Yamaha CT2 Runs but Occasionally Dies

[pgiganti]

I have a Yamaha CT2 that I'm restoring. It now starts on the second or third kick, and runs well. I put street tires on it and only ride on the street. I've taken it on rides up to 20 miles long. It shifts and revs just fine, but occasionally it will just die when I come to a stop, but only once in a while. At first I thought it was just because it wasn't warm yet, but on my longest ride, it only happened after about 15 miles, so it was plenty warm by then. After it dies, I can always kick start it back to life, and ride it again until it again chooses to die.

I've cleaned the carb, but not rebuilt it. I've tried both the stock pipe and an expansion chamber (still dies using either). I've replace the points and plug, but not the condenser. The timing has been set with a dial gauge. Spark seems a bit thin by my experience. Can magnetos die?

So what should I try next? I'd appreciate a reply to my email address as I don't know how often I can check back with the forum. Bike is great fun, but frustrating waiting for it to die at every stop.

 

[BSWIFT]

Check you ground connections.

 

[2strokerfun]

Sometimes your stator coil (what you are referring to as a "magneto") can fail temporarily when warm. However, yours is restarting so quickly, I kind of doubt it. I'm leaning more towards some dirt in your carb that is clogging your pilot jet. Might want to clean your carb again paying close attention to your pilot jet (I'd probably just replace it--$3 or so), clean your gas tank, and put in an inline filter.

 

[pgiganti]

Someone has suggested that I have a bad crank seal that's leaking. Can anybody tell me what are the symptoms of a leaking seal on a motorcycle that starts and runs? How can you positively diagnose this problem; some sort of compression test?

Paul