Howdy y'all,

I went out yesterday to a local lake and ran my gpr out for about 3 hours. This has been about the third time I've gone out this season. When I was finished for the day, I docked it, and while I was trying to load it back on the trailer, the engine wouldn't start! When I tried to start it, sometimes it would turn for maybe half a second, sometimes I would only hear a click, but it didn't sound like any cylinder was firing.

I probably should have known better, but I then tried to do the same thing once I got on land. Still no use. Then I took it home- I checked the pump, and there is no visible blockage there- which I think means the problem lies in the engine. I have about 85 hours on it, (2001 gpr), and have had no problems with it until now.

Earlier last week some friends flipped it, but managed to flip it back over quickly, and had little to no water enter the hull (and had no problems for over 4 hours of riding since then). That was the first time it ever got flipped.

A blocking sound can be heard coming from the engine compartment, but what it is, I don't know. For what it's worth, the GPR was somewhat sluggish until late yesterday, and then it cleared up and started riding really nicely, much more responsively than before.

My best guess is that something happened with my power valves, mainly because of the hours on the boat, but if someone can point me to other potential problems, or give affirmation, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks,

Jebby


PS Below is a listing of all I've done to it, I'm at a loss!

I have heard the 'click' sound before on my gp800 after it had worked flawlessly previously.

I found that the leads to the battery terminals were a tiny bit loose, and I cleaned them so the contacts were shiny again and retightened them. Problem went away.

YMMV etc,
P

I haven't had a chance to look at the batter connectors- I'll do that next. In the mean time, I pulled the sparks, and I found that the engine is flooded right now, and also one of the plugs had it's ceramic cracked (though still all on the stem). I'll examine my battery tonight, and then I'll see if that makes any difference...

Thanks,

Jebby

Jeb you might want to test your compression before you do anything else crack spark plugs dont sound good.

Sounds like another bad crank and crankbearings its all over this web site like a bad rash, I think there is a bunch of 2001gp1200R's out there with bad bearings, what is your production date, mine is 11-00. Ever since I've been on this web site all these cranks are falling apart. Where did yamaha buy there bearings Iraq?

Thanks for all the help so far-

one question, since nobody is saying anything about the power valves- could those still be causing the problems, or is it definitely something else?

Does the motor turn over ok with all the spark plugs removed? Be sure to place a rag over the head so if it is flooded you don’t get a nice rinse Cracked spark plugs are never a good sign! I have been hearing a lot about bad bearings. Its hopeful thinking that you might have just flooded a cylinder and gasoline pressure cracked the plug but chances favor against it.

Djgeojoe, I think (actually, I'm hoping ) the problem was with what you posted.

Alright, I unplugged my spark plugs and then turned the motor- it was turning fine- no problems at all. Next thing I did was I put fresh plugs in, and now (besides a rough start from a slightly flooded engine), the engine is turning fine! I guess I got lucky and had that rare case where maybe a cylinder was flooded.

Anyway, before I take it to the lake again, is there anything else I should check to make sure it really is working correctly? The sound is about right, everything seemed pretty much Ok. If the cylinder with the broken spark plug has too high compression, how can I fix it (I plan to check soon)?

I am a little uncomfortable still- mainly because I don't want to break it worse, any tips?

Thanks all,

Jebby

Do your compression check, with valves both open and closed. If it checks out ok, take it out and ride it like you stole it! If your problem is in your crank or bearings, there is not much you can do to keep from making it worse.

What would cause my compression to go up?

When you start your motor from a cold start (sitting for at least a week) goose the throttle no more than 8-10 times, pull the choke and crank the sucker, do not hold down the throttle while cranking. 8-10 pulls on the throttle before start is more than enough to get gas to the carbs. Crank for no longer than10 seconds, if boat does not start check to make sure choke is still pulled all the way up, try cranking again for another 10 sec. Craft will start first or second time you do this. If you crank the motor with the throttle down you will flood the cylinders with gas and the gas will not compress like air and cease the motor, once a motor has been flooded in this fashion it will run like sh*t for a few min until all the gas is cleared and burned off. Take the craft for a spin and see how the RPMs are doing and see how she runs. If everything is OK then you are in good shape. If RPMs are low and she accelerates bad you could have a bad/low battery or your crank shaft/bearings could be shot. Usually when your crank goes it warps and that allows the piston to travel past top dead center and will literally smash the spark plug. I think you will notice it if it happens. If you have not modified your heads then I am very confident you will not have to worry about too much compression, unless your crank is bent heh. Hope this helps.

My bike was made in 2/2002 and had a bad crank, I sure hope its not that, best of luck buddy.

check the fron bearing. that is why my machine didn't turn over.