2004 xb9s issues.

[hunterjames]

So Ive been reading alot on these forums but never posted. 2 years ago a purchased a prior wrecked xb9s. Had been fixed, from what i can tell the tail section was damaged but other than that i think it is all original. But it does have a salvage title. It was running and riding when I bought it and still is today. But on a cold start it will run absolutely horrible. I have to let it idle for quite a while before it will act right. Even while warm it has some weird mid range hesitation and stutter. It had some garbage hack job straight pipe on it when i bought it and have since purchased a used stock pipe from ebay. BUT....turns out the pipe i bought has been gutted... Turns out bike has race ecm in it so i bought a stock ecm on ebay also. i also bought ecm spy and the cable. My brother was able to play with the mapping on the race ecm enough to make it a little more rideable but its still not right. Ive done a full tune up. plugs wires coil. k and n filter. oil changes. premium gas only. i heard they were terrible for grounding problems especially with damage to the tail sections so ive ran my own ground both to the strap and under the coil with no change. on top of everthing else ive recently lost my speedo...i love this bike and want to keep it but im at a loss...can anyone else help???

also forgot to mention that before i had replaced the ignition coil the bike wouldnt even start on the stock ecm. since ive replaced the coil it will now start and try to idle on the stock ecm...but has absolutley no throttle. i can snap the throttle and it just falls on its face.

 

[Flatout]

My 12s is the same, I'm sure someone with more knowledge will chime in, but I would venture to say its the nature of how the factory maps are with modifications and even on some stock bikes. 1st you say you bought an OEM/Stock ECM, but are running a gutted pipe and K&N? If that is the case change back to the race ecm ASAP as the stock map is going to make the bike run lean, too much air flowing and not enough fuel. Check the stickies on tuning, and if you feel comfortable with ECMSPY try some of the fueling adjustments recommended. I plan to do the same once it gets warmer, I've just dealt with the studder/hesitation. If I roll on the throttle she goes great, but if I snap the right wrist it stumbles just for a second then goes. Mine only has a D&D on it (from previous owner)

 

[hunterjames]

right now im running race ecm. stock gutted exhaust and k&n air filter. ecm has had some adjusments made by my brother who has experience with fuel mapping as i dont. im going to look into the ground thats behind the front screen next.

 

[Theycallmecrash]

What oil has been run in it?

 

[Chicknstripn]

Have you performed a TPS reset after doing all the fueling adjustments and what not? Actually before that, have you adjusted your throttle cables via the service manual?
Adjust your throttle cables to get rid of any slop, then perform a TPS reset. Report back with results
Good luck

 

[hunterjames]

ive only ever used just regular motorcycle oil from the shelf at autozone. should i be using something different? i have attempted a tps reset more than a couple times with no obvious change. however i have not adjusted the throttle cables but i know there isnt much because as i was checking out the wiring harness under the airbox i didnt look them over. i had taken it to a shop and they looked it over for intake leaks and they said it was fine. i guess im going to redo the grounds again and start over. :upset:

 

[Theycallmecrash]

Your symptoms are very similar to a few customer bikes including my own Firebolt. And the solution ended up being piston rings and honing of the cylinders then using heat cycles to properly seat the rings. 2 bikes so far I have associated to being switched to full synthetic engine oils too early in their lives. This allows blow by and poor burns especially when cold.

 

[user_deleted]

if what jacob said above is the case and it may very well be...i would not throw any more parts or tunes at your bike until you've done a thorough compression test on the motor. it should be done with some heat in the motor and wide open throttle. rear spark plug hole access challenging but do-able. i believe you're at the point where you need to determine if the motor itself is sound before any more work is done.

 

[Theycallmecrash]

Lunatic is correct for diagnosis, but a cold compression check to compare against warm will tell you a lot. If you have the ability to do that test, makensure the ignition and fuel systems are disabled before attempting

 

[hunterjames]

if something like that was wrong wouldnt i have some sort of codes? ive only ever gotten one code stored and it was for the 02 sensor. nor does it use any oil. i only have around 8 thousand miles on the bike.....on a side note i did notice last night while messing with it that i had no headlights. i have no idea how long its been like that because its winter here in southern mo and its been in the garage for a few months. playing around with the fuse box i was able to get headlights back again after a few firm wiggles. i dont know tho. im no expert but it just seems electrical to me.

 

[Theycallmecrash]

Most mechanical issues will not set a diagnostic code. Also the self diagnostic systems on these bikes is very basic, mostly handles hard ossues like electrical shorts.
The last bike I did with ring issues had less than 4000 miles.
As to why it appears eletrical to you, Im confused cause your headlights have nothing to do with engine performance. If i had to speculate, potentional charging system issue, could result in performance issues, dim lights. The bike will run until about 9 volts then crap out. Bringing the rpms up may yield enough to charge and hide your problems source. Burnt stator possibly

 

[hunterjames]

at this point i have no clue. originally ran on race ecm, but was rough. a little mapping and it runs better. but never would start on stock. after some poking around and some time with the multimeter i decided to buy a new coil and wires. started fine no noticable difference on race ecm. swap in stock ecm and BAM fires right up...doesnt idle very well engine wont rev above 3 or 4k. so i guess this is why im leaning toward electrical. ive spent hours and hours reading these threads in all these forums and from the descriptions i get it sounds more like the bikes with the bad grounds??? or a pinched wire somewhere??? ill have to buy a compression tester and try that route. im off the next two days so i think im going to just tear it down the rest of the way and trace wires and recheck connections.