Fuel Starvation on an '01

[respond2us]

Good morning, all! Thought I'd post an issue here and see if I'm on the right track to working through it.

I appear to have a fuel starvation issue on my '01, and from all the reading I've been doing, I have several things to check. First, fuel filter...then gas cap. I've already removed the safety fuel shutoff. I'm thinking my fuel pump is on the fritz, though, based on posts here. The bike runs perfectly the first few trips of the day. Seems to be, though, that once it heats up, the bike doesn't have nearly as much power...it actually runs pretty bad after awhile. Then, I let it sit overnight and it's fine the next day. Very frustrating. Also, it seems that my fuel economy is suffering. I'm getting about 240 miles to the tank. Sound like a fuel pump to you guys? I thought fuel filter for awhile, but it doesn't make sense that it would run perfectly at first I don't think.

I'm still riding the bike, I just can't ride it much. Basically, I ride it to work and back home. Hopefully I'll get it figured out pretty quick.

Thanks for any thought you have, or mentioning something I missed!

 

[Mark]

I'm curious to know what happens if you open the gas cap when you starting having 'power' issues (after it heats up).

I think you have described the fuel pump issue though...

Mark

 

[respond2us]

I was curious about the same thing a few months back. Didn't seem to make any difference. Good idea, though!

Sounds like a fuel pump to me, except most fuel pump issues seem to kill the engine for awhile. My engine never dies, just runs rough and half the normal power. Your thoughts?

 

[Bigmak96]

Sounds like a classic crappy Honda pump to me. Not all suffer from it but I have had three. When it gets hot out and fuel drops enough the pump needs to nap a while till cool.
Try riding till it starts to mess up and then fill up. I am betting it will then be fine as the new gas will cool it off. There a couple options open to you at that point.
OEM pump. Not for me thanks
Honda car pump, I would prolly do this if I had the time when I did it.
Facet external pump that will set where the fuel shut off used to be.
I have done two facet pumps and since it takes up the duties only when it feels the need for pressure, I never know when the OEM craps out any more.
Good luck, keep us posted.
Mark

 

[respond2us]

Mark and Bigmak -
Thank you guys SO much for helping me with this. I feel like I'm on the right track now. I've never heard of the facet pump, but that sounds pretty sweet. So you're saying, on your bike, you still use the old fuel pump? But when your fuel pump gets too hot or whatever, the facet will kick in and take over for awhile? That sounds like the way I'd like to do it. Any disadvantages? I ask because you said you'd probably prefer the honda car pump if you would have had time. Is that a better option than the facet? I'll search the board for info on the facet pump, but if you happen to have a link to the product page, that would be great.

Thanks again to you both!

 

[respond2us]

BigMak - I found your thread about the facet pump, I'm on the order page now. Just didn't want you to go to any hassle for something I already found. However, I'd still like to know if there are any disadvantages to the facet before I order it. Or maybe I'll just order it anyway. hehe...

I'm "pumped" (sorry, couldn't resist) about potentially getting this fixed! It's been a long time coming.

 

[Bigmak96]

I have seen no down side. The bike has not starved since I did it so I am happy with it.
Your understanding is correct. It takes over for who knows how long. The important thing is,,it does.
The cage pump is a good option too and if I had had more time to do it I may have opted to use one. But like you I was eager to get it reliable as quickly as possible so I went with the Facet.
Look in the Article Repository( if you have not seen it yet ) at the bottom of the Forums page and you will find Draboo"s article on the Honda car pump. I think one is as good as the other when only looking at fuel delivery. The in tank pump replacement is the better option if keeping your shut off valve is important to you. But that is another topic.
At this time in the season I would prolly do the Facet again and maybe do the in tank this winter. I actually picked up another Facet for the 01 but have forgotten to install it as I have not had a problem since returning from the west cost. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[respond2us]

Great! I ordered the facet last night. $40 and hopefully I'll be gtg.
Thanks again for your help...

 

[respond2us]

It took me awhile, but I finally got the facet pump installed. I rode it all over yesterday, to work and around town on some errands. It ran beautifully, but it was real cool (temps in the low 80's). Today, the wife and I are riding it an hour and a half away to visit family. We'll probably do 200 miles today, so that should be a decent test. If it does well, I'll feel reasonably confident that the fuel pump was the issue and that it's now fixed. HUGE thanks to BigMak96 for some very helpful PM's. Couldn't have done it without you, man!

Will update as I know more.

 

[The Cheese]

Good for you getting it better again.


Just to give people another option. The Airtex E11000 will fit fine inside the tank. Comes with a strainer already attached, 40 bucks at Advance Auto Parts. Guaranteed for a year.

 

[respond2us]

Good info, Cheese...

So, I figured we'd do 200 miles today. Trip meter for the day when I pulled into the garage: 200.8. Eh, I was close.
The bike ran like brand new. I'm hoping it's good to go now that the pump is installed. Will probably know for sure over the next couple of weeks, with varying outside temps.
One reason I think the new pump is working, though, is that when I filled up the tank this morning, my previous tank had 220 miles on it. That's about what I've been averaging, riding alone. We rode on the new tank of fuel today, got home with 200 miles on it, and I still show almost half a tank remaining. I know that half will go quicker, but I'd imagine I'll get at least 60 or 70 miles on it. So, I think the new pump is working.
Will keep you posted as I get more info.
By the way, I hope you guys all got to ride today. It was beautiful here in Oklahoma. High was 81, mildly cloudy...perfect for us. We loved it. Coming home tonight, it got down into the high 60's. Again, perfect for us.

 

[Bigmak96]

Glad it is working for you. The credit for this, even tho I am the main soap box supporter, goes to Uncle Phil. He gave me the suggestion a few years back when my 96 started acting up. That was another story.
Being new to the 1100 I had no idea and thought my issue was electrical. Then I read about the diaphragms failing in the shut off valve. Sure enough it had 1/2 inch rip in it. It still acted up then when it got hot. That's when UP came to the rescue. He had picked up a Facet for one of his bikes but used a replacement OEM from Don instead. It sure has worked for me. I now have a new Facet in the trailer should I need one on the road.
Mark

 

[respond2us]

Just thought I'd post a follow up, since it's been a few weeks. I've ridden probably 3 tanks through the ST in the last few weeks, and not one stumble. So, I guess it's officially fixed. I'm still wanting a real hot day to make sure, but I think it's basically fine. Just thought I'd let you all know, since you're probably losing sleep wondering about my bike. Thanks many times over for all the help. I'm loving the bike again.

 

[Bigmak96]

Just saw this, glad it is good so far. I hope your hot weather test is good next year. I now carry a facet with me whenever the trailer is attached. I will have it if the need arises while on a trip.

 

[oldbutspry]

Just to give people another option. The Airtex E11000 will fit fine inside the tank. Comes with a strainer already attached, 40 bucks at Advance Auto Parts. Guaranteed for a year.

I tried to buy one of these from Advance Auto but it appears they no longer sell it. I found the listing but it said I was only allowed a quantity of zero. So I ordered one from northernautoparts.com. I'll let you know how it goes. If I can get myself to take my time then maybe I will take photos.

 

[oldbutspry]

I installed the Airtex E11000 today. Went really fast - I just removed the large breather tube like was suggested in other threads. I will probably test drive it tomorrow. I am going to work on adding some electrical stuff tonight.

 

[oldbutspry]

Got my 2 cigarette lighter outlets and the GPS wiring added last night. Went for a 70 mile drive today after work and the fuel pump seems to be working great. Next, I need to run the tank dry and see what range I have now.

 

[Ken H]

Please keep us posted. I need to replace my fuel pump and after all that has been written lately about fuel pump issues I want to make sure the E11000 is the way to go.

 

[oldbutspry]

So today was the big test. We wanted to go to a car museum in Tallahassee, FL - a trip of over 400 miles. We packed all the usual stuff and a gallon of gas and a funnel so we could run it dry to check range. I fired it up and off we went! For about 30 feet. Then sputter, sputter - bike died and wouldn't start. I wheeled it back in the garage and we went to plan B: we rode the Brutale to Tallahassee. It wound up being about a 450 mile trip and we both have monkey butt like you wouldn't believe!

Tomorrow I will check out the ST1100. I wouldn't say the problem is with the fuel pump - it could very well be my connectors or something else. I used crimp on connectors but I may solder them on tomorrow. I'll let you know what my inspection reveals.

At least we didn't have problems halfway into our trip. That would've been very inconvenient.

 

[oldbutspry]

Drained gas out of the tank and took a look. Luckily, it was a very obvious problem. The fuel line had completely broken off near where it attaches to the pump. on inspection, it was old and cracked looking and I guess moving it around and reattaching it to the new pump was more than it could take. Luckily, I had brand new fuel line laying around (used as my siphon hose) that was just the right size. I got lazy and didn't solder my connectors (hope I don't regret that later).

I'm guessing the hose broke during our 70 mile test drive but there was sufficient suction and a full tank of gas so it kept driving ok without the pump until it sat for a little while.