V11 Vapor Lock or Something Worse?

[guzzidog11]

I have started to have an unpleasant problem with my 2001 v11 Sport. I have always had the issue with vapor lock on hot days. After shutting down the engine on a hot day the bike won't run again until it cools off. In the past couple of days I have started to have the engine quit while running. I use the bike mainly for commuting 11 miles each way back and forth to work. In the mornings it works perfectly. Going home in the late afternoon in 80 degree weather the engine starves and dies after about six miles--it has happened on the last two consecutive rides home from work. This is a major pain and makes for a long ride home...

 

Last night after stalling I waited until the engine cooled a bit (30 minutes later) and it ran for about a half a mile and died again. A friendly motorcyclist/homeowner on my route offered his garden hose to cool down the engine and I was able to drive the remaining four miles to my home without a problem. I think the problem is fuel line related. The fuel pump sounds like it is working fine and when cool the bike is running as well as she ever has. I ride year round and had no problems this past winter. I have wrapped the main fuel line with some insulating foil tape to try to keep the fuel line cooler, but this hasn't helped.

 

Has anyone experienced this or have any suggestions for a remedy?

 

Thanks in advance,

John

[Steve G.]

You might want to try "burping" the fuel line from the petcock. I've found over 8 yrs of ownership with my '01, that this heat vapour lock issue seems to get worse and worse until I vent the atomized gas vapour out of the line, or at least as much as wants to get out of there, afterwhich it has been problem free during heat until several heat cycles of operation build up atomized gas vapour again.

It hasn't got hot enough here in Vancouver yet to see if my 'final straw' is going to eliminate this issue, which involved replacing the electric petcock for the manual one, as well as installing 'firesleeve' on the big fuel lines.

Steve