XR650R died abrubtly.

So I've got this 2001 XR650R that I picked up a few weeks ago. Been working on it on and off in my spare time due to it idling erratically and wanting to stall at idle. Today I pulled the carb for the second time to inspect and clean. Looked immaculate with the exception of a piece of trash at the bottom of the bowl. I looked in the tank and realized that the petcock's fuel strainer had become brittle and broken off (I would assume ethanol damage), and that was what the trash was. Dumped the tank, scrubbed away the loose pieces around the petcock and flushed it with carb cleaner. Re-installed everything, filled with fresh 93, and fired it up. First kick! Success! Set up my idle, and then after a couple of minutes, decided to rip down the street. Thing ran like a raped ape! Seriously, this bike has not ran this good even when it was running decently a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, turn around at the end of the street, head back. As I'm pulling hard through fourth, she just dies. Jerked me forward a little. Rolled into the driveway, would not fire back up.

I'm thinking another piece of trash made its way into the carb. When I get some free time this weekend I'll clean it out again. Plan on adding an external filter if I can fit one in the limited space.

First question is this. Has anybody ever had their bike just die in the middle of running like that due to trash? Seemed so abrupt. Also going to check the ignition. Maybe a wire came loose when I re-installed everything.

Second question. Has anybody ran an external filter, like from auto-zone? With my Clarke tank, there seems to be limited space without it sticking way out in harm's way.

Sorry about the long winded story, wanted to give all the details leading up to it.

Dying instantly sounds like ignition to me. I would think trash in the carb would make it sputter or surge or whatever . I have seen Xr`s running the in line filter but I have never used one.

I don't have an XR...but I did run an external filter on my DRZ with IMS tank. There's only 3" between the petcock and the fuel nipple on the carb, but I managed to make it fit. There are several flavors of filter so it shouldn't be impossible to make something work.

Friend of mine bought a bike with some add-on lighting (license plate nuts were LEDs). That lighting was messed up, and once in a while, would short. This would cause some problems. Sudden, complete loss of everything sounds more electrical than anything else. Even bad gas will sputter some before stalling, and then when trying to start will still sputter a bit.

HTH

These work well and can be fitted into small spots.

Yeah, that can stop it from running. Even abruptly.

Thing is... You had to clog two fuel circuits (main, and pilot) almost simultaneously, if it wouldn't start back up.

You'd be surprised at the tiny, insignificant little things that'll stop up a fuel circuit. Just wait till you start messing with the accelerator pump on a Keihin FCR....

You need to check for a nice, bright blue spark before you go pulling the carb again.


Another thought is that you clogged up the float needle. Ie, ran the carb dry. That, or even clogged your petcock. It's a long shot, but stranger things have happened.

Check spark first. If that sgood, pull the fuel line off the carb, make sure the petcock is flowing. If that's good, put the fuel line back on, and open the drain on the float bowl on the carb, make sure the bowl us filling up properly. If that's good, remove the carb, and get on with the tedious business.

Check that stuff in that exact order.

Howdy Charles, did you install that new BD kit yet? I know you said you had one on order.

The tank is probably full of rust and other stuff. Take the tank off and remove the fuel cap and the petcock and flush out the tank best you can, install a fuel filter in line. Be prepared to replace the fuel filter as soon as it fills up with more dirt. You might do well to buy a box of BB's to put inside the tank then shake it hard for a while to loosen the rust and crud inside the tank THEN flush it out and shake out the BB's. Any motorcycle or other device with gas that has been left inside it for a long period of time will rust and corrode. If your going to store it for a long period of time either drain the tank and let it air out until all liquid inside it is dry, or buy some fuel stabilizer and follow the instructions for its use. The jets inside the carb probably has more crud inside it that will keep shaking loose. You might buy some carb cleaner that professional s use for rebuilding carbs. Disassemble the carb as far as you can and put all the metal parts in the cleaner. I used to buy carb cleaner from the better parts houses a long time ago. I think the product name I used was GUNK. Just ask around for the type of cleaner that has a water part covering the cleaner in the bottom of the can. Comes with a basket you put the parts into. I hope that helps

jbird710 said:

Howdy Charles, did you install that new BD kit yet? I know you said you had one on order.

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I did, I just got to get the tail light more permanently fixed. The vibration made my bolts go bye bye first ride out. Lol

For everyone else, thank you for the responses. BB'S in the tank is a pretty cool idea, but I have a plastic tank. Hopefully it's just a wire from the coil. I messed with one before I placed the tank back on, and it runs right along the left side of the frame. Considering I have to adjust the tank around everytime to install the mounting bolts, I'm praying that I just worked it loose. My luck is not that good though. But I'll go ahead and do a filter, even if it's just a temporary solution. And I'll probably drop the bowl and spray through the jets for piece of mind. And flush through the needle.

Chris Mitchell said:

The tank is probably full of rust and other stuff. Take the tank off and remove the fuel cap and the petcock and flush out the tank best you can, install a fuel filter in line. Be prepared to replace the fuel filter as soon as it fills up with more dirt. You might do well to buy a box of BB's to put inside the tank then shake it hard for a while to loosen the rust and crud inside the tank THEN flush it out and shake out the BB's. Any motorcycle or other device with gas that has been left inside it for a long period of time will rust and corrode. If your going to store it for a long period of time either drain the tank and let it air out until all liquid inside it is dry, or buy some fuel stabilizer and follow the instructions for its use. The jets inside the carb probably has more crud inside it that will keep shaking loose. You might buy some carb cleaner that professional s use for rebuilding carbs. Disassemble the carb as far as you can and put all the metal parts in the cleaner. I used to buy carb cleaner from the better parts houses a long time ago. I think the product name I used was GUNK. Just ask around for the type of cleaner that has a water part covering the cleaner in the bottom of the can. Comes with a basket you put the parts into. I hope that helps

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Solid advice, but its an xr650r.... They all have plastic fuel tanks.

Gulf Coast Ninja said:

I did, I just got to get the tail light more permanently fixed. The vibration made my bolts go bye bye first ride out. Lol

For everyone else, thank you for the responses. BB'S in the tank is a pretty cool idea, but I have a plastic tank. Hopefully it's just a wire from the coil. I messed with one before I placed the tank back on, and it runs right along the left side of the frame. Considering I have to adjust the tank around everytime to install the mounting bolts, I'm praying that I just worked it loose. My luck is not that good though. But I'll go ahead and do a filter, even if it's just a temporary solution. And I'll probably drop the bowl and spray through the jets for piece of mind. And flush through the needle.

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Dropping the bowl, and spraying carb cleaner MAY work, but probably not.

The clog is rarely in the jets themselves, put more often the circuit after the jets. You could spray 5 cans of carb cleaner thru there, but if the clog is further up the line, you're just chasing your tail. Keihin pilot jets do clog in the jet itself, and I've had clogs so bad that 155psi of compressed air wouldn't budge it. Actually took a sewing needle and some pressure

Consider where you were at it throttle position when it happened. If you were 1/4 or less, then it's probably the pilot circuit. More than that, the main, but that rarley gets clogged so bad it kills the bike instantly.

Most likely an electrical issue. Check for worn insulation on wires shorting to the frame.

thrill-billy85 said:

Solid advice, but its an xr650r.... They all have plastic fuel tanks.

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And his is an aftermarket (Acerbis - I believe) - rust isn't an issue. If anything, it may have some dirt particles in it, but highly doubtful. I rode the bike when he first got it and it runs strong. One of the previous owners had done the street conversion and it looked like they did a quick and dirty job of it. I'm betting he's fighting electrical demons.

Charles, check the connections to that switch on the left handlebar that requires the headlight switch to be on to start if you haven't already done so.

jbird710 said:

And his is an aftermarket (Acerbis - I believe) - rust isn't an issue. If anything, it may have some dirt particles in it, but highly doubtful. I rode the bike when he first got it and it runs strong. One of the previous owners had done the street conversion and it looked like they did a quick and dirty job of it. I'm betting he's fighting electrical demons.

Charles, check the connections to that switch on the left handlebar that requires the headlight switch to be on to start if you haven't already done so.

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With the new kit I actually stripped everything with the exception of the stock harness. Removed the tank and checked the harness. Looked fine. Checked for spark. My hand confirmed it's there. Damnit that wasn't supposed to happen! Lol. Anyway, looks like I'll be diving back into the carb. Started it up. It'll run pretty strong down the street, but doesn't really want to idle well, even after warm. And then she's a pain to start. I'll give it a good cleaning, then rig up the filter. Victory will be mine!

thrill-billy85 said:

Dropping the bowl, and spraying carb cleaner MAY work, but probably not.

The clog is rarely in the jets themselves, put more often the circuit after the jets. You could spray 5 cans of carb cleaner thru there, but if the clog is further up the line, you're just chasing your tail. Keihin pilot jets do clog in the jet itself, and I've had clogs so bad that 155psi of compressed air wouldn't budge it. Actually took a sewing needle and some pressure

Consider where you were at it throttle position when it happened. If you were 1/4 or less, then it's probably the pilot circuit. More than that, the main, but that rarley gets clogged so bad it kills the bike instantly.

Most likely an electrical issue. Check for worn insulation on wires shorting to the frame.

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You're right about the circuits. I'll thoroughly clean them out.