Help - Stage 2

First topic message reminder :

Hi All - long time lurker, first time poster in need of help .. and yes .. I will introduce myself later  
After reading through all the 'just do it' talk on here and elsewhere, went ahead and purchased Dale Walker's Stage 2 kit.
Everything went fine on the install - even those little bastard screws!

Put it all back together and no bits left over.

Only mistake I made was to undo the Secondary Throttle Position (STP) sensor instead of just unplugging it.
Screwed it back up and lined up the paint mark so I guess around the mark.

Hit the start and woohoo - started straight up so went for a ride.

Now had done this with a low tank and you guessed it .. ran out of fuel - pushed to nearest servo and filled up (18.5l !).
Anyway, today, time for a ride - like a different bike - bloody fantastic .. until, after about 50kms .. engine cuts out and FI message comes up in display (not the light) - lucky I wasn't cranked over in a corner.

Turn the key, all the usual noises, nothing on the display and motor turns over but won't fire.
Disconnected TFI and stays the same.

Something to do with fuel maybe from running tank out? .. but I can smell fuel when it's cranking over.
Have no idea what else it could be and really could do with some sage advice before I have to resort to the dealer.

Jenks

snapped cam chain ya say?before i bought my 1200 i did a fair bit of reading up on the 1250 and the 1200 and in a couple of reviews i did read that there was a known issue,but im sure it was with the early 1250 models of having a problem with the cam chain snapping,cant remember where i read that tho,what year was the first 1250?anyone else have this problem with there 1250.?

Bike's finally back - 3 weeks without it has been hard to take.
$3,150  all because of a tiny bit of plastic coming loose and snapping the cam chain.


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Downside - $$ - no bike for 3 weeks.
Upside - rebuilt motor - new oil / filter / coolant / cam chain and bloody cam chain guide which is now properly siliconed in - I hope  

Only ridden it for 5 minutes back from the shop - did notice straight away there's a different sound going on - bit of a rattle - cam chain adjustor settling in maybe .. ?

Anyway -  back to where I was 3 weeks ago - time for a ride to see how good the Stage 2 mods are.

Thanks for all the suggestions and input.

Hi Fat Pete - first 1250 was K7 / 2007.
Did a lot of googling re the cam chain and only found one other on a yank site - same problem - not the cam chain as such, just the bloody guide. So no problems really with the 1250 - bullet proof really.

Hi MadMax - re non-interference engine - had to look that up  
I guess my problem, and the fact that no valves were bent, no holes in the pistons, sort of proves that the 1250 is .. ?

Jenks wrote:Bike's finally back - 3 weeks without it has been hard to take.
$3,150  all because of a tiny bit of plastic coming loose and snapping the cam chain.




Downside - $$ - no bike for 3 weeks.
Upside - rebuilt motor - new oil / filter / coolant / cam chain and bloody cam chain guide which is now properly siliconed in - I hope  

Only ridden it for 5 minutes back from the shop - did notice straight away there's a different sound going on - bit of a rattle - cam chain adjustor settling in maybe .. ?

Anyway -  back to where I was 3 weeks ago - time for a ride to see how good the Stage 2 mods are.

Thanks for all the suggestions and input.

  Is the rattly noise just on idle ..............if so try pulling in the clutch to see if it goes away / if it does , it's just normal clutch rattle

Jenks wrote:Hi MadMax - re non-interference engine - had to look that up  
I guess my problem, and the fact that no valves were bent, no holes in the pistons, sort of proves that the 1250 is .. ?

I've got 16 bent valves in my original motor that suggest the 1200 isn't!

Shite .. all of em - what happened?
1200 different to 1250? .. doubt that .. so was I just 'lucky'!

Re-Cycled wrote:I've got 16 bent valves in my original motor that suggest the 1200 isn't!

what happened there mate,

age, or freak happens?

haven`t herd of one going on a 1200 in normal circumstances.

mtbeerwah wrote:

Re-Cycled wrote:I've got 16 bent valves in my original motor that suggest the 1200 isn't!

what happened there mate,

age, or freak happens?

haven`t herd of one going on a 1200 in normal circumstances.

I dropped it on its side in 2010 with the motor running, I think the chain ran off and got a few teeth out of time, it wouldn't start so I tried to clutch start, by the time I worked out there was something badly wrong, the damage was done.

Worst part, I had to fetch it back from up near Dorrigo.

It had been around the clock at least once (100,000km) and it must have cams in, unlike the 2003 engine I bought to replace it, it would lift the front wheel when I hit 9000rpm in third gear.

Re-Cycled wrote:I dropped it on its side in 2010 with the motor running, I think the chain ran off and got a few teeth out of time, it wouldn't start so I tried to clutch start, by the time I worked out there was something badly wrong, the damage was done.

Worst part, I had to fetch it back from up near Dorrigo.

It had been around the clock at least once (100,000km) and it must have cams in, unlike the 2003 engine I bought to replace it, it would lift the front wheel when I hit 9000rpm in third gear.

no good mate!!!

sounds like a bit more than cams going on there to lift in third at almost peak revs.

mild cams on stock carbs only going to give maybe 10 more!

I`d be looking to see if its been ported, or at least head flowed, or maybe extremely low gearing



is the head totally stuffed, or just valves and guides?

mtbeerwah wrote:

Re-Cycled wrote:I dropped it on its side in 2010 with the motor running, I think the chain ran off and got a few teeth out of time, it wouldn't start so I tried to clutch start, by the time I worked out there was something badly wrong, the damage was done.

Worst part, I had to fetch it back from up near Dorrigo.

It had been around the clock at least once (100,000km) and it must have cams in, unlike the 2003 engine I bought to replace it, it would lift the front wheel when I hit 9000rpm in third gear.

no good mate!!!

sounds like a bit more than cams going on there to lift in third at almost peak revs.

mild cams on stock carbs only going to give maybe 10 more!

I`d be looking to see if its been ported, or at least head flowed, or maybe extremely low gearing



is the head totally stuffed, or just valves and guides?

The valves are all bent because the clearances are huge and I'd set them up right only 6 months earlier, It had standard gearing. I thought maybe GSXR cams as I believe the right ones are a drop in fit. It also has a complete system with 4-2-1 headers, I saw an identical bike at Philip Island when I was there for WSBK, if I could have found the owner he may have shed some light on it, maybe it was a performance package someone put together.

I never fully investigated the engine as it looked expensive (probably wear to the cam drive gear on the crankshaft) and I dropped in a replacement with bonus fresh gearbox and only about 30,000km for $1600 and was back on the road in a week.

https://nswbandits.forumotion.net/t525-bandit-sick-could-be-terminal-without-a-transplant

Had the bike out for a run on the weekend. Goes really well with the Stage 2 - love it .. but ..

It's now got a terrible clicking noise that it never had before - sound like an old sewing machine.
Paul - not the clutch - can hear is distinctly as I'm riding along. I'm thinking cam chain slapping around.

For $3k and practically a rebuilt motor, I'm expecting it should be just as it was before the cam chain snapped .. ie Quiet.

Any thoughts on cam chain adjustor being the culprit? 

In any event, it's going back to the shop which is a total @#$!# - thought I'd seen the last of them 

A tardy update on this problem.

Apparently, mechanic had not properly parts washed all the oil galleries and had left bits of plastic from the mashed cam guide.
End result - new head required. Shop fixed it at their cost.

Problem was that I had a trip planned to the Snowies and had lost all confidence in the Bandit.
So ... bought a new FJR 1300 and had a great time up around Mt Hotham and Falls Creek.
At first, I didn't gel with the new bike - way too quiet - car like - and didn't like the handling too much.
Lots of pressure needed on the inside bar to maintain a line.
Fixes - Two Brothers Carbon slip on - now it sounds like a motorbike.
        - Setup suspension for correct amount of sag/rebound/preload - better, but still not right.
        - Replaced Bridgestone BT023s with Michelin PR4s - handling all fixed.
Riding impressions - low/midrange - feels about the same as the bandit. Above 5k - ballistic.
Bike is heavy - 290kg wet - makes the Bandit feel like a 250 - but still goes well in the twisties and is fine commuting - just have to watch out at low speeds in car parks and such - lots of expensive plastic.
Love the heated grips, electric screen and especially the electric cruise control.
Downside - could have bought two new Bandits for the price of the Yammie!

Anyway - thanks for the feedback with this problem. 
And, even though I didn't get much of a run with the Stage 2 mod, it was fantastic   
Trying to talk a mate with a Bandit into it.

That doesn't exactly give a lot of confidence in " That Shop " does it  !

Errr ... No .. not confidence inspiring .. felt sorry for the mechanic - not a young/inexperienced bloke either - he copped heaps.
But then again - he'd probably never seen that kind of problem on a bandit motor - they're bullet proof .. well .. most of em