K11 Owners Group

bmwtf · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:32 am Post subject: running and not

Last summer I got a 93 K1100LT. Sort of a 60th birthday present. (First bike) Love the bike Very Happy

The last good ride was from St. Louis to Tennessee and back over New Years weekend. This spring when I woke the bike up, it was grumpy. Crying or Very sad

I've changed the oil (Mobil1 20W50) New plugs....(NGKD7EA) sprayed electrical contact cleaner on plugs between the two motronic (spell check suggested "moronic") box plugs and the bike. Still need to bleed the brakes and get the front fork tubes to quit drooling on the brake rotors...(I noticed that they didn't rust over the winter) Initially the fuel pump was not working when I turned bike on. An ever so slight mutilation of the female round thingys in that particular plug...(Ive been reading this site so I'm up on the technical vernacular) woke up the fuel pump and the fuel gauge. Bike starts and runs now....sounds like on about three cylinders ...stalls and backfires until about 2500 rpm...then it lights up and runs well until about 4250, then it sounds like it runs on one or two until slowed back down to below 4250 Ideas besides "If God wanted man to fly he would have given him more money." and "If I only had a brain."

Jim · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:41 am Post subject:

for starters, did you leave a full tank of gas in it while it was stored? Did you add Stabil to the gas before you stored it? The gas we get these days deteriorates pretty quickly - it will not make it through the winter.

Check the fuel filter - they're easy to replace. If you have old gas in the bike, siphon it out. Pour in half a bottle of Chevron Techron (not Chevron anything else - only Techron) and fill with fresh, mid-grade or premium. Mid-grade (89 octane) is what the bike wants.

For the electrical connections, I highly recommend Corrosion-X - probably the best stuff on the market to keep everything in working order.
_________________
Jim
1997 K1100LTSE 94,000 - still has gremlins!
1995 R100RT Classic 16,650 crashed - repaired!
1992 K75RTP 46,000

"We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed."

bmwtf · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:55 am Post subject:

full tank with seafoam when parked, two tanks with Lucas fuel treatment and new fuel filter when it didn't run right this spring/summer

bmwtf · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:56 pm Post subject:

Thanks Ted, suggestions made perfect sense, applied anti corrosion grease to 'puter plugs, added about 1/4 bottle Valvoline's "best" fuel system treatment to full tank, got about 10 miles might have improved low rpm performance, not high....stalled, wouldn't start....flat-bedded it home.

bmwtf · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:58 pm Post subject:

Oh man did valvoline instead of chevron do that???

Flying Duck · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 4:16 pm Post subject:

You got a K1100LT as your FIRST bike? Shocked

Wow. That's quite a lot of topheavy bike as a first bike. My hat's off to you.

I doubt the Valvoline vs. Techron would kill your bike.

If your fuel tank connection is flaky I'd recommend cutting it out and splicing in some 4-lead trailer connectors or similar. Those stock connectors are known to get flaky on some Ks and your current one is not going to get any better.

Also check that your spark plugs leads are seated properly on the coils and plugs.

An air leak could also cause some rough running. Check the crank case breather hose. These are known to get brittle and crack on bikes that sit. It's on the back top of the engine and goes into the backside of the top of the airbox.
_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE

rover759 · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 4:55 pm Post subject:

LOL I agree a k11 as your first bike! Surprised

I broke myself in with a k75

I got a classic car and I found that the surest way to check if it is duff fuel is to squirt some sure start in though on a k1100 I'm not sure if you could use this as the flames out of the carbs jumped higher than the bonnet Shocked

What I do when laying up is i empty the fuel into a Gerry Can that I use for a bit of everything filling up the mower or the generator to keep it fresh-then refill the bike with fresh as and when...
May be good to run the diagnostic on your bike too....

Mystic Red · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:09 pm Post subject:

Did a quick search on Seafoam and there was more bad to say than good. Check it out.

http://www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/forum/mechanics-corner/31169-post-seafoam-big-problem.html

http://ask.metafilter.com/63543/Why-does-my-motorcycle-keep-dying

Sound familiar. Don't know how to fix it but Techron wouldn't hurt.
_________________
Scott Hespelt, '94 K11LT
K11 OG #466

Flying Duck · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:17 pm Post subject:

Seafoam is good stuff. I don't use it on FI motors though.
_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE

bmwtf · Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 10:14 pm Post subject:

Many thanks to all who offered advice and wisdom. It all helped to either eliminate a problem or steer to a solution. My brain spark was somewhat retarded...(several cells in battery low)...no battery where there were caps to add (distilled) water for quite some time in my cars and trucks. I added 1/2 bottle of tech-whatever to the fuel and made it a couple of blocks, pushed it home, started it a couple of hours later and a couple of hous later. Seems to run better than before every time. Makes me think there are or were chunks in the gas. I'll rider a little more tomorrow. Daytime temp is in the 90s here. Not ideal for a K and me.