Cutting out....

[PHILinFRANCE]

Hi Andy
Where did you get your gas???? iv,e had the same problem but with the car!!!! traced it down to a small petrol station ( yakker fuel) i try and use only the big supermarket ones now (le clerc / intermarche) they have a bigger turn around cleaner/newer tanks these small places here probably make it them selves out of turnips
Phil

[AncientAndy]

Hi Andy
Where did you get your gas???? iv,e had the same problem but with the car!!!! traced it down to a small petrol station ( yakker fuel) i try and use only the big supermarket ones now (le clerc / intermarche) they have a bigger turn around cleaner/newer tanks these small places here probably make it them selves out of turnips
Phil

Phil,

The LeClerc Biars (46) stuff caused the problem and the Intermarche Altillac (19) fuel has been fine... so far.

Hope you are well Phil and enjoying this sunshine. Tomorrow may well see the rain back for a few days.



Andy

[PHILinFRANCE]

SUNSHINE its great
only trouble is i,m working down Cahors 1hr 15min each way and i,m to knack,d when i get in to get out on the vara at least i,m on a roof 26° in the shade feels like 126° on the roof
Phil

[africajim]

Well Andy, may well be idling a bit low, mine idles around 1200rpm but goes up when in gear? Strange, I remember my deisel Escort van used to do that in reverse! Stopped you stalling I believe?
Ok, confess, lots of Famous Grouse tonight!
I've stalled mine a few times, I put it down to the high gearing.
Hope you solve your issue mate.
1600 miles on the VA9 now, no more problems, seems to be settling in fine. Tried adjusting the suspension, softer and it wallows a bit, harder seems too hard, hopefully I'll find the in between soon!
Over 300 miles last Sunday and felt fine after, seems to handle the miles fine.
Take care mate.

[AncientAndy]

Well Andy, may well be idling a bit low, mine idles around 1200rpm but goes up when in gear? Strange, I remember my deisel Escort van used to do that in reverse! Stopped you stalling I believe?
Ok, confess, lots of Famous Grouse tonight!
I've stalled mine a few times, I put it down to the high gearing.
Hope you solve your issue mate.
1600 miles on the VA9 now, no more problems, seems to be settling in fine. Tried adjusting the suspension, softer and it wallows a bit, harder seems too hard, hopefully I'll find the in between soon!
Over 300 miles last Sunday and felt fine after, seems to handle the miles fine.
Take care mate.

Nah, I know the difference with stalling it, I do that plenty too.

Out of gear, quick blip of the throttle at the lights, it stopped dead, several times throughout the tankful. I have filled up at a different garage and cannot get the bike to misbehave. We will see how things go, but I am cautiously optimistic that it may be a fuel thing. I was talking to a friend tonight who mentioned problems with his car from the same petrol garage, however, Stella Artois talks and he might be humouring me.


Famous Grouse eh? I am a wimpy lowland Erskine boy and I leave whisky for the real men. I wish I had the taste for it, the French laugh at me because I don't like it.

I know what you mean about a fussy bike. One psi seems to make a difference to the way the bike handles. I am a large overweight, 6'5 monster and have found 41psi, 18 clicks preload and standard rebound works best for me. Goodness knows what circumstance 40 clicks would be appropriate. A pothole is a bit like somebody hitting your @rse with a baseball bat.

Keep safe Jim. One day soon I will visit my fav Scottish Loch, Torridon and you can teach me the art of drinking nectar.


Andy

[StumpyFingers]

Make sure when filling you do it before the fresh delivery or two hours after, this is because when the new fuel drops into the tank it stirs up the sediment which would then enter your tank.

[africajim]

Andy, no problem mate, I'll hold you to that visit!

The suspension is certainly harder than the old carb one, not being a patient man I screwed off around 6 clicks (probably due to my arse!) the bike then bacame a tad wallowy. I'll have to play around with the rebound as well some time.

Fuelwise, well, apparently the cheap fuels in the supermarket filling stations are of lower quality and can be problematic. Also some older stations carry quite a bit of water in their tanks, I've a few examples of that. It was Tesco's I fueled in a couple of weeks ago and the bike had to be recovered, possibly a fuel issue but no way of proving it. I was at a meeting this week where it was mentioned we have to start using bioethanol in petrol soon, EEC directive, this will cause problems as the bioethanol carries water like a sponge and most fuel stations have traces of water in their tanks which will be carried into the vehicles. All our tankers have to be cleaned out before carrying it. So, possible fuel issues for the future, ho hum!

[AncientAndy]

Well!

The bike cut out on me again. This time I had pulled the clutch fully in, blipped the throttle and selected first, turned into a very sharp left hand turn, that is actually about 45 deg behind the junction. The bike pulled into the turn nicely, I opened the throttle to pull out of the lean..... nothing. Engine was dead. I was already in the process of letting the clutch back out, the bike slowed quickly and I knew I was on my way to dropping it. Luckily I am a monster and I let the bike down fairly gently.

I have some scratches on a small part of the the paintwork, scratches on the ****ty handguards and grip ends, nothing particularly noticeable. I actually managed to pick the fully fuelled Vara up, myself....gawd it is heavy!

When I am back in the UK and speak to my Honda dealer I will surely mention the cutting out!

I have asked the wife and I have permission to purchase the new 2010 Multistrada, I suppose I better get used to electrical problems and more regular, longer periods of cutting out. At least I will expect trouble as opposed to being fooled into buying a reliable motorcycle.

[africajim]

Andy mate, I'm saddened by your dilemma! Dropping the new bike as well, damn!
I think it must be a fuel issue, I've had no more problems with mine since the Tesco's carry on.
But a Multistrada? you must be a glutton for punishment!

[AncientAndy]

Andy mate, I'm saddened by your dilemma! Dropping the new bike as well, damn!
I think it must be a fuel issue, I've had no more problems with mine since the Tesco's carry on.
But a Multistrada? you must be a glutton for punishment!

Thankfully Jim the damage is hardly noticeable unless you look for it. The good thing is that my pride is not as damaged as it could have been. I was really happy about almost being able to stop it going down hard. The damage is equivalent to dropping it 12inches at 0mph, just the sheer weight of the bike gave the paintwork a few speckles. I need to get the tickover checked properly as well. Pushing the bike up with my adrenalin/anger filled legs, made me feel like a youngster again, but I know I will ache tomorrow.

I found the current Multistrada a fine machine when I was looking, just out my price range.

You may have seen this:

New Multistrada for 2010 - Page 6 - Ducati.ms - The Ultimate Ducati Forum

It certainly has got my midlife crisis all excited.


Andy