'89 Running on 3 Cylinders

[Nautius Maximus]

Hi I did about 300km on the bike on Sunday and it was awesome, I washed it and parked it in the shed till this morning when I got it out to go to work. There was a faint backfire at low RPM but it went away once I was out of the driveway. I hit the highway and opened her up and that's when i noticed she only had 3 cylinders. Pulled over checked all the leads still 3 with the 4th occasionally firing then going back out too late to turn back. After about 20km at 100km/h the 4th lit up and stayed up for the next 20km to work. Started her up in my lunch break and pulled plug leads no change in idle when I pulled the rear left. It's still under warranty but the dealer is 150 km away so if it's something simple I'rather save the trip and fix it myself. Any ideas?:confused2:

 

[The Beekeeper]

I would try a fresh set of plugs first.....................Tom.

 

[dtoebaert-5311]

Hi I did about 300km on the bike on Sunday and it was awesome, I washed it and parked it in the shed till this morning when I got it out to go to work. There was a faint backfire at low RPM but it went away once I was out of the driveway. I hit the highway and opened her up and that's when i noticed she only had 3 cylinders. Pulled over checked all the leads still 3 with the 4th occasionally firing then going back out too late to turn back. After about 20km at 100km/h the 4th lit up and stayed up for the next 20km to work. Started her up in my lunch break and pulled plug leads no change in idle when I pulled the rear left. It's still under warranty but the dealer is 150 km away so if it's something simple I'rather save the trip and fix it myself. Any ideas?:confused2:

I bet it's the washing...let it dry out & it'll be fine

 

[Fastatv]

I bet it's the washing...let it dry out & it'll be fine

Yep, sounds like it. Pull the plug wire/boot, blow out boot and spark plug area with compressed air, apply dieletric grease into the boot, re-install...give it a try.

 

[dannymax]

+1 on the wash water! Give it a good blowjob with the leaf blower after every washing!

I use water sparingly, mainly just the wheels, pipes and lower end, never the handlebar electrics , gauges or upper part of the engine, they don't get that dirty and clean up well with a rag & honda polish.

 

[sdt354]

Water will do it. I use a fine mist from the hose when I do wash her, which is not often. Sometimes if caught in a down poor my 89 will run like that for a while. What's weird is, it hasn't done it riding through the rain, just left parked in the rain or washed with a hose. I rode from NY to home just ahead of that big storm we had last summer, without a problem, except to find my water proof pants aren't water proof without the liner. Dan-o got a soaking to in that one too.
This happened last week. I didn't realize it was raining and there she was soaked in the driveway. Mine clears up after it warms up good.

 

[Nautius Maximus]

Thanks guys you seem to be spot on with the water as it came good on my way home and has been ever since. There's still a minute miss at idle but they can sort that out along with the clutch issue under warranty, probably carb balance or plugs.:clapping:
I live on a dirt road so min gets dirty all over so I'll have to have the air compressor handy when I bath herunk:

 

[89max]

Mine did the same thing after a wash last year. I did COP's that winter.

 

[Barry barker]

I had the same problem. Condensation and/or water from washing the bike, I had to replace one of the caps. The previous owner did not completely install the boot and water corroded the cap. This was one of the reasons the previous owner sold the bike so cheap, he thought it was the carbs.
You would think i could have checked the plug wires before i tore the carbs apart, no!!:bang head: Carbs looked great.

 

[2fear]

Got to love the easy fixes, I learned the hard way years ago washing my 85 Vmax.