| Author | Message | ||
     Viros |
I washed my bike yesterday, I usually just clean the wheels, but the thing was coverd with bugs so I hosed it down a little, I took it for a ride about 30 minutes later and its starts sputtering pretty bad right away, it gets louder and i feel popping sounds under the dummy tank. It eventually dies down the block. It didnt want start after that, I figure something got wet that wasnt soppose to. I leave it alone and it fires right up the next day, its running fine then while at the store it didnt want to come on and when it did finally start It would just die when put into first gear. I left it alone after that and let it sit in the sun and its running fine now. Im usually careful with the hose. Ive also ridden it in the rain more than once with no problems, anybody know what the hell got wet that would cause this??? -victor 03 xb9r | ||
| Prof_stack |
Hmmm, more knowledgeable folk will be able to help you pinpoint the problem. I just wanted to say that I use S100 spray with a light sponge cleaning and then minimal water to wash it off. Knock on wood, no problems yet. Good luck!  | ||
| Paroyboy |
If it dies while leaving the clutch out in first gear, maybe the sidestand switch is wet/faulty. That happened to me with my old Ninja. Started up fine but as soon as I'd try to leave the clutch out a little, it would die. As to the popping cutting out while riding, no clue | ||
| Darthane |
Mine's had a similar problem, but I haven't been able to pinpoint it. It never actually dies, but after being ridden in the rain for a while it starts to idle really poorly and takes a second to figure things out when I give it some gas. I never noticed it before I did the airbox mods on my bike (home-made 'Force-style), but I can't conclusively point to that as the problem as previous to that I'd never really ridden it in the rain. I would also point out that I am very liberal with the hose when washing him and I've never had a problem starting right up and running off after a wash. Haven't people had problems with the rear spark plug wire getting worn through and causing poor idle/stalling issues in rain? | ||
| Spooky |
Sound like water is getting into the ignition module making it hard for the module to see the timing rotor. I've had the same problem with my Blast from heavy rain to just washing the bike. I have an aftermarket point's cover and it doesn't seal out water as good as the stock plastic cover.  edited by spooky on July 06, 2003 | ||
| Misato |
mine starts running what sounds like one cyl in the rain. coughs and sputters, get it home and the next day it runs fine | ||
| Darthane |
Misato, That's precisely what mine does...any idea what specifically is causing it though? I will take a look at my ignition module ASAP and see if perhaps there is some way for water to get in there. Bryan | ||
| Misato |
no, but I haven't looked either. I dont ride in the rain, just got caught in a downpour once and thats what happend. | ||
| Captainplanet |
My bike runs perfectly in the rain. I was kind of suprised by that, since almost every other bike I have owned has not. Even in a very heavy downpour (when I should have just pulled over) it ran great. No sputter at all. | ||
| Darthane |
LOL...the NE Trip wore away any latent reluctance I had about riding in the rain. I don't particularly enjoy it (especially when I'm not in rain gear!) but no problems. I wish I had done more riding in the rain before I did my airbox mod so I could find out if that is the main culprit or not...I suppose I could remove the plate and reinstall the cover for a while and then go get wet... | ||
| Viros |
I took my bike to my dealer today, im going on a trip to the races this friday, and I want to be safe. I hope they're able to find out what it was, plus I dont ever want to have to go through the embarssment of having to push my 4 month old bike on the side walk for over a block in front of my neighbors again. I had to do that twice. I'll let you all know what they say. I did ask them if theres anything thats sensitive that you should avoid getting wet and the guy told me no. | ||
| Blake |
Sounds like a faulty kickstand or other safety cutout switch to me. | ||
| Misato |
Mine did it before I "modified" my airbox | ||
| Viros |
Got my bike back today, they told me they werent able to duplicate the problem and that everything seemed ok. They told me not to worry about it, when I asked why my bike acted funny, they told me something must of got wet...(duh) He didnt seem to know much and the only buell tech was busy. I guess the only thing learned is next time be careful washing it. | ||
| Darthane |
Don't ever ask a dealer to diagnose a problem. The ones that actually can are very few and far between. | ||
| Spiderman |
Looks like Dyna has a fan club building  | ||
| Court |
>>>Don't ever ask a dealer to diagnose a problem. That's an inaccurate statement. Most with the word "never" are. I have on many occasions taken my Buells to my dealer and they found things I'd have never dreamt of in addition to any thing I'd brought it in for. I have the HIGHEST confidence in Topeka Harley-Davidson Buell to find and correct about anything. I wonder if that's related to them having more Bar & Shield Awards than ANY DEALER IN THE WORLD? Your statement might be misread as there are NO good and skilled Buell dealers, there are. Court | ||
| Mikej |
It is often the operator of the diagnostic equipment, not the location they work at that is the problem. Years ago I owned a Ford F250 pickup. It was having major fits running once so I took it in to the local dealership to have them run a diagnostic on it and give me an estimate of the repairs. They came back and said the repairs would come to over $1000 and they would have to replace virtually every electronic component in the engine compartment as they were all malfunctioning. I asked for a list of the required repairs, paid the $75 for the diagnostics, and nursed the truck the 3 blocks back to my garage. With the repair list handy I started working on the truck. First thing I found was a loose carburator, it had four screws that installed from the bottom of the carb that had a tendency to come loose. A little locktite and they were fixed. Second thing I found was a small vacuum line that had a small hole melted into it, probably happened when the water pump went out and the engine overheated a bit. Cost about 50cents for the replacement hose bought off the roll at the local NAPA store. Third thing I found was a wire going to a sensor on the carb that had a section of insulation melted off of it and where the wire was intermittantly shorting out. Repair cost was nominal as I already had a roll of black electrical tape. I put everything back together and the truck ran perfect. Either the dealership was deliberately trying to rip me off, or the mechanic with all his ASME (or whatever) certifications and patches was totally inept to have missed these obvious problems which should have been found as he was installing the test equipment because the service writer told me they had to put the air cleaner back on when I came to retrieve the pickup. I took it in to get diagnosed initially because of all the electronic and SMOG controls the truck had on it. I never took it in to a dealership again after that. Idiots. The point is: some mechanics are great, some are dolts, the only way we know which are which is from direct or indirect experiences in dealing with them. YMMV | ||
| Darthane |
LOL...thus the second sentence, Court. Shall I amend it to say, "Try to avoid asking dealers that do not have someone like Dave or Spidy that we trust working there to diagnose a problem"? Dyna fan club...-=snort=- I love my Buells, just hate most of the dealerships I've had to deal with. | ||
| Steveb |
Viros is in Davenport IA, his XB9R quit running in the rain. Anyone have any more experience with the quitting in the rain problem? Question: is the side stand switch in the open or closed circuit position with the stand up? steve in Los Angeles | ||
| Steveb |
Problem solved, the rain stopped last night, so he'll run one 1000 mile day instead of two 500s. Dave Stueve, You are definately a stand up guy and went an extra mile to help Victor. Unfortunately, while he was on this 10 day trip, his mailbox filled up and he didn't get any of our messages. Victor sends his thanks, and mentioned he got his 2500 mile? interval service at your dealership on the way to WI and tried to see you, but you were off. My hat is off to you Dave, Steve |
