916 won't accelerate

[916sp3dan]

Hello all. I am new to this site but have had a few Ducati's over the years. I have a 1997 916 SP3 at the moment which i have had for 2 years. I have a problem with it and was wondering if anyone else has had the same or knows what it may be. Basically i was out for a ride with a couple of mates who were on jap bikes. We done 150 odd miles as usual with no problems at all. The bike was cleaned and put away until the next ride. The bike started on the button and ticked over fine but when i pulled away it would not accelerate properly. I could change gear fine but it was just not pulling and i could do no more than 20 mph. I thought it must be the clutch and i had a brand new set of plates in the garage so i fitted them. It made no difference at all. It has a brand new odyssey battery and has new oil and filter and has done about 2500 miles since a major service at pro twins. Before i take it to the garage i would like to try and sort it out myself if possible. Anybody have any ideas what it may be? Any help would be much appreciated.
Cheers, Danny

[ChrisBushell]

It sounds like it isn't getting enough fuel, could well be sticking injectors, if the bike has been stood for some time.

My ST4 (same basic engine) is a bugger after the lay up over winter, but we learnt that the best thing to do was run some redex in the 1st tank of petrol, which washes out the gum from the injectors after about 50 miles.

[John W]

If you pick the revs up and then try to let the clutch out gently what does it actually do. What I mean is, does it get very lumpy (missing on 1 cylinder), not want to rev cleanly, or rev but the clutch not engage properly ?

It could also be a plug lead breaking down under load.
My 998 did this, and the 996 before it. Both times it was the front lead.
The bike started and ticked over just fine, but would not pull at all.

[916sp3dan]

Hi and thanks for the replies. It gets lumpy and pops and farts etc and just won't pull. The clutch is engaging fine. I have used injection cleaner in the past and it sorted it out but this is a different thing altogether. It used to just loose power at about 7000 rpm. A drop of redex done the trick. I think and hope that it is the plug lead as it runs fine stationary but just won't go under load. They are the original leads too and are 13 years old. I'm going to have a look at it later when i get home. Thank's to you both for the help. let you know what happens, Cheers, Dan

[Rattler]

Fuel filter?

[916sp3dan]

Hi, had a new fuel filter and green rubber seal. When i say new it's done 2500 miles in the last year. Should be ok shouldn't it? Cheers,Dan

[Rattler]

Hi, had a new fuel filter and green rubber seal. When i say new it's done 2500 miles in the last year. Should be ok shouldn't it? Cheers,Dan

Should be, but if its been sitting around, I'm thinking that there may be some crud in the fuel that could've been sucked through. ???

[pguenet]

I may just have the answer for that one. Took Nelly and me the best part of a month to find out a similar problem on my track 916 some time ago.
The issue was a small split in one of the fuel hoses inside the tank. Anytime I was winding the throttle on the engine was about to die and would not pick up the revs. Because the fuel was being spat back in the tank, there was no tail-tail sign of what the issue could be.

[keith_mann1959]

If you are sitting in neutral and blip the throttle do you get any rise in revs at all?
I think my 998 would pull away and run to about 15 mph without any throttle and therefore it could be the TPS not detecting the throttle movement.

[916sp3dan]

Hello and thankyou to everyone who has offered their help on this one. I have not had the chance to even get in the garage and won't now until next tuesday. I did take the front plug lead off and am going to try a mates first to see if that is the cause before i do anything else as the symptoms that John W explained seem the same as mine do. Will let you know next week. Thank's again, Dan

[ENGAKATS]

So Dan, is it now sorted?

[916sp3dan]

Hi all, No it's not sorted. I logged on to this site today after 4 months as i want to get it going. I ended up buying an Aprilia shiver and have been using that during the rough weather but now the sun seems to be on it's way i want to get it sorted. I have uncovered the old girl today and she started 1st time. That odyssey battery is unbelievable. Will post when i've tried the new leads. Cheers, Dan

[916sp3dan]

Bike is sorted now. I took the bike to DHR and the Ducati Tech reset the TPS and hey presto the bike is as it was before. I had the belts done while it was in and some new tyres. Got it back last Thursday and it runs like a dream.
Thanks to all who gave thier help.