Nige W
Member
Hi all. Just done a top end rebuild on my T140, also fitted a new Pazon ignition (last one burned out after eight years), new coil, new battery. Got a fresh MOT and took it out for a ride last Saturday.
The bike was running quite nicely for around 25 miles when it suddenly developed a misfire - this gradually got worse. Symptoms were it'd run on a little bit of throttle, but spit and misfire badly on setting off.
It eventually expired whilst setting off across a roundabout and would not re-start.
Now, this is where a fellow biker saved the day. This old chap stopped neext to me and asked what the trouble was and if he could help. This fellow only lived about 200 yards down the road and had been returning from a ride when he spotted the Bonnie. Once in his garage we checked for a spark and it looked good so I put it down to dirt in the carbs. About to call out recovery when this chap says he has a van and ramps and will take me and the Bonnie home.
Which is exactly what he did - and I now have a new biking-buddy too.
Anyway, I stripped the carbs and found no apparent problem but on re-fitting them bike still wouldn't fire-up. So I decided to check the ignition system. Ultimately I found that my brand new battery was the culprit - Apart from only holding just over 10 volts it was falling to just over 2 volts (!) when a load was put on it, even connecting the Optimate made it drop. Fitting one of my older batteries had the bike running again straight away (and yes, I've checked alternator output which is good).
So, a warning - if you've recently fitted a new battery and your bike develops a mis-fire/conks out, check the battery first as it's a lot less hassle than removing the carbs.
The bike was running quite nicely for around 25 miles when it suddenly developed a misfire - this gradually got worse. Symptoms were it'd run on a little bit of throttle, but spit and misfire badly on setting off.
It eventually expired whilst setting off across a roundabout and would not re-start.
Now, this is where a fellow biker saved the day. This old chap stopped neext to me and asked what the trouble was and if he could help. This fellow only lived about 200 yards down the road and had been returning from a ride when he spotted the Bonnie. Once in his garage we checked for a spark and it looked good so I put it down to dirt in the carbs. About to call out recovery when this chap says he has a van and ramps and will take me and the Bonnie home.
Which is exactly what he did - and I now have a new biking-buddy too.
Anyway, I stripped the carbs and found no apparent problem but on re-fitting them bike still wouldn't fire-up. So I decided to check the ignition system. Ultimately I found that my brand new battery was the culprit - Apart from only holding just over 10 volts it was falling to just over 2 volts (!) when a load was put on it, even connecting the Optimate made it drop. Fitting one of my older batteries had the bike running again straight away (and yes, I've checked alternator output which is good).
So, a warning - if you've recently fitted a new battery and your bike develops a mis-fire/conks out, check the battery first as it's a lot less hassle than removing the carbs.
