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Riding about today and my bike cut out I had been out for a bit of a thrash and had just done a bit of a brake test as i came to the traffic light. Brakes worked great, lights turned green, i pull away open the throttle up and it just died. Pulled up to the side of the road hit the starter and it starts up fine. Drive off, not too fast as it's a 40 limit about 1/2 a mile and a dual carriage way, give it a handful and it starts to die, let the throttle off and it's fine? Did this again, gave it a handful and nothing, do it gently and it's fine? Try it third time and no probs for the rest of the ride all the way back (5 miles) although the petrol light has come on now.

I'm thinking this was a fuel starvation problem with an almost empty tank and me doing stoppies? maybe some cackin the tank? Seems fine now, so I guess time will tell, hate intermittent faults. Anyone had this before? Is this something i should be worried about? I have a couple of months warranty left so if it's a problem i wanna get it fixed sooner rather than later.....

AL

check out the kill switch,i had identical problems last year when i opened up the throttle, it is a common problem,i found when i took the switch out the lid of the switch was being pushed away from the body probably by the spring inside, i super glued the two together and touch wood it's not acted up since.

Dodgy electrics on an Italian bike? if it continues now i've filled the tank up I'll give it a look. I noticed the other day on a night ride that sometimes when i switched from low to high beam the lights went out completely for a second or so, handy

Right, i'm off out for another blast, wanna get as many miles in as possible to iron out these bugs before the warranty runs out

Cheers

AL

okay, just went out on it today, full tank of fuel and the ride started okay until i opened the throttle fully (to the stop) and it did it again, every time infact then gets progressively worse until anything over 1/4 throttle was doing it, causes the bike to kangaroo. I hit the engine stop button and left it for a couple of seconds and after that it seemed okay again? Can someone explain exactly what is the issue with the engine stop switch, is it the switch itself? I've taken the switch out of the switch unit and it all looks fine? Maybe i could bypass the switch see if that fixes the problem?

Sounds more like a fuelling problem that anything else, if it's happening with the throttle - if it was the switch, unless you're knocking the switch when you twist the throttle, it's unlikely to be that?

Sound like the engine's being starved, or not dealing with the fuel when it's been received. Check your plugs/leads, check your fuel filter (I think there's one?), but if it's under warranty, is it worth getting the stealer to take a look?

al check the switch your problems are identical to mine last year, all i was doing was opening the trottle fairly hard and it would cut back untill i slowed down,if i took it easy no problem.in the end it broke down on me and thats how i found it,if i pulled the button out and held it it started as soon as let go it cut out.the only explaination i can come up with is as you accelerate hard and the forks lift it possably was pulling on the wires to the switch, any way as i said since i glued the lid of the switch to the body i hav'nt had a problem.

Another thing to check is that the fuel cap vents are clear so air can get in and allow fuel out.

As for the lights I had the same problem. It was the dim/high switch. If you open it up you'll see it's possible for it to get a bit loose and not make any contact. Just needs a little fiddling with.

well i've just been out again and did 110 miles without any problems? I really hate intermittent problems

Look at it this way. You're getting a lot of fun miles in trying to diagnose the problem!

Depending on the age of the bike I reckon it could one of three things:-
1, Dodgy kill switch, (but I never had a problem so I don't know how to fix it)
2, Dirty fuel filter (lives under the tank in with the pump)
or..........
3, Dirty fuel from a garage where the tanks were run low
The last one I have suffered from both on the bike & car, crappy fuel full of rubbish which caused no end of problems till I used it all got a full tank from a different garage and voila! problem gone

Also as previously mentioned make sure the breather pipes are clear. The Falco has a tendancy to block the pipe in the nipple (base of tank rear right hand side -as your sat on the bike - there are 2 of them) which is where the rubber pipes join. Mine got blocked and it took some finding.

Hope this helps

F9

Check the ignition switch...since it only happens when you open more of the throtle, maybe that movement makes a bad contact on the ignition switch that's right next to it...
Just a thought...

it's a 2005 model with 5k miles on it. I inspected the kill switch and it looked fine, and checked out okay when tested with the continuity meter. I'll check the fuel breathers in a bit but from memory they seemed okay as time before last i over filled the tank and fuel came out the bottom of the pipe. I'll have to wait and see if the problem returns but i suspect a fuel issue as after it cleared itself the bike felt more powerful than before and seemed to rev higher before running out of puff...

Hi Big-Al as you say intermittent problems are a bitch, my experience with my falco was a very similar problem to yours, It disappeared as mysteriously as it came.
I believe it was caused by a faulty stand switch since once I replaced it all was well but i did synchronize the throttle bodies and squirt everything with damp spray as well as check all the plug connectors I could find at the same time so can't really be sure.

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The plot thickens...

Went for a blast tonight and riding back it was just starting to get dusky and i noticed that i had no head light neither high or low beam worked, i suspected the switch. Got home just before it was dark (still had side light) and checked the fuse, okay. So took the switch off and low and behold two of the three wires to the switch had fallen off due to poor solder joints! Anyways, half and hour later I soldered the wires back on and put the jigsaw of a switch back into the plastics (damn that was fiddly) so all sorted now, but i'm now concerned about the rest of the duff electrics Although on a positive note the bike hasn't cut out since, i suppose the bike has character but i'm still loving the new bike, the power is just so addictive, can't wait until the roads warm up enough to have some proper fun

Perhaps you've just been unlucky with the problems Al, I've had mine 4 years on 1st August, done over 16K miles in that time and had just one problem. Must admit it was electrical, the rear brake light switch stuck, but then again I ride all year round and hadn't cleaned it enough!
Hope things get better, including the weather, and you get the chance to really enjoy the bike with no more problems.