| Author | Message | ||
     Tims |
Hi Any of you good people got a copy of a Battle2Twin magazine that did a story on ignition curves for the Buell?? Would someone please scan and send me that article?? Thanks Paul | ||
| Mark_In_Ireland |
My bike runs on after I switch the ignition off, I'd guess the ignition is too advanced. No pinking when hot etc. Any ideas? | ||
| Tim |
My guess would be carbon deposits on pistons or valves. (I'm not a Buell expert but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night) | ||
| Mikej |
Mark, Is it barely running like it sounds like a rough running diesel engine, or is it running like the switch is still turned on? If the former then I'd agree with Tim that you've got some carbon hot spots allowing the fuel to fire, if the later like it's still running good enough to go for a ride then I'd say you have a switch going out or some wiring about to arc/short out. | ||
| Vincy666 |
I have a '00 X1 with race module and vance and hines muffler. I just had a local shop replace the rocker box gaskets on the rear cylinder due to an oil leak. After picking it up and riding it home, the engine light comes on. I stop and restart and the light is off but once again cruzin' 80-85mph the light comes back on. I stop and restart and decide to putt along at 60-65mph and no problems the light never comes on. Anyone with any thoughts on this? Maybe my ox-sensor?? Its the only thing I can think of that is in the vicinity of where the work was being done. Does anyone know what happens if you were to start an X1 before that engine light goes off?? Thanks, vince | ||
| Holligandave |
I just installed a BOSS muffler and a Force Sidewinder on my 2000 X1. Looking to upload a map to the power commander to closely match my mods. They (PC) currently don't have a map for this type of set-up. Looking for some suggestions. Thanks, Dave | ||
| Airborne |
Vincy666, Next time the red light comes check to see if starts flashing at you that looks something like Morse code. Count the number of flashes and that translates into a fault code. As for starting the bike before the red light goes out? No immediate problems usually come from this but caused my bike to run real crappy once warmed up. While on the fly I pulled in the clutch flicked the kill switch off then on waited for the red light to go out then released the clutch to bump start. Ran fine for the rest of the day. The red light tells you that the fuel pump is priming the injectors for a smooth first time start and tells the rider to hang on while the ECM boots up much the same way your home computer does. | ||
| Airborne |
Holligandave, I haven't got a Power Commander yet but have playing around with the Program that fine tunes the mapping in the PCII. It seems to me that you could download the map that closely resembles your set up then be able to fine tune any specific areas from that point. Check out this web site to see you have the most current version of the "Control Center" than what comes on the comes on the CD-ROM http://www.powercommander.com/featsoft.shtml Hope this helps. I'm trying to learn more about this subject myself before spending the money. | ||
| Hoser |
Vincy666: It's possible that the ET sensor wire may have been damaged during the repair. The wire is in a vulnerable position and may have pulled out of the sensor body. On 99's and early 00's the sensor is located on the rear head beside the spark plug , late 00's have the sensor located in the tunnel , accessed from above the rear rockerbox. Jeff | ||
| Al_Lighton |
Vincy666, What Hoser said. That's exactly what happened to my 99S3 (I did it). It's fairly fragile, especially the early part. It's been superceded by a new part number with better strain relief. I diganosed mine by shorting the two pins together on the scanlyzer connector and watching the blink codes per the manual. And then bought the part mail order from Modesto, who had it in stock when all ther rest of california had to order it, smart guys that they are up there (Thanks, Danny!). That's the difference between a good dealer and a great dealer. The great dealers know which parts fail for which reasons, and stock for it. Al | ||
| Vincy666 |
Thanks everyone for their inputs. Something must've happenned cause the engine light didn't come on at all yesterday and I tried to make it trigger. Before that, I had noticed longer and longer periods of time would elapse before it would go off. Worked itself out?? I hope so. Eager to hear from you Power Comander users. Worth it? Local shop quoted $500 for one plus dailing it in. Funny story I'd like to share, when I picked up the bike from this shop (they work mostly on Harleys, Buells are still an oddity for them), the mechanic said to me, "Hey fun bike, but I don't like the way it gets squirrly @ 120mph!" vince | ||
| Airborne |
Vince $500.00 dollars?? Look somewhere else. The PCII retails for $329.00 the going rate for dyno time is usually around $50.00 for an hour. An hour is probably more than enough to Dyno tune the PCII. Labor is around $45.00 an hour. Lets see 329+50+45=424.00 Or even add two hours labor = 469.00 (They may charge two hours labor 1 for installing the other for Dyno time). There saved you some money. Option two 329+ install it yourself "free" + dyno time 50 = 379.00 Saved you more money. Option three 329 + do it yourself + seat of the pants = 329.00 Not as accurate but saves money. Dyno it at a local MC HP shoot out later on for $10.00 or $20.00 bucks a pop the money usually goes to some charity. Squirrly @ 120mph I hope they were joking. It shouldn't get squirrly at all. Mine stays stable all the way to 140mph (redline 5th Gear) | ||
| Vincy666 |
POWER COMMANDERs ON SALE! $239.95 @ Force Motor products http://www.useforce.com/index2.html under "what's new" Airborne, thanks for the sanity check. Will a power commander really make a difference? vince | ||
| Airborne |
Too bad I haven't got one yet but everything that I've read about Power Commanders and first hand accounts from some guys that use them points to making the bike more rideable through out the useable RPM range. Meaning better and smoother throttle response time (one magazine called the FI throttle "Frumpy" until the PC was added). The other advantage of the PC is the ability to override the factory EPA meeting standard of the ECM (unless you have the race ECM, the race ECM doesn't have to meet EPA)in order to smooth out any dips (usually a lean spot)in the HP curve. For example my instruction sheet for the V&H slip on recommends using the PCII to tune out the lean spot created by the more free flowing exhaust. Downloading the specific map for your set up directly from the DynoJet website will bring you very close to perfect tune. Then Dyno tuning the PC will confirm the perfect tune for your specific bike. All this will give you a better running bike and ultimatily more horsepower. How much is the next question. Now if my tax return will ever get here I'll pick one up myself. I've ridden some the gangs bikes with them and I'm sold. | ||
| Csg_Lightningx1 |
Hey there Buellers, My '99 X1, Onyx, full factory race kit (intalled it myself at about 2500 mi, had dealer re-zero TPS), that has been mostly wonderful for about 6500 miles, but has left me stranded twice in the past 3 weeks. A blown rear head gasket started the season off on a frustrating note (it didnt sit all winter, I rode it at least every 2 weeks dispite the cold). And then this past Saturday afternoon, the electrical system started cutting out on me in heavy Boston traffic (I was lane-splitting so traffic didn't slow me down too much, no overheating involved as far as i could tell), got to within a mile of my apartment and it died. Had to push her home. Now the dash won't light up at all when i turn the ignition key to any of the positions, and not even the horn will sound. The battery still has a normal charge. The ignition fuse was not blown. I checked the ground cable and it is secured. I assume that I have a short somewhere, probably from wires being pinched (had a my girlfriend on back when this occured, she's not FAT :-) but maybe the extra weight was a factor). I looked through the wiring harness and traced wires and connections as well as I could yesterday looking for the culprit, but living in the city without most of my tools available and working in a dark parking garage made it difficult to trouble shoot. I have had the kickstand kill switch give me problems also within the past few weeks but I think that this now is a seperate problem, possibly a bad ignition. For the past several months, i periodically need to twist my key back and forth though the different positions to get my dash to light up. I may try to hot-wire it to see if it will start that way. Checked the X1 files for data but didnt find same scenereo. Could a pinched wire somewhere under the tank or Heim Joint cause all this? I'd like to fix this myself if possible to avoid another $75 tow and long expensive visit to Boston H-D/Buell (closed mondays), just went through that a couple of weeks back. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post, but I'd rather get all the basic info out there then have to go back & forth with questions. Thanks! Chris | ||
| Hogluvr |
O.K., it's time once again for my dumb-Buell-question-of-the-week: I am getting ready to put the cooler 10R12 plugs in my '98 S1 per the service bulletin, and my question is... What do I gap these babies at? Is it the specs per my '98, or the Blast specs (are these different?) Thanks Mike P.S. I'd tell you what happened to me Sunday, but no one would believe it  | ||
| Bigblock |
CSG. Sounds like an ignition switch to me | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Agree, sounds like the ignition switch. Remove the dash and hot wire the cables that go to the switch to see if it lights up. Have the service manual handy. | ||
| Sethspeaks |
I just bought a S1WL with 1900 miles, it's my first bike since I rode dirt a little as a kid, it seemed to run great at first, but as I've been running it harder and longer it has started to develop some problems. 1. When idling the exhaust is so rich the neighbor from 2 doors down complains. 2. It pings regularly when taking off in first gear. 3. It hesitates when you roll on the throttle after coasting for a minute. 4. It will backfire a little sometimes when I let off the throttle. 5. When I turn it off after it has warmed up it diesels for a few seconds. It also SEEMS to be down on power. I don't really have anything to compare it to and I've been VERY careful with the throttle but that's how it seems. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, seth | ||
| Aaron |
Invest in a good dyno-tune! Seriously, that's what it needs. Sounds like the timing may be off??? | ||
| Court |
Aaron: For the knowledge vault....would you do a "Beginner's Primer on Timing". There are no Buell dealers in my area and I am going to have to learn. I'd like to see something to be showcased at the top of this page with...... What you need: 1 - Snap-On Model XXX Timing Light 1 - Clear Timing Plug Etc.... What to do: 1) Remove...... 2) Do..... 3) Check.... Court | ||
| Sethspeaks |
Aaron, Is that (dyno-tune) something I could have done at my local Harley dealer? Or should I take it to one that is more Buell friendly. And how much should I expect to pay? roughly also I forgot to mention in my last post that my mileage is terrible about 109 miles before I hit reserve and then it takes about 3.6 gallons to fill it. Thanks, seth | ||
| S2no1 |
Seth, Could the needle on you CV be stuck up? Aaron, what do you think? Arvel | ||
| Mikej |
His bike is low on miles, could be a varnished carb getting sticky. And fairly quick and basic to check. | ||
| H_Man |
HELP! HELP!! Yesterday and today were great days to be on the bike, but it won't start. I rode for a bit on Sunday (4/8) and had no problems. The bike first gave me starting trouble Tuesday (4/10). It hasn't worked since then. I'll do an archive search but I'll post this plea for help here and in the Carb/FI and Starter sections to try get some quicker direction. Symptoms: The starter engages but the engine won't kick over. I have a '00 M2. Actions: (1) I checked for, and have, spark; (2) All the fuses are okay; (3) Took off the air filter and visually examined the Carb. It seems to be getting gas; (4) There's gas in the tank; (5) fuel supply valve IS NOT on "off"; (6) I changed the plugs. Since I changed the plugs and have spark, I'm tempted to believe it isn't an electrical problem. But I cant figure this out. Any and all assistance is welcomed. H-man | ||
| Aaron |
Seth: My friends are most likely correct, something is probably mechanically wrong, not just a tuning issue. If it was mine, I'd pull the carb and clean it good and perform the mods described here. Something you should do anyway. I'd also set the timing, if you don't have access to a dyno just use a timing light. Court: Setting the timing is trivial, but there are some slight variations model to model in terms of the acceptable engine speed and what the marks look like (single or double dot). I could describe it, but really, the book does a much better job, has pictures too  . Seriously, I can't improve on what's in there, they tell you how to do it right. H-man: When looking in the throat of the carb and pumping the throttle, does the accelerator pump squirt gas? If you have spark and you have gas, it oughta fire. AW | ||
| H_Man |
Thanks for the quick reply Aaron. That's one of the things that has me so perplexed (and pissed). I can see gas filling into the throat around the needle. She just won't fire up. H-man | ||
| Sethspeaks |
Arvel, Mike, Aaron thanks to all of you, hopefully I'll have this worked out in time to get some riding in while I'm in town next week. Any one in the Naples/Ft Myers area that would like to go for a run with a newbie? I'm still looking for some good riding roads. I've been in northern California for the last few weeks and I'm just drooling over all the twisties, of course it's dammn cold and has snowed a couple of times. seth | ||
| Mikej |
H_man, I hate to suggest this, but have you tried squirting a shot of starter fluid into the carb while cranking it? If it still won't fire then I'd start checking the compression, timing, and getting out the service manual and going thru the troubleshooting section. I'd suggest it might be one of the bypass "safety" switches, but if it's sparks then that shouldn't be it. If it were my old pickup I'd suggest checking the carb screws and the EPA stuff. Sorry I can't be anymore help. | ||
| S2no1 |
H_Man, I'd try this (similar to Mikej) 1. Pull the new plugs Is there fuel on them? 2. If yes, is the cylinder flooded? Then let it breathe 3. If no, then remove both plugs and crank over, Is there fuel getting to the cylinders, can you hear the compressionthrough the plug holes? If you got spark, compression, and fuel, it should fire, unless the mix is over rich, then you don't have enough O2. It'll never fire off. Had a bike that used to flood itself so bad the only way to clean it out was pull the plugs, and then light the fuel with a match through the plug hole, not safe and not recommended, but it worked on that old monster. Turned out the float was too high, fixed that and no more problems. Arvel |
