c5 not runing well

[motorat]

so this started a couple weeks ago.
the bike will run fine if i am accelerating but when i roll off the throttle it feels like it wants to die and coughs and i get what feels like a carb backfire.
since then i have taken off the uni and re-installed the original air box and filter.
it is running a little better but still feels like it is down on power, and i get the occasional cough.

side stand switch has been de-activated,
i am running a bp6res.

in reading some older posts  someone had similar symptoms and it turned out to be the negative lead to the coil had frayed.
so...to get to this coil i think i have to take off the tank, correct?
so how fragile are the fuel connectors?

[Ducati Scotty]

As with many other running problems lately, it might be water in your gas.  It's worth getting some gas de-icer and adding it.  Remember, most bottles are meant for a full10-20 gallon tank, not a 4 gallon like we have.  Use only what you need.

You will need to pull the tank to get to the coil.  The fuel connection is not that delicate.  Undo the clamp and gently twist the fuel line back and forth until it breaks free, then slide it off.  There will be a little fuel that spills out but not much.  A 1/4" or 5/16" vacuum cap is nice to put over the exposed fuel outlet.  Now is the time to be careful, don't smack the outlet against anything or it can snap.  Also, put a heavy towel over the front of the tank to protect the paint when you lift it off.  It tends to bonk into the nacelle as it comes up.  You don't usually need to remove the seat to get it off but you can.

Scott

[motorat]

i put some sea foam in it.
that helped, also i tend to let the bike sit for several days, it lives in an unheated garage.
i could be the water issue as it gets to the low 30's where i live.
it really feels like i am running out of gas when it's acting up.

[Ducati Scotty]

That's exactly what water in the gas can feel like.  Most of the water eliminator products are mostly alcohol and very inexpensive.  Quick and easy to try.

Scott

[motorat]

i will keep with the sea foam treatement...thanks
also does throwing a blanket over the tank help?

[Ducati Scotty]

No, but keep it as full as you can.  The water gets there from two sources: what you get from the pump tanks and condensation.  If you've got a big air space in the tank it expands and contracts more with the temperature changes and pulls in fresh air from outside.  The water vapor in that air condenses when it gets cold and that what gets in the tank.  This is what happens to the filling station tanks during this weather as well.

If you keep it full it doesn't have the space to draw in outside air.  It also helps keep the inside of your tank from rusting too, that is if your factory wasn't kind enough to paint the inside for you

Scott
Scott

[mattsz]

It also helps keep the inside of your tank from rusting too, that is if your factory wasn't kind enough to paint the inside for you

Scott

I hope they didn't, based on the way the paint around the neck of my tank beneath the cap is breaking down.  I observed it on the new bikes I looked at last spring at the dealership; the salesman said he never noticed it before.  I also observe it on mine; I'm just careful when filling up and try to avoid rubbing it or knocking bits of the flaking paint into the tank...   

[Ducati Scotty]

Yeah, I don't know of a good way to strip the inside especially if you don't want errant solvent spills or whatever that might also destroy some of the outside finish.  I also figure that if I did strip the inside it would just start rusting right away.  I have to say that of all the quirks of manufacuturing on the RE the paint inside the tank bugs me most.  Go ahead and paint the welds on my chrome if you must but you couldn't put a cork in the tank before you painted it?  Oh well, no one has reported a paint flake clogged fuel pump.  Yet.

Scott

[mattsz]

Scotty - I wasn't sure if your      was "tongue in cheek" or not (sorry!); I see it was...

[Ducati Scotty]

Totally!  But it does bug me.  We're the only ones with problems though since it seems that it's only US fuel that has alcohol in it, and the alcohol is what attacks the paint.  Anyone know if the iron barrel and AVL tanks were painted inside too?

Scott

[GSS]

Scott,
Everything RE has paint sprayed down the filler. If you look at assembly line photos, it looks like tanks are hung by one of the frame mounting holes and sprayed all around by hand. Every once in a while I will stick a clean rag just inside the neck and clean off a few loose flakes to try and reduce what drops in.

GSS

[motorat]

so i have put heet in the tank to try to chase out the water. the bike is better but still not like it was.
what i don't understand is that i have a suzuki dl650 that is parked next to the re. i go to the same gas stations and it has never had the water in gas feel that the re has had for the last 6 weeks. while it was raining last 2 weeks the suzuki was not started and sat there with a half full tank and when i rode it yesterday there were no problems.
it is anoying that a new bike with 4800 miles does not run as well as a 5 year old bike with 38000 miles on it.

[Ducati Scotty]

When the tanks at the station are filled it can stir up water that's nicely minding it's own business at the bottom.  If you happened to fill up right after a delivery that could be the problem.

At this point I'd say you should completely drain the tank and start over.  Get rid of "bad gas" as a possibility.

Scott

[GlennF]

If you are running ethanol fuel the other big issue is "phase separation". Ethanol fuels do not store well and will within a few weeks of storage can separate into petrol, alcohol and water layers in the tank.

[motorat]

and that was part of my point.
how is it that the enfield gets the water when the suzuki does not.
the suzuki sat for about 3 weeks with no problems when riden where as the enfield will sit for 5 to 7 days and develop the water in gas symptoms.

out here in California the gas is crap. i usually use 76 brand that says no mtbe.