My 98 xx dies in the rain. The guy I bought the bike from didn't mention this problem????? hmmmm?

I've taken it to the dealer twice (three times actually, but I don't think the first shop gave an honest effort to fix it). The second shop connected a lose ground wire and said that was the problem. It rained on the way home from the shop and the bike stalled as I turned into my driveway.

I took it back to the shop and they called Honda. Honda sid they had never heard of this problem but told the shop to take all the plastic off and power wash it which the shop did but the bike did not stall. So now the dealer has about half a grand of my money and I have a broken bird.

I took all the plastic off power washed every inch while its running and it won't stall. But every time I ride and it rains starts to sputter and dies when my rpms drop. I've found I can keep it going by closing the choke to up the rpms. The bike only dies when it's being ridden in the rain.

I've read of a few xx owners with this exact problem but none have solved it that I know of. Anyone know the answer?

Just the engine, lights etc keep working?

Does it start right back up when you try?

Your problem sounds very strange. The only thing that comes in mind to me is something to do with the air induction, lift your tank and pull your air box lid and look for any problems in thier. I don't think that is the problem but that is were I would start.

And when you take it apart, check the angle of the air intakes. Make sure they are in the absolute correct position, and not out of place AT ALL. You shouldn't be able to get them, or any part of the air intake out of place, but if they are, water will- over a longer ride, maybe even a shorter ride- pool in the low spot of the intake and then the engine is sucking in that water that collects on a gradual basis, just enough to mess up your fuel mix and stall the bike.

How about this, your coils are located at the top/frnt of the engine.....maybe as your riding it is throwing enough water up over the rad to ground out your coils????

I usually can wait a few minutes and it will start back up depending on how rainy it is. But once I start riding it will die again. The lights keep working. It will crank but not start.

I thought the same thing. I've actualy used the water hose to shoot water from below up both the air intake vents and even after about twenty minutes of this it wouldn't stall. Right now I've got the tank off an will pul the air box tomorrow.

I've shot quite a lot of water from below into the engine compartment. I only have a side stand because of my pipe so I've wondered if it needs to sit upright when I do this.




I'll recheck the airbox.

I had a guy this summer tell me this same scenareo this summer about his 98 or 99 superhawk. I powerwached that thing for 40 minutes and the thing never quit. I was unable to fix his problem. so while i know your frustration and have heard of this type of thing happening with hondas unfortunatly i can not offer any suggestios for a cure

If you haven't done so, post this issue on the Brit site.

Sometimes while riding in the slow traffic ,in the rain, my bike misfires ( like working only on 2-3 cylinders ) in 1-4 k rpm.Just to make more confusing it never happends when the traffic goes fast.Go figure.I`m guessing it has something to do how the water spray flows thru the bike.


Maybe water fills spark plug hole and prevents it from firing.I had that problem on Volvo when I powerwashed the engine.

It is hard to diagnose,but I would say it is ignition problem.

Alot of folks here know I had the same issue with my carb'd '97. I'm most definately certain that it was a Venturi failure issue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venturi

That's my best guess anyways . I sold mine after that started happening. I need to ride 24/7 rain or shine and didn't have time to scew with it anymore. I still miss that bike though. WABIT.

I think i know the answer!

I know I'm gonna get alotta flack for saying this but I think the problem is the K & N AIR FILTER.

I know 1 million bikers use em but..

It's the only solution that explains all the sympyoms.

so I ordered a stock Honda filter today (32 bones). It'll be here in 5 days then I'll wait / pray for rain.

props for helping Flitemdic, Obby, Sokanaxx, Lois, Tomek, Canadian Bird and Bandit XX

Upon further review.

How about K & N filter leads to carb icing?

I think you're on to something with the K&N, but maybe for the wrong reason.

When was the LAST TIME you cleaned it and reoiled it (using the K&N recharge kit)?

I say that because if your filter gets plugged up (happens faster in rain from the damp air), you get an airflow restriction and the bike stalls until the filter dries out enough to let enough air for combustion flow through again.

POWERWASHING WILL NOT SIMULATE THIS. You might get it to repeat itself on a rainy day if it idles/runs in the driveway.

I suspect your K&N is overdue for a recharge treatment (kit is about $35 at most auto parts stores that sell K&N). Puttin in the clean, new Honda filter should confirm this.

I doubt that,honestly,my K&n is clean anyway.

I would think that stock,paper like filter would be more affected by water then K&N as far as the flow .Remember,K&N is sort of "wet" anyway.Second thing,intake runners,those between the nose and airbox have chambers that extend something like 10 inches down,any water would end up right there.

Besides, clogged air filter reduces pressure inside of the airbox,but FI XX ( my bike is 99) has a sensor there so it should be taken care of.

I think it is electric,ignition problem,It is time for me to replace spark plugs wires anyway,maybe the problem will go away.

BTW rode in the rain this morning,no misfire,go figure,but I`m not loosing a sleep over this little thing.

I think your on to something....

I bought Obby's 97 XX and I changed out the K&N for a stock filter shortly after I brought the bike to Phoenix for dust reasons. About 4 weeks ago I rode in a heavy rain storm for about 30-40 mintues and no problems. I did make sure to change out all vent hoses on the fuel tank and made sure the drain holes in the air box were open when I installed the stock filter.

Wow. I'm glad to hear that. I was startting to worry that not might solve it since no one else had this problem with k & N.

I don't think it is the K&N filter. I threw mine out and went back to an OEM before my last big ride. It rained hard one morning and was very humid, the bike barely started and wouldn't idle properly.

Me thinks it is the wires. If they are a bit older they can be cracked, any moisture gets in and the spark is next to impossible to make. Check the wires ( they are not cheap) if they are older try replacing them first and see if that helps.

My $.02

Brian

Also remember the ECM, I think it's called, is right behind the taillight under the seat. Maybe some water is getting in there.

Hi all,
I'm from Malaysia.Just bought a '97 BB.Previous owner did inform me of the problem bike is facing.Same as Rxxb3 and obby's previous BB.Have changed the vacuum hoses and plug cables but still no improvement.Could it be the K& N filter fitted??

Another thing to remember. When your are driving down the road in the rain, there is a lot of water getting thrown up on the engine, the radiator and the pipes. It gets turned into steam which goes everywhere and gets into everything. If it gets into the electrical system, it can short the system out and shut the motor off. If you wait a couple of minutes, the engine heat will dry it out and the bike will start.
It is easy to test for no spark or ignition if you install a short piece of test wire on the ignition wires that you can tape off but still access when it happens without having to take the side covers off.
It really sounds like moisture is the problem.

I hope so because my next step is to replace all the vacuum hoses. I'll let you know.

I thought that too. So I've gotten the engine hot then hosed the engine to create steam under the bike while soaking the rest of the bike too and even after 20 minutes or so it never even burped.

how do you do the test wire on the ignition?




Do you know any Brit sites off hand?

Try http://www.ixxra.com/ and http://www.bikersoracle.com/blackbird/forum/

OK Got a question. I've got the stock air filter and I put the gas tank back on today when I run it either the gas leaks out of the hose to the left carbs or, if I turn the fuel flow valve the other way (what appears to be off) the bike runs out of gas. what have I hooked up wrong?

Did you take the carbs off? Sounds like the fuel shutoff is working. Is the hose leaking or the connection between the carbs? I did see a post in here whith some good pictures of all the connections under the gas tank. I'll look and see if I can find it.

I didn't see the pics for the bottom of the tank. I have a '97 blackbird and was having some trouble in the wet weather last year. I replaced all the plug wires and haven't had a problem since. I know that doesn't help you now, but I would think you have some electrical problem going on. That always seems to be the hardest to figure out. Bad connections or partial broken wires would take some time to troubleshoot, but would would be worth it if you are good with wiring or know someone who is. For what its worth, my voltage regulator caused my bike to quit a few time before it finally shorted out. Water and electricity don't mix. Sorry I couldn't be more help so I'll stop ramblin on!

Just thought of one other thing. Might check the gaskets on the side case to see if any water is getting in there, which might get in while riding but not while parked and under the water test. Just a thought.

I could be way off the mark on this but I'll throw it out there.

The steam therory is a good one, also I was thinking about the electronic pulse unit. Could it be getting condesation from a high humidity environment reacting with the temperature/dewpoint environment within the case?

Did not take the carbs off. The leak is at the tee connector between the carbs.

There are O-rings on the fuel joints that feeds both carbs. There are O-rings on the Air Joints that connect all the carbs. If they are leaking then that would be a place for water to get into. Have you found any water in the bowls of the carbs? The carbs are pretty easy to remove. I know several bikes I have had with CV carbs need to be spotless or they do not run right. I only have a factory Honda manual, which I like. Might ask a few people at this website which manuals they like. One with good pictures or diagrams showing the layout is well worth it. Not hard to take the carbs apart, my advise is to have a large enough area to lay everything out in the order you take it off. Then it makes it easier to get it back together in that order without forgetting anything.
I'm not much on taking things to the dealer for repair work. They make there money on selling bikes rather than repairing them. I don't mind the self owned repair shops, since they make there money on repairing bikes instead of selling them. It might pay to ask around for references to a local shop if all else fails.
Even thought it may seem a dead end at times, there is a reason and a fix for mechanical problems. Just a matter of time, money and patience. Seems we run out of all three at the same time. But when your Blackbird does get going again, the rush of adrenalin is well worth it all!

OK Here's the thing. My tank was off for 3 weeks while I worked on the bike and waited for the stock honda air filter and now I think I have a stuck float or something because:

1) The bike idels rough
2) Gas just pours out of the tee joint between the 1st and 2nd carb
2) After idling gas is in the vacuum hose that goes from the tank to the engine block.

Maybe the fuel varnished. Maybe a float is stuck.

The fuel diaphram is good because I gravity and vacuum tested it. I just drained the bowls and my next step is to disassemble the carbs and check the floats on the carbs. I hate to do this because the bike was running great before this (except for stalling in the rain).

Any ideas?

Also the stock filter fits a hell of a lot better than the k&n filter. I'm positive that the k&n filter did not fit on the back side in the air box and allowed water into the carbs which stalled the bike.

If all was well with the carbs before you took the tank off, no longer than that it was off the bike shouldn't of changed anything with the fuel. Will need to fix the Fuel joint o-rings. The only thing I can think of that will put fuel in the vac line is a bad fuel petcock diaphram.
The honda manual calls for the float valve to be seated and the floats to be just touching the valves, there should be 13.7 mm or 0.54 inches above the side of the carb base. That's easy to check with a straight edge ruler.
After a good cleaning and a couple of new o-rings, that will be a good start at getting it running again.

Finally got the bike back up and running. Runs great. Seems to have been a stuck float.

Now for the real test to see if runs in the rain after the air filter change. Rain is predicted for tomorrow afternoon and I plan on a long (and chilly) ride.

Glad to hear you are running again. Let us know how it runs in the rain.

Rain wins I lost.


The Good:

Thursday: Bike back together and running great even with stock air filter. Lots of rain predicted for the next 4 days starting tomorrow.

Friday: Finaly got off work about 5p. Raining lightly. Got home and put wife on bike for 20+ mile ride in misty to light rain. No problem. Bike running like a hungry tiger! Still raining but we eat at a roadside burger shack under big tree. Start 20 mile trek back home.

Me: "Was that a misfire?"

Wife: "What?"

Me: "Does the engine sound like it's missing?"

Wife: "What?"

So I gun it and the xx runs like a champ.

I take the time to stop and buy Mega Bucks tickets. I could use the 80 mil.

Last leg home in rain. Can't see well due to rain and foggy face shield. Bike running great.



The Bad:

Saturday: Afternoon solo ride in almost heavy rain. Wife at work. Scattered showers. Looking for down pour to test bike cause "I'm the King of the World"! Give me the rain! Go back to burger shack eat 2 double cheese burgers. Starts to rain heavy so I start riding... towards home.

Was that a Misfire?



The Ugly:

5 miles from home Bird starts to sputter.

2 miles from home "Houston we've got a problem"

1 mile from home Bird shuts down.

And once again (to paraphrase another Bird owner, Obby, with the same problem) "I'm pushing it home like *%&^#* Harley owner.

Thats it I'm done.

OK p.s. I guess I should add that I pushed it for about a 1/4 mile before I was able to finally get it restarted and was able to ride it home (I had to close the coke to keep the rpms up).

Sounds like the bike runs great as long as you don't head for home.

LOL!!! I think you're on to something! Bike, Burgers and life on the road. Wait ... err.. oh yeah... there's the wife and kid.

Speaking of the fun governor, I've convinced the Homestead Financial Department the XX is toast, and I need a new bike. Any suggestions?

I've got the bike apart with the gas tank on a shop bench and extended vacuum and fuel tubes going to the bike. I'm running it and using the garden hose to just soak everything on the bike and can not make it sputter, fail, burp, hiccup, nothing! Damn onda makes a good bike.