I finally got the cbr all legal yesterday, so I decided to ride in this morning. About 10 minutes into my 20 minute trip, it starts acting like I need to switch to reserve,so I pull into a parking lot because I prefer not to do that while moving unless I have to. Sure enough it cuts off as soon as I lay off the throttle. So, I switch it over, but it won't start. The engine is cranking, but it just won't turn over. I figured maybe the reserve switch doesn't work right, so I had my wife bring me gas. It was low, but I don't think it was actually "reserve low". I switch it back to on and still nothing. By this this time the battery is getting low, so I go get my car and hook up jumpers (not while running the car). It still won't start.

I'm thinking it's a fuel issue, but I have no clue how to tell if it's carbs or fuel pump or what. After getting it towed home, I have the battery charging and then I'm going to try again after letting it sit.

Now, I'm thinking that maybe I got hosed on this bike. The thing is that I took it out for a nice test ride before making the deal and everything seem fine. Also, I'm not sure how you would go about hiding something like this anyway.

What do you guys think?

Any idea what the problem might be?
Do you think I got hosed?

 

Well, first off I would recommend not jumping your bike anymore. You can fry your voltage regulator like that. I dont know if leaving the car off helps or not. Either way, I was gonna say it may be that anyways, but maybe not since it wouldnt jump.

 

I've jumped may bikes off a car battery before. I'm pretty sure that's it's only a problem when the car is running. Someone suggested that it may have the wrong gas cap on it. It did look like it wasn't original. If this is they case, venting issues can occur. He said to try it with the cap off later on. I'm hoping that's all it is. I was also told that it's unlikely that all 4 carbs went bad at once, so that shouldn't be it. I'll have to get a manual to check the fuel pump. If it's bad, is it possible to change the bike to being gravity fed and not use the pump at all?

 

My bike will do this if the gas gets low in the tank. I also have been having the hosed feeling. i got my bike in March, and it is going into the shop for the 2nd time.. But anyways. Mine will not start when the fuel gets to a certain point. It is weird. I can crank and crank, with nothing. But it will start 1st try if i push start it. I think my problem is an extrememly dirty Fuel filter. I have a new one to put on, just havent gotten to it. It is going in for valve work, and a new cam chain. So i will have them put it on while they are working. But my shop told me that the valves needing adjusted can cause it to not start very easy. I had problems when i bought the bike, and a new battery solved that. But it only happens when my fuel is low. So maybe we have the same issues. My bike will not cut out while riding though. Only when starting with low fuel.

 

Thanks for the info

 

Take off your left tail plastic the fuel filter and pump is right there. Remove a hose a crank...is there pressure from the hose????

 

I recently ran out of gas and "borrowed" about a half gallon (just to get to a gas station). Much like you guys, I learned that a little gas was not enough; it just cranked and cranked without starting. I put in another gallon, and it cranked a few more times, and then all was well (and continues to be).

 

Thats the thing. Once it gets down where i cant see it with the cap off, The bike wont start. I fill up every time i ride now, just so i wont forget.

 

Check your voltage regulator and associated wiring. They are known to get old and melt(wiring under the tank) and cause intermittent starting/running and other random problems. do a search on the reg/rectifier

 

Update:

After about 2 months of working on my house to get it ready to sell, I finally got back to the bike. It's running now, but I'm not exactly sure why. I cranked it a couple of times before doing anythin and it still wasn't getting fuel. Then I disconnected the pump and figured while I was checking the pump for pressure, I would see if it was possible to make the gas gravity fed. It sputtered a couple of time, but it quickly became obvious that the carbs are higher than the petcock. There was pressure on both ends of the pump, so I hooked everything back up again. Then she started right up. I put everything back together and rode her within pushing distance of my house for a longer time then she took to die the last time. everything seems to be running perfect. The only thing I can think of is that some debris got past the fuel filter and cloged the pump. It looks like there is a a little piece of red rubber where the gas sputtered out of the pump while it was disconnected. I'm a little wary of going far on it, but I'm going to try to ride the 13 miles to work tomorow.