| Author | Message | ||
     Midnightrider |
I get too long-winded so here are the bullets – Traveling at highway speeds and I get two “blips”” – kind of like a pause then a surge. I had been covering the clutch so I thought I might have caused it. Now that’s doubtful. Heading down the deceleration lane for the exit ramp. Let off on the throttle and the engine dies. Coast to the shoulder and restart. Runs for about one second. I repeated this about three times. Fourth time I gave it lots of throttle while pulling in the clutch. It stayed running. Let off the throttle and it dies. Fired it up, gave it lots of gas, and got back on the road ( I really wanted to get off the beltway). Pulled into a gas station. Dies at the pump. Fill it up. Fired it up to pull to the parking lot and check things out. It fired and idled without reving the engine. In fact – now I can’t rev the engine. The throttle won’t twist. And now I hear air moving – a hissing. Trailer it home, pop off the flyscreen. Nothing obviously wrong. Pop off the airbox cover – there’s a bit of oily residue but nothing wild. Fire it up and there’s the air noise. Cover the bell of the diaphragm and the hissing stops. Checked out the throttle cable adjustments at the handlebar end. One of the cables is backed out so far it’s almost falling out. Screwed it in a bit – no change. Screwed it in all the way – no change. No change in the idle speed, still not able to twist the throttle. I am SO late now I grab the factory manual and jump in the truck to hed of to work. I won’t be able to check it out more until after midnight tonight. I’m guessing I’ve got trouble underneath the air box, possibly at the throttle body Any ideas? | ||
| Skinstains |
Sounds like it could be an easy fix, like something physically hindering the movement of the butterfly. Road debris ? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I have some bikes with the butterfly valve in the intake track buggered with the plate snapped off the shaft. Have you taken the intake trumpet off to look at the intake? | ||
| Midnightrider |
haven't had a chance to look any further - I'm at work ( 3 hours late now) and the bike is home. But I knew you guys would give me some excellent ideas as to where to start | ||
| Midnightrider |
Couple extra items. About a month ago I loosened the clutch lever to rotate it down about 20 degrees ( after reading Lee Parks' Total Control) and about a month ago I installed the HID ballasts under the flyscreen and zip-tied one ballast to the cable housing that runs through there. I did have time to cut the ties but there was no obvious problem and it didn't fix the issue either | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
This thread might help: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/379951.html?1220129197 I don't know if that's what is going on, but you'll know as soon as you pull the trumpet of.   | ||
| Skinstains |
keep us posted, I'd like to know what the problem is. | ||
| Midnightrider |
FB - what am I looking at - A busted and missing screw? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
If it is the TB shaft, it appears to be a problem mostly with 06 Ulys. The TB part number has been updated and there is a new part. I don't know why they couldn't simply replace the shaft and pulley rather than the entire TB. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
 The shaft breaks at the point the screw from the top plate screws into the shaft. What you are seeing is a missing screw with the throttle pulley detached from the throttle body and butterfly plate. | ||
| Midnightrider |
Thanks Went back and read the thread you linked. Mine is a Sep 05 build. It's good to know what it (probably) is. Sounds like time and money before I'm back on the road, though....... Bummer | ||
| Midnightrider |
Thought I'd get on it - anybody got the Buell Customer Service phone number? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I hope it isn't that, but by the description of the throttle being hard to turn, I'd bet there is something wrong with the throttle pulley. | ||
| Court |
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| Midnightrider |
Thanks Court I called and talked to a them (her) just now. I asked about the possibility of them extending coverage under the warranty since, using FB's link, there seem to be a few of these and most ( if not all) are on Ulys produced Sep-Dec 05. True that 5 cases out of all the Ulys produced is not an overwhelming trend - but it's still a trend. I also gave her the NHTSA Item Number: 10020332. She will get back to me Monday. She was very nice but fair to say she was not impressed. | ||
| Skinstains |
Don't go countin' your chickens yet. It might be a stick or a stone. | ||
| Midnightrider |
Thanks, Skinstains. Unfortunately, the pictures above show almost exactly what I found. The throttle pulley was in the same position and the shaft broke right at the aft hole. Only difference was the screw was still in the hole. So, as I understand it, the solution is replacing the entire assembly? Just how big a job is that? You don't have to rotate the engine, do you? And how do I check to see if there was any debris that fell down into the motor? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Sucky. I was afraid of that. I think you have to replace the entire assy. They may have utilized a larger diameter throttle shaft in the new part to prevent the problem. Check to see if BCS will back it. Obviously, that ain't supposed to happen, and the part was changed. Keep us posted. | ||
| Skinstains |
I'm pretty sure it will be a lot easier with the motor rotated. It will probably be a lot less work than trying to work with it up. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Skinstains- if Buell won't cover it, it might be possible to repair it (save you some $$ over an entire new throttle body). I snapped the throttle shaft off on a go-kart I had as a kid (with West Bend 2-stroke engine with Tilotson diaphragm carb). A guy that worked with my dad brazed it back together and cleaned it up with a file. Good as new, and held for another 2 or 3 years until I got rid of the go-kart. I don't see any reason you couldn't do that with this part. | ||
| Midnightrider |
Thanks Guys " A man's got to know his limitations..." I'm no wrench. I have been able to do some simple work ( Drummer, replacing a failed fan, installing HIDs, installing PIAA auxillary lights on a Ulytility bracket, back-off brake light modulator, oil change, horn upgrade, checking primary) with a huge amount of help from the folks here. When I was younger I tried to fix a lot of stuff I shouldn't have and ended up making it worse - and more expensive - to fix. It's probably more mental than actual but rotating the engine -----naw ---- afraid I'll have to eat it on this one. Just seems like there is too much potential to break something else on this job. But while I've got everything apart - is there anyone out there with an 06 Uly and a Drummer who's gone with an opened airbox? Not totally open - just the 07 OEM inner airbox variety. Thanks d | ||
| Ratbuell |
Hey Don - I run a Drummer on my '06, and I took a 1" (or was it 1.5"? I have to look...) woodbore bit to my inner airbox, and pretty well swiss-cheesed it for airflow on the sides and rear sections. If you look at it, you can see the grid cast into the plastic...I want to say I drilled just about every square on the rear half. It's working fine. No crackle-pop on decel, just a nice burble. Now that it's cooling off and air is denser, I'm starting to get a little hiccup/stutter at certain throttle openings..but I like my gas mileage too much to drop in a race ecm just yet. I might anyway, though. If my mileage dies...I'll go back to the stock ecm and put a stock inner box on it. Keep me posted on the throttle body saga, and if there's anything I can do to help just let me know. For others who have been through it - is there any way to do any preventative maintenance on this one? Or to identify a pending failure? Or is it a case of "when it happens, you know it"? I gotta check my build date.... | ||
| Midnightrider |
Thanks Joe I don't see any PM for this one. I was on the beltway for about 5 miles and twice I felt a little blip - a dip in the speed and then an almost instantaneous return - all with constant throttle. It was almost like what you would experience if you pulled in the clutch a bit then quickly let it out. But I didn't. When I hit the deceleration lane to get off at the River Road exit I let off on the throttle and the engine died. It would restart but die instantly - until I restarted while giving it a good deal of throttle. I stopped at the first gas station to check it out and when I restarted it would idle - but the throttle wouldn't budge. The shaft of the throttle body pulley is fixed to a plate ( maybe the the butterfly valve ?) by two screws. I don't know if it really is a butterfly valve because mine wont budge a millimeter either way right now. Looking down from the top, all you can see are the screw heads and the top of the plate - the shaft itself is beneath the valve. I No way to inspect the shaft without removing the throttle body/manifold assembly - at least as far as I can tell Buell Customer Service is supposed to call me back tomorrow. I didn't get any warm fuzzies during our first conversation. The more I think about it, I really think it has huge implications. What if I was deep in 75 mph rush hour traffic and suddenly lost power? Or right in the middle of some twisties and all of a sudden, without warning, lost power? Could have ended up very badly I think. I guess I could fire off a message to the NTSB but I'd like to give Buell one chance to make it right first. There is documentation out there that they changed the part number and it will be interesting to see if the new part has a thicker shaft. | ||
| Froggy |
Any vehicle can die at speed. At work I was driving a van the blew an ignition fuse at 70 mph. Not fun indeed  | ||
| Ratbuell |
I was just out on my Uly, and thinking about it....I'd rather have it break closed, as opposed to open. With my luck, I'd freak out and forget about the kill switch till it was too late. And DAMN, it's cold now. Thank god I put a thermostat on the Uly for my heated gear! Of course, I had to go to the tractor place to get parts for my Cub Cadet so I can finish the yardwork I started on Saturday when the PTO threw a bearing...maybe I should put a heated clothing pigtail on the lawn tractor too, LOL. | ||
| Midnightrider |
Got a call back from BCS. She states the service bulletin issued on these parts only tells where to find the stamped part number and also told me that both part numbers ( the old and the new) are still in use. Denies there is any difference in these parts. She did ask that I tell the servicing techs to contact the Buell Lead (Allen) at Customer Service when I brought it in for repair. I requested she give my info to Allen and have him contact me directly as I've had it apart and seen the problem myself - and that I could direct him to photos and stories here where the exact same thing happened and the shaft appears to have broken at the exact same place. I don't really expect to hear from him, though. | ||
| Midnightrider |
OK then. Feel like letting a rant go but ... Anyway - Word from the dealer- $800 plus change to replace the throttle body assembly (including nearly $500 for the parts). BCS gave me a reference number and told me to have the tech call Allen, the Buell lead guy. The tech did; Buell denied extending any "consideration". The service dept guy wouldn't even offer a guess as to when the part might get delivered. I've had a great time on the Uly, but with all the known issues I'm guessing it's time to move on. Looks like I'll be putting it up for sale when I get it back and shopping for something more reliable. I haven't experienced a broken belt or seized rear bearings yet - but how far off can that be? What's a reasonable price for an 06 with the HP bags and 15K? Thanks d | ||
| Froggy |
Somewhere in the neighborhood of $7k | ||
| Midnightrider |
Thanks Sounds reasonable | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Sucks. Does shake one's confidence. I would like to know what OTHER model, car, truck, or bike that has EVER broken a throttle shaft. Doesn't sound like the BCS I know. |
