Ktm duke 125 help!

[Ktmguy89]

Morning all, I'm having a problem with my duke-125, that only seems to happen in even moderately warmer weather having been fine all winter until now. Whilst riding I seem to have a slight loss in the engine power not massive but noticeable, also when I pull the clutch in to either cost downhill or come to a stop the bike will cut out. Its confusing me because it may happen only 1 time in 20, but it happens every time I ride the bike (not in winter though) coolant looks fine so I don't think it's an over heating issue, also my heat gauge may only be a quarter of the way up, so its in no way scorching hot. Any ideas of the cause and or things to check would be greatly recieved

[Guest Richzx6r]

First off coasting downhill isn't a good idea.

I'd be inclined to say it's an electrical gremlin, maybe a coil pack is slightly breaking down or it isn't on the plug properly

[learningtofly]

No idea what the problem is, but I’d quit coasting downhill if I were you.

[Ktmguy89]

I'll take your advice for the coasting but what's the reason you shouldn't?

[Guest Richzx6r]

It upsets the balance of the bike and puts more wear on your brakes other than that its just bad practice

[learningtofly]

You’re also effectively out of control. That, going downhill, is again bad practice.

[fastbob]

First off coasting downhill isn't a good idea.

I'd be inclined to say it's an electrical gremlin, maybe a coil pack is slightly breaking down or it isn't on the plug properly

 

Just out of interest, why do you think that coasting down hill isn't a good idea ? I've never made a habit of it in the past , but for some reason I find myself doing it all the time recently but only when I'm on the ER5 . Apologies, I didn't read the other posts.

[Guest Richzx6r]

First off coasting downhill isn't a good idea.

I'd be inclined to say it's an electrical gremlin, maybe a coil pack is slightly breaking down or it isn't on the plug properly

 

Just out of interest, why do you think that coasting down hill isn't a good idea ? I've never made a habit of it in the past , but for some reason I find myself doing it all the time recently but only when I'm on the ER5 . Apologies, I didn't read the other posts.

 

As has been said it just lowers your control slightly

[Marino]

Old fashion driving schools, 30+ years ago said in which gear you are going up the hill in same gear you should go down the hill,

Simply better control. Otherwise there is one saying that say every poo will go down the hill

[Mr Fro]

Just out of interest, why do you think that coasting down hill isn't a good idea ? I've never made a habit of it in the past , but for some reason I find myself doing it all the time recently but only when I'm on the ER5 . Apologies, I didn't read the other posts.

 

As has been said it just lowers your control slightly

How?

[learningtofly]

Just out of interest, why do you think that coasting down hill isn't a good idea ? I've never made a habit of it in the past , but for some reason I find myself doing it all the time recently but only when I'm on the ER5 . Apologies, I didn't read the other posts.

 

As has been said it just lowers your control slightly

How?

If you’re coasting then you’re not engaging the engine and, by definition, you’re not in control. OTOH, if you’re simply riding on the overrun then control is still available to you in terms of engine breaking and acceleration.

Coasting - especially downhill - is not a good thing to be doing.

[Tiggie]

I failed my driving test first time for letting the clutch out to allow the car to roll back into place

I had been told to pull in on a hill (to do a hill start) I looked in my mirror and thought I wasn't as close to the curb as I should be so I disengaged clutch, rolled back a couple of feet until I was closer then put on the handbrake. Out came the pen and a big circle on the clipboard

Was given a major fault for 'driving without full control of the vehicle' or something similar to that. She told me afterwards if I had just put it in reverse gear I would of passed

[Mr Fro]

If you’re coasting then you’re not engaging the engine and, by definition, you’re not in control. OTOH, if you’re simply riding on the overrun then control is still available to you in terms of engine breaking and acceleration.

Coasting - especially downhill - is not a good thing to be doing.

That doesn't make much sense though. Having the engine engaged does not equal control. Maybe 50 years ago when drum brakes were all the rage it did because they overheated very easily compared to discs.

Think about some autoboxes and hybrids, they completely disengage the drivetrain when not under power.

[JRH]

All the above

And

You will use more fuel.

[Ktmguy89]

This has all been enlightening but anyone fancy answering the question?

[fastbob]

First place to look is the carb I think. It is possible that the bike is flooding a bit due to a stuck float valve . When it's revving and running it's fine but if the problem occurs when you coast or idle that's because the bike can't consume the extra fuel fast enough . I quick fix is to turn off the petrol and drain the carb completely then turn it on again to let fuel flow through the float valve in the hope of flushing out the dirt . A better fix is to strip and clean the carb especially the feed behind the float needle then fit a big fuel filter . This is the best guess I can offer based on what you have described.