I was recently on an 80 mile ride. About 20 miles in I experienced a dramatic loss of power (although the machine would idle normally). I was too far in to turn back so I continued to ride. After 10-15 miles further I rounded a bend and "poof", the power was back. The bike ran flawlessly for the rest of the day. I was thinking that I either had a valve sticking or dirt in a carb jet.
When I got home I started the bike and it smoked for about 2 minutes and then it stopped smoking. I removed, disassembled, and cleaned the entire carb.
Since then I have gone and checked compression and found that I have only @115-120 psi and is probably the cause of power loss(it should be 176-204 psi)and I have ridden the bike and it seems to have loss of power again (it still smokes a bit when I start it and rev it). I haven't yet removed the head ('cause I'm scared to look).
Is this a common problem to the TRX300FW??
Does it sound like maybe just bad rings??
Why would I loose power on the ride and then it comes back??
Maybe someone out there can give me some pointers.

 

It might be your oil if it is its even to low to high or it needs to be change. I have a 3004X4, 300ex, and a honda rancher and i never have a problem.

 

Perhaps the rings are sticking, causing a loss of compression and allowing crankcase oil to enter the combustion chamber.

1. Change the oil immediately.

2. Use at least 89 octane gasoline. Some of the quality on the 87 octane gas is horrible and causing engine problems in various areas of the country.

Hopefully your probems are just bad gasoline and dirty oil.

 

I am having a similar problem with a Suzuki 230 QuadSport. It seemed fine, and all the sudden it just has no power. Like yours, it idles fine, and it sounds normal when you ride it, it just has no power at all. It feels like you are always in one gear higher than you are.

This problem started out wierd, too. If you would nail it in first gear, it would have no power for about 1 or 2 seconds, and then without warning it would just shoot off. After it got going it would be fine. It did that for about 10 minutes before it got to the current state of never having any power.

If you find a solution, I'd sure like to hear about it.

Casey
San Angelo, Texas

2000 Honda 300EX
19?? Suzuki 230 QuadSport

 

Roger that THOR.
Quick question. How do you suggest me getting the rings "un-stuck"?? I have heard of that happening. Should I squirt some oil in the cylinder after changing oil and then crank it over without the plug? Or, do you think that just the oil change may "un-stick" the rings if they are stuck.
I will do both of your suggestions in the morning as I am running 87 octane (gas is so high but I'll try anything to fix this).
Thanks for the info.
Oh yeah, one other quick bit of info....just before the 80 mile ride I started the bike and it smoked like the dickens.....I yanked the plug and cranked it a few times and then re-installed the plug and presto, no more smoke. Would that reinforce the sticky ring thing?????

 

makwheeler:

Looks like your motor is burning oil, which is not a good sign and that comes along with a loss of compression.

A few questions:
i. Have you not changed the oil on the 300fw in ages? Many people don't do that and that will kill your engine and feed it to the vultures.
ii. What grade of oil did you use? if 10 wd 30... not the correct oil!!!
iii. Use low octane, cheap fuel? Use higher octane rating... like 89 is perfect.

A few things to help you:

(1) Change the oil immediately (I agree w/ Thor), but get a [red] magnet [/red] to look for metallic deposits. Also, remove old oil filter and dump it (look for deposits on filter). Replace the oil with sae 10 wd 40 synthetic oil (I use mobil) AND replace the oil filer.

(2) Put a *small* bit of 10wd40 oil in the compression chamber (like a oil capful down there when sparkplug is removed) and crank the engine without the plug for a couple of times. Then put the plug back in and start it up.

(3) Use higher octane (I only use 89 grade on my bike), not low octane gasoline. Low octane can damage your piston and rings... the details could put you in a coma.

(4) If you have evidence of metallic deposits, you may need to rebuild the cylinder - reboring the piston chamber... rings... new piston, etc.

Hope this helps... best of luck on your bike! Treat it like I treat mine... like an infant, but run it hard!

-Mudmann

 

Hey MUDMANN,
I've had the bike for one year. I have changed the oil and filter 2 times since purchased (that says nothing about the previous owner's oil changing habits). I have been using HONDA's SAE 10W-40(SG/SF)as well as HONDA filters.
As for the low octane thing, I should have a frontal labotomy for using 87. I went this morning for some 89.
Thanks again for the info.

 

Okay guys, hear me our before jumping back with a response.

I would not recommend any form of 10W-40 oil for any type of engine and let me tell you why. All multi-viscosity oils are made by taking a base-weight oil and blending it with additives so that it performs like a higher weight oil when it reaches it's normal operating temperature. In order to produce an oil with a wider viscosity range (For example 10W-40 as opposed to 10W-30), you have to blend a larger percentage of these additives. The problem is that these additives have no lubricating properties, they are there simply to alter the performance of the base-weight oil, which you now have less of since you blended it with more additives.

It is a common misconception that if 10W-30 oil is good, then 10W-40 oil must be even better. Truth is, 10W-30 oil is actually one of the best oils you can use.

It was only after I learned this that I realized the source of a problem that developed with a Toyota truck I once owned. It developed a problem with a valve that would often stick during cold starts. I eliminated the problem by simply changing from 10W-40 to 10W-30 oil made by the very same (Valvoline) company.

 

drlaney:

It depends on where you live... the sae 10wd40 is good for most ranges of temperatures, like where I live (N. central GA). 10wd30 is good for colder climates (i.e. Minnesota, ND, AK) because 10wd30 loses viscosity as the temperature increases, which in this case, is not good for the engine at higher temperatures (atmospheric temps > 80*F-90*F) which correspond to higher running temps for the engine.
See, there is consideration... 10wd30 is just as good for the engine in cooler climates than is 10wd40 for warmer climates. But vice versa, the oil is not as effective b/c the oil additives are specifically designed for certain temperature ranges.

mak:

Looks like you are taking good care of the bike! I'm a little bit concerned about the previous owner of the bike. Do you know the previous owner? If so, it would be good to acquire the history about the bike because my pop once bought a trx200 from someone who didn't take proper care of it (we had to rebuild the cylinder 2 times) and it never ran well 'till we sold it 2 years ago for another trx300.
How did the bike run after tweaking with it?

Wish you best of luck on your bike!

-Mudmann

 

Mudmann,

Just keep in mind that in whatever climate you choose, 10W-40 oil will always have less oil and more non-lubricating additives than a 10W-30 oil.