| Author | Message | ||
     Buellrobot |
Just returned from a great trip up north, riding my step dad's X1. We started in Portland Oregon, rode up into Glacier Nat'l Park in BC, back down through Montana, over through Idaho, and back across Washington and then Oregon. Camped for much of the way and so many twisty roads – basically no interstates the entire time! The Problem The X1 performed fairly well, until the evening of day 4 (of 6). I started getting blips where the throttle would cut out completely, just for about a tenth to a quarter of a second (later it would sometimes cut out for closer to 1/2 a second). The blipping wasn't particularly predictable, anywhere from 1-20 times in a 4 minute period. However, was much more likely to occur after I started the bike. If I had been running for 10-20 minutes, it would often subside. Background X1 has 22k miles on it. We did put some seafoam in tank mid-ride, as one in our group had a fuel line popping off his filter (inside his tank), and he had some extra seafoam. Oh, and I have ECMspy/bluetooth dongle and was consistently getting a bad rear 02 sensor error (but no other errors). Potential Causes? *Clogged fuel line / injectors *Bad fuel filter *Fuel pump *Bad O2 sensor *Mystery electrical issue It seems like it might be some kind of sediment knocked loose by the seafoam that's clogging something. At first I thought it was totally random/electrical, so on a whim, I overrode sidestand switch, after remembering that causing problems for a lot of ppl – that wasn't it. Then I realized that the blips happened more often when the bike had been sitting/off for a minute. I'm not sure where to start or what to try first – any suggestions are appreciated. Another Question Unfortunately, a total dud mechanic (not me! this time...) had put a new front tire on and changed the fluids, before we left. In addition to not getting the front tire bead properly set/sealed, I noticed he used this 20w-50 castrol. I don't know if this could cause any serious problems, but the bike did seem to be putting a thick white smoke out the exhaust pipe sometimes, which I don't think is expected to happen. It was using a lot of oil, may be par for this bike, so I eventually drained the little bit of Castrol out and refilled with Mobile 1. He also used DOT3/4 brake fluid, which this 99 X1 clearly states that it should get DOT5 fluid – again, I don't know how potentially serious this is. | ||
| Buellistic |
SIDE STAND SWITCH !!! | ||
| Buellrobot |
At first I thought it was totally random/electrical, so on a whim, I overrode sidestand switch, after remembering that causing problems for a lot of ppl – that wasn't it. Then I realized that the blips happened more often when the bike had been sitting/off for a minute. While on the road, I cut the wires below the little wiring connector that leads to the sidestand switch and twisted them together, then put electrical tape over it. Didn't seem to help, but maybe I did it wrong? | ||
| Buellistic |
Check the TPS and the rear header exhaust gasket ??? | ||
| Buellrobot |
I just double checked our sidestand wiring job and saw that the electrical tape had slipped down a bit, with a bit of exposed copper. I re-taped and gave it a spin and didn't experience the problem... but it hadn't been 100% consistent before, so I'll ride it more before I declare it definitely fixed. | ||
| Buellistic |
Hopefully that corrected the problem ??? | ||
| Hootowl |
Mine does it too. I've never been able to figure it out. It only really bothers me when I'm tipped over in a slow corner, like when turning right from a stop, and the sudden loss of power makes me nearly drop the bike. If you find a solution, let us know. | ||
| Buellistic |
SENSOR,bank angle ??? | ||
| Buellrobot |
All signs are pointing to it being a bad sidestand switch... I rode around for another 35 minutes tonight with no cutting out. Thanks for the extra nudge, Buellistic. Hootowl, the bank angle would make a lot of sense, like Buellistic said. A longer shot might be some other electronic component shorting when there's a certain amount of centrifugal force, like in a low banked turn. Good luck ferreting out the demons  | ||
| Reepicheep |
If it comes back, add the crank position sensor to things that could cause it, especially if your tach needle does the funky chicken dance when it is cutting out. That Castrol oil is a good oil for a Buell, provided you don't run too long a change interval. It is the right weight and should have a good additive package. The only downside is that it is not synthetic, so it will break down faster, but if you are running a 3000 to 3500 mile change interval, it should be perfectly fine. | ||
| Hootowl |
Thought about BAS. Bypassed the side stand switch. It does it in every riding condition, not just tipped over, but tipped over is when it becomes a problem for me. | ||
| Hootowl |
I should clarify: This only happens occasionally, not like what is (was?) happening to Dean apparently. It happens seldom enough that it startles me when it does it. | ||
| Kalali |
This is going to be a bit different from what everybody else said but take a look at your AFV to see if you're running lean. A marginal O2 sensor, a poor sensor connection or a very lean closed loop area on the fuel map can cause a slight hiccup as the ECM transitions the fuel map from open loop to closed loop or visa versa. Next time it happens see if the CEL comes on for a split second as the bike dies momentarily. | ||
| Buellrobot |
After a few more hours of riding the Oregon X1, I didn't get any more cut-outs, so it seems the bad side stand switch was it. Just got back to Providence, where my X1 is staying and gave it a ride. I found it wasn't nearly as smooth as the Oregon bike, in shifting or in power delivery. I adjusted the primary chain, the belt (had a shop in NYC put new tires on and they had it waay too tight), and the clutch, and that seemed to make shifting a lot tighter. Now I need to figure out what's causing all the decel popping and unevenness in the power delivery. @Kalai, incidentally, I checked the AFV and it was at 90 – so a bit lean. The CEL was coming on just every once in a while and the light would stay on for about 30 seconds. Might not hurt to swap that rear O2 sensor out next time I'm in Oregon. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Popping on decel...check your exhaust gaskets. | ||
| Buellrobot |
@Two–seasons do you mean the gaskets between the headers and the engine? I pulled the spark plugs and the front is OK but the rear is powdery and light grey. I checked afv and it's at 105. will check for intake leaks tomorrow, but it's sounding like a possible exhaust leak. One thing I'm curious about is what tools people use to remove the header bolts... seems like a real tight space. (Message edited by buellrobot on August 20, 2013) | ||
| Oldog |
swivel socket 9/16 IIRC gets it loose then I use a deep Interesting read nice job on trying to run down your issue on the bike... the gasket replacement can be a bit of a chore consider replacing the studs and gaskets, put a rag in the ports and clean the outer areas where the gasket fits real well if you don't it will want to wreck the gaskets DAMHIK good luck.. | ||
| Buell_bert |
I use a liberal amount of anti seize compound on the exhaust gaskets and of course bolts so they not only remove easier but seal better on installation. | ||
| Oldog |
I use a liberal amount of anti seize compound on the exhaust gaskets and of course bolts so they not only remove easier but seal better on installation. a WORD OF CAUTION, anti seize contains metals the "Grey" version contains lead the copper obviously contains copper, this may fowl the O2 sensor if it gets vaporized or gets blown to it. My 0.02 $ YMMV | ||
| Buellrobot |
I took the headers off and the rear header was a powdery white (see below), while the front was a nice dark sooty color. I looked for obvious exhaust leaks on the rear and didn't see anything that looked out of place. I took the opportunity to change my primary fluid, since the exhaust can was off, and then put everything back together – torquing the header nuts to spec. Not sure what next steps are when only one plug/header looks lean... could it be the rear O2 sensor? Rear   Front   | ||
| Hootowl |
Swap injectors and see if the problem moves. The rear may not be flowing correctly. | ||
| Hootowl |
Or the front may be dribbling. | ||
| Steveford |
If that doesn't do it get a small propane cylinder, add a hose to it and give the intake seal a couple of very tiny puffs of gas. If the idle shoots up there's your problem. That's one of the stupidest designs I've ever seen but there you have it. | ||
| Steveford |
Perhaps this will help: The voltage from the 02 sensor should be bouncing around like crazy once it hits operating temperature which is 600 degrees. It will swing from .1 volt to .95 volts as it constantly goes lean/rich. If it hangs up, it's toast. You've only got one weird running cylinder so that's probably not the issue. Here's pretty much want you want to see in front/what you don't want to see following the slash: RPM 1050/1013 Advance F 3/5 Advance R 3/5 ET degrees 266F/278F ETv 1.9V/1.45 IAT degrees 115F/164F IATv 2.8/1.72 O2 V - .2 - .6/.76 with no movement A/F Open AFV 95-100% TP degrees 6.0/4.9 TP% 7%/5% TPv 1.1 B+ 13.5V/11.22 BAS Mode run BAS .66v Check Engine Lamp off Note on the AFV: Sea Level - 100% 4,000 feet - 85% 6,000 feet - 65% (Message edited by SteveFord on August 21, 2013) | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
The rear jug is the only one that the computer pays attention to. My rear has always come out looking leaner than the front. I haven't seen that white powdery stuff before though. It kinda looks like it was running rich to deposit carbon and then ran lean to burn it off. | ||
| Hootowl |
"My rear has always come out looking leaner than the front." Yeah, I have a bit of a gut too. | ||
| Steveford |
I just love my Gut-B-Gone I got last Christmas... | ||
| Tll130 |
What is the blue on ur pipes? | ||
| Kalali |
The X1W models came with blue ceramic coated headers. I believe the model only ran 2000-2001 but I'm not sure about that. Speaking of lean rears, my rear plug always reads leaner than the front, even with the AFV always hovering around 100%. If I make it richer the AFV will drop to 90% or less. Passed the propane puff test. | ||
| Steveford |
The X1W was 2002 only, they saved the best for last. I just came back from a test ride on mine after some screwing around with things. It's getting there... I don't know who did the coating on the header but I had Jet Hot do my old X1W's race header and they did a great job, no problems whatsoever. I'll be using them again. http://www.jet-hot.com/ |
