Suzuki V-Strom (VStrom) Owners Club DL250, DL650, DL1000 & DL1050
V-Strom specific discussion => V-Strom specific discussion => Topic started by: Madrunner on January 25, 2014, 17:03:54
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All,
After some help, idea on what has just gone wrong with me Vee. I had just left home this afternoon after replacing brake pads and bleeding the brakes. Got 2 miles down the road when suddenly lose power from the engine, running roughly and loudly. Pulled over and it was idling below 1000rpm, limped home slowly. When I got back there was smoke billowing from under the seat, the left hand rear plastic panel had started to melt on to the left exhaust. Looked down the left hand exhaust and it was glowing red, everything down the left hand side was hot to touch.
I read somewhere the cat could have failed, however, confused to why sudden lose of power. Secondly the front cylinder exhaust downpipe was cold to touch. I can do the basic motorcycle servicing but this has me stumped and thinking of a large garage bill.
Ritchie
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If the cat had failed (cracked) it would clog the exhaust and that would explain the heat build up and loss of power due to the exhaust gasses getting strangled. This was a fairly common problem with early Guzzi Stelvio's and I had mine de-catted as a precaution (and it released a few ponies too). Looks like a pair of after market pipes could be on the cards.
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The front cylinder wasn't firing. All the fuel fed into it was going unburned until it reached the catalytic converter. The reason for the front not working must be found.
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Thanks all, was a be cheesed off at time as just serviced brakes and got her back on road. I found this link which pretty much looks like what I experienced.
http://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php?topic=14880.0 (http://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php?topic=14880.0)
I will have a look tomorrow at front cylinder, though limited knowledge so will have to concede and put in to garage.
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Greywolf, thanks, I have a service to do on the bike so will do the usual spark plug checks. With the extreme heat in the left can, would I have damage the cat converter?
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It's possible the cat has been damaged. I wouldn't know how to establish that.
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To establish function for say a warranty claim you need exhaust probes. To see if it melted get it running on both cylinders, see how it rides and how much petrol it uses. If in doubt bin it, no one will ever test it.
Andy
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Although the Vee has twin silencers, the exhausts are linked underneath the bike. If one silencer has become blocked then all exhaust gasses will find their way out through the other (hopefully not blocked) silencer. If one cylinder is not firing (exhaust near the head stays cold to touch) then it is likely that the unburnt fuel may well be burning in exhaust making it very hot. I don't think all Vees had cats fitted. Certainly early Californian models had them but other US states models didn't. Whether UK models at any time had them I don't know, but I suspect not. Their exhausts are very heavy but whether this indicates the presence of a cat I couldn't say. If you're feeling brave and don't have stroppy neighbours, take the silencers off, start the bike and see if it runs on both cylinders. If not then this is the first thing to fix. If they both seem to be firing, let it run for a couple on minutes and see if the front pipes feel equally hot. If both cylinders are firing properly then you need to have a good look at the rest of the exhaust system to see if there are any blockages. As the silencers are heavily baffled this may not be too easy. If you're unsure about tackling any of this then taking it to a competent mechanic might be the best thing. Carl Harrison in Harleston, not too far from you, is one of the best mechanics I've known and should be able to sort you out without over charging you. Best of luck....
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Every V-Strom ever made for any location had a catalytic converter in the front of the can where it meets the pipe. 650s got bigger ones in 2007. The emissions difference for California legal models is a charcoal canister in the tank vent system.
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All,
Thanks for the points and help.
Before I can tackle the exhausts I stripped down the bike this afternoon as I was going to do a service anyway. Replaced the spark plugs and before screwing back in checked the spark. I have a good spark on front cylinder, however,no spark on rear cylinder. No sign of water damage on the spark plugs and both holes were dry.
If I don't get any joy on chasing this fault back then I will give Carl Harrison a call, unless anyone has a pointers here?
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So, in summary:
The front pipe was cold; the rear glowing hot
The front plug has sparks; the rear doesn't
This is sounding like the bike is taking the piss....
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Maybe not Mr Nick. The front cylinder isn't firing, so it's cold. The rear cylinder is doing all the work plus fighting a dead cylinder and the exhaust down pipe has little natural airflow, so it's screaming hot.
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Ahh, the sparks... you're right, it needs an exorcism!
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Scratching my head, especially as when tested spark plugs front was sparking OK and nothing from rear. Cannot understand why front down pipe was cold when first happened. When I stopped I spent 10 mins trying to stop bike going on fire dealing with rear pipe. I cannot imagine in this time the front down pipe would have cooled significantly. Going to recheck tonight again just to make sure not going mad.
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Ritchie - was the front pipe cold when you first stopped the bike, or was it only cold when you got home ? (Sorry, not quite following, I'm a bit dopy this morning!)
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Sounds the same as my mate's Vee that caught fire at a petrol pump....redhot exhaust melted the plastic and the plastic ignited...bike was totalled.
He said it had been running really rough and he was on his way home having given up on a days ride. The insurance folk said unburnt fuel burning in the catalytic converter caused the red hot exhaust/fire. But he never got to hear what the root cause was.
Problems with the coils perhaps?
He's on an FJR now and loving it.
If I was a very worrysome sort I'd fit aftermarket exhausts. No catalysts & no blockages for the unburnt fuel...my Beowulfs barely got warm to the touch where they sit under the plastic, while the std exhausts are stonking hot after a decent run. Made everyone a bit deaf though :grin:
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Gassoon, when I got home I spent 10 mins trying to cool rear pipe and contain damage. It was after this I notice front cylinder down pipe was cold. I think in my last post I confused the issue with rear cylinder spark plug not firing. I am going to re-check tonight and work back to the coils.
Abercol, when I search google it came up with this post about your mate, so it gave me a direction to start investigating. I suppose I am lucky that I was not at a petrol station.
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Re-checked which plug is producing spark, front one if good, rear cylinder has not spark. Need to bring a multi meter home from work tomorrow to check coils.
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OK, looks like coil #2 has failed. Can anyone tell me if there is any difference between front and rear coils.
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They have different part numbers. Whether they have different mountings (although they look similar) and/or different HT lead lengths I don't know. It would probably be wise to get the correct one. Might be worth contacting this company:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Igntion-Coil-fits-Suzuki-DL-1000-V-Strom-K9-BS1111-2009-/400573129516?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item5d4404e32c
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She lives, there life in the old girl.
Rear coil changed (£20 of ebay), nice spark, fired up and running fine. Not sure on the damage to the cat only time will tell, probably look at changing. I now have to strip the rear and replace the under tray (£14 of ebay) so happy with that.
Saved myself a large garage bill, so thanks for all you help and advice.
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Great news! Glad you're up and running again. And another positive from all this is more info for the v-strom knowledge base!
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Yes! Glad you are sorted, could have been a lot more expensive that! Cheers for reporting back as well, madrunner :grin: :thumb:
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Good to hear that you've sorted it yourself. With the money you've saved you could now buy a nice set of noisy cans! This is the "logic" my wife uses.....
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Hookie, I am working on that one, give it a week of running and then it will be I have knackered the cat in the exhuast, will need to replace. :auto-dirtbike: :grin:
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Good work on the fix.
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All's well that ends well :)
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Replaced the plastic under tray, pretty straight forward. Thankfully the wire loom that runs left side to rear not damaged.
Not sure if left end can is damaged so have ordered aftermarket motad venoms, pretty reasonable price. Had a motad full exhaust on my TDM, very good quality.
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I had the same issue a few weeks ago, was out for a ride and all of a sudden the bike was sluggish and the idle rpm dropped below 1000. Nursed it home and only then noticed the heat coming from the exhaust and that the plastic heat guard had melted.
My mate is a bike mechanic to trade and came over and went through the bike and we did a full service and changed the coil and I managed to find a new plastic heat guard on eBay for £22.00
It was my first decent days riding out on the bike so I was a bit pissed off that it happened but these things happen.
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Get shot of the standard exhausts on the Vee if you've got heat issues with them. There's stories on here of people's exhausts catching fire when they stop for fuel (no more air cooling the worst of it) and them having to put fires out in a petrol station forecourt.
You'll save a lot of weight in the process too.
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Some 2nd hand ones for sale here:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21932 (http://www.v-strom.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21932)