Or, “What the hell happened to my mechanical ability?!”

A few weeks ago, while riding up near Hawk’s Nest, the Bandit started acting up.  While puttering through Milford, PA, I noticed an excessive amount of popping coming through the exhaust.  The Bandit is jetted on the rich side, so off-throttle popping in hot weather is quite common.  This time, however, it was popping constantly while on the throttle at 4,000 rpms.  I continued riding, but when the problem started including a lack of power, I decided to limp home.

I spent Labor Day weekend cleaning the carburetors, adjusting the valves, changing the spark plugs, troubleshooting any air leaks, and re-mounting the exhaust.  The problem persisted; it ran like it was on three cylinders.  If the combustion chambers were getting the right amounts of air and fuel, then there was a problem with the spark.  I had installed new spark plugs, so I concluded the ignition coils may be at fault.  Swapping out the coils from my old Bandit failed to fix the problem, although one of them had a bad cap that did not hold onto the #3 plug very well, so my test was not entirely conclusive.

It still runs like it’s down a cylinder.  There’s no more popping through the exhaust, but the weather is much cooler now, too, so unburned fuel may not be inclined to ignite in the exhaust pipe as easily.  It reminds me fully of when my old Bandit would get soaked in a downpour, and the rainwater would seep into one of the spark plug boots and short out that cylinder’s ignition.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think my mom is using the spare garage key I gave her to sneak in and sabotage the Bandit while I’m at work.  My next step is to let it run and see if one of the headers stays cooler than the others; if so, I can track the problem through that cylinder, from the carb jets to the ignition coil.

I’m running out of time.  Two work trips this month means - other than two days the end of this week - I’m out of town for the rest of the month.  I had a New England trip planned for the day I get back, but that plan included having the Bandit prepped and packed before I leave on my work trip.  If I can’t get things sorted by Thursday, the new plan includes biting the bullet and putting the Bandit in the shop while I’m out of town again.  Hopefully, they can get it sorted while I’m gone, and it will be ready to go when I get back.  It’s gonna cost me, though.