Seeking advice

Norton961 · Monday at 1:32 PM

Just brought my 2014 961 Sport out of 20 months of hibernation.

Replaced a failed starter
Replaced all oil and filter
Replaced battery

Got the bike to start several times and took a few runs down the street.

Went on a longer ride yesterday and put the bike through it's paces on the highway.

Close to home the bike just shut down and failed restart.

Checking today, I have fuel pressure and spark.

Compression test on both cylinders are ~80psi with no leakage.

The bike will not fire even with a shot of starting fluid into the airbox.

The bike seemed to be running very rich and the spark plugs are very black.

Any advice on what else I could explore to get it to run? Have I missed something?

TonyA · Monday at 1:53 PM

Was the fuel pump priming when you turn the key on ? 80 psi compression seems low maybe just not using the correct technique to check ? We've seen some cam position sensors going bad , maybe swap with the speedo sensor ( same part on your 2014). If you buy a new cam position sensor get the Bosch version. Make sure all your fuses are good , check for any loose connections,

Norton961 · Monday at 3:15 PM

TonyA said:
Was the fuel pump priming when you turn the key on ? 80 psi compsion seems low maybe just not using the correct technique to check ? We've seen some cam position sensors going bad , maybe swap with the speedo sensor ( same part on your 2014). If you buy a new cam position sensor get the Bosch version. Make sure all your fuses are good , check for any loose connections,

Yes on the fuel pump. I actually disconnected the hose from it and put another hose on the pump into a bottle and it is moving a lot of fuel each time you turn the ignition on. It’s priming as it should. All my fuses appear to be fine. It says to test test compression with the engine warm. Obviously, I can’t get it to start and unsure if it being warm would improve the 80 PSI. The usable range Is 120-180 PSI in the manual. The test gives same result in both cylinders.

Norton961 · Monday at 3:17 PM

Norton961 said:
Yes on the fuel pump. I actually disconnected the hose from it and put another hose on the pump into a bottle and it is moving a lot of fuel each time you turn the ignition on. It’s priming as it should. All my fuses appear to be fine. It says to test test compression with the engine warm. Obviously, I can’t get it to start and unsure if it being warm would improve the 80 PSI. The usable range Is 120-180 PSI in the manual. The test gives same result in both cylinders.

I guess I need to sell this bike as parts if I truly have a compression issue. It’s not worth the time and money at this point.

Stu Bodycote · Monday at 3:27 PM

Head gasket failure.

TonyA · Monday at 3:28 PM

Are you opening the throttle when you make the compression measurement ? You need to hold the throttle wide open while you are cranking it over during the test .

TonyA · Monday at 3:30 PM

Stu Bodycote said:
Head gasket failure.

That could be , leaking between the cylinders ! Ok , so quite easily fixable if that happened !

Norton961 · Monday at 3:49 PM

Stu Bodycote said:
Head gasket failure.

Yes. Very likely.

Norton961 · Monday at 3:50 PM

TonyA said:
Are you opening the throttle when you make the compression measurement ? You need to hold the throttle wide open while you are cranking it over during the test .

Yes, I did as stated in the service manual.

Norton961 · Monday at 3:51 PM

I just put it in FB marketplace for $5000. Time to go back to a vintage Norton.

BritTwit · Monday at 4:30 PM

Sorry to hear the bad news.

I was wondering, you wrote "Just brought my 2014 961 Sport out of 20 months of hibernation". How was the bike running when it was put into hibernation?
Did you notice any issues then?
When you initially started the bike and "put the bike through it's paces on the highway", did you notice an noise from the cylinder or head like escaping pressure?

If it is a blown head gasket, it would be very noticeable to the ear.

TonyA · Monday at 6:12 PM

Norton961 said:
I just put it in FB marketplace for $5000. Time to go back to a vintage Norton.

Why not fix it ?

Norton961 · Monday at 6:50 PM

BritTwit said:
Sorry to hear the bad news.

I was wondering, you wrote "Just brought my 2014 961 Sport out of 20 months of hibernation". How was the bike running when it was put into hibernation?
Did you notice any issues then?
When you initially started the bike and "put the bike through it's paces on the highway", did you notice an noise from the cylinder or head like escaping pressure?

If it is a blown head gasket, it would be very noticeable to the ear.

No issues when I parked it. The starter was very intermittent. It took me several months to locate a new one. Actually this is a very loud bike and I wear ear plugs. Loss of power was the only thing I experienced. I thought the fuel pump had died, but that wasn’t the case after testing it today.

Norton961 · Monday at 6:51 PM

TonyA said:
Why not fix it ?

Norton961 · Monday at 6:53 PM

Not enough time or patience at this point.

kev · 2024-10-15T00:15:19-0600

Everyone's situation is different but selling it (presumably at a loss) so soon after buying it isn't something I'd do.

Hope it works out for you

Stu Bodycote · 2024-10-15T07:42:25-0600

Was mega common, before we started doing a retorque

kev · 2024-10-15T09:28:24-0600

aye...that's failed.....

BritTwit · 2024-10-15T12:13:57-0600

Wow!
Yeah, that type of failure would not vent gases from the periphery for the cylinder, so no obvious external indication of a failure.
Still, a fairly easy fix if this is the problem. Worth the fix in my estimation.
I'd hate to see it parted out, I hope someone buys it, does the fix, and joins the forum.

Stu Bodycote · 2024-10-15T12:47:43-0600

Assuming the test equipment is in good order etc, the fact both cylinders are around 100psi down, it really just points towards head gasket failure....even more so that it's a not unheard of failure.

Seeking advice

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