Mystery Shutdown

Hey guys , I have a GEN-1 2003 model and I have experienced a mystery shutdown twice now and it's quite scary when it happens.This is what happens, the engine loses power and will not rev up and will go to a weak unstable idle until it shuts off.When it does this the neutral can not be found with the selector and the bike completely locks up as if in gear. It happen once in nearing an intersection and it required me to drag it off the road like the back brake was on. It happen yesterday again when I started it up. When it happens I let the bike sit a few minutes fiddle with some wires near the battery and it will start right up and be normal again,BTW this was preceded by the 7000 RPM indicator on the tach indicating Exup valve problem. I have checked this and it seems to be operating normally and I did adjust the cable as indicated in the manual. Any help would be most welcome because this is scary when it happens in motion. Thanks!
 
Hey guys , I have a GEN-1 2003 model and I have experienced a mystery shutdown twice now and it's quite scary when it happens.This is what happens, the engine loses power and will not rev up and will go to a weak unstable idle until it shuts off.When it does this the neutral can not be found with the selector and the bike completely locks up as if in gear. It happen once in nearing an intersection and it required me to drag it off the road like the back brake was on. It happen yesterday again when I started it up. When it happens I let the bike sit a few minutes fiddle with some wires near the battery and it will start right up and be normal again,BTW this was preceded by the 7000 RPM indicator on the tach indicating Exup valve problem. I have checked this and it seems to be operating normally and I did adjust the cable as indicated in the manual. Any help would be most welcome because this is scary when it happens in motion. Thanks!


I had a similar to this issue with my GenI when I had it a few years back. It wound up being a crack in the porcelain in one of the spark plugs which started arching against the cylinder head. It had practically the same symptoms as you are stating here. Just a thought.
 
Don't it's the plugs , replaced them this year. The thing that really baffles me is my inability to put the bike in neutral when it occurs, if it's purely an electrical issue then I can't see this affecting a mechanical system like the gearbox and selecto
r.
 
I understand what you're saying now. But at the same token, I don't see an electrical issue stopping the bike from being in gear or locking the shift mechanism. I will say that the cracked spark plug I had was literally brand new when it failed. Which is why I didn't check them until finally after two weeks of troubleshooting, I brought it to Ivan which is where he immediately checked the plugs first after me telling him that they were new and found the issue. You couldn't see the crack with your eyes but you could see it arc to the cylinder head. So it's strange that if you fiddle with the wiring after it sitting that it goes to normal. Issues like this can be a pain in the butt. I hope you get it figured out. Keep us in the loop.
 
I don't think the not finding neutral is tied in with the bike quitting.

How are the fuel filter and the fuel screen in the tank? Maybe they are dirty and the fuel is not getting through?

I believe that if the EXUP cables are overly tight that could give the 7000rpm error.
 
What kind of gasoline you put in it? I have owned 2 Gen 1's and after having all sorts of idle issues a friend suggested I move to Chevron gasoline. after 2 full tanks through it the bike stopped having idle issues. It used to stall out all the time when cold. It has been a few years since I switched and nothing will convince me to put cheap gas in it again. I put Chevron in all my cars now too.
 
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