I'm in Chile and my Ten won't start. It fires up but then immediately cuts out. I've changed the spark plug, but no different. Any ideas? Thanks.

My gut instinct tells me it might be fuel, or fuel/air?

Check the simple stuff first: Is the petrol good? Is the fuel pump priming as normal when the ignition is switched on or does it sound weak or laboured? Is the intake/air filter blocked? Is the exhaust blocked or partially blocked?

Has the injector wiring rubbed through on the right hand frame rail frame? It may be shorting out, but only when the engine fires up and the vibrations cause the contact to earth?

I once has a very similar problem and it turned out I�d left a rag under the seat which had got sucked into the DNA filter (no snorkel)!

I�m assuming you checked you�ve got a spark? I guess you must have otherwise it wouldn�t start at all.

__________________

I crossed from Bolivia to Chile a couple of days ago and filled up in a Chilean petrol station with 95 octane; the best fuel it's had in weeks. Everything else you mention seems ok; I even put in a new air filter.

Clutching at straws here, but could it be a dodgy fast idle/cold start mechanism? Might be making it run over rich which means it would start but then proceed to choke itself? Or not giving a sufficiently high enough idle?

Have you tried starting it with a handful of throttle?

I know you said the last tank was the "best fuel it's had", but despite it being 95RON of a reputable brand, it still could be full of sh1t!

My first port of call would still be to ditch what's in the tank and try some fresh stuff.

__________________

Thanks Pleaides. Not the idle, even with a lot of throttle, it just dies. I rode about 65 miles on the current petrol with no issues, and the bike started fine the next day (although though I only rode it a few hundred metres); but today it just dies. It was a very bad (corrugations and sand) road from Bolivia to Chile. Maybe something has vibrated loose? Maybe the coil?

Could be, but if it were the coil (or anything ignition related) you'd expect it not to start at all.

Just a thought, but 65 miles is enough to for dirt to cumulatively collect on the gauze filter attached to the fuel pump. Also, as you bumping around on the corrugations, most of any dirt in the fuel would have been jiggled about and kept in suspension. Then when it rested over night, everything settled to the bottom (where the pump sucks from) and then as soon as the motor was started the dirt quickly got sucked onto the gauze and blocked it. Leave the bike for a while and some of the dirt will fall off the gauze only to be sucked back onto it next time you start it (or even just when the fuel pump primes), hence the dying soon after starting.

I may be barking up the wrong tree completely, but it's worth a thought...

__________________