| Author | Message | ||
     Juniorkirk |
So the bike has had her first major engine problem that i HAVE to take it in to get it fixed cause i don't have the time, or tools to do the work myself. What i am hoping from this thread is some help to determine what might be the cause of the problem, and about how much it will cost to fix. Scenario: Going for a nice ride and after about 30 miles of riding go to take off from a stop light and when i get up to speed it all the sudden without warning sounded like a bunch of bolts were thrown into the engine and was clunking and clanking like no other, then it died right there. Didn't want to start it up and tried to get a hold of a few of my buddies to come get me with their trucks. None of them answered and i was still in my camies (in the corps and not allowed to wear camies off base unless going to and from work). couldn't go anywhere so i knew i would regret it, but i tried firing her up, and it was missing like no other, and then it would back fire like hell. This happened all the way back onto base to were she is sitting right now (total of about 7 miles). ok, here is the symptoms: REALLY LOUD pinging on start up, but goes away after about 10 seconds. misses A LOT, and then has one loud backfire every 5-8 seconds. barely stays on without me on the throttle to keep it going. spits out a lot of smoke from the pipe. *NOTE* This is after it has sat for a few days after the sound and dying happened. Any thought into this problem, and the cost to fix would be great help before i take her in. Thanks for the advice in advance, and i'll be watching this like a hawk for awhile to see what gets put up | ||
| Old_man |
I had a problem with my coil melting. Some of those symptoms, before it quit running. | ||
| Kaveman |
Take a look at the spark plugs. Sounds like one is fouled. Another $. 02 Kaveman | ||
| Juniorkirk |
i had a little problem awhile back that dealt with the from cylinder spark plug getting smashed so there was no gap in it. and i guess it kinda does have the same symptoms as then, but what would have caused it to have the initial sound of a bunch of bolts getting tossed INSIDE the engine? i could start her up for a little bit and see if one of the pipes doesnt get hot, but will that be worth tearing her up more if it's not the plug? | ||
| Iamarchangel |
Clunking sound still there when you start it up again? | ||
| Juniorkirk |
No, it's not there anymore. Just went out there and started her up. it will idle, but it idles at about 750rpm and sometimes gets in a slump and goes down to about 500rpm. i have to work the throttle to get it to rev up without dying. could this just be bad plugs and it fix it?! if so, i know i can do that myself....but still looking for some answers. oh ya, both pipes get hot as hell | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Check the obvious stuff like plugs and wires first. It could be (probably is) more than one problem. How's your primary chain? Sounds like you sucked a valve.. (just from your description) | ||
| Juniorkirk |
I'm trying to get a video from my phone loaded onto youtube with me starting it up and revving it some just a few minutes ago when i started it....it's still processing and i'll post the link when the video pops up | ||
| Juniorkirk |
here is the link to the video, sound is from a cell phone so it isn't that good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saDTuBTj_Bw | ||
| Old_man |
Could be a valve. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
that was my initial thought...does anyone know about how much it will cost to get it fixed at a dealership, and about how long? | ||
| Hogs |
Check your front spark plug wire good then your rear plug wire put ur hand on side of fins on left side and see which gets hotter then change plugs and see if it goes from one to the other... | ||
| Brumbear |
smoking what color is it ? stupid question but I'll throw it out there you didn't put 2 stroke oil or diesal in it probably not. I would bet wires and plugs do the little things first dealers can cost alot and having been a e-something or other once you poor guys don't exactly rake it in | ||
| Juniorkirk |
its a black smoke, like its running rich, and NOTHING but premium touches that tank....and your right E-4 doesn't get you that much unless your deployed.....lol | ||
| Iamarchangel |
Listened to the video. Sounds like the ideal war machine, I'd run and hide in fear if I heard that coming. Don't think it's plugs or valves. It's running steadily off idle. It's when you rev up that it gets ugly and, of course, the idle should be better. Plugs are working, so are the valves. I don't know enough about this engine to know if they will be broken and still work (old Ducatis would). I'm going to consider the original noises, the sounds you hear as an engine is cutting out under load. Think rapidly repeating stalling noises. I thought bad gas and foreign objects in the gas/pump but that doesn't cover the ugly higher rev noises. I'd be checking my intake, air filter, for looseness and gaps. That's not likely. I'm guessing that your exhaust has broken away. Check the head manifold connection then the muffler. The opening would throw off the sensors and then learn them. Your profile says gutted exhaust: maybe the weld broke. Anyway, those are my guesses from another country and the other side of the continent. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
thanks for the input, gives me more stuff to look at before i might need to take it in. I think i'll just bear down, buy new plugs (again, less than 3,000 on the rear one, and less than 1,000 on the front) and then buy new plug wires just to make sure. on the intake, i just recharged the k&n about 3,000 miles ago, and i made sure that thing was clean as hell before i put it back on the bike. pretty sure the welds on the exhaust havent given out either, i ran it with just the header on for about 10 miles once just to see loud it was and didn't have problems with it. The gas i had put in the day prior and put about 70 miles on it and then the next day did the 30 more miles, so the gas i'm pretty sure, is good in it. The noises for the higher rev is just my phone, it doesnt like loud noises, at higher rpm it sounds more normal than at lower rpms where it sounds like it struggles to stay alive. | ||
| Iamarchangel |
Bad gas rarely is the logical answer. Listened again, trying to get past the phone distortion. Bit small in the video but I don't see any smoke. Was there any? Can sort of hear one cylinder running steady and the other one trying to catch up so we're back to plugs. Check your connection all the way back. Did it rain, or was it washed, before all this happened? | ||
| Juniorkirk |
yes it did put out some smoke, when i revved it all the way up, there was some blackish smoke that came out, might be cause the engine wasnt warmed up all the way and it was running rich, but not sure. and it hadn't rained or been wash for at least 2 weeks (i know im a bad person for not washing it more often). | ||
| Xbjelly9s |
Your idle rpm should be around 1050. Has it always idled that low? | ||
| Juniorkirk |
up until it started acting up, it idled perfectly at 1050. she never missed a beat and loved life, but after it took a crap, it wont hold a steady idle, and it sits around 800rpm and sinks down to 500rpm often....almost like a timing issue, but not sure. In the end, would it be easier to take it to the dealer and say "fix it", or try the stuff listed here and if that doesn't work take it in then and say "fix it"? | ||
| Boltrider |
Who gutted your pipe? What kind of packing was used? Maybe some of the packing busted loose and is partly clogging the pipe. Plugged up exhaust will cause it to run super rich, way too much back pressure. And running rich like that can also foul your plugs, so it might have cascaded on you a bit. I would check that pipe first, and maybe put in new plugs also. (Message edited by boltrider on March 14, 2009) | ||
| Juniorkirk |
i gutted it myself, and its just a big empty shell with NOTHING in it. The only problem i would have with it is not having enough back pressure and losing a few horses, which doesnt bother me cause i like the sound and im not the hardcore racing type. after work tomorrow, i'll head over to the harley dealership and get some plugs and order some plug wires (or get them right away if they got them in stock) and see what that does. Chances are if it does run normally after i change those out, im still gonna take it to the dealership to get a full diagnostic done on it to make sure she is in tip-top shape. | ||
| Boltrider |
It could also need just a TPS reset. | ||
| Xbjelly9s |
I would atleast take the plugs out to see what condition they are in. Then off to the dealership. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
i would take them out for the hell of it to see what they look like, but i live on base and my personal tool supply is EXTREMELY limited. I go to an auto skill center that has all the tools that i need, if i could get the specific tools to get at the rear spark plug, and the front with it just sitting there, i would get them right away and check.... | ||
| Ridendude |
Haven't listened to the clips, usually a bad representation of reality anyway. You mentioned you ran with just the header for a bit. No support for them... cracked weld?? after running. Fatigue can come unexpectedly. Gutted muffler can lead to excessive leanness which can lead to burned valves. Check your plugs to see how lean it's running. The black smoke is an indication of running rich, but that doesn't mean it's running rich the whole time. Check your plugs, check your compression and check your timing. Hope this helps. | ||
| Xbjelly9s |
The rear will come out with a wobble socket adapter and an extention(seach knowledge vault for plug removal). The hard part is putting it back in straight and not stripping the threads. It's easier after you have done it a few times.  | ||
| Kowpow225 |
Get a long black rubber hose that fits over the end of the plug and use that to thread it in. It should spin quite a bit before it hits bottom. Antiseize those puppies too. It sounds like something electronic has went haywire IMO. Cam position sensor? Something shorting out? | ||
| Iamarchangel |
Check plugs first. It's easiest and they can tell a lot. You can follow up on the wires and the other troubleshooting step through here. Dealers tend to cost and few are upfront with what the actual problem was. | ||
| Etennuly |
Pull the plugs do the compression test, if it is good look close for cracked pipes or intake. But to me I think it sounds like the timing is off. Check the timing next. Or ECM, its wires and all of your grounds and the stator/coil plug. Look for melted wires somewhere. |
