CTX1300D running rough. Looking for help/ideas/ SOLVED!

[Airhead78]

Hello all. I am having a problem with my CTX1300D (same bike for this purpose as the ST1300) and was wondering If anyone could send me in one or more directions as to where to start . The bike has been unridden for about a year but properly stored with Sta-bil and has 2500 miles. On Battery Tender.

This morning as I started the ride with a friend who also has a CTX1300 D, the bike was running fine. 10 minutes into the ride, the bike started to lose some power and run a bit erratically.

Symptoms:
Bogs down on take off and seems to have lost some acceleration.
Seems to hesitate around 3500-4000 RPM to get pass that point in high gear.
Slightly erratic at idle (not all the time).
Seems to run a bit V-Twinesque.
One pipe “seems” somewhat cooler than the other 3 (subjective appreciation).

I have included links to two YouTube videos: the good CTX (my friend’s) GOOD CTX

and the bad CTX (mine). BAD CTX


If you watch them, maybe you can hear the difference in the sound.

I already suctioned much of the gas and added fresh gas just in case. No change

Possibilities that occur to me:

Bad spark plug(s)
No spark to that cylinder- only running on 3 cylinders?
Bad coil?

I looked at the manual and for certain tests a voltage peak adaptor seems needed (I do not have one). Several other diagnostic ideas such as a bad battery, faulty side stand switch or neutral switch would seem to affect all cylinders not just one.

Besides checking all connections, I would be thankful for any ideas as to where to look given my paygrade (low) and almost as important what not attempt to do to avoid frying something.

Thanks!

 

[Rob20111]

Start by removing air filter and checking for rodent damage, nest or damaged wiring.
If all good there is pull spark plugs next and check condition and spark.
Was it running well prior to being parked?
Have you done any work on or added accessories to it?

 

[Bmacleod]

Hello all. I am having a problem with my CTX1300D (same bike for this purpose as the ST1300) and was wondering If anyone could send me in one or more directions as to where to start . The bike has been unridden for about a year but properly stored with Sta-bil and has 2500 miles. On Battery Tender.

This morning as I started the ride with a friend who also has a CTX1300 D, the bike was running fine. 10 minutes into the ride, the bike started to lose some power and run a bit erratically.

Symptoms:
Bogs down on take off and seems to have lost some acceleration.
Seems to hesitate around 3500-4000 RPM to get pass that point in high gear.
Slightly erratic at idle (not all the time).
Seems to run a bit V-Twinesque.
One pipe “seems” somewhat cooler than the other 3 (subjective appreciation).

I have included links to two YouTube videos: the good CTX (my friend’s) GOOD CTX

and the bad CTX (mine). BAD CTX


If you watch them, maybe you can hear the difference in the sound.

I already suctioned much of the gas and added fresh gas just in case. No change

Possibilities that occur to me:

Bad spark plug(s)
No spark to that cylinder- only running on 3 cylinders?
Bad coil?

I looked at the manual and for certain tests a voltage peak adaptor seems needed (I do not have one). Several other diagnostic ideas such as a bad battery, faulty side stand switch or neutral switch would seem to affect all cylinders not just one.

Besides checking all connections, I would be thankful for any ideas as to where to look given my paygrade (low) and almost as important what not attempt to do to avoid frying something.

Thanks!

Was the fuel tank full of stabilized fuel for that year?

 

[Catmandu2]

definite miss. And a single cold exhaust header confirms it. You may find a wet sparkplug,,, but you have not mentioned any fuel injection MIL light ? I had a very similar situation that turned out to be a loose injector plug,,, but that threw a FI code. Is it possible that mice have had access during the storage period ?? CAt'

 

[Airhead78]

Start by removing air filter and checking for rodent damage, nest or damaged wiring.
If all good there is pull spark plugs next and check condition and spark.
Was it running well prior to being parked?
Have you done any work on or added accessories to it?

Thank you.
I will look at the wiring. Is it reasonable to say that if the air filter is clogged it would affect all cylinders?
Yes it was running well before parking and for about 10 min. after I took it out.
As to accessories, I purchased used. I have not done work to it other than an oil change. As to electrical ones only battery pigtail and GPS.

 

[Airhead78]

definite miss. And a single cold exhaust header confirms it. You may find a wet sparkplug,,, but you have not mentioned any fuel injection MIL light ? I had a very similar situation that turned out to be a loose injector plug,,, but that threw a FI code. Is it possible that mice have had access during the storage period ?? CAt'

Thank you. No MIL or any other warning light. Will check wiring.

 

[Airhead78]

Was the fuel tank full of stabilized fuel for that year?

Thank you. Yes full of stabilized gas for the year. Removed old gas and added fresh. No difference.

 

[Rob20111]

Thank you.
I will look at the wiring. Is it reasonable to say that if the air filter is clogged it would affect all cylinders?
Yes it was running well before parking and for about 10 min. after I took it out.
As to accessories, I purchased used. I have not done work to it other than an oil change. As to electrical ones only battery pigtail and GPS.

If the air filter is completely clogged then yes it would affect all cylinders. I assume it’s identical to the ST1300 engine and so there are 4 snorkels inside the air box, any of which could cause an issue with a single cylinder or throttle body intake if obstructed.

 

[Slydynbye]

Fuel filter? What ever might have been in the Tank might now be in the filter.
Also I hope you put Premium fuel in there,my understanding is they need it.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

Check to see of there are any failure codes stored. Any injector wiring damage that is bad enough to cause driveability issues should also cause a failure code to be set and illuminate the FI light. If there are no codes, it is unlikely to be an injector wiring issue.

Check the air cleaner and intake tract. If mice did get in there, they may have blocked up part of the air path.
Check the spark plugs. If they all look the same, it is not likely that it is an ignition problem. If one is fouled, you need to diagnose why.

If all of the plugs look good, I would put in a good dose of fuel system cleaner. Let the engine run long enough to get the cleaner in to the system. After letting the cleaner soak for a while, I would then burn out that tank and see if there is any improvement before going to any complicated diagnosis. Since you said that it sat for a year unused, it may just be a gummed up injector, especially if there was any ethanol in your storage fuel.

 

[Al st1100]

loosen the spark plug wires , start engine and pull each wire back one at a time the one that makes no difference when its off is the problem child. while its off check for spark. inspect plug if there is spark. if you suspect plug move it to another cylinder. if the miss moves with the plug it's a plug. if you have good plug and spark check for injector issue and/or injector wiring.

 

[tnbill]

loosen the spark plug wires , start engine and pull each wire back

Not a fan of doing this. The plug wires should be either shorted to ground or a plug attached where you can see what its doing. The electronics does not like high voltage with nowhere to go.

 

[Al st1100]

Not a fan of doing this. The plug wires should be either shorted to ground or a plug attached where you can see what its doing. The electronics does not like high voltage with nowhere to go.

and what will happen from your experience?

 

[tnbill]

It can cause damage to the ignition control modules. On the old brit bikes every manufacturer of electronic ignition units warn you NOT to do this for the reason i warned you about. Its well known that the high tension side can cause bigger issues because of something as simple as a bad plug wire.electricity like water will take the least path of resistance.

 

[rjs987]

If the air filter is completely clogged then yes it would affect all cylinders. I assume it’s identical to the ST1300 engine and so there are 4 snorkels inside the air box, any of which could cause an issue with a single cylinder or throttle body intake if obstructed.

Yes, it is the same as the ST1300. 4 snorkels so if any one of those is plugged that would cause the issue.

Fuel filter? What ever might have been in the Tank might now be in the filter.
Also I hope you put Premium fuel in there,my understanding is they need it.

NO, the CTX1300 does not use premium, the ST1300 does. Compression and a few other details were altered for the CTX so regular fuel is all that is needed. There have been a few riders on the CTX1300 forum who tried or maybe still use premium but none report any significant benefit and a few report that regular fuel was better. So save your money and use regular.

Injector plugs or spark plugs are also a possibility.

 

[Al st1100]

It can cause damage to the ignition control modules. On the old brit bikes every manufacturer of electronic ignition units warn you NOT to do this for the reason i warned you about. Its well known that the high tension side can cause bigger issues because of something as simple as a bad plug wire.electricity like water will take the least path of resistance.

been doing this stuff for 50 yrs plus. on early electronic ignition system, they didn't have misfire monitors. so you would pull wire or coil out while running. Still do the same thing today. I need to know how much spark there is, weak or strong. never had issues doing it this way benzs' to chevys. I have never seen what you say can happen. You want to quickly find out which cylinder is misfiring with out much equipment do it my way

 

[tnbill]

Still MUCH safer on a coil on plug to disconnect the low tension lead at the coil. If you need to see a good spark than yes put a wide gap plug on that lead and watch it. On stuff like the old gm hei it was ok to momentarily pull a wire but still i have seen a bad wire cost you a distributor cap. you stated you have been doing this stuff for 50 years. As a tech or DIY? Just curious as i have been in the auto trade for 40 years but retired from it a few yet ago.

 

[Airhead78]

Thank you all for your comments. As I had mentioned in my first post when the problem appeared one of the exhaust pipes seemed colder than the other three. Once in the garage and the bike cold, I started the bike again and confirmed that one pipe was warming very slowly compared to the other three. One cylinder was not firing. I replaced the spark plug as the first easiest step to take. That solved the problem and the bike is running fine now.

Thanks again.

 

[Al st1100]

Still MUCH safer on a coil on plug to disconnect the low tension lead at the coil. If you need to see a good spark than yes put a wide gap plug on that lead and watch it. On stuff like the old gm hei it was ok to momentarily pull a wire but still i have seen a bad wire cost you a distributor cap. you stated you have been doing this stuff for 50 years. As a tech or DIY? Just curious as i have been in the auto trade for 40 years but retired from it a few yet ago.

master plus L1 , b2 b3 b4

 

[Grabcon]

Thank you all for your comments. As I had mentioned in my first post when the problem appeared one of the exhaust pipes seemed colder than the other three. Once in the garage and the bike cold, I started the bike again and confirmed that one pipe was warming very slowly compared to the other three. One cylinder was not firing. I replaced the spark plug as the first easiest step to take. That solved the problem and the bike is running fine now.

So the question I will ask "was it really the spark plug or was it just that you disturbed the plug wires?" and the is another issue leaking behind the scenes. It has been awhile since I had a ST1300 but according to the parts diagram the spark plug caps are a separate item from the coils. I would make sure that the caps have a good connection to the wires. I believe the cap screws on to the plug wire. If it were me I would inspect that connection and maybe trim the wire a 1/4" and reassemble. My 2 cents