Problems with 97 SL 900

[thetadgt]

I have a 97 SL 900 with 140.6 hours on it. Out on the river today, I had problems getting it to run above 5900 rpms (~48 mph) at WOT. Two days ago, it was running a little better, but would not go above 6300 (~55) mph. Time out before that it would run at 6750 to 6800 (~61 mph) all day with no problem at all. If I let go of the throttle to 3/4, it seems as it wants to pick up and as I slowly apply more throttle it will go up to about 6300, then when I get to full throttle, it dies back down to 5900. I recently switched from running 92 octane to 87, as several of the guys I ride with say there is no need to, seeing as the ski is stock. Could this the source of the problem, or am I looking at something larger? Thanks in advance.

>>>Chris

[polaridoo]

Re: Problems with 97 SL 900

Bad gas maybe? Sounds fuel related to me. If the carbs have not been rebuilt recently, it might be time to go through them since 140 hours is a pretty decent amount of time.

[thetadgt]

Re: Problems with 97 SL 900 (pictures fixed)

Well after about 35 minutes of riding today, RPMs just bottomed out. Looks like the culprit was a clogged oil line to the the forward cylinder. Looks to be blown as the paint is no longer red but black and the spark plug had not a hint of oil on it. They looked like the two from the other cylinders. Time to tear it apart and see how bad the damage is. Pictures are below.

>>>Chris

Engine Shot

Close Up

Toasted Cylinder Plug

Other Two Cylinder Plugs

[modking]

Re: Problems with 97 SL 900

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[Technical Support]

Re: Problems with 97 SL 900

It's all user controlled - he may have removed them.