imported post
Ben Herr wrote:
I have a digital volt meter (Honda) as part of a digital dash that I purchased from Honda It reads 14.5 to14.7 at all times when the engine is revved over 1000 rpms.
Thats not good. It must keep that reading down to 400 RPM or so. Run the idle speed down and see if it falls.
Checking volts on the battery is a crude check for charging ability, it proves there are no gross failures like a bad stator or regulator. But, thats not enough to diagnose performance problems. The chronic motorcycle problem, in every Honda Ive owned from 360 - 1200 cc, is lack of voltage to the ignition coils. Thats the critical thing, and unfortunately, next to impossible for most riders to check. could be bad wiring to coils, but without an oscilliscope, cannot verify it.
Due to the intermittient nature, I doubt its fuel system, those bugs are usually constant and increase with time. Im betting on electrics. Yes, the battery sees 14.5 but Ive seen thatwith ignition coils starving for current at the same time. Its not uncommon for the ignition coils to only get 9V when the ignition controller (or breaker points) turn them on, and a Voltmeter cannotmeasure turn-on voltage.
Id do this - remove the power wires from the coils (sorry, my wiring diagram is bad so I cant verify the colors, should be Black/ White) and feed the coils directly from the battery through a 3 amp fuse. May notice a performance increase. If so, bad wiring - I can send you a wiring repair to fix it.
PS I noticed youre in Ontario, is there a correlation between mileage loss and drops in air temperature? Does this loss happen on rides on particularly cold days? Carbs may be out of calibration for very cold weather.
Also- check the rear end and brakes, especially that its pulling a trailer. Trailer puts a lot more load on rear wheel bearings. Lift the wheels and spin them to see if brakes are dragging. Chassis problems can eat up engine power.