misfire

[mach1charlie]

my bike is not garaged. after it rains, bike has misfire. may take 20 to 40 miles to clear up.
anyone got an educated guess what i should look for? a house  w/garage is out of the question.
thanks

[Jet86]

how about a bike cover? if your only having this issue after the bike gets rained on then then you have some wet wires under the fairing or water in the plug holes. in 3 years i washed my bike 3 times at the car wash and the first time she did not want to start after i nearly drowned her, she had to set out in the sun for 20min and dry, the last few times i was carefull not to get water behind the fairing and she started right up. maybe use a blow-dryer on her.

[throb]

The number one plug hole seems especially susceptible to filling with water.  Pull the cap and take a look in the well.

[GeeBeav]

The number one plug hole seems especially susceptible to filling with water.  Pull the cap and take a look in the well.

The cam chain tunnel acts as a dam to hold water on top of the engine.

Yeah, you need a cover. Get a good one, don't cheap out, will be money well spent.

[anycleavers]

OK, what makes a good cover? I cover my bike (no garage), and yeah, I bought a cheap one. It was raining and Walmart was right there! Anyway I would like to get a better one but don't know much about them and higher cost does not equal better quality in my opinion.  Sorry to hijack.

[Cholla]

Dowco makes good ones.

[MAN OF BLUES]

my bike is not garaged. after it rains, bike has misfire. may take 20 to 40 miles to clear up.
anyone got an educated guess what i should look for? a house  w/garage is out of the question.
thanks

while I don't rule out wet wires, think about this one "20 to 40 miles", wires dry out rapidly, but that distance means you burn 1/2 to 1 gallon of fuel...fuel that likely contains the water condensation, or worse, ingressed, into the tank.....
I suggest running thru the tank on a long ride, adding a bottle of ISo Heet to the tank prior, and then occasionally after that point when you plan to put on 100 plus miles.
This preventative step may save you a future carb teardown if the bike has to sit unannounced at some point in the future......just sayin'

[mach1charlie]

Feels like 1 cyl goes out, I really think it is ignition.  yes it misses for so long I almost pulled over an pulled the gas tank to check wires, but was late for an appointment.
You would think with all the body work it would keep the motor dry.

On a side note I put dry gas in my old fj 1200 and left it running parked, when I got back on it was boiling in the tank!

Thanks for your replys

[Roadhound]

Feels like 1 cyl goes out, I really think it is ignition.  yes it misses for so long I almost pulled over an pulled the gas tank to check wires, but was late for an appointment.

Charlie, I believe the guys above are correct. The water in the plug wells will tend to show up more often if you park your bike on the sidestand and it rains. It can get in there when on the centerstand but it has been my experience, not as badly. I place block of wood under the lefthand foot of my centerstand when I wash my bike to help prevent this water intrusion. The next time your bike starts missing pull the plug wire on the #1 cylinder and check for water in the plug well.

If you don't find water unscrew eacxh of your plug wires from each plug cap, cut of about 3/8 in of the wire off and screw each wire back into each plug cap as you push the wire in.