"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
03/07/2020 at 21:09 • Filed to: Two Wheels Bad
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"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
03/07/2020 at 21:09 • Filed to: Two Wheels Bad | 5
| 10 |
Update: A kickass mini truck from a teammate has saved me!
I’ve been lucky enough that despite the crap I drive and ride, almost nothing has left me stranded far from home. I’ve usually been able to limp a broken vehicle back where I came from. The only time I’ve had a vehicle completely die on me was my project smart deciding it no longer wanted to shift gears. I don’t count the Elite’s death as that was fully expected, if not planned.
Well, add my Suzuki to the list..
After almost two years of dependable service, I guess it decided it needed a break.
I noticed that very soon after filling up during my ride today it wouldn’t idle at all. I tried to make it home, only for the poor bike to call it quits an hour out.
I got it able to run-ish again, just for the battery to die. Oof.
Time to drain the tank, I guess!
My affection for carbs is definitely running thinner...
XJDano
> Mercedes Streeter
03/07/2020 at 20:00 |
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Something similar happened to me. I was able to pull over and notice a vacuum line to the bottom of the carb came off. Slid it back on and it hasn’t happened since.
Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> Mercedes Streeter
03/07/2020 at 20:04 |
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Funny you mention the battery died on you. I don’t think dead batteries should count as breakdowns, but they sure do pick the worst times to quit (worst time pictured) . Mine is actually six years old now and is only rated for 3, but autozone’s battery test cleared it for around another year. Let’s hope that is accurate.
themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
> Mercedes Streeter
03/07/2020 at 20:46 |
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Make sure the charging/electrics are in good shape, not just the battery. I had a stator fail on my yamaha and it died suddenly one day. No other warning. I thought I ran out of gas, but nope! Just up and died after a few minutes of rough running.
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Mercedes Streeter
> themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/07/2020 at 21:07 |
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Charging system is fine, I killed the battery trying to start it/keep it running. :)
atfsgeoff
> Mercedes Streeter
03/07/2020 at 21:39 |
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There’s a fuel-injected scooter out back
with your name on it, so you can avoid these third-world carburetor issues :)
Longtime Lurker
> Mercedes Streeter
03/08/2020 at 00:20 |
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My Dad’s GS650E is also idling poorly and leaking fuel
, it is leaking from the carburetor cross-over tube, so maybe check that if you get it.
Pickup_man
> Mercedes Streeter
03/09/2020 at 09:29 |
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My guess is an air leak, check for cracked intake boots. If you can get it to run for even a few minutes, start it up, and spray some carb cleaner around all of the carb/boot interfaces. If the idle climbs when you spray, you’ve got an air leak.
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Mercedes Streeter
> Pickup_man
03/09/2020 at 11:41 |
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It’s definitely more fuel than air. It currently only starts with full throttle and full choke, then it runs very poorly. This is the third time the bike’s done something like this in the two-ish years I’ve had it. The other two times were fuel related, with the bike picking something up from inside the tank it didn’t like. First time was water, second time was old fuel. This time, I’m thinking a mix of both. Fuel filter looks clean, so I don’t think it’s getting sediment.
I’ll probably want to remove the tank and give it a good cleaning this year, maybe redo the POR-15 coating it has.
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Pickup_man
> Mercedes Streeter
03/09/2020 at 12:15 |
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You’re familiar with the bike and you’ve got a better idea of how it’s running than I do but those still sound like classic air leak symptoms. Choke and full throttle help it pull just enough fuel to run, but an air leak will keep it running poorly and not idle . I’d still do the carb spray trick and check for air leaks. I had similar symptoms on my XJ750 once, a visual inspection came up with nothing but the spray trick revealed a leaky boot. It wasn’t until I took it all apart until I saw the full extent of it.
If anything it’s an easy test and good assurance.
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Mercedes Streeter
> Pickup_man
03/09/2020 at 12:31 |
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Worth a shot! I’ll do that when I get home. Currently I was just going to wait two days and see if it’s a repeat of the day after I bought it back in 2018 .
On that day, I only got a mile from home before it quit, stopped on the side of the road, and wouldn’t run . Similar symptoms too where I was eventually able to get it to start, but only with full choke and full throttle and it ran like shite. Waited two days and it ran like a champ like nothing happened. lol
Only variable this time was the addition of some carb cleaner to the fuel.