| Author |
Message |
    
Mbsween
| | Posted on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 06:57 pm: | 
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Hi,
I have a 2001 X1 with 30,000 miles or so on it. Mods include XB rocker boxes, Race ECM, Wileyco pipe and Forcewinder Air cleaner.
I commute to work and often ride in the rain. Today the bike did something its never done before, it actually stalled while I was on the Highway at speed.
The rain was pretty heavy and it first it felt like it was bogging down (think 2 stroke). Then it would come back to life and run fine for a short period, then it felt like it was running on 1 cylinder, then it died completely. I stopped , looked it over for a moment. hit the starter and it was fine, for another 1/2 mile.
Same thing, suppering, and backfiring followed by bogging (giving it gas and nothing happens) then pick back up and go, then die. It did this 3 times in the 20 miles I ride between work sites.
My first thought is the air cleaner is taking in too much rain, but I had the dry sock on it. Given that the thing is pretty loose these days (its 3 or 4 years old). My next though was maybe something electrical.
I did a quick test at home, while the bike idled, I sprayed the kick stand and clutch with a good shot from the hose. My thought was to see if one of the safety switches was shorting. The bike ran fine with a jet of water direct to the switches
The next test was to turn the hose on the Forcewinder which did stall the bike. Granted the hose is way more water than I'll ever see from rain.
So is it common for the K&N to wear out like this. I clean it annually and treat it with the K&N oil
Maybe its something else
Ideas?
Thx
matt |
Oldog
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 06:17 pm: |
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ignition short? [ high voltage to ground ]
I have the FW too I have not experienced what you have, I wonder if the ecm fritzed due to grounding of the o2 or iat
the K&N does not wear out AFAIK, what did you do with the Intake air temp sensor? |
Sparky
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 03:57 pm: |
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My 98 S3 does this too and, strangely enough, only in the rain. After about 10 to 15 minutes at speed on the freeway it will start to lose power just like you described. My bike is stock and I have waterproofed the ignition.
The problem is related to the gas tank vent valve. Apparently the increased humidity during rain causes the valve to stick. So if I open the gas cap to let air in, the bike recovers immediately.
Try that to see if it is the vent valve. |
Oldog
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 10:01 pm: |
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Matt:
Sparky may have some thing
the winner by a hose??
other than when traveling (rarely) I buy gas at the same station // pump
your miles of operation are about twice mine soo sparky's info makes more sense
as the valve wears and gets varnished it gets sticky. abrupt tank temp changes |
Mbsween
| | Posted on Friday, June 09, 2006 - 01:59 pm: |
|
Guys,
Thanks for the info. Next bad rain, I'll be sure to be out testing. I made it to homecoming and back (1600 miles) without riding in much rain.
Although I did some heavy rain when leaving NY, the bike ran fine.
I did get a new cover (dry sock) for the FW. At least it looks better  |
Pressureangle
| | Posted on Friday, June 09, 2006 - 03:02 pm: |
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This one's easy.
I have an '85 MotoGuzzi LeMans, which I use to commute 100 miles daily. I had the same symptoms-to make a long story short, the culprit is the K&N air filters. Water won't easily pass, so it blocks the filters and richens the mixture; then the water which does get through eventually drowns the plugs. I found this after hours and hours of searching for an electrical fault; the problem became evident only because the RH cylinder always failed first when riding in the fast lane, with splash coming from other vehicles on one side only. Build a water shield from a milk jug and test it out, to be certain. |
Mbsween
| | Posted on Friday, June 30, 2006 - 12:52 pm: |
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Eric,
Nice profile pic! How was that Guzzi? I've always wanted something from Italy that would consume the rest of my time
I haven't seen a problem (riding in some major rain the last 3 days). So either something magic happened or I fixed it with the new Airfilter cover. The latter would conicide with your experience. Rain seems to slide right off the new cover |
Steveford
| | Posted on Friday, June 30, 2006 - 07:20 pm: |
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Pressureangle,
If they still make them, try K&N R-1100s made for a Honda 90 ATV. Tight fit and you'll need to heat the flange up with a hair dryer but they'll keep the water out of your Dell'Ortos. |
Pressureangle
| | Posted on Friday, June 30, 2006 - 08:18 pm: |
|
Hey, thanks-I like the looks of those R-1100s, they'd tuck in nicely.
Actually, my commute is now about 6 miles, and I'm toying with the idea of installing 40mm Keihin CVs from H-D, but finding air cleaners that won't stick out is proving difficult; the only thing which has presented is a pair of mirror-image Forcewinders which would cost ~$500.
The Goose is everything I hoped it would be-I've wanted one since the first ones in '78. It's rude, crude, tough as nails, fairly quick and sounds like nothing else on the road. It's been as reliable as the reputation, 15,000 miles since October with nothing but oil changes and tires.
If finance allows, I'm going to buy a Blast for commute and hot-rod the goose, or vice versa...most likely both, given my history.
:P
(Message edited by pressureangle on June 30, 2006) |
Buell
| | Posted on Saturday, July 08, 2006 - 12:39 am: |
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I just had this problem AGAIN tonight - it rained pretty hard all the way home (about 30 min of riding) and although I tried to stay away from the splashing from other cars I still had the bogging down problem. I had this problem when I went on the Riding the Rockies Buell ride last year. I was told by the group that it was more than likely the air intake... Anyway, what I did was keep the bike at about 4000RPMS and a constant speed to make it home. If I stopped at a light I had to keep revving the engine in order to keep the bike running. It's frustrating to have this problem EVERY time it rains - I may try changing the filter and see if that helps. |
Blake
| | Posted on Saturday, July 08, 2006 - 12:54 am: |
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I've ridden in torential downpours with an exposed Frocewinder and not suffered ill effects as you describe. But the IAT sensor may be affected in your EFI X1 where that is not an issue on my carbureted Cyclone. Do you have the rain cover for the Forcewinder? |
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X1 Stalls in Rain