| Author | Message | ||
     Corvetteman115 |
Hey guys, if you read my previous post last week you will have seen I recently bought a 2004 xb12s Lightning from Florida..I’m In NJ, had it shipped here After flying down there to check it out in person.. in person I noticed it was idling low once it warmed up. Fast forward a few days, it arrives in south jersey. I take it out for a few hours the next day and same thing it’s idling low and I get an intermittent check engine light..I’m ok with computers but not that great so I took it to a local mom and pop Harley specialist.. tell them to figure out the idle issue and put a battery init while it’s there and to go over it and let me know if anything stands out that it needs... a week and a half later (today) I get a call saying the bikes done but their scanner won’t pull saved codes on the Buell and that they couldn’t get the check engine light to come on. They charged me $250 (I’m not exactly sure for what since I’m the one that brought them the battery that I bought at the local HD dealer since he would’ve had to order one) I digress, I start the bike and idling fine, ride home and half way home, all good.. as I get closer to home I notice the Rpms are now too high at idle (1500-2000) so in order to get it back down I have to let the clutch out in 1st, then it grabs and the idle slows back down. Almost like an old carbureted bike that wasn’t synchronized correctly and you’d come to a stop and the rpms would stay up (if you’ve messed with old Japanese air cooled inline 4s you know what I’m talking about) but here’s my issue now what do I do? I’m not gonna take it back there, bc they clearly are not well versed on Buell. My local HD dealer (used to be a Buell dealer) tells me they can fix it but it’s going to be another10- 14 days with no bike, I don’t want to wait that long, or I can live with it and ride it and have them look at it in the fall. What could the issue be? TPS? Intake leak? If I rev the engine while Idling, the Rpms are fine.. it’s while riding and coming to a stop, they’re not dropping down the way they should unless I let the clutch out | ||
| Tpehak |
Like I said owning a Buell is not practical. Go find electrical manual for you motorcycle and start troubleshooting. | ||
| Johnshore |
Sounds like a bad tps reset I once inflicted on myself. It ran ok and then the idle stared creeping up. You can download ecmspy for free to access the electronics. You will need the correct cable to plug into the bike and a laptop. Its a great program for tps resets and does so much more I have no clue about. There is also Buelltooth I know nothing about. I've had good luck with my Uly and new the first time I rode one they built it just for me. | ||
| Tpehak |
If bad TPS or bad TPS reset raises RPM at idle speed that means you also have air leak or improperly adjusted throttle cables, or improperly adjusted idle speed, or bad IAC on later XB models or damaget throttle body component. If everything else is good TPS alone can not raise idle speed, it can only lower it if amount of fuel is low or flood the plugs if amount of fuel is high. (Message edited by TPEHAK on August 06, 2020) | ||
| Johnshore |
I set my tps incorrect. What happened is that as I drove it not so much the idle was high but the motor stayed revving like it was a high idle almost 3000 rpm. I not making this up. After carefully resetting the tps correctly it fixed the problem. I can't tell if that's your problem but you could try this simple thing or open a can of worms. The only HD dealers who cared even a little about buells were the few that actually sold them. A Buell is different. Probably why so many here work on their own bikes. | ||
| Tpehak |
That means your motorcycle also has air intake leakage. When you set the TPS properly your motorcycle started to idle at correct RPM but also started to run lean at idle speed which is not good. If air intake has no leakage bad TPS can only reduce RPM (reduces RPM when it adds not enough fuel at idle speed or reduces RPM and stalls engine when it add too much fuel at idle speed). (Message edited by TPEHAK on August 07, 2020) | ||
| Livers |
Have you checked your throttle cables for proper slack? | ||
| Corvetteman115 |
I haven’t messed with the bike since I brought it home from the shop the other day (it’s been raining everyday here since) the shop I took it to only adjusted the curbside idle they didn’t touch anything with the ecm. So I figure the next sunny day I will take her out and when she’s hot I’ll adjust it myself and see if that Atleast helps. If not I’m probably going to end up taking it to the local Harley dealer (who used to be a Buell dealer) and assured me they can fix it. I could by the program myself and try it myself but I’m not that great with computers, I could end up making it worse lol | ||
| Corvetteman115 |
I really don’t want to be without the bike for another 10-14 days though, so if I can get it idling halfway correct in the mean time I may ride it until fall and than take it. To be honest it was idling better before I took it to the shop. Atleast when it was idling low 600rpm when hot, I could keep my hand Lightly on the throttle At stops.. but with the rpms staying at 2-2500 at stops now it’s more of a pain (and more dangerous) bc I have to let the clutch out to get the rpms to drop to where it should be | ||
| Kz6fittycent |
What's your AFR? If it's higher than 105, it [could] indicate an air leak. If you have a lower AFR, you [could] increase the AFR to see what changes in the idle. This will help with trouble-shooting. The other old-school way is to spray carb/throttle body cleaner [on] (not IN - lol) the intake while running. Changes in idle indicate a leak. This is all assuming a "good" TPM reset; which can always be redone. | ||
| Corvetteman115 |
I THINK I may have the issue worked out.. I went on a 90 mile ride yesterday and took an Allen key with me to adjust the idle AFTER it warmed up.. I started her up and everything was fine... rode about 20 miles and by then she started idling high when coming to a stop (2000 rpm) as expected.. I pulled over and adjusted the throttle down to alittle over 1000.. she ran and idled perfect the rest of the day (another 70 miles) so my thought is that the Harley shop I took it to, started it.. it got warm and idled down to about 5-600 rpm.. their tech adjusted the idle up but never rode it or got to operating temp.. and I think he may have over adjusted it. So I guess I’ll see if my theory is right the next time I go to cold start it.. but yesterday after adjusting it, it ran great all day | ||
| Sagehawk |
2 cents here. these bikes really take longer to warm up than what most people think. my datalogging has shown up to 6 or 8 minutes. the only thing that counts is what the clt and iat are telling the ecm. to me, warm up is when motor and oil, oil tank is at operating temp. 20 to 30 minutes or 20 miles or so. they are not a short trip bike. 180c to 220c is the range they need to run at. clt sensor being on top of rear head is the source of info that ecm receives. When i fire my 07x up, i idle 2 minutes, gear on, and ride off. i run easy for 20 minutes or so and then do what im gonna do. it depends on whether im with my wife or by myself or with other guys. ecm learns and adapts either way. | ||
| Corvetteman115 |
Started her up cold tonight and she idled fine but it was raining so this was the first time starting it in my shed, now I’m noticing that the fuel pump is LOUD.. at first I thought it was the fan but it’s the fuel pump.. from what I’ve read this is normal? I can hear it whining over my idle, and my bike has a pipe onit. | ||
| Skipbarberman |
Yeah, somewhat normal. I changed the pump on my 2003 XB9R - which were known to have noisy fuel pumps - with the current Buell part number. My 2005 XB9R is considerably quieter, but not as quiet as the new one. I'm sure there is plenty of life left in the original pump, but I had the motor out for a 1050 kit, so I decided to change it for ease of access at that time. |
