748 near breakdown/petrol problem???
 

I was riding home last night on my 748 after doing a few miles and the engine seemed to cut after revving really hard. I changed into 2nd and i thought i'd got neutral as nothing happened.

I got home (only about 2 miles) after checking the oil, etc, which was the same level as far as I could see, but it was so slow, hardly wanted to go atall and would cut out unless i held the throttle open.

Theres no unusual clunks or sounds other than sounding like its running out of petrol (like my old bike used to sound when u need to switch to reserve).

No oil/fluid has dropped out the bike overnight, I haven't got a clue what it could be. When i restarted it after stopping i could smell petrol a bit.

Anyone have any ideas in case its a simple fix before i take it to a dealer?

Cheers weeksy, would that have happened due to being near/on the rev limit, or just happened then by chance?

Also make sure your battery isn't flat.Similar symptoms.

Hey Jody,

Give me a shout if I can help.

I can call by this pm if you need help as per Weeksy's suggestions.

I've had pinched fuel lines and breather pipes on my Monsters and SPS which resulted in cut out - also over revving my S4 sometimes over pressurised the fuel delivery causing the same issues.

Anyway, you know where I am.:):)

Thanks everton, I sent u a U2U

Jody,

Send me your address through e-mail - I'll call round about 17:30 if that's OK.

Do you have the right tools?

Dave

Cheers Weeksy but should be OK.

I've stripped down the tank & fuel lines etc a couple of times on my 996 so I guess the layout is much the same.

Anyway, I sold my Haynes manual to Jody last week so we should be able to diagnose if not fix the thing - hopefully!!!

BTW thanx for the recommendation for RideInTyres - I have spoken to Mike & Tyreman re: the BT012SS - pricing came out much the same so I'll have to choose who will fit them. Seems your name carriers a bit of weight round these Ducati fans;);););)

Thanks again - if anyone is out this weekend (Berks/Oxon) I should have them on and we can discuss further the merits of which tyre etc:roll::roll::roll:

I had this problem on my way down to Popham the other week. Felt like it was running really rough and cut out a couple of times, once leading into a fairly tight right hander :o
When I cut out I wouldn't bump start on the move so I just pulled the clutch in, hit the starter button and off it went again. Some of the guys said they could smell fuel when following me.

I put it down to some crap in the fuel as it started just after a re-fill and seemed to clear itself up and was fine all the way home.

Met up with Jody tonight and basically Its running on only one cylinder.

Checked fuel feeds, breather pipe etc all looked OK not pinched etc.

As one pipe was hot we traced the cold non runner to the horizontal cylinder - removed spark plug which was black & sooty.

Cleaned it all up & replaced but still a non-runner so I guess it is electrical unless one of you guys has any other ideas.

Reached the limit of my limited mechanical expertise I'm afraid. :(:(:(:(

I suggested Jody speaks to Pegasus in Reading to see if they can sort it. Does anyone know of a mobile service that would go to him? He lives north of Maidenhead.

Maybe the plugs a gonner and needs replacing, could try swapping plug with the one in the other cylinder if no spare handy and see if the problem transfers, same goes for swapping the coils over.
Jody/Everton how far north of Maidenhead, i'm in Oxford and have a fair few spares for the race bike that could be tried, always got new plugs around, spare ECU etc.
Will be riding down to Oxon / N.Berks meet via Marlow Maidenhead area on Sunday

Weeksy, thats a very kind and generous offer - I'm sure Jody will take you up on that & I'll make sure he knows.

Whats the view on Pegasus? I only every used them to rebuild my SPS after my accident and they did a pretty decent job.

Also, tell us more about AJ - good and reputable Ducati engineers are thin on the ground.:)

Jody
I have a few old spark plugs in my garage, let me know and I can bring them into work tomorrow.
Karl

Thanks for all the replies and help guys!

Karl, if i could try one of your spare spark plugs that would be good thanks.. My no at work is 01491 417342 (or 47342 internally).

And if that doesn't work then Weeksy it would be great if you could take the bike for me on Friday (i have work to unfortunately).

Weeksy, if the bike does need more than a tweak done to it, can this AJ place do repairs under warranty?? as the bike's still under warranty till April '04.

Jody
If its still under warranty phone the dealer(main dealer??) and get them to pick it up. I`ll bring the Spark plug in to Henley tommorow in case you like to try that.
Karl

I reckon that\'s what the warantee\'s for.....
 

.....give the main dealers a call and get them to sort it out.

Best not risk invalidating the warantee....

Tim

I'm going to try changing the plug and if still no joy have booked it into Bridge at Andover (miles away I know but at least they can do it on warraty and early next week).

Just have to fake a breakdown to get my breakdown cover to take it down there for me :D

Thanks for the offer Weeksy, but I might aswell use the warranty, in case it does work out to be expensive I don't want to be stuck with a massive bill!!

I'll let u know how i get on anyway..

Jody

I had a similar problem when I stashed some bits under my seat unit. The pressure of the seat pressing on the cables etc I had put under the seat, dislodged the main connector (the 3inch long one) going into my ECU although it did not pull it out fully

This caused the bike to run on one cylinder and generally feel like ****.

Might be worth a check, especially if you’ve been messing under your seat.

I'll have another look at that later, but i think all looked ok when we were thinking of taking the seat off.

I have another spark plug to try (thanks Carl) but I'm not sure if it will work cos i took the plug out and it did spark. Give it a try anyway. Its booked into Bridge at Andover next Tuesday so someone else can sort it...

Gonna get the side-stand switch done too, but the guy said he can just take the switch out so it will even go into gear with the stand down. That right??

Jody
I remember you saying the the gap on yours was larger than the one I gave you. so would advise you check the gap on your old one NGK recommend a gap of 0.024 which is wider that standard spec. I`ll bring the spark plug tool tommorow incase you want to check it.
Karl

If it's only running on one cylinder then it's unlikely that the main connections of the fuel system are at fault.
Although the plug is sparking, it could be so weak as to get "blown" out by the compression pressure in the cylinder, so a new plug is worth trying.
If fuel can be smelt, it's again, unlikely to be a fuelling problem, which again points to ignition.
Only other thing which springs to mind at the moment, it's been a long day ;), is maybe a valve has burnt or been bounced with the high revs. Pretty unlikely, but a compression check would dispell/prove this.

i tried the new spark plug, still no change. Both exhausts have gas/air coming out of them but its only the rear cylinder that gets hot. Only cold air comes out the other one.

All the cables/sockets were all plugged in tight under the seat, so nothing has come loose anyway.

I'm at a loss to know the fault, so I'll just leave it to the garage I think.

What's the current state of play, was down your way last Sunday for the Oxon/N.Berks rideout and could have popped around with my spare ECU.

It went into the garage yesterday afternoon, so hopefully should find out soon.

Feels like ages since I've ridden it now!! (just over a week at the moment...)

I'll let u know how it goes when they've had a look at it.

I know this is a really old thread but it sounds exactly like my problem, so go on then spill the beans and let us know what was wrong and how it was fixed.;)

I'd try skidlids spare ECU. An electrical surge to the ECU from a failed voltage regulator caused my 916 to drop a cylinder. A new ECU was needed to cure it.