One of these days, I'll start a thread about how great my bike is, and how I'm glad that I don't have any more issues with it....
Due to crap weather, and living away at uni, my bike didn't really get much of a run out for Christmas, and pretty much just sat for a few weeks. In the new year, I started the bike up and got it all running fine (it seemed), and went out for a ride. After a short burst down the road, it was pretty clear that there were some issues.
At below 4k ish rpm, the engine just sounds like it isn't firing properly - it doesn't stop or anything, it just sounds quiet and like one/more of the cylinders arn't firing. Generally when the bike is cold it seems to start fine, sounds fine etc, it's just after those first few minutes of riding that it becomes a problem.
I tried trimming the end off the ht leads, which doesn't seem to have made a difference. I topped up the oil and coolant to see if that might help, but it didn't. I haven't had the plugs out, as I've got a crap plug socket from Halfords which is barely long enough to grip the plugs, and they seem in fairly tight, but they are fairly new (maybe 2k miles old).
From what I've read online, it sounds like it's likely to be an ignition coil issue. As someone that doesn't currently have a multimetre handy, what would people say is the next step? Are there any Fazer specific issues that might be causing this I should look into?
I don't want to jump in and spend £50 odd on new coils to find that it makes no difference, but could probably get my hands on a multimetre if people think that's the best way to go.
Oh, and I'm a student, due to graduate in the summer, so cheapest option to keep me going till I can get a job+some income is ideally what I'm after!
As always, thanks for any help people can offer!
HazzaBui
Unfortunately, these kind of symptoms do not appear uncommon on the little Fazer.
However, we need more info. Was the bike stored outside and open to the elements ?
Was your battery given a full charge before you started the bike and is the battery healthy ? (you'd be surprised how poor a bike can run when it has a knackered battery, even though it will still start the bike).
How short was your short burst up the road ? The bike may just need warming up properly and taking for a longer run to get rid of the older fuel from the fuel system and any potential condensation that has accumulated.
Is your choke cable sticking ? The bike will feel rough as a badgers behind if it is getting too much or too little fuel.
There are loads of possible reasons why your bike may be misbehaving. Some are a logical fix and some aren't but it would help knowing a bit more about the bike and the way it's stored first perhaps.
Yamaha Fazer 'the only bike you'll ever need' maybe ???
A suitable plug spanner (if the one in the OE toolkit is missing), some contact cleaner spray and a simple multimeter (about £10) would be good investments.
Take a look under the tank and check all the connectors are clean and tight-fitting, both those to the coils and all in the bundle that lives in the black box. Also check those in the tail, the immobiliser bypass plugs and sockets (all black wires) cause problems if they're not making good contact.
Within a minute or so of starting the downpipes should be hot enough to make a wet rag hiss, you can quickly identify a cylinder that isn't firing that way.
Chances are that it's the mixture, either stale fuel, water or one of the carbs has a blocked jet somewhere. Try draining and fresh fuel first, dismantling the carbs is a PITA. A carb balance and check of the TPS is worthwhile.
I notice you changed the cam chain a while back, are you sure the valve timing are correct?
Thanks for the responses guys. I'll try to answer all those questions in order - hopefully I don't miss any!
The bike was stored out in the elements, unfortunately.
I initially tried to start the bike, found the battery was nearly dead, so brought it in and charged it for a couple of days on a trickle charger. As for the battery health, I'm not really sure or sure how to check. The bike starts pretty comfortably first time, but I generally need to charge the battery back up a bit if the bike is left for more than a couple of weeks.
When I say about the short burst up the road - I warmed the bike up for a minute or 2 on the drive, then it was about half a mile before the problems started to become apparent. The actual ride was probably about 10-15 miles, although none of that above 40mph ish. I also left the bike over Christmas without much fuel in the tank, and added some fresh regular Shell unleaded when I went out on my first ride.
I need to use some choke to start the bike, and when operating the lever, I can see the cable moving in and out on the carb, so it doesn't seem to be sticking unless it isn't fully closing properly. I think I had fully closed the choke when I started my ride, but can't remember for sure.
When I got my bike, it didn't come with the toolkit unfortunately, so I'm looking in to picking up a proper fazer one off ebay, unless anyone has a better solution of what to get/where to get it? As for the multimeter, it's something I've been considering picking up for a while - off to Amazon I go!
I'm back from uni this weekend, so I'll take a good look at all the wiring and try to clean it up where I can - admittedly it wouldn't be the first time corroded wiring has caused my bike problems, if that did turn out to be the case.
To check the downpipes, I tend to just flick a bit of water on them, and it's pretty clear that cylinder 3 isn't getting as hot as quickly, although it certainly isn't staying completely cold.
I also opened up the carbs around last September time to try and clean them out, only to find they were pretty spotless inside - what are the chances they've got bad since then? The bike seemed to run fine for atleast a few months after this job, so I presumed it was ok...
Similarly with the cam chain, I'm pretty confident the timing was spot on, and the bike seemed to be running perfectly for several months after this job. Is it likely that if I did get the timing slightly off, it would cause a problem a few months down the line, rather than immediately?
Again, thanks for all the comments. Hopefully this extra info + some wire cleaning this weekend can go towards me having a happy, tarmac filled spring! 
HazzaBui
(27-02-14, 04:33 PM)HazzaBui link Wrote: To check the downpipes, I tend to just flick a bit of water on them, and it's pretty clear that cylinder 3 isn't getting as hot as quickly, although it certainly isn't staying completely cold.
My fazer runs sweet, both hot and cold, and after longer ride, all the cylinder exhaust pipes are at the same temp (170 +-1 C), but when started from cold, the 3rd cylinder exhaust pipe is cooler than the others and takes a bit longer to warm up. Carbs synchronized, spark plugs and contacts good - perhaps this is normal for fazers? 
Most things done in a hurry need to be done again - patiently.
My 3rd cylinder is also a lot cooler from start up too but doesn't seem to affect the ride when warmed up. I need to give the pilot jets a clean when it gets warmer and balance the carbs, I'm sure pilot jet no.3 has come crap in it.
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines...
(27-02-14, 08:06 PM)Buzz link Wrote: My 3rd cylinder is also a lot cooler from start up too but doesn't seem to affect the ride when warmed up. I need to give the pilot jets a clean when it gets warmer and balance the carbs, I'm sure pilot jet no.3 has come crap in it.
Mine was like that AFTER cleaning, balancing carbs, new spark plugs. Gremlins?! It runs sweet, really, so I decided not to pursue the matter further - it starts, goes, brakes - all sweet. Just need few more degrees of sunshine. 
Most things done in a hurry need to be done again - patiently.
My box eye ran similar when i picked it up.. Low mileage bike that had been stood for lots of its life.. One downpipe notably cooler than the rest from start up off choke and on idle).. Ran fine above 4krpm.. Turned out a blockage in carburettor pilot jet on number 1 i think, or is it 4? :rolleyes .. well whichever cylinder is lowest when on side stand
Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it..
Hmm, these comments make me feel a bit better about the whole cyclinder 3 slow to warm thing, but none the wiser to the cause of my problems ha.
Well I've ordered a multimeter now, so let the diagnosing begin!
Well from what you have said about the bike being stored outside through the winter I would edge my bets towards wet/dampness in the electrics. I would personally start by removing as much of the bodywork as required to allow you better access to the wiring loom and go through it systematically, cleaning the block connectors and spraying them with a good contact cleaner and then water dispersant like GT85 or ACF50. You could also trim a couple of mm from the HT leads and screw them back into the plug caps, again with a good dose of GT85 within the caps. New plugs may even be worthwhile even though they aren't that old.
To carry out these checks and ensure the wiring loom is free from dampness is a useful bit of motorcycle maintenance that certainly won't hurt and it's also very inexpensive. Even if it doesn't cure your issues at least you will know the electrics are well protected. Also, if you have had the fuel tank off, make sure that the 2 breather pipes haven't been kinked or trapped when putting it back on. The breather pipes are the 2 thinner rubber pipes that connect at the rear of the tank near to the main fuel pipe. When these pipes get kinked it can certainly cause rough running.
Good luck with it and let us know how you get on.
Yamaha Fazer 'the only bike you'll ever need' maybe ???
Just a quick update as I'm home for the weekend and got a bit of a chance to look.
As the multimeter turned up, I checked the coil resistance and plug cap resistance, and all seemed within the expected range (except 1 plug cap, sat at 8.5kohm instead of the 10 it should - anything to worry about?).
I started going through the electrics, but the weather is a bit shit, and I've got nowhere sheltered I can have a go at the bike :/ I also trimmed the leads back a few mm.
Being a proper idiot, I left my spark plug tool at uni, so couldn't even attempt to get those out and check, but it's another job I'll have to look at next time I'm back.
After all this, the bike starts and runs fine on the drive, but still seems to be suffering when you start riding (just went up and down the road to test, performance seemed to be heading in the same direction as before).
Anyway, I'll chuck another update on when I've had a better chance to go at the bike, incase anyone is interested!
Thanks,
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