08 610 dies on the Hiway, but runs fine in the city

[North]

My Bike died just before 264 st on the hiway.

I tried to start it back up, it back-fired, ran a few seconds and died. I finally got it going after 10 or so minutes and started back home. After it stopping 4 times and taking around 10 minutes each time to get it back running, I got off the hi-way. (The Bike would do a two or three km and than cut out on the hiway.)
Once I got off the hi-way and rode the Bike at 60 km and it was fine for the remaining 12 km ride home.

(I had just bought gas before I hit the Hi-way.)

I was just wondering if anyone has any ideas on what I should be checking. The bike is F.I, 08 husky 610. All the other electrics were working fine.


Thanks

Rick

[caribooster]

Sounds like it could be a fuel problem. Check your fuel filter to make sure that it is not plugged. Also get a small flash light and look into the tank to see if you can see any crud at the bottom.

[2Trider]

Water in the fuel sounds like to me

[The Pope]

Same thing happened to me. take your fuel pump out and check the filter. mine was plugged solid. have a look in the husky section of the forum, i posted pics

[skidmark43]

You bought some bad fuel. Try running some methyl hydrate through it, but clean / replace the fuel filters as suggested above regardless.

[TW_rider]

SeaFoam!
Cleans out crud...displaces water...dissolves varnish...GREAT STUFF!

None of these may have been your problem, but this stuff is a great preventive maintenance measure.

[fester]

I love seafoam it works really well for this kind of thing.

[North]

thanks guys, were do get sea foam, a bike shop? Looks like Canada Tire sells it.

[TW_rider]

You can get it at Crappy Tire as well as in the Automotive section @ Wally World. Also noticed some of the Boat shops selling it as well.

Cheaper in Bellingham though...

[North]

Thanks, I got some at Crappy Tire, going to get a new fuel filter too.

[TW_rider]

The stuff IS amazing...I put a bit into each and every tank and I have yet to have a dirt/varnish problem on this 11 year old carburator of mine (touch wood).
You can also put about half a bottle into your crankcase then ride for a half hour or so and then change the oil; cleans internals, de-carbonizes, dissolves gunk and sludge. But don't ride for too long if you have some in your crankcase...it is a cleaner, not a lubricant and it removes crap and suspends it in the oil for removal...it dirty's your oil badly!
Diesel owners can fill their fuel filters with this stuff and actually START the engine. Run for 5 minutes and then shut down so that it can "hot soak" and clean the injectors.

I have no affiliation with Seafoam...I just think it's a great product. So much better than many of those other "tune-up-in-a-can" that you find.

[cactusreid]

just quizzing here about the bad fuel thing? why does a car with 4/6/8 cylinders and FI run just fine on the hiway with "bad fuel" but a bike with only one cyl exhibit these serious symptoms and not run at all?? Or have i just answered my own question? and if so why? I'm not taking a FI bike to Baja until this question has been solved and answered to my satisfaction.I for one am not sold on fuel injection on an offroad (away from bcaa tow trucks) bikes at this time. It's just about as dumb as an offroad bike without a kickstart on it!

[North]

Same thing happened to me. take your fuel pump out and check the filter. mine was plugged solid. have a look in the husky section of the forum, i posted pics

Thanks, I found your post, but there were no pictures.

Rick

[mekanik]

just quizzing here about the bad fuel thing? why does a car with 4/6/8 cylinders and FI run just fine on the hiway with "bad fuel" but a bike with only one cyl exhibit these serious symptoms and not run at all?? Or have i just answered my own question? and if so why? I'm not taking a FI bike to Baja until this question has been solved and answered to my satisfaction.I for one am not sold on fuel injection on an offroad (away from bcaa tow trucks) bikes at this time. It's just about as dumb as an offroad bike without a kickstart on it!

It is SIMPLE - don't put bad fuel in it ! I love my fuel injected Husky without the dumb kickstart on it!
Bad fuel is just what non-mechanics use as an excuse, it is rarely found to be the cause if properly diagnosed. unless it comes from last years gas from a jerry can.

[old trials guy]

just quizzing here about the bad fuel thing? why does a car with 4/6/8 cylinders and FI run just fine on the hiway with "bad fuel" but a bike with only one cyl exhibit these serious symptoms and not run at all?? Or have i just answered my own question? and if so why? I'm not taking a FI bike to Baja until this question has been solved and answered to my satisfaction.I for one am not sold on fuel injection on an offroad (away from bcaa tow trucks) bikes at this time. It's just about as dumb as an offroad bike without a kickstart on it!

9000 plus kilometers mostly offroad with 2005 fuel injected Sherco. Runs spot on ALL the time. I always try to use Chevron Premium 94 octane or best quality gas I can find. Started this spring after sitting months with 6 month old gas right away and I never use any additives in fuel or oil. Magneti Marelli supply electronics and fuel injection to many motorsport companies so maybe its just the design or quality of the injection system. http://www.magnetimarelli.com/english/motorsport.php

otg

[cactusreid]

"I love my fuel injected Husky without the dumb kickstart on it!" Mekanik-fair enough, but i have,and seen battery's killed after watering out in a good creek dunking. usually these creeks have a steep long non push upable hills on both sides. this is why I want a kickstarter on my bike!

"so maybe its just the design or quality of the injection system" OTG- I think your on to something. Most of the FI systems I've seen on offroad bikes to date, seem to be very finiky and far to fragile to safely handle a lot of the rigors that we expect to be able to put our bikes through.
I love and respect FI in autos, But I think it still has a ways to go in the offroad motorcycle section.

[old trials guy]

I love and respect FI in autos, But I think it still has a ways to go in the offroad motorcycle section.

Graham Jarvis had great success with FI Shercos through the most demanding off-road events in the world. Sherco uses a simple open loop system, their mapping is excellent and it just works. Compared to any of my current and previous carburated bikes my FI Sherco is superior in all respects. When it dies in the middle of nowhere however I will be okay with eating these words.

[cactusreid]

"When it dies in the middle of nowhere however I will be okay with eating these words."

i think that's the part that still really bothers me-banging on the side of a black box ,just doesn't have the same romance as tapping a carb with a rock does it? I have never spent a night in the bush or in the middle of the baja desert "yet" because of a bike breakdown that could not be fixed trail side. but i have seen a handful of FI bikes being towed/pushed/trucked home because they would not start or run, and the owner had no clue as to what to do.

[North]

I just took out my fuel pump assembly and looked at the fuel filter. The gas that came out of the end feeding into the pump was black. The filter was not clogged though. I am going to try a new filter and then a new pump.

[Erronous Monk]

Clue. It runs fine except on highway. I bet it will run fine on the highway if you drive at in town speeds. No?
So it might be a fuel problem. How does fuel get from the tank to the combustion point?
There is black color to the gas before the fuel pump filter. The pump was saved from black by the filter?
Why is the gas ahead of the filter black? Is the gas in the tank black? Is the fuel line black? Is the vacuum diaphragm in the safety petcock black?
If the fuel screen in the tank is not black then?

My suggestion is: The diaphragm in the safety petcock has ruptured. This would account for running well in town but not on the highway. It is not just about being able to get high rpm it is also about how much vacuum there is when the throttle is open and the engine is working hard. The fire needs more gas and more throttle at 4000 rpm in top gear than 4000 rpm in bottom gear.

Change the hose and filter if you wish, but before you mess with the pump, check the safety petcock vacuum diaphragm.

[North]

The gas going into the filter is fine. The gas coming out and going into the fuel pump is black. The gas flow from both petcocks is fine and the gas is clear.

[mekanik]

Black is from failing fuel pump backwash to filter. Bin there, seen that.

[North]

Black is from failing fuel pump backwash to filter. Bin there, seen that.

Thanks

Rick

[xr8d]

Cactus,

I think bikes are more sensitive to fuel because of their state of tune. It is pretty common to get 1 hp or more per every 10 cc's of displacement (my 25 year old streetbike was a 1200cc that put out 140 hp). That would be like a new mustang putting out 500 hp with NO supercharger or turbo. It can be done, but isn't common in production cars. This is just my theory of course, and I may be way off, but it makes sense to me!

[The Pope]

my fuel pump showed up from ca. cycleworks. it is a direct replacement -same dimensions, same inlet and outlet. just have to get the hoses disconnected from the old one.