltages your are after is the standing voltage (when the bike is off)
and the charging voltage, about 3000-4000rpm
if the bike wasn''t charging, I reckon it will go flat in a day
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RE: Octane and etc. - 8/22/2008 10:18:20 PM
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Shadow
Posts: 3630
Joined: 12/21/2007
From: Pinetown, South Africa
Status: offline
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Typical symptoms of reg/rec or stator failure I''m afraid - more likely to be the reg/rec, which will die over a period of time. Battery needs to be GOOD to start these bikes - turning the motor over isn''t enough. These are exactly the symptoms my bike had when the reg recs failed.
Naga Thai (hi Martin) did some writeups. PM him if you''re stuck.
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RE: Octane and etc. - 8/23/2008 2:11:52 AM
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weekendrider
Posts: 349
Joined: 10/27/2006
From: BRISBANE.QLD.AUSTRALIA
Status: offline
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Run 98 the bike will go better
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bikes 2CBR1000F XL600RD
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RE: Octane and etc. - 8/23/2008 7:00:50 AM
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PI_greg
Posts: 17
Joined: 7/25/2008
Status: offline
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You can also check the battery by charging it over night and then using a voltmeter to measure the battery output over about an hour. If the charge drops below the 12.3 mark the battery is history. If the charging system is reading correctly at 4000 rpm and the battery checks ok. Then look at the ground connections. This is simple stuff but can be a real pain.
PI_greg
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RE: Octane and etc. - 8/23/2008 7:55:09 AM
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TimBucTwo
Posts: 608
Joined: 6/13/2006
From: Upstate NY, USA
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: devildogsc
Sorry that I''''m always asking questions and never giving answers, but here''''s another one. Could it be that my bike is tuned to run on something like 105 octane rather than 93? I never put in anything less that 93 (given that the octane rating of the gas is correct), but it I noticed that when I ran a tankful of fuel system cleaner through the bike, it ran much smoother. And when I ran the next tankful of plain gasoline through, it got choppy and hesitant especially during warm up.
Secondarily, could it be that my battery would be going slowly dead because the alternator is letting the charge drop slowly over a course of a couple of weeks or so? I have noticed since getting it running again recently that over the last couple of days it has gotten progressively harder to start, and today, on two occasions wouldn''''t start with the start button at all, and I had to pop the clutch to get it running. The starter was turning but it just felt like there wasn''''t enough power there to get the starter turning fast enough to run the motor. I remember you guys saying that it takes a lot of power to get these big guys up to speed, but I don''''t want to go buy a new battery and ruin it if there''''s a fix I should be doing.
As for as the fuel question, try another pump. The here in the states the gas sucks. They are adding corn (ethanol).
As for the battery question, when I have that problem, I disconnect the the battery and let the bike sit. When I reconnect the battery, if the bike turns over slowly, it''s the battery. If the bike starts normal, it''s the R/R (the diodes have failed).
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RE: Octane and etc. - 8/23/2008 2:12:25 PM
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PI_greg
Posts: 17
Joined: 7/25/2008
Status: offline
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The four carburetors have fuel bowl drains. Connect a small hose (I use a vacum hose) to the fitting and open the drain valve and collect the fuel in a jar. Look for contaminents in the jar. If it is dirty or doesn''t flow freely then you''ll have to pull the carbs and clean everything up. Good time to install a jet kit if you''ve made any mods. It''s simple to do but takes patients. You''ll have to synchronize the carbs if you install the kit. None of this is hard just take s time.
PI_greg
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