| Author | Message | ||
     Uly_man |
If the bike runs ok with no stutter, stalling, flat spots, idles good and the like how do you know for sure it is running 100%. Like is the timing adjusting perfectly for load and temp conditions? I am sure my 10 bike is not at the moment as I know for a fact that it CAN go like a rocket. It is not running bad or anything but it is just not "quite right" and needs a little more effort on its part to get it moving fast. I guess you could call it a touch "sluggish" but nothing most would notice as such. I have often wondered about this with the problems people have with this bike. Just HOW MANY are not running as they should. I am using the same fuel over the same runs. Since I have a new ECM on order anyway I have done nothing with the bike as yet. I want to prove any damage to the old one first. I think, for what ever reason, that the timing is not advancing enough. I had something of the same on the 06 bike but that was caused by the Earthing fault. If the new ECM is not the cure I will be doing a series of logged runs to monitor what is going on with bike. I will just need to set some time aside to do it is all. | ||
| Britchri10 |
Thing is a bike, just like any other vehicle, will run better some days than others. There are a whole host of things that effect performance. Air temp' road temp' wind speed and direction, humidity and so on are the environmental one's I can think of off the top of my head. Add in "mechanical" effects such as fuel temp', tire pressures (vital to good handling on a Uly IMHO) age of the gas regardless of octane, oil temp's, age of oil in the motor, grime/crap on the belt etc'. Plus how you are feeling, what you ate/drank last night, the amount of sleep you had, stress levels, what you are wearing etc' and so forth and you have a whole host of influences on how the bike runs, some of which can be catered for, others which can't. It's a bit of a ramble but I went through two weeks of not trusting my Uly in the corners, it just felt strange. I checked everything I could think of but nothing made the feeling go away. Then, one day it was just back to normal and regained my trust. Intangibles such as these, amongst many others may well effect how the bike "feels". IJS, Chris C | ||
| Reepicheep |
Air density changes with temperature, so any motor will make noticeably less power on a hot day compared to a cool day. Perhaps that is what you are noticing? On my first cool fall day of riding after a long hot summer, I have to watch my throttle hand to avoid accidental wheelies. I'd guess it is close to a 10% difference between a 90+ degree day and a 50 degree day. | ||
| Uly_man |
All very true. I know that "what the F is going on" with the bike feeling all too well. I find it most with tire pressures. They bug the crap out of me. I have just had it with the Uly. I had them perfect at a air temp of 32 C and now it has gone down to 22 C. On a sports bike it would have killed the handling but the Uly still works well even if it does feel a little on the soft side. It is one of the many things that I love about this bike. Most bikes have some sort of "vice" about them as regards riding them. The Uly has none that I can find. It is very humid here at the moment. The bike does seem to like, as you would expect, cooler air. The 10 bikes ECM seems to adapt quicker to condition changes that my 06 bike did. DDFI-3 over DDFI-2 I guess but I still think the Buell system is a bit crude but it copes well enough for the most part. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Ulyman, In the 2008 model year Buell engineers changed the throttle body mounted cable cam. It's probably called something else but when you'd twist the throttle on the 2006 the power came on strong but not so much on the 2008 model and your 2010 model is probably just like the 2008 in that regard. When I demo'd the 2008 I thought there was something wrong with it until they explained about the woosified new throttle cam. Really ruined the experience for me. Taking off from a stop was neutered compared to my 2006 model. Your off-idle response is going to feel weak compared to what you remember of your 2006. If you check Reepicheeps profile, he has an 06'. | ||
| Britchri10 |
I have an '09 & it will wheelie from start but I have to work for it to happen. I believe the take up is smoother post '07 on the ULY.(as EG_1997 says). Mine "loves" cooler weather too. The 95F Florida heat is not conducive to full power running around. Chris C | ||
| Hughlysses |
I was surprised at the improvement that replacing the muffler actuator made on my Uly. I think the thing can be almost completely failed without throwing a code. My bike would occasionally show a check engine light, but it would clear up after a few minutes and it might not come back for weeks. A few weeks ago, my bike died due to a failed battery. After I replaced the battery, the check engine light showed every time I started the bike, so I started investigating. I removed the airbox cover and did the operational check, and the motor wasn't even moving. Fortunately, I'd purchased a new actuator (the upgraded one with metal gears) about a year ago, so all I had to do was install it. It really made a major improvement, especially in roll-on throttle response. It's almost like having a new Uly again. | ||
| Uly_man |
Yes EG I found the same. I had a 06 Uly and it would "leap" into the air very easy. In fact a little too easy sometimes. It may have been better if they had changed the cam to something in the middle of the 06 and 10 bikes but it is still no problem on the 10 bike. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Good point Hugh. My exhaust servo was broken but not throwing a code for a long time, and it perked up nicely when I put in another. | ||
| North_of_55 |
I often wonder if mine ever runs "right". Every now and then it will shock me with low end grunt... lofting the front tire with ease. Most days I couldn't make it lift the tire if my life depended on it! I wait for longer gaps in traffic before trying to cut in now as it will almost certainly pop, sputter or bog. If it weren't for the "moments of clarity" (as I've come to call them) I probably wouldn't be so frustrated with it. Now that it bogs and sometimes stalls leaving a stop and the idle surges when it's cold I am quite sure there is something wrong... but have no idea what! EBR ECM didn't cure it... neither did intake seals, plugs and ground cleaning. While I realize that changing conditions can affect how a bike runs... mine changes from minute to minute. Sometimes I reset the TPS and it's a rocket ship for a coupld of minutes... other times it has little effect. So now I just ride around assuming that it will intake-pop or stall whenever I most hope it won't. There are a lot of things I love about this bike... but at this point I can honestly say that if money wasn't so tight I'd have replaced it already! (Message edited by north_of_55 on July 31, 2013) (Message edited by north_of_55 on July 31, 2013) | ||
| Red450 |
North_of_55, have you thought about replacing your TPS? | ||
| North_of_55 |
I have thought about changing it... along with the IAT, Head Temp and O2 sensors. I just don't have money to be throwing parts at this thing. I've been meaning to check it for irregularities with an analogue meter but haven't had time. | ||
| Red450 |
I replaced everything but the TPS and only helped a small amount. I know there is a generic TPS for the 06 available from autozone for $35 Duralast TPS213. | ||
| Uly_man |
North_of_55. Yes there is deffo something wrong with it. That moment of "clarity" is the bike working right. "if money wasn't so tight". If you can afford a cable and have access to a laptop I can set you up to use TunerPro if it would help. It may seem a little daunting at first but is not to bad. Trust me it is a real good start to tracking down a problem. | ||
| Uly_man |
I have replaced the ECM. It came blank so I had to flash it with my old ECM prog as it would not work otherwise. Fired up the bike. I was still doing the same thing. Missing on bumps to the rear and the timing was deffo NOT right. It felt, as before, retarded once the bike was hot. After some poking around I noticed an exposed wire on the black ECM plug. This was 5mm from the plug base and only had about 3 strands of copper wire intact? The insulation looks like it has been CUT with a knife and not from snips or cutters. Nor does it look like wear from the battery base but I can not be sure about that. It could have been me but I am normally very careful about that sort of thing. Given the way the wire was positioned it would have been "making and breaking" on bumps. I fixed the damage and the bike, so far, runs as it should. The timing issue could still be a bad Earth like my 06 bike had. You turn off the bike and the ECM resets itself to the current air/engine temp. But in this case it did not before the wire repair as the timing was still the same. At least I now know that the bike WILL run right. I now have the low speed engine control back and the engine braking as well. The bike "goes" like it should and the way it did before this problem. I am NOT going to say as yet that it is fixed. I will be doing more tests to be sure IE Hot and cold starts as well as trying the old ECM. The wire damage is a bit of a worry though. I hope it is just that and not sabotage from someone else IE Past owner, factory or dealer. It would be the way to do it though as it would be VERY hard to track down. The "feel" of the bike was deffo the timing and not me or the weather. The conditions are the same but after the repair the bike was like "night and day". Ho Hum we will see? | ||
| Uly_man |
Oh and as a side not on the timing issue. I found that once the bike was hot it would "bog down" sometimes on hard throttle. And sometimes, at around 5 - 6000 rpm, it would not rev any more like it had hit a rev limiter. Not nice at all. | ||
| Sagehawk |
a few pix of the limit chart on ecmspy. perhaps some answers to higher rpm bogging that the manual does not mention or rather ive never found this info there.    This is from stock ecm on 2007 xb12x. | ||
| Uly_man |
Cool. Thank you Sagehawk. I have put the old ECM back on the bike and at the moment it works great. The bike runs like a dream. It will even go "up hill" in 4th at 30 mph at 1500 RPM no problem. Amazing. As yet I can not make it do anything wrong but time will of course tell. I did a fuel run for MPG (UK Gall). 9000 miles on the bike. 66 F, 68% RH, hot engine, normal town riding, 40 to 70 MPH max and normal use of engine braking and brakes. And NOT trying to save fuel just normal quick riding. No "coasting" or anything and I used, as I always do, VERY accurate fuel levels as well. It did 57 MPG (94 RON BP fuel. UK Gall = 4.54 Lt). Man that is just OUTSTANDING. On a 16.7 Lt tank to dry that is 210 miles or 170 to reserve on a UK Gall of 4.54 Lts. |
