One for the mechanical genii on here…

I have a 2001 Honda Blackbird, the fool injected one. It’s very low miles (8k) and was last fully serviced 500 miles ago (but a couple of years).

I took it in for its MOT today after being garaged for the winter. It was really lumpy under 2k revs to the point it feels like it’s running on 2 or 3. It clears above 2.5k and is fully normal up to the red line. It had a small amount of fuel in from last year so I brimmed to with Super Juice, had a long ish ride and gave it an Italian tune with zero effect.

Google says fool regulator or O² sensor, though if the latter, it would be throwing out a fault code which it’s not.

What do the wise mechanical wizards of STW recon? ‘Buy a new one’ is not an acceptable answer according to Mrs Boblo 😉

I pity the fuel

Dunno but I had a carbed one, any fuel knows that they’re faster so you should have got one of those.

I miss that bike. The Gentleman’s Express.

Also I hope yours is black or at a push grey. If it’s blue or red then that’s your major problem right there.

In line or in tank fuel filter?

I think it’s in the tank. It’s Candy Blue BTW which is the bestest colour and Nonda’s PGF1 is (normally) the dogs bolleaux. Carbs are for 19th century philistines…

I agree that the candy blue is lovely. On a Suzuki Swift. Driven by a hairdresser.

Please don’t get it sorted too quickly, this thread should last forever.

Wait till it’s cold & start it with no throttle, quickly alternate touching each down pipe until they get too bloody hot. Obviously if one stays cold then thats the cylinder. Airleak maybe? On the inlet side.

It’s no Hayabusa.

Just a thought when it’s proper cold it will be richened up on the cold start so may not run as poor, does it?

Change the plugs. Or just give em a wire brush and check the gaps at least

plugs would be my first call too, esp if it’s years since last service and little running

Sounds like plugs here too – or at least a damp or damaged lead – sounds just like my sv which has a front cylinder exposed to all the shite off the front wheel.

Errrm yes, it’s no Hayabusa. It’s a Blackbird… Not sure what the implications are apart from not being pig ugly… 😉

I’ll try it from cold tomorrow but ‘proper cold’ isn’t on the agenda for a bit.

Plugs? Have you seen what needs to come off/get moved to get to em? Looks like a Haynesesque ‘dismantle to constituent parts, change plugs then reverse previous step…’

Plugs? Have you seen what needs to come off/get moved to get to em? Looks like a Haynesesque ‘dismantle to constituent parts, change plugs then reverse previous step…’

Best get started then; them fairings aren’t gonna strip themselves!

You’re roigt, it’s gonna take the Nonda man bloody ages <sigh>

Ah not like my old supertanker CBR1000FK then, seat of 2 M6 bolts & lift the tank. It even had a bonnet stay. Nostalgia now informs me it was brilliant.

Yeah not like the CBR1000. In.Any.Way. 😉

CBR1000s are reliable…

aracer – Member
CBR1000s are reliable…

Yes they are as are Blackies so not I suppose different in every single way 😉

Anyway back to the plot. So plugs first. Sounds like a routine service is in order. Anything else I should be on the lookout for? (apart from swapping to a CBR1000 :-))

Just checked the service records, looks like it’s never had a set of plugs as they’re changed at 24k KM so it’ll be worth starting there. Ta. Any other suggestions?

How often does it get turned over? When we’re oils last changed?

Oil changed 300 miles ago (2 yrs 🙁 ), turned over prior to wintering so last Oct.

Go for a ride. Put a few hundred miles on it and a nice new tank of petrol through it.

Rachel

Well it’s been thrashed some more and it’s getting worserer. Horrible up to 4k now 🙁

I’ve ordered some spark plugs – how much? Are they made of effing myrrh or something…?

I also did a trial strip of the fairing and its (many) associated panels just for fun like and ended up without needing to throw any left over spare bits in the bin so it must be OK… It’s a bit worrying building a growing pile of (expensive) plastic/screws/fittings/clips etc and hoping to remember the 3d puzzle that produced it all. Bejesus, how anyone does that for a living is beyond me…

So another fairing removal session, oil cooler and rad removal/relocation and we’ll finally get to the buried bastard plugs to see if you lot are/were pulling my leg.

I apologise in advance for the moment that it becomes obvious that the expensive new plugs have solved nothing… 😯

Fresh fuel, and I’d change the oil and filter while I was there too.

But mostly, it’ll be off fuel.

It’s running on fresh (from the garage) jungle juice, the extra spicy flavour. There was a very small amount of last years stuff in it when I brimmed it with Supa Doopa 200 miles ago. Shirley it can’t still be fool ya fuels? 🙂

BTW V8ninety, that’s not helpful. PayPal to address in profile pls.. 😉

It’s ‘character building’ mate 😉

It’s really not. Its reminds me, there’s a reason I don’t normally pi$$ about with old(er) vehicles.

This one should be sound tho; one careless/reckless member of the clergy type owner from new, serviced every 4 years whether it needs it or not, never raced or rallied etc…

Shirley it can’t still be fool ya fuels?

Depends, if it’s a metal tank and the fuel had a lot of ethanol in and the bike was stored where condensation could occur then you could have an awful lot of rust/crud in the tank, that’s now merrily clogging the filter and/or being sucked through and doing who knows what to the injectors.

Edit: And don’t call me Shirley.

Yeah those iridium plugs are pricey, my thinking was if they spark proper when its reving they will spark at idle. I have seen those iridium plugs in honda outboards still work when the electrode is almost gone.

Did you figure out which cylinder is missing?

I had similar issues with a similar vintage CBR600 (one of the first fuel injection models) would run really badly and smell very rich, but clear as the revs rise. New fuel regulator fitted and ran like a dream*

*it had already had a full fuel system clean-up and a few electrical issues and fault codes cleared, But the perished rubber diaphragm in the FPR seemed to cause a very familiar problem to yours…

Oil changed 300 miles ago (2 yrs ), turned over prior to wintering so last Oct.

There’s the problem right there. It’s just not being used enough. My 4 year old Honda has just ticked over 40,000 miles and apart from normal wear parts nothing at all has gone wrong with it. Once I had a bike I only did 4000 miles a year on so I sold it because I want using it enough! Blackbirds are solid bikes, the engines will do 150,000 miles easily. Just use the damned thing! 🙂

vongassit – Member
Yeah those iridium plugs are pricey, my thinking was if they spark proper when its reving they will spark at idle.

Did you figure out which cylinder is missing?

That was my thinking too and my initial Google foo was suggesting fuel reg or O2 sensor. It hasn’t had new plugs in 16 years so I don’t begrudge it a treat but I would quite like the swap to sort the issue.

The cylinder that’s missing is number 1 assuming leftmost sitting on the boik. I burnt my fingers on the other 3 so I’m assuming the coldest is the errant one. In itself, what does this suggest?

[edit for PP] Yeah I know it’s not used enough though I am trying to sort it so I can. The bloke’s at the rufty tufty bikers place where it was MOT’d yesterday pissed themselves laughing at the princely sum of 21 miles done between tickets… It’ll be more this year 😉

Ok well at least you know it’s on 1 cylinder only , I would swap (1 at a time) , the plug , the coil pack & then the injector with 1 of the cylinders that run fine & see if the fault jump cylinders with a component change. I do a lot of this on outboard motors. It’s interesting what Trustyrusty says about the regulator, I would not think that would effect 1 cylinder. But I could be wrong 😉

I should add that one of the other issues that I’d previously fixed was a blown coil or two…

So:

* New fuel tank/filters/fuel
* New plugs
* New coils
* New fuel reg
* Full service

Anything else? Cheers :-/ 🙂

I repaired my tent pole with a rivet.

cynic-al – Member
I repaired my tent pole with a rivet.

As in a fixing or a frog impression? Anyway, bugger off and start your own ‘how I fixed my tent pole’ thread. This ones for moaning about fixing under utilised motorboiks 😉 🙂

I’ll agree to with Rachel on the previous page, go and get it used get the horrid old fuel out of the tank, modern fuel degrades very very quickly, put some fresh in, go and use a whole tank through and completely flush the fuel through.

In other words the poor things telling you it needs a good thrash!