Why is My Honda Motorcycle Stalling?

What could be the problem when a Honda motorcycle stalls, loses power for a few seconds and jerks forward during deceleration? You might have an electrical problem on your hands.

Partzilla's Honda motorcycle expert John Talley goes live on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern for live Q&A. In this session, John was asked what the problem could be with a Honda CBR600 that stalls in neutral and loses power.

Honda Motorcycle Stalling Problem

My Honda CBR600 RR is stalling lately in neutral at stops, even with the clutch in. Also while riding, it’ll lose power for a second or two, and jerk forward sometimes as I decelerate. Any ideas what that might be?

John Talley: That really sounds like an electrical problem to me. And one of the first places I would check is the kickstand side switch. … I remember, it may have been a CBR600, where it would get out there and just hum right along and then shutter, and I think that’s what you’re describing to me. We ended up having to strap it to a dyno because it’s really hard to push around wires when you’re running at 50 or 60 miles an hour. I think it lost one of the stays on the wiring that went up to it. And when you really romp down on it, when the chain would flex, I think on d-cell, it was pushing into that wire, which was part of the circuit grounding it out, and then making it seem as if the kickstand was down. So that would be one of the first places I would look because what you’re describing to me doesn’t sound like it’s fuel related. I think this is going to be electrical and it’s going to be on the safety side. Now if it’s not that particular circuit, keep going. You could have a stop switch that’s not wanting to act right. A neutral indicator or a gear indicator that’s not making contact as it should. But given where that switch is down at the bottom of the bike, chances are it’s been hit once or twice and maybe having an issue. And if not the wiring, then the switch itself because let’s face it, it’s on the bottom side of the motorcycle.

Watch the video above to learn how to troubleshoot starting problems with a Honda CBR600 motorcycle.

Watch the video below to learn how to repair a wiring harness.

Want to see more live repair questions answered? See more motorcycle and ATV repair questions answered here.