Rear light stays on + backfire

[ziggi]

2 probs on todays ride out:

1) rear light stays on - didn't notice it before but rear and front brake levels seem to be working fine.

2) Once bike had warmed up i was getting alot of backfires on overrun and part throttle and slight hesitation on opening throttle. I've looked through some of the other posts suggesting exhaust gasket leak but can see any problems there.

Any help would be great. I think I will book the bike into PDQ on Alis suggestion for carb setup and general tune up. Anyone got any close (to Sussex) suggestions. Do sigma performance do general tune up, carb setup etc.

Cheers

[Iconic944ss]

Hmmmm, rear light could be micro switches on either handlebar or rear assembly stuck open or possibly a wiring fault?

Back firing - first suspects for me would be around the gas tank, trapped fuel line or trapped/blocked vent line on top of the tank, Blocked filters, fuel pump, bad carb sync, the list goes on and on after that I'm afraid....

Good luck

[ziggi]

oh plus my neutral light stays on when its warmed up (and i'm riding)

[Edited on 18-2-2006 by ziggi]

[SSTU]

My neutral light doesnt work until the bike has warmed up. Damp I think.

[Carbon749]

As for the miss fire and back fire etc, could this be linked to all the crap that was in the tank when you bought the bike ... could there be something found it's way to the carb.

Guess the neutral light and brake light issues etc could be down to micro switches that are sticking due to lack of usage .... again linked back to being stood for so long.

[davep]

Had problem of rear light staying on - was micro switch sticking due to lack of use I think.

Squirted WD40 into switch and operated switch lots of times which cured it - been fine since.

Dave

[ali]

Neutral light will probably be the sensor in the back of the engine. Carefully remove wire (it'll probably break), unscrew, soak in WD40, wiggle a few times, refit, solder wires as necessary. Easy and quite satisfying.

Back firing, everything Frank mentions, and check all rubbers for splits etc.

A little TLC and she'll be hunky-dory. :D

Cheers,

Ali

Edit: Neil at Sigma can definitely do carb setup, etc.

[Edited on 19-2-2006 by ali]

[KeefyB]

Just going by the ambient temperatures at the weekend,the backfiring and hesitent throttle could'nt be carb icing could it?:eureka:
It would not be unusual on a carbed SS.

[ziggi]

Could have been - wasn't that cold I thought - and didn't experience it the previous 2 rides. I reckon I need someone to look at it and do some tune up work. As the weather is so crap at the moment I doubt if I will be riding it for some time anyway.

[Mad Dog Bianchi]

fFeb will give back firing weather if you don't let the bike warm up sufficiently to keep the gas circuit comfy. I always gave my SS at least 5 minutes on fast idle to avoid that problem. Will give hesitant throttle as the gas is icing in the system. Found that if I encountered that problem along the way, usually in the form of popping and stalling at traffic lights, I would just pull over and shut the bugger down for a couple of minutes to let the heat soak back into the system. Never used an carb warmer as this would cure the problem for those winter days when they struck.

[ziggi]

That sounds just like my problem - I must admit I didn't really hang around before setting off. The previous times I had give the bike a good 5 min warm up before setting off.

It does have Keihin carbs on it, not sure if that would make a difference. How could I tell if it's got a carb heater kit on it? Looking through the paperwork it looks as if the carb heater kit was fitted under warranty at some stage but with a change of carb would this be irrelevant now?

Thanks all for your replies so far.

[dukess1999]

Don't think you can fit carb heater with Keihns (you'd see oil lines going from oil-cooler to carbs), and flatsides are supposed to solve the carb-icing in any case.

[Mad Dog Bianchi]

try giving it a good warm up and see if the problem goes away. Carbs are metal and transmit cold real well to gasoline.....LOL

[Herb]

It does not need to be that cold for carb icing to occur as air will cool to freezing temperatures as it accelerates through the carb. If there is lots of moisture in the air, that will be enough at this time of year to cause icing problems.

[ziggi]

And I was giving it some to be honest. I will test again this weekend if it's not snowing.

[Mad Dog Bianchi]

put on chains and try it in the snow for a real treat!!

[ziggi]

Just to let you know that all is great with the superlight now. Neutral light fixed, not a single backfire today and fantastic ride out. She does just over 140 on the speedo and I can even get the front wheel off the floor occationally.

Thanks for all your help

[Mad Dog Bianchi]

Are you using it instead of weights? Must be great on the biceps!