Hi all, I am wondering if you could help me with the excellent collective knowledge that is on this forum. Last April I bought a 2002 ST4S, I am over here in Dublin. The bike was imported from the UK in about 2013, nearly mint condition, and when I bought it it had 18,000 miles on it. The bike was very well looked after over there and it seems over here. The keyfob is from Moto Rapido in the UK, (I have recently bought a part of them) so they may have done some work on it in the past. I dont think it ever saw rain and it hasnt seen any in my ownership. Anyway all was well until last Oct, I will tell it exactly as it happened. I was out for a spin went about 15 miles and went in to get petrol. When I came back to the bike it would not start, it would fire for a split second and then just turn over, no firing at all. Wait 5 mins it would again fire up for a split second and then nothing, spin over all right but no sign of a fire up. Got it towed to a mechanic who apperantly got it going, it fired and ran for him. There was a problem though so he fitted new fuel pump. I went over and got the bike and all was well for a bit. A few weeks later, maybe 6 or 7 ( in the meantime I would start it every few weeks) I went to start it and the same symptoms, exactly the same. Back to the mech and after a day or two he rang to say that it was back running, he could find nothing wrong with it, he said that it wasnt a ideal situation but to see what happened, so again I took it, brought it for a 5 mile spin, stopped it for 90 minutes, got back on, put petrol in again, started and went about 3 miles. Stopped it, went into friends house for about 2 hours, came out and the same again, back on a tow truck. The mechanic then reckoned that it might be the Fuel Pressure Regulator, got one of them (from Moto Rapido) and he fitted it. Bike was running again, come and get it. It is worth noting here that he always seems to be able to get it to start, whilst I was waiting the regulator he said that it was running and starting every day, not a bother on it. So again got it back last week, went out on it all well, went out again all well. Went out last Sat, drove about 20 miles, got petrol, started no problem, went another few miles and stopped for about an hour. Started it again and drove for about 3 mins and in traffic it just died, I turned on the lights and it died just as I did that, but that might be coincidence, this was new, dying whilst driving. So again I left it for a bit, every so often I would try to start the bike, same, a quick split second fire and then nothing. After about 30 mins, I was waiting for my wife to pick me up, I tried it again, it fired and started and ran for about 20 seconds and then died. Seeing as it used to start when it got to the mechanics I left it parked where it was, a safe area, and said that I would try it again on Sunday, this I did and the same, split secon anf then nothing, would spin over no problem. I can hear the pump priming so that is all good. Home on a tow truck and in the garage, tried it today again, bettery fully charged and no go. I am a bit limited mechanically, im not too bad, probably a bit afraid of it because of it being a Ducati, I have had bikes for about 18v years, im 62 so a late starter but I would do a fair bit of work on the bikes, also an Alfa driver for about 25 years so you can imagine, I had to be a bit handy, or have lots of money and I dont have the latter LOL. It is difficult over here to get a mechanic to look at the bike, they see it as a hassle that will tie up their time and they wont make any money , or rather they can make more money doing simpler stuff like simple services, tyres, brake pads etc, all straight forward so I am at a bit of a loss. If I could get some inspiration from you guys I could have a go myself, maybe LOL. I sometimes think that it is something that I am simply doing wrong on starting, the mech did say to me last week that there does seem to be a problem (imagine that) he sid to "feather" the throttle a bit on start up but it doesnt work for me, after the pressure regulator was fitted it di seem to be starting better than ever but alas it didnt last. All starting was normally done with the throttle advance off, I tried it today with it on a bit but this seems to make it worse, it wont even fire for the split second, just spins. I am presuming that the mech has ruled out the usual stuff in the weeks that it resided with him, he does have a good enough reputation over here. Not enough to fix this problem though, strange. I would appreciate any help and thank you in advance.
It sounds like a very similar problem that I had with my S4r Monster, a few years back. It was a blocked up fuel filer. The bike ran perfectly and I had just filled it up with petrol. A few miles down the road, it died. To cut a very, very, very long story short, it was the fuel filter blocked up.
Ok, immobiliser....would it spark at all if that was the problem, or could it be an intermittent problem?
When mine died it turned out to be the loom. Check connections and fuses where ever you can. Check main connector under LH front fairing
Yes, often they are rotten with verdigris. Water runs down the subloom and collects inside the rubber boot at the bottom. Check also the two connectors of the immobiliser. (Item 4 in the pic) The terminals can get corroded and cause starting problems.
Just down with the bike a moment ago, a question. should the bike turn over with the kill switch engaged??
Not sure what you mean either! The switch has 2 positions. Down with a circular arrow symbol, this is Run, and up with the same symbol crossed out, this Off. The starter should turn in the Run position but not in the Off position.
Yes sorry, that is what I meant....went to the bike and with the switch in the off position it turned over, so I jiggled it around a bit and put it to on and tried it and she started, I am hoping that turning on the lights on Sat which caused it to cut out is indicative of a problem with the wiring in that switch area.....I hope.....
I will indeed Derek, might be a few days but I will let you know. Big thanks to all who have tried to help so far, I do appreciate it.
