Engine Trouble - intermittently won't start! Any ideas on what to look for?

[Roadsterryder]

If I had the air box out like you have it out, I would call Ron up and see if his shop has got an air box delete kit - it's worth every penny you'll have to pay for it! You will be able to throw that air box away and you'll have all kinds of room to work on your bike anytime you want. I did it to my 2012 when I did the plugs and wires, it was a good addition to my farkles.

Ron is out of stock for this Item also. I really don‘t like to spend the extra $285, especially when I can make this one myself. I am a retired toolmaker and I don‘t see a problem making one… but most likely I am going to put the OEM box back in place. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Mikey]

Ron is out of stock for this Item also. I really don‘t like to spend the extra $285, especially when I can make this one myself. I am a retired toolmaker and I don‘t see a problem making one… but most likely I am going to put the OEM box back in place. Thanks for the advice.

Oh, by all means, if you have the tools I would in a heartbeat! I just couldn't see putting that air box back in the machine, and it gives you so much more room to work in the motor area, not to mention it will breathe better!!

 

[Roadsterryder]

Oh, by all means, if you have the tools I would in a heartbeat! I just couldn't see putting that air box back in the machine, and it gives you so much more room to work in the motor area, not to mention it will breathe better!!

Mikey
Besides getting more space to work on the engine did you notice a performance increase?
Did your fuel milage change and how much louder is the engine?

 

[Mikey]

Mikey
Besides getting more space to work on the engine did you notice a performance increase?
Did your fuel milage change and how much louder is the engine?

It may be a little snappier on the throttle; mileage, I am not one of those types to check my mileage at each stop, I just adjust to my gas gauge. You will hear a lot more throttle body noise, which made me remember the days when we used to flip the tops on our air cleaners over, because we thought it gave us more air flow and horsepower!! It will have a throatier tone to its breathing! Not to mention the weight loss also, that things got to weight 25-30 lbs!!! Why they go from one side to the other just baffled the heck out of me!

 

[Roadsterryder]

It may be a little snappier on the throttle; mileage, I am not one of those types to check my mileage at each stop, I just adjust to my gas gauge. You will hear a lot more throttle body noise, which made me remember the days when we used to flip the tops on our air cleaners over, because we thought it gave us more air flow and horsepower!! It will have a throatier tone to its breathing! Not to mention the weight loss also, that things got to weight 25-30 lbs!!! Why they go from one side to the other just baffled the heck out of me!

Thanks for your reply.
I remember those days when we did all kinds of stuff to our 2 wheel bikes. Took silencers out of the exhaust of my Honda 750 and changed the air box for a better sound and believed we added more power…lol.
These days I like it more quiet when going for a ride. Still have the matching Can Am trailer for it that we used when we went to Maggie Valley and Lake George for a Can Am sponsored rally, but the trailer has been parked now for years. Most likely this is going to be the last year for us with the Spyder. Life changes and we have to adapt to it.
In the next few days I will look at everything again and close it up. If anyone has any more ideas on what I should look for while it’s still open I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Roadsterryder]

Yesterday I closed up my Spyder and this morning I added fuel system cleaner and fresh gasoline to the tank and went out for a ride… fingers crossed.
The engine was running great.
While on the freeway, after 74 miles of driving, the engine just died. It was like someone turned off the ignition or hit the kill switch.
It's got to be something with the ignition. It was an instant stop.
While I was at the autoparts store yesterday, one of the guys said to check out the ignition coil. I tried to start the engine and it sounds just like it did before when it died. I did the full throttle thing and watched the gauges, on there is a signal from the Crank positioning sensor.
Now I will wait 15 to 30 minutes and try again. Hopefully I don’t get run over here.

 

[mecsw500]

If you crank the bike and it’s not starting, look at the rev counter. If it bumps a little to some small value of revs it means at least the crank position sensor is sending signals to the ECU and hence to the rev counter. Whether it’s the right signals, that’s another matter. My experience though with the little buggers is they either work faultlessly, work intermittently, or not at all. When they are working they generally are doing the right thing though. I’ve found even the most expensive engines in the most expensive vehicles still use cheap $25 parts.

 

[Snowbelt Spyder]

Yesterday I closed up my Spyder and this morning I added fuel system cleaner and fresh gasoline to the tank and went out for a ride… fingers crossed.
The engine was running great.
While on the freeway, after 74 miles of driving, the engine just died. It was like someone turned off the ignition or hit the kill switch.
It's got to be something with the ignition. It was an instant stop.
While I was at the autoparts store yesterday, one of the guys said to check out the ignition coil. I tried to start the engine and it sounds just like it did before when it died. I did the full throttle thing and watched the gauges, on there is a signal from the Crank positioning sensor.
Now I will wait 15 to 30 minutes and try again. Hopefully I don’t get run over here.

DM sent.

 

[Roadsterryder]

I was on the side of the freeway. No code and I still have the Amazon crank sensor installed. After waiting about 15 minutes she started right up. I was driving at 75 miles per hour and 5500rpm when it happened. So I started to drive back home about 20 miles, made it to town and about 1/2 mile from home she died again. When I was at high speed before it felt like someone hit the kill switch but now when I was just turning on the traffic light the engine started to hesitate and stopped.

 

[Roadsterryder]

Well I had it for today. I was hoping today was the day for success . The engine runs great when it runs. If I let the engine cool down when it happens she will start again without a problem. If I don‘t wait long enough and try to start then it sounds like it‘s trying to start at low rpm and then dies again. Around 800 to 1000 rpm. So is it still an fuel issue? I will check the fuses but I don‘t think that’s my problem. I have to look at it from different angles …..maybe heat is not the problem. Could it be a vacuum in the fuel line and when I wait long enough it slowly fills back up again. After it started up the first time I was only able to drive 20 miles on my way home compared to to 74 miles before it happened the first time.

 

[Roadsterryder]

Yes…just was trying to ignore it because of the cost of the fuel pump…lol.
Let’s assume the fuel pump is working properly I could take the fuel line off the fuel rail on both sides and see if anything is blocked. Then check out the regulator on the exit side. If the fuel is getting restricted after a while of driving either on the way in or out then that would explain it. So far I did everything recommended by everyone having problems and experienced it.
But I have to dig into it and go step by step.
To be honest if it would have worked today I would not have been able to know what actually fixed it. But I know now that I have corrected the issues most people have had in the past and I greatly appreciate all the feedback that everyone gave me. So taking the fuel system apart and inspecting it will be my next step. Everything but the fuel pump.

 

[Roadsterryder]

Engine started good this morning and I drove to the Autoparts store and got myself some Starter Fluid.
Only a 2 mile drive thru town. When I got back on the bike to start the engine she acted like she would start but…..I think sounded like starving for fuel and died right away again. So when I tried to start the engine again it just turned over with no sign of wanting to start.
Now I took the starter fluid and sprayed a couple times in the air intake. Turned the ignition on and she started right up. Great. Drove another 3 miles turned off the engine and tried to start again but this time started right up. At home in my driveway I repeated that same thing again and she started right up again.
I will be on the road again today to see if the engine dies again after 70 miles or so and then I will use the starting fluid again right away. If it starts up I know better what to look for. More info to come