Hot weather, engine trouble in Mali
 

Hi Folks, Greetings from Bamako. We've made it through Benin, Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and now we're finally in Mali. It's hot! and the bikes are complaining. I'm on a Yamaha XT225 Serow from the early 1990's. In the heat of the day (110+ degrees F), the engine shuts off, like I'm running out of gas. If I wait in the shade five minutes, it starts up again without a problem. I recall reading something about this phenomenon in Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycle Handbook, but I don't have the book with me. Something about gas vaporizing in the fuel line so it doesn't reach the carb. Any ideas/suggestions? The carb is pretty well adjusted, and the bike runs great in the mornings and evening. Unfortunately we've got lots of distance to cover, and we can't simply avoid riding in the mid-day heat. Thanks! Christoph PULAKU | the fulani photo-documentary project

Have you got an inline fuel filter ? You can get vapour lock on a hot day.

Yeah! that's what I was looking for. I think that's my problem. I don't have an inline fuel filter. will that prevent vapor lock? Thanks! Christoph

Well try removing it and see what happens....

OR

If it's a clear one, you could wrap it in plastic, tin foil to keep it from the sun.


Also, make sure your tank is properly vented. With the heat, fuel expands !!

Cardboard
 

When it happened on my XT600e I tried a cardboard shield between the cylinder head and the carb. cutting a square piece (approx 15-20cmX15-20cm) then in half, removing a circle and reattaching around the carb/cylinder connector.
It pushed away/sheilded some of the heat in the cylinder head away from the fuel in the carb and it gave me the definate answer to what my problem was. I'd tried before to cover the inline filter to no aval. All took 5 mins and a quick ride around to see if the bike played up.

Worth a try..?