Author |
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Cudajohn
| Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 - 02:53 pm: |
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My Brother, who bought his 09 'bolt from Iraq, just picked it up the other day. It is doing the typical stumbling. It only has 300 miles on it and I told him to take it back and have them re-flash the ECM. I figured they would do this with every bike that comes in because it seams like every bike has the problem. OR do you have to break it in before you get the re-flash? They told him over the phone that he just needs to break it in and the stumbling will go away. Right. I told him to join up here to ask his own damn question but for now, what do we do on this? Ride until break in period is over and if problem continues take it in; or will the problem continue anyway so take it in now? He is reporting stumbling on the 3rd gear shift and other off idle sluggishness. Also, how long does it take to do a re-flash. This place is an hour away. Build date is Feb. 09. (Message edited by cudajohn on August 03, 2009) |
Swordsman
| Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 - 03:39 pm: |
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Off idle sluggishness? That's not normal, is it? Wonder if the techs goofed the TPS? ~SM |
1_mike
| Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 - 04:03 pm: |
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How would "breaking in an engine" fix a "stumbling, sluggish" problem..? The problem is in the ECM...NOT the engine or trans. The dealer either doesn't have a clue...or just doesn't want to mess with it..! Mike |
Cudajohn
| Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 - 04:34 pm: |
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On these Military Auto Sales bikes, the dealer makes no money whatsoever, I believe. This could very well be a factor in them putting him off. Stumbling and sluggish is exactly how the description goes. The dealer has to know this is a reflash situation, right. It sounds typical of every buell "stumbling" issue. The bike has 300 miles on it! I was pretty amped about getting another Firebolt myself but now it's just like, "Mehh, Buells!" Problems from jump street and no tech support from Harley/ BUELL dealers. In this situation do you go in and be as annoying as possible to get a reflash? |
Froggy
| Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 - 04:46 pm: |
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Could either be the Idle Air Control or the ECM. |
Srwitt
| Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 - 04:51 pm: |
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I'm not sure but my 08 build of 5/08, just got outa the stealership. Seems to be a new reflash out, it runs beautifully, has only stumbled once or twice, I think those could be attributed to me. |
Boltrider
| Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 - 07:43 pm: |
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There's a TPS self-calibration that you can try before anything else. With key off, click the kill/run switch to "run" position. Now turn the key on. Next, twist throttle from fully closed to fully open and hold for 1 second. Then twist throttle back to fully closed and again hold for 1 second. Do this 3 times. Lastly, cycle key off and then back on again and you are done. The service manual recommends this procedure after every reflash. It's possible the dealer already flashed it but forgot to do this when they finished. |
Cudajohn
| Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 - 10:01 pm: |
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When he went to pick his bike they broke it out of the crate. It came directly from the factory. They didn't do anything to the bike, he took posession upon them getting it unwrapped and they didn't do anyhting. He rode it around the parking lot and noticed it popped on take off and hesitated. They said, "All Buells do that." Which from my experience they do. If I were there I would have made sure they do a re-flash since I'm aware of the issues but he didn't. They said ride it for 1000 miles and bring it in if it keeps doing it. Now it is more noticeable. They shouldn't have a problem doing the reflash and a TPS reset on the spot even though it's before the thousand miles, right? I would figure they would be doing ALL new bikes immediately as SOP. |
Froggy
| Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 - 10:57 pm: |
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There is no point in checking for updates right out of the crate, because it is likely it had the latest one right off the bat. The odds are slim that a new map comes out in the few days it takes for a bike to leave the factory and end up on the showroom floor. After a few months / next service, it wouldn't hurt to connect and spend the 5 minutes to check and see if the factory has an update. |
Cudajohn
| Posted on Tuesday, August 04, 2009 - 09:55 am: |
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Thanks for the info and response guys. Froggy, the bike was really not direct from the factory. It has a build date of FEB 2009 and was broken directly out of the crate. I don't know where it was from Feb to now but I know that being in a crate, it probably didn't get a re-flash. Does anyone know if there is an update from Feb to now? We are thinking about taking it in Thurs. depending on the responses here. I really appreciate the help, he was looking foreward to riding this thing the entire time he was over there. |
Brandon_m
| Posted on Wednesday, August 05, 2009 - 12:28 am: |
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IMHO... If it's close, take it to them. It will burn up less than 10 minutes of the tech's time to check, and it won't consume any parts or resources. EDIT: There's really nothing humble about my opinion, so lets change that.... IMO (Message edited by Brandon_M on August 05, 2009) |
Court
| Posted on Wednesday, August 05, 2009 - 01:43 pm: |
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>>>Does anyone know if there is an update from Feb to now? Easy. Any Buell dealer can tell you what it has and what is current. |
Iamarchangel
| Posted on Thursday, August 06, 2009 - 10:43 am: |
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Do they post the flash update on the HD Owners' profile? Mines an '03 so I can't check but if you register at Buell.com and go to the HD website, it recognizes you. Fill out the VIN on your bike and it tells you what warranty info you need. |
Cudajohn
| Posted on Friday, August 07, 2009 - 10:36 am: |
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I ended up telling him to ride it for the 100 miles since it doesn't take that long. Then............. last night his kickstand fell off! So, we're taking it in to Stillwater, OK to drop it off. He told me he felt like setting the bike on fire he was so frustrated. This sucks, I was really looking foreward to Buelling with him when I get one. |
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