| Author | Message | ||
     Digitaladdictions |
I got my license and bought my first bike about 2 months ago; 2006 Buell Ulysses XB12X. About 3 weeks in the clutch completely went on me and I had it towed to a local Harley shop. I am kicking myself for doing that since I said to myself when I got the bike that it was not my primary means of transportation so if things went wrong I would learn to fix it myself. While it was in the shop costing me $650 I found I could have got new friction plates and steel plates for about $150. I have never been mechanically inclined but I do have a engineering mindset as a electronic engineer. Now 1-2 week later it is starting up real rough and backfires for the first 2-3miles. After 2-3 miles it runs fine until it is off for a couple hours. It never did this before. I first noticed this after a significant rain storm we had in Milwaukee last week but the bike was stored in a garage that did not flood or get wet. I also ran the gas tank almost empty and filled it up again (from a different station) with no change. One thing to note is the owners manual says to use 91 octane and I have been using 93 octane since that just is what everyone seems to have. Just looking for some advice about where to start. I have the service manual and I would be much happier spending money on speciality tools than spending the same money on someone else fixing it. | ||
| Snoman |
I think these bikes are a bit cold-blooded. Mine has always been tough starting and will backfire and hickup if it's not warmed up fully before riding. I've just written this off as the nature of the beast. Since it sounds like you're just started doing this though, there might be something behind it. Funny you mention the rain. I don't know if you rode it in the rain, but mine will cut out occasionally when I ride in a lot of rain. I'm wondering if the cavity the spark plugs sit down in could be filling with water and shorting them out? I've heard of this happening on other bikes. Anyone else ever experienced this? It's either that, or something else is getting wet. | ||
| Digitaladdictions |
I would have wrote it off to "the nature of the beast" if it was doing it from day one. But its a recent development that just started. It was not ridden in the rain for more than a few drops. Despite being in a the garage and the garage not flooding it still is just a garage and we had very bad rains here like 3feet of water in peoples basements type rain. I was focusing on the fuel but now that I think about it I am wondering if the spark plugs or spark plug wires got moisture in them. Again not mechanically minded here so the obvious does not necessarily jump out at me. | ||
| Pauley2000 |
My '09XT started doing the same thing this spring. Runs like a champ once warm. Going in for warranty inspection tommorow. -p | ||
| Rwcfrank |
Check the plugs, the mechanic may have started and stopped the bike too many times which can lead to fouled or dirty plugs.. |
