bike just shutdown while riding

[crash]

My 2006 Sprint ST non-abs is bone stock and only a few weeks old (580 miles, no service done yet). Last night I was in 2nd or 3rd gear, can't remember, doing about 30mph/about 3000rpm, and I was just about to start accelerating onto an on-ramp of a highway. Suddenly, the bike just shut down. I coasted to a stop on the side of the road (about 50 feet b/c I needed to find a safe place to do so).

The only light that was on after this happened was the oil pressure light, but that comes on automatically if the bike is in "ON" and not running. After I came to a stop, I turned the bike to "OFF" for five seconds or so, then turned it back to "ON" and started it. It started with no problems. I rode (very gingerly) the remaining 3 miles back to my house and parked it since it was too dark to see anything in my driveway and I couldn't do any diagnosis.

Can anyone think of why the bike would just shut down? The bike has *not* been behaving strangely or surprisingly (except a couple times I have found neutral in between higher gears, though that didn't happen to me at all yesterday). Other than that the bike has been fine.

The same thing happened to me a 6 months ago on a Sprint RS about 2km out of a filling station. I had just refuelled and the engine was running cold. I waited for a few minutes, turned the engine on again, let it warm up for a few minutes, set off and haven't had any problems since.

I remember being told by the dealer that the fuel injection system might (one time in a thousand) shut down if the bike was started up too quickly. Now I always turn the key, wait until all the engine and fuel lights are on before starting the motor, and wait until the fuel warning light has switched off before setting off.

Just my 2 cents, and to reassure you that you are not the only one who has experienced this.

[DFWBiker]

Any chance you might have moved your hand and brushed the kill switch? I did that once when I was stretching my hand while riding. The switch didn't even change change to the "OFF" position...I just barely moved it.

[ This message was edited by: DFWBiker on 2006-06-22 10:11 ]

[crash]

On 2006-06-22 10:10, DFWBiker wrote:
Any chance you might have moved your hand and brushed the kill switch? I did that once when I was stretching my hand while riding. The switch didn't even change change to the "OFF" position...I just barely moved it.

Hmm... I won't say definitely no (and I hope it was something as innocent as this) but the kill switch was definitely still in the "ON" position. As you say this doesn't mean I didn't do it on accident, I just don't know if I hit it or not.

But wouldn't turning the bike back on instantaneously cause it to "jump back to life"? I know that in every car I've ever driven this was the case - if I turn its ignition to "OFF" it'll shut down but if you're moving along at speed and turn it back to "ON" within a second or two, it continues to run as if it was never shut off.

[ This message was edited by: crash on 2006-06-22 11:07 ]

it is weird that you posted this because i actually had this happen to me on my '06 sprint non-abs last night. i was coming home from the pool hall and a few minutes out i was taking off from a light fairly aggressively and when i went to shift from 2-3 the bike turned off like i had hit the kill switch. everything was still on but the engine stopped.

i know i didn't hit the switch because my hand was on the grip firmly. but i just pulled in the clutch and hit the starter button and she fired right back up and i kept going.

i have had this happen before on my suzuki sv650 a few times but it was always while i was aggressively downshifting. every time i could just start it back up before i really slowed down any.

but i would really like to know what the cause of this is. it has not been a problem yet but imagine if it happened in the middle of a turn.

[kneedown]

Maybe side-stand switch? I experienced a similar stop situation just after setting off and found that I hadn't kicked the sidestand up properly - it must have come up just enough to clear the switch but then bounced down and operated the cut-out switch.

[chisel]

I'm with Kneedown on this one. It sounds like one of the cut out safety switches. Since the clutch one only works when starting, it'd have to be the kick stand switch. Either it's misaligned, faulty, or the kickstand lost a spring.

I'm wondering if Crash was going over a bumpy section of asphalt when he had his mishap.

[crash]

On 2006-06-22 16:54, chisel wrote:
I'm with Kneedown on this one. It sounds like one of the cut out safety switches. Since the clutch one only works when starting, it'd have to be the kick stand switch. Either it's misaligned, faulty, or the kickstand lost a spring.

It's possible, I suppose. I'll have to check into it and see if I can reproduce the problem taking this tact. Thanks for the ideas (and kneedown).

I'm wondering if Crash was going over a bumpy section of asphalt when he had his mishap.

What roads in New England aren't bumpy? :razz: But seriously, it wasn't anything significantly bad. Just your typical MA road surface.

[princeton]

Might be the fuel pump relay, #2 from the front. Especially with the cheesy rubber holders that seem to deteriorate very rapidly. Also, moisture seems to infiltrate those relays due to their location near the inner fairing edge. You can jump terminal 30 and 87 with a paperclip or jumper wire in a pinch. I always have a spiece of wire and an extra 4 prong standard relay in the storage.

[airrider03]

On 2006-06-22 06:21, crash wrote:
Can anyone think of why the bike would just shut down? The bike has *not* been behaving strangely or surprisingly (except a couple times I have found neutral in between higher gears, though that didn't happen to me at all yesterday). Other than that the bike has been fine.

Crash, sounds like something very simple. I agree with the kickstand switch theory. A good experiment would be to:
a) put the bike on the centerstand
b) start her up and pop it into gear
c) rev slightly to approx 2000 rpm
d) momentarily and slightly lower the sidestand and allow it to retract before the engine spools down
e) see if the engine re-groups and continues to run
f) if it cuts out after the stand is back up, the sidestand theory holds
g) if it continues to run, then look at other causes

I've always been curious about what happens to the ignition if the edge if my boot nips the sidestand while shifting (or you hit a bump).

I just might go out there and try this right now, hang on...

OK, results: my sidestand must be completely lowered to practically full down before the ignition cuts out...how about yours?
Could the switch gap be improperly adjusted?
I've hit some pretty big bumps (front wheel airborne around corners!) with no cutout.

BTW: I've posted issues about excessive front brake lever travel, this was always a slight worry of mine, I don't know if you are experiencing the same thing...but now at 2200 miles, my lever has corrected itself to the way it should be, instant braking with a slight pull travel, I'm thrilled about it...rode the bike thru 2000 miles and it corrected itself, no service or bleeding.
My clunky transmission is now super-smooth with the mobil 4T in there...like they say...buttery in all gears.




[ This message was edited by: airrider03 on 2006-06-24 11:48 ]