Dead Ninja

[Hoggs]

Me again

So. Riding home from work came to a roundabout and as I was waiting it was idling at a smidge over 2000. Checked the throttle wasn't stuck. Nope.

Rode another 5 mins down a 50 mph duel carriageway to another set of lights where it was idling around 1600 (it seems happier idling at this speed to the recommended 1300 so wasn't worried)

Head off again ok for another 3 or so minutes on a 50mph road. Coming up to traffic lights, braked and started changing down. Bike dies. Oil light on. Temperature light on. I'm in the outside lane rude words were muttered.

Get it started on the fourth attempt and make it into the middle lane. Brake and it dies again. More rude words. Indicate left as bike refusing to start. Manage to barge in front of a stupid bmw driver and paddle my way down a side road and get on the pavement.

More rude words. Turn ignition all warning lights still on. Decide this is the reason I have break down cover and call the cavalry.

Oil and coolant levels ok. Rescue man arrives and loads me into the van. His theory is head gasket and water is leaking into oil but I'd love a second opinion from you lovely lovely people

Also if it is head gasket is this something I could realistically do myself? Or should I suck it up and call a garage?

Looks like it's back to the 125 for a while!

[Igloo]

If it's the head gasket, Is the sight glass milky in any way?

Residue on the top of the oil fill port?

Residue on the water tank? Is the coolant colour OK?

[Tango]

Sounds more electrical to me.......check battery connections, battery voltage, charging circuit........oil and temp lights will come on if the ignition cuts out..........also check kill switch, Sidestand switch.......

[Hoggs]

Thanks guys

If it's the head gasket, Is the sight glass milky in any way?

Residue on the top of the oil fill port?

Residue on the water tank? Is the coolant colour OK?

No milky residue but the guy said as I'd stopped as soon as it happened then it wouldn't have emulsified. Coolant colour ok (possibly the only think ok on the Damn thing!)

 

Sounds more electrical to me.......check battery connections, battery voltage, charging circuit........oil and temp lights will come on if the ignition cuts out..........also check kill switch, Sidestand switch.......

 

I'll double check these! but I should have mentioned it was running really really hot and normally only my oil light comes on not the temp light.

[Tango]

Did the fan come on? When you say running really hot, was the temp gauge high and did it feel/smell hot?

[Hoggs]

I don't think the fan came on. But I was attempting to navigate across two lanes of rush hour London traffic so there is a possibility they did and my brain didn't register it

Did feel and smell hot can't give an exact temp as I'm an idiot and didn't check. I can tell you that 10 mins later it was at 54 if that helps

[Igloo]

I don't think the fan came on. But I was attempting to navigate across two lanes of rush hour London traffic so there is a possibility they did and my brain didn't register it

Did feel and smell hot can't give an exact temp as I'm an idiot and didn't check. I can tell you that 10 mins later it was at 54 if that helps

 

Now it's cooled. Whats the state of play with it? Does it run?

[eastanglianbiker]

Me again

So. Riding home from work came to a roundabout and as I was waiting it was idling at a smidge over 2000. Checked the throttle wasn't stuck. Nope.

Rode another 5 mins down a 50 mph duel carriageway to another set of lights where it was idling around 1600 (it seems happier idling at this speed to the recommended 1300 so wasn't worried)

Head off again ok for another 3 or so minutes on a 50mph road. Coming up to traffic lights, braked and started changing down. Bike dies. Oil light on. Temperature light on. I'm in the outside lane rude words were muttered.

Get it started on the fourth attempt and make it into the middle lane. Brake and it dies again. More rude words. Indicate left as bike refusing to start. Manage to barge in front of a stupid bmw driver and paddle my way down a side road and get on the pavement.

More rude words. Turn ignition all warning lights still on. Decide this is the reason I have break down cover and call the cavalry.

Oil and coolant levels ok. Rescue man arrives and loads me into the van. His theory is head gasket and water is leaking into oil but I'd love a second opinion from you lovely lovely people

Also if it is head gasket is this something I could realistically do myself? Or should I suck it up and call a garage?

Looks like it's back to the 125 for a while!

is this with ign on or off? but i have to agree with tango sounds more like electrical than mechanical,and if head gasket is the problem t hen the amount of time it has been messing you about overall then the oil would show signs by now or water level would of dropped or it would of been overheating every time it got used

[Hoggs]

@Igloo yeah started fine but heats up really quickly (but it alway has). I guess I am wary of causing more damage as I am a complete noob.

@Eastanglianbiker turned ignition on without starting and oil and temp light on. Normally only oil light on when I start. After 20 mins turned ignition and temp light now off

The oil needs changing anyway so I can properly check for water

[eastanglianbiker]

has it used any water or does it need topping up fairly often?

[Hoggs]

Water levels ok and hadn't gone down since I've had it.

Really appreciate all the help

[Igloo]

@Igloo yeah started fine but heats up really quickly (but it alway has). I guess I am wary of causing more damage as I am a complete noob.

@Eastanglianbiker turned ignition on without starting and oil and temp light on. Normally only oil light on when I start. After 20 mins turned ignition and temp light now off

The oil needs changing anyway so I can properly check for water

 

You'll tell straight away, It will be milky.

It sounds almost as if there are a couple of issues... I am wondering if there is a cooling issue, Air lock possibly... or, poooooooosssibly water pump. Which is why it's overheating.

And then some sort of potential electrical issue.

[Hoggs]

Ok so I'll check electrics then cooling.... do I need to check fans and thermostat?

Plus side my mechanical knowledge is increasing dramatically!

[JRH]

If you can get hold of a compression tester this will enable you to check for a head gasket leak.

[Tango]

Yes.....check that the fan is coming on. Phil had a problem with his R1 with it getting hot very quickly......turned out to be an air lock in the water jacket.

It does sound like you may have more than one problem.

Another thing worth checking is the valve clearances .......If you've got a valve that's not closing fully.......so, be careful with a compression check as it'll show low compression , but there could be several reasons for it.......

[JRH]

Another thing worth checking is the valve clearances .......If you've got a valve that's not closing fully.......so, be careful with a compression check as it'll show low compression , but there could be several reasons for it.......

 

True. But if there is a loss of compression Hoggs can check valve clearances first.

[Hoggs]

True. But if there is a loss of compression Hoggs can check valve clearances first.

 

Hoggs is going to be checking a lot of things

[JRH]

True. But if there is a loss of compression Hoggs can check valve clearances first.

 

Hoggs is going to be checking a lot of things

 

The joys of biking.

[Mr Fro]

But to really diagnose an engine leak you need to do a leak-down test.

I'd start with the simple stuff before I started ripping the bike apart - coolant, fuses, thermostat, fan, that sort of stuff.

[Guest]

Yes.....check that the fan is coming on. Phil had a problem with his R1 with it getting hot very quickly......turned out to be an air lock in the water jacket.

Yep, mine turned out to be a schoolboy error by me and ended up bleeding the system and popping another liter of coolant in.

Sorted it.

I don't think you'll get that lucky though since as Bob suggested, sounds electrical...

[Fozzie]

This sounds very much like an electrical problem.

For a start, a simple short circuit could cause this issue. Check the wiring loom for any bits where it may have rubbed through, and then look closely if it touches the frame.

A bike of mine once did that and the speedo went from 55mph to 160, the rev meter died, all the warning lights were on and the bike shuddered to a halt.

Check the earthing points as well, or it could be a failed ECU.

[Hoggs]

I feel slightly more confident tackling electrical / cooling issues than a head gasket so fingers crossed!

Thanks guys Will read the ole Haynes book later and get a battle plan together for checking! I do need to take the fairing off anyway to fix my wonky indicator so I can get a good look around.

[eastanglianbiker]

if you find the thermostat housing that often has a electrical switch on it with 2 wires coming off it pull the connections off and touch them together see if the fan cuts in,if it doesnt there might be one on the side of the rad to check as well when i had my fzr1000 the fan switch was not working so i just wired in a manual one and turned it on when sat in trffic or t he gauge started to climb was fine for 8 years like that

[Stu]

I haven't read every post but can you clarify what temperature the bike actually gets to?

you say its hot and heats up quickly but some bikes do heat up quickly and whats hot to one person is normal to another!

a head gasket wouldn't normally cause the revs to increase and decrease either

[Hoggs]

Hey Stu

Normal for the bike is high 80s. I'm not sure exactly what it got up to when it died but it felt noticeably hotter than normal. never heard the fans kick in on the move but they have kicked in once when I got home (bike didn't feel that hot so took me by surprise). Because I am a spoon I always have my display on clock not temp.... I'm really hoping it's just a cooling issue.

@eastanglianbiker added to the list! Thanks