Bandit 600 Water/Electric Issue

thehomeofDob

Hopefully this won't be a long one. It probably will be though

I recently purchased a cheap 96 Bandit 600 (private sale) as a run around after the car became uneconomical to repair. I knew that it had a small oil leak but was told it was easily repairable.

What became apparent shortly after purchase was that under wet or damp conditions the bike would occasionally either not start, or more rarely lose power. Any time it lost power I was on the motorway and it would come back after a few miles.

As I am planning to move down the Bray direction I decided I would leave it in with a local garage to see what their service is like and if they will make a reliable local garage in the future. They collected the bike from a friends place in Shankill on Saturday 23rd of March (the day after all the rain). I explained that I had the use of a car for the next week so there was no rush, just to make sure that the oil leak was sorted, the water issue was sorted and the bike was given a good looking over to make sure it was all in good nick.

I collected the bike at about 3:30pm on Saturday the 30th. It was explained to me that the overflow tubes in the fuel tank had become blocked and were allowing water to seep into the tank. It was this that was causing the problem. The following is what work I was invoiced for.

"Collection
Clutch Rod
Clutch Seal

Removed, cleaned and set carbs.
Cleaned petrol tank.
Fitted above parts."

I paid and went on my way.

I quickly noticed that opening the throttle at or over 5000rpm the bike would lose all power (similar to how it acted during heavy rain). I decided I'd fill the tank and take it for a quick spin to see did it run through and sort itself out. Out the back of Bray, through Kilmac, out to Enniskerry and back to Bray - nada, still no power.

Brought it straight back to the garage, and was told there was probably still water in the carbs (I should have asked him if he was sure he had cleaned them properly then, but didn't). He drained the carbs, started it up and asked me to take it for a long spin down the motorway explaining that it would solve the issue.

I live in Blanch so went down the M50. By exit 9 it was still there, by exit 6 I had lost two cylinders. I got home and called the garage. He said he'd be able to look at it on Tuesday and asked could I get it down to Shankill. On the way back down the M50 I lost another cylinder and the bike cut out. Ended up having to call my insurance and get it collected.

So it's just been picked up again, and I would like to have it all end happily as I would like to be able to use them in the future. BUT... am I being fed a load of bullshit? Water in the carbs sounds about right, but cleaning them shouldn't have left any more water in them.

I appreciate any input you guys might have.

LookBehindYou

Water gets in past the spark plug connection. Take off plug connector and dry out the long hole where the spark plug is. There may be a drain hole which is blocked, so the water cannot escape.

thehomeofDob

LookBehindYou wrote: »

Water gets in past the spark plug connection. Take off plug connector and dry out the long hole where the spark plug is. There may be a drain hole which is blocked, so the water cannot escape.

I had done this before taking it to the garage, it made no difference. Though I may not have fully dried it.

Peanut2011

if it's back in the garage let them fix it, not much you can do. I have the Bandit 600 and it does have issues with starting after really bad wet weather. I found spraying the WD40 in to the ignition coils and over the spark-plugs works a treat!! Keeps the water away....

thehomeofDob

Peanut2011 wrote: »

if it's back in the garage let them fix it, not much you can do. I have the Bandit 600 and it does have issues with starting after really bad wet weather. I found spraying the WD40 in to the ignition coils and over the spark-plugs works a treat!! Keeps the water away....

I know there's not much I can do now, I just want to make sure that what I'm being told makes sense and isn't some line I'm being fed because I don't know any better. So far I've had good dealings with them, they're polite. I want to make sure I'm not being taken for a twat though :pac:

Peanut2011

The fact you were loosing cylinders would lead me to believe could be coils more than anything as I would imagine the water would evaporate the warmer the engine gets.... That would have been the story for me, however I am not all that mechanical knowledgeable... I'm learning every day..

I'm sure some of the more experienced bikers will be on shortly and be able to be more certain with their answers.

CJhaughey

Sounds a bit like carb icing.
I wonder are the HT leads a bit shot as well? Might be worth getting new leads from the coil to the plugcap they are easily replaced.NGK make really good red waterproof plug caps that seal well.
The lead just screws in to the plug cap and into the coil.

Hotblack Desiato

Bandit is known for the water collecting in spark plug holes issue. There are water drain holes but they tend to clog up. If the bike is parked on the sidestand in the rain, the leftmost cylinder is the most likely to be affected. Clear out the drain holes with a piece of wire and use WD40 or ignition sealer spray to keep the water off. Careful if removing the spark plugs if you've ever had this problem though, as water/rust/debris is likely to fall into the cylinders, before removing the plugs you could try an air line to blast it out.

Losing cylinders indicates an ignition issue. Fuel problems should affect all cylinders at the same time.

You could try taking the tank off then starting the bike in the pitch dark with the lights off, if the HT leads are breaking down you'll see tiny blue sparks all over the place. There should be enough fuel in the carbs to let the bike idle for a minute or two with the tank off, if there's a problem and it's dark enough you'll see it straight away.

But- you paid for it to be fixed so keep on at these guys until it is.