Kelum

Bad oil pump? can you easily push it and start? Am experiencing this sort of issue, hopefully getting solved tomorrow.

Guys.. Well these mechs confused me telling this is your prob and that is your prob...Today I forcefully made a mech to open the engine as the carb was ok and the electrical system was ok, since there was a spark, there should at least be a weak start of the engine. But even when pushed hard she would start but doesnt hold on. It was way too hard to push it. We opened front cylinder head to discover no lubrication in piston and bore, worn steel dust on the rod, revolving was so hard, now we had a clue of the pump malfunction, then mech removed a small bung underside crank case to find a filter cup totally blocked with debris, just like spider webs, we cleaned it up. Now mech's suggestion was this clog was the prob. He was to clean it and stop there. But I insisted we need to check the pump as same debris might have clogged pump, he was reluctant to open but he finally opened clutch cover to find out pump plastic wheel had lost several teeth. I could buy small pump wheel and a steel substitute for the larger plastic wheel and we replaced old ones with the new. In the evening we reassembled the engine and mounting on frame tomorrow. Some unknown force has saved me from a huge trouble. Or that may be a safety feature in virago as by the time engine stopped I was riding at ~60kmph. But it didnt crash. Bores and piston heads, rings etc. all ok. But there were steel dust on rod so there had been some abrasion. So, see the symptoms I had: When u ride at a good speed bike suddenly and gradually loses power and stops. It starts as if nothing happened after about 10mins. There was some knocking I had described earlier. When pressing start button, I heard gidi gidi sound inside. Sparking ok. Sound indicated it tries to start. Pushing was very hard. Hard push started the engine, but very less power for some time, it didnt want to hold on, bike could never be accelerated. These two symptoms led mechs and even myself to believe only one cylinder was firing and that no acceleration came from a diaphragm fault in carb. But both cylinders were hot. I even bought a 250 TCI, new rec/reg - which was a necessity of course...and was almost planing to buy new ignition coils. I think my virago didnt ruin itself for some reason like the TCI could sense the elevated friction inside engine..I dont know..something saved me. But tomorrow we gonna have to check if she starts, wish me good luck..

Timing adjusted, but still it doesnt start, heads disassembled, tomorrow hopefully I will find a clue, compression of both cylinders ok, timing chains ok, checked stators, they are stable. Am getting sick of bikes ....

Few days back the mech adjusted timing, how can timing go slipped buddy, is it possible that it sparks but weak? Can a 250 TCI work on a 125? Can I adjust timing by myself?

I bought a new reg/rectifier too. Probably it had killed TCI. Now that I have been given a TCI of a 250. It doesnt work on 125 right? Am going to return it tomorrow. I installed it and cranked engine, it doesnt start.

Ok, I bought a TCI today for 100USD...it doesnt have the 4RF- code number my older one has. Instead it has 3DM-82305-01, I browsed web and this new one seems to be of a XV250. I hooked it up but bike doesnt start. I think theoretically 250 TCI should not be working on a 125 as speed limits, revs etc are different, can anyone tell me what to do? They tried hard they couldnt find a 4RF.

They dont have CDI but TCI unit..sorry guys..

'Guys, I have no means to check the ignition coils and CDI. Now that the bike is totally dead. I overhauled carb, cleaned jets and cleaned fuel pumps and petcock, even the breather pipe. Then tightened rubber airway on top of carb with a copper wire. Then checked wiring too, coils and CDI contacts, then pick up continuity, earthing. All are fine. After all these I cranked engine with starter. There is a "dig-dig" sound, engine attempting to start. But doesn't hold on. I took it out and pushed, engine is totally dead. It doesn't even make a sound. I checked sparking while pressing starter button and there is bluish spark. Even if CDI is faulty, can there still be sparks? Even if ignition coils are blown, can they give sparks? I am certain now that the problem is electrical.But cant figure out which part is faulty. Since there was power loss in front cylinder and "fut-fut" sound, am guessing either the ignition coils or CDI has to do something with the issue.'

Yes possible, am going to replace all...lets see..this is not originally the thread all about..I want to figure out if my Unit is blown..

Bike stopped responding to starter motor. It cranks and gidi gidi sound coming, which means it attempts to start but doesnt continue. The mech said the the unit may be faulty. Used units available at 60 USD while reconditioned available at 120USD. Sparking happens at plug ends and plug wire ends. I just checked battery voltage its 15.5 volts. This is unusual and I remember I had once poured sulfuric thinking it was distilled water. Amount of acid strength may be high and that high voltage has killed the CDI? This mistake happened months back but the bike has been running well upto now. Anyways I guess I will have to buy a new battery if am going to replace CDI, may be ignition coils and rec/reg. Am going to check transistors of the CDI with multimeter now.

I removed and refitted them. They are ok.

no side stand switch..

Hi all, I have cleaned and tuned her carb, filter and even petcock..checked all the connections and wires. But still there is this engine stop coming on and off while riding. It is expressed to the outside as a sudden slowing..prominent when u ride on low gears like in heavy traffic. This slowing happens but least powerful when riding at high speed. Its more cruel when u are on low gears it actually stops bike. So whenever that pup sound comes I squeeze clutch so engine starts again. Say engine and bike stopped, sometimes I have to press start button several times to start again. I checked stator resistance, continuity, continuity with crankcase, same with pickup coil, TCI connections, etc. I suspect those two transistors in TCI unit. There is nowhere else for me to turn. The best clue is I remember when I was checking sparks I noticed a break in sparking. I still smell unburnt fuel. So am guessing during this slowing, the spark stops for a moment, during this even the carb sprays fuel vapor, however its not burnt without spark and comes out from exhaust manifold. At times the unit remains non-responsive so it becomes hard to start, but suddenly it works like dynamite. Please forward your TCI unit symptoms for me to catch the problem up. Thanks!

Hi, there is a kraas sound during starting, I thought the prob was the motor but the technician said the wheels have worn out, I didnt remove the cover though as I plan to put new oil at the same time I fix that problem, motor wheels have worn out probably so I have to long-press start button to start the bike. Back to the issue of carb/CDI...now that the bike is more powerful, but still that knock keeps coming, when you rev at idle there is the unburnt fuel smell...now that I have checked everything including coils, pickups, stators, carb etc having them upto the specs...the CDI seem to be sending intermittent signals to bores...checked connections also and cleaned them...intermittent signals means there is a second or two gas doesnt burn and coming out thru exhausts..and then into my nose.... I heard these power transistors can go nasty...there was a link here to buy them for replacing rather than the whole unit. What do you think of the situation guys?

The problem became a huge headache I took bike to two technicians. One guy said there was an air leak, and he didnt like to fix because he had to remove petrol tank and hoses to get to the carb, the other however had a different approach and he cleaned the carb better and said the petrol flow wasnt enough. After his explanation I felt the same as when I go slowly there were constant engine stops. He loosened the flow screw and now starts ok but I have to press start button longer now to make motor to start the engine. However the stop of the engine is still there, but unlike earlier its somewhat rare. Now I have concluded, the petrol flow is ok, there is a problem in the TCI unit, it cuts down the spark for a sec or two which results in stops. I have thought of checking the two power transistors!

Hello guys?

Carb flooding, the correct term. constant backfires..

argh...the bike is picking up good now, today, the carb started to lock the gas flow again..the result was the earlier rev lock, more prominent when starting at neutral and shifting gears..it revs like hell right after I squeeze clutch for gear shifting... What do you guys have to say on this? is this repairable? should I buy a carb repair kit (not available here of course) or find a used carb from somewhere (which wonbt be easy anyways)?

Hi Paul...I have done around 56000km by now. Yes...the engine frequently clogs and goes..I checked everything from connectors to coils, battery, rectifier and then opened fuel filter, petcock, even gas tank lid to make sure its vent isnt clogged, then ignition key contacts, engine kill switch..cleaned them all...carb opened, do you mean the little rocket-shaped thing that goes in and out locked to the carb float? How can I fix it? Now the plugs are white so burning well, acceleration great but still even at top speeds I feel continuous fuel blocks that stops engine firing for a sec. Bike slowers suddenly but catches up speed..when I slower the bike say in heavy traffic, bike tends to stop at such fuel cutoffs..last week this happened in the middle of the highway when I slowered at a round-about..argh.. The mechanic couldnt figure out why this was happening he said the TCI unit was faulty which I wasnt ready to accept. I cleaned fuel pump and petcock and there was water inside petcock. Before cleaning bike stopped starting and now tht prob's gone. But like u said there is a carb issue, I mean continuous clogging or some blocking. How can I fix it...well I dont know if it is a knock and sure it may be straining the crankshaft. Did you mean that? I tried to unscrew carb needles but their gooves are broken so cannot be removed...should I use WD40 to clean needles? I would appreciate if you or someone could post here xv125 carb cleaning procedure and tuneup. Ray - I frequently oil sprockets and chain and adjust the slack to the standard. Dusty but I clean them...so I feel that the prob is in the heart of bike; carb.

He he actually in Sri Lankan rupees it was 1200/- which is roughly 10.2 USD. Yes the bike is more powerful and propels great. The last time I checked the plugs were white too. But there is this sudden stop which I told the technician about. Engine stops after some running as if it lost sparks, and at this very moment if I squeeze the clutch then engine starts again, this should be done before bike stops. I had a two terrible situations on the highway today, fortunately there were no vehicles queuing from behind when bike stopped on the middle of the highway, I quickly neutralled and started and luckily she roared again. This embarrassing and risky thing normally happens.. Engine's operation is not smooth, I think its knocking in the engine. As you ride at high revs, at times there are sudden slowerings followed by picking ups. This happens withing few seconds so the effect doesnt seem to affect speed but it does cause a heavy strain on rear wheel, sprockets and the chain. I often have to adjust rear tires as the chain slack increases so soon. I feel like the engine stops firing for few seconds and starts again. What do you guys have to tell on this? Sounds electrical? or does it originate inside cylinders? The mechanic said for rectifying knocks he will have to open the cylinders.

Well, this morning the electrician found that the electrical system functioning properly. So I turned back to the carb, found a more qualified technician specialized in carbs. He took almost 9 hours to tune petrol flow and had several test rides, now the plugs are white, beat is more stronger, and the engine rocks, so damn powerful, it cost me just 10.2 bucks for him... There is an intermittent knock though..he said it requires looking into both cylinders, so planning to work on it later on...thank you all for the help guys..

Hi guys, here comes the update. I removed the carb, and the rubber thing that brings air from frame into the carb. There were no cracks in it, and it properly seals the frame end and carb end. Then the Y shaped rubber pipe the feeds fuel-air mixture into cylinders, well it did have cracks but they were only on outside and however in order to make sure they form no leaks, I applied a gum that is used in plumbing on outer surface to cover all the cracks. As a whole, I dont see cracks or air leaks have anything to do with this, as ray suggested, the throttle cable was oiled and it springs back properly. After all these removal n checkups, I had a ride of nearly 20 kms but the issue still there, bike is terrible when it encounters mounts. But speeds up on steepy parts of the road. I clearly feel missing/intermittent sparking/burning inside cylinder(s)...the boh boh sound proves it. More prominent when I shift gears. To maintain the normal speed I have to turn accelerator to its maximum end, which means more fuel. Still unburnt fuel smell coming. The engines locks at high revs. I am thinking the ignition coils causing broken sparks. And therefore, power strokes become irregular, this irregularity of burning causes carbon soots to build up on spark plugs making spark surfaces least conductive. So after some time of operation the sparks become so weak or no sparks. Thats why initial good pick up which later turns out to be bad. I always have suspected my ignition coils but I know they dont easily become faulty. Am going to ask a technician to chek them tomorrow. What do you guys think of my assumption? bad sparks can also result in unburnt fuel plus less power right? I think this is an electrical issue. Can you tell me is it the pick up coil that breaks the circuit in a bike? Coils produce that huge amount of electricity only when the circuit is broken and the pick up coil does this according to engine's speed of rotation, that I know. It will be ok to replace ignition coils, what are the possibilities for this issue to have worsened more and more? Coils do not have a connection with the CDI Unit? or do they have? Could a faulty CDI unit create the same missing in engine? This problematic thing in front cylinder was there since the begining, there was a put put sound inside the cylinder.But it never became so obvious like it now is. Please guide me through this guys..thanks in advance. Tell me where do ignition coils get those four wires from. I dont want my CDI unit to be faulty, its very pricey.

How can you check float levels of front buddy...is it easier to do? I dont usually go to mechanics as they EAT bikes..can I do it myself?

Thank you guys for all those replies, let me check and update you...so far I checked both ignition coils, wires, replaced plugs, caps and wires..oiled the accelerator cable also, but still high revs. Its odd right after removing soot on plugs and putting back in the bike goes well for about 2km, not best acceleration but I would say better, then all of the sudden acceleration goes away...means am on a single cylinder...I think engine runs good till carbon deposits build up..and dies right after that... Will keep u updated, thank you for all the wonderful suggestions.

Where have all the helper boys gone? please please...