What could cause my motorcycle to cut out?
December 15, 2009 | Motorcycles
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Re: “What could cause my motorcycle to cut out?”
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Check your battery cables to make sure they are both tight. I would also try and replace your spark plugs to make sure they are both firing properly. Since you only probably have two plugs it should not break you. It has been awhile since I had bike problems.
I would you check out the vacuum line from intake manifold to the petcock . make sure no holes or broken. Sometime mouse like to chew up rubber like wires, hoses.
If not the problem.
Do you still have warranty on it. Because it is new bike. Take back to Kawasaki Dealer and have them to fix it for you under warranty. Unless mouse chew up HE HE.
Also if not warranty. Then you need to remove the fuel tank and see the wires through the frame. See id the wire connection are loose or the wire with brass terminal came loose from plastic housing. or sometime the factory forgot to hook ground wire to the frame from ignition system. or could be electric defective.
Have a great evening.
Todd
If you fiddled w/wires under tank and got results,there probably a bare wire in that lacation.Even being a newer motorcycle,it would be no surprise.Check the connection of the plug cap to the plug wire……by twisting clockwise against each-other.if not sure,un-twist .the cap should come off the end of wire…make sure no corrosion at that connection.You can also cut the wire back about 1/4 inch then twist the cap back on.Make sure first that if you cut the wire,you will have enough wire length to put back cap,back on spark plug.Also check for any “hot spots”…hard or burnt areas in the wiring harness.One more thing,check for spark with your plug out of cylinder.These are the easiest things to start with.It also could be water in your fuel system.If the bike isnt backfiring you can usually rule out ignition sys.but not always.good luck.Most manuals have good trouble shooting guides.
sand man has covered most things for you and is dificult for me to improve on . remove your spark plugs and have a close look at the electrodes (where the spark jumps from /to) if there are any very small round balls it can indicate that you have a small amount of water in your fuel system and or the cdi unit is on its way out. but most likely it will be a loose or broken or badly connected wire Maybe not under your tank but at the end of one of the wires you moved.
Wire under the tank,their`s your sign.
Like others have said - most likely electrical related.
Check for spark.
Keep a working spark plug handy when you go for a ride.
When the engine “craps out”, pull off a spark plug cap and install the spare plug in it.
Lay the threads of that spark plug against a metal part of the engine and press the starter button.
The spark plug should fire.
Check with both spark plug caps.
This will help to narrow down the problem to which part of the ignition is at fault.
Either an individual coil, or a circuit that operates both.
If one coil fires the spark plug and the other doesn’t -
Unplug the coils from the wire harness of the bike and plug them into each others wires (mark the wires to remember where they originally were plugged into - with tape, magic marker, or make notes).
If the spark changes to the other coil -
Both coils are good.
Electrical problems are very difficult to diagnose by email.
A shop manual may be needed for further diagnosis.
A common cause of what you describe is the failure of the “vehicle down sensor.”
This sensor, usually located on the frame between the gas tank and battery/airbox under the seat looks like a small squarish box with three wires going to it.
Kawasaki uses a Bosch Hall-effect sensor to tell the computer to enable the ignition coils, fuel pump (if it has one), and injectors (if it’s injected) only if the bike is upright (within 50 degrees of center), or shut them off in the event of a crash (bike laying down) to minimize the risk of fire.
If your bike is carbureted-this switch (commonly referred to as a “tip-over” switch) only controls the ignition.
As such, if it’s malfunctioning intermittently (Oh, they DO!) it’ll cause an effect like the ignition key is being rapidly and randomly turned off and back on while riding.
Another place to check is your kickstand switch. If it goes bad, it disables the starter but it also stops the ignition if you let out the clutch, in gear, with the kickstand down. That fails-it’ll have the same effect. You can check it by bypassing it. Cut the wires to it or unplug it and jumper the two wires on the harness side to simulate “kickstand up-all the time.”
Just don’t forget to put it back right afterwards.