Engine dropping revs randomly

[djkus]

Hi,I use my ducati monster 600 (2001 model) every day to get to and from work.. 35 mile round trip,it has to suffer Belfast rain for 8 hours a day sometimes before I ride her home..
All was fine until recently it started to lose power when taking off at the traffic lights...
carb problem i thought as I had it before, so i added the pro fsk stuff i had from last winter which usually fixes it..

On friday the bike went from 70mph at 5000 rpm... down to 2000rpm, barely idling over.. so i pulled over... bike wouldnt rev past 2000, sounded very rough..

eventually reving it up the power came back..

this happened 3 times on way home.. i am getting train to work till i get this fixed..

Bike has done 16,000 miles ish now...

I have replaced the spark plugs last night with new ones as I read thats always a good thing to replace...and took it for a quick test ride.. seemed ok, didnt stop but felt a little sluggish on the take off a few times..

Is there anything else I can check? my knowledge is preety limited..

[Diego]

Hi,I use my ducati monster 600 (2001 model) every day to get to and from work.. 35 mile round trip,it has to suffer Belfast rain for 8 hours a day sometimes before I ride her home..
All was fine until recently it started to lose power when taking off at the traffic lights...
carb problem i thought as I had it before, so i added the pro fsk stuff i had from last winter which usually fixes it..

On friday the bike went from 70mph at 5000 rpm... down to 2000rpm, barely idling over.. so i pulled over... bike wouldnt rev past 2000, sounded very rough..

eventually reving it up the power came back..

this happened 3 times on way home.. i am getting train to work till i get this fixed..

Bike has done 16,000 miles ish now...

I have replaced the spark plugs last night with new ones as I read thats always a good thing to replace...and took it for a quick test ride.. seemed ok, didnt stop but felt a little sluggish on the take off a few times..

Is there anything else I can check? my knowledge is preety limited..

carbs might need a clean out

[animaluk]

or some time water in the tank

[djkus]

yeah from what i read it sounds like carbs might need cleaned out.. dont think its something id be able to do with my extremely limited knowledge... ive been able to change air filter,rear brake pad, fit spark plugs and sort out the electrical problems with corroded connectors on my bike but before i got my bike i had no knowledge,.., so i guess im learning..

what u think.. just leave it for someone with more knowledge? if there is water/dirt in tank i assume id have to drain it somehow?

[crust]

fuel filter?

you dont mention changing it?

Halfords sell car ones that are the same, take your old one off and show them it or park outside and get one of their staff to check which one it is.

Again, have a look at the fuel pipes to check they are not kinked at the back of the tank when you lower it.

Also the breather pipe under the fuel cap - little black rubber thingy, blow down it.

[djkus]

ive not delved into looking at the fuel filter and until reading this forum in work i never thought of the fuel line being sqauashed under the seat.. i just assumed it was something to do with the rain we have been having here recently.. could be a coincidence of course..

ill have another look at it all when i get home from work today, thanks for all the helpfull advice..

how do u take the fuel filter off? thats just situated under the seat/tank isnt it?

[analogue_rogue]

to be honest it sounds more electrical than fuel related.. i would be worrying its getting a misfire or weak spark... if the filter was blocked it would do it all the time if its everynow and then on pull away it seems to be a weakspark being over powered by the fuel under load....

[Blufoot]

does this happen when you are riding IN the heavy rain or has it just been rained on when stationary?

[shifter]

Might be worth firing a load of WD-40 all over the electrics, wont do any harm and does help kick out any moisture.
Also have the carbs been balanced recently?
Is your rectifier ok, a week battery can do funny things.
Could also check that the valve clerances are correct.

[djkus]

it was happening after it was left out in rain all day during work hours... but ive tried it after that in dry and was still doing it sometimes...

update: last night i tightened the new spark plugs, checked all fuel lines were not kinked and went for a quick ride around town.. ran perfect.. even when i was tearing it up on a straight road..

perhaps the problem is fixed..

either way, im bringing it to get serviced today by local bike guy... its done over 16,000 miles now and since ive had it (2,600 miles on clock then), its only been serviced by him once... all ive done is basic stuff..

i guess it really needs to get done as im racking up the miles each day going to/from work.

how many miles is BIG for a monster? u think ill start to see more stuff go wrong with mine?

[yantheman]

Hi, I think you front coil is about to go. I had similar problem few months ago. The front cylinder plug and HT lead get wet while riding in the rain and the spark arcs through the cylinder head and gradually kills the front coil. I have changed the front coil and the problem has gone.

[djkus]

Front coil? Excuse my ignorance...but where is that?:/ I'll have a look online see if it's something I can get to

[djkus]

yantheman, ignore my last post.. ive checked it out and i know where you are talking about now... i did notice that the spark plug connector on the spark plug under the seat area was a little wiggly and perhaps wasnt clipped on correctly, so i cut the rubber sleeve a little, and was able to tighten the spring grip that grips the spark plug.. glued the rubber sleeve back so its water tight..

sounds familiar to your problem you say.. how many miles is on your bike?

[yantheman]

Hi, i've done about 24,000 miles and put 12,000 just last year. All was working fine until after I was rained on constantly for 6 months last winter. I was told that the insulation on the HT lead would breakdown over time and when you riding in the wet, the weak insulation of the front HT lead would arc to the cylinder head instead of going into the spark plug. When this happens it would cause the coil to fail quicker than the rear coil...

The symptons were when in the wet he engine idling rough and dropped revs every 15 secs or and it was fine when dry. But that got progressive worse and even idling rough when dry.

The scary bit was that the front coil would kick back in when the throttle was open enough and in the wet, the sudden surge of torque caused me to fish-tail a couple of times and nearly brown my underpants :chuckle:

And then one day the front cylinder just died...

[analogue_rogue]

get yourself some damp start and coat everything with it..... it works great, adds a kind of temporary lacquer to everything making them water proof

[djkus]

just an update for u guys.. my monster is running like a dream again, i brought it to bike guy.. he replaced the oil filter, fuel filter and cleaned out the carbs.. (v dirty he said).
so preety much everything we expected... dirt in carbs/fuel filter blockage..

running perfect now. Im wondering... is super unleaded really better? i know its supposed to help with icing/carbs... what u think?
filled up super today just to see.

[Diego]

haha the usual suspects.....good to hear ur bike is running again as it should....you will find you will have to repeat this process 2 or 3 times a year depending on ur mileage....anyways your service(s) should include these steps....

ps when it comes to fuel....always buy the better stuff ;-) the monster appreciates it.