2009 CityX - back to the stock exhaust - WOW!

[lancruza]

So when I bought my current CityX it had an aftermarket exhaust on it. I never cared much for that exhaust but I didn't really feel like changing at the time, so I just lived with it. Fast forward to last week. I went and picked up an OEM factory exhaust from a guy here locally. I also needed to order all the hardware to mount the exhaust, so I turned to the Scorpion King...you know who you are... and he sent me everything pronto. Thanks for the quick ship. The mounting hardware came in and to work I went. I put on the pipe yesterday and took her out today for a couple of rides. It's crazy how much better the bike runs. PLUS I don't have this annoying exhaust drone happening any longer. I do have a slight stuttering or hesitation at low rpms, but other than that, today was great. It felt like a totally different bike. I did a TPS reset and I didn't notice any difference in the stuttering. It's not a bad stutter, but it is a little agitating. It's been an AWESOME day.

 

[Barrett]

levan: that irritating "stutter" you speak of is annoying as hell. every 12 i've ever owned had a bit of it. but every 9 i've ever owned had none of it. to me....it always felt electrical-in-nature, as opposed to fuel. guidelines below that always resolved it for me:
1-front injector signal wire white/yellow------------rear injector signal wire green/gray. check that one or both are not chafed and lightly touching a ground source. was factory flaw...most caught and corrected by 2008
2-check the ECM ground wire and it's source. can cause stuttering and occasional stored false error codes if not pristine.
3-spark plug wires! they're now failing at high rates due to age, vibration, heat.
4-air horn connecting airbox base-to-throttle body. must be installed precisely with spring clamp in exact location

 

[Cooter]

You don't have to tell him twice! Haha, just kidding and really good advice Barrett

Glad the muffler clamp worked well for ya 'Cruza, happy to help. I can't imagine how a rubber scorpion ended up in the package?? Surely no one I know would be so mean!:black_eyed:

If you don't find the cause going through Barretts good suggestions then check how your ECM is fueling the bike. Putting a stock muffler in place of a aftermarket will usually result is a slightly rich mixture

If the slight stutter comes with small throttle inputs (still in closed loop):
The ECM needs time to be in close loop long enough to adjust the AFV. It might smooth out after some miles.

If the stutter comes with more aggressive inputs (open loop):
You may want to get and install a stock Buell fuel map, or a race map meant for a stock muffler.

Just spitballing, but stick with it. Theres no reason why you can't have a perfectly running Buell

 

[lancruza]

You don't have to tell him twice! Haha, just kidding and really good advice Barrett

Glad the muffler clamp worked well for ya 'Cruza, happy to help. I can't imagine how a rubber scorpion ended up in the package?? Surely no one I know would be so mean!:black_eyed:

If you don't find the cause going through Barretts good suggestions then check how your ECM is fueling the bike. Putting a stock muffler in place of a aftermarket will usually result is a slightly rich mixture

If the slight stutter comes with small throttle inputs (still in closed loop):
The ECM needs time to be in close loop long enough to adjust the AFV. It might smooth out after some miles.

If the stutter comes with more aggressive inputs (open loop):
You may want to get and install a stock Buell fuel map, or a race map meant for a stock muffler.

Just spitballing, but stick with it. Theres no reason why you can't have a perfectly running Buell

Thanks Mr. Scorp. I'm guessing but...I believe the PO probably just put on the aftermarket exhaust and never changed the ECM. I bought a Buelltooth a while back and I was going to use it to check the ECM, BUT I CANT FIND IT!!!! ARGHHHHH!!!!! Don't ya just luv it.

 

[lancruza]

WELL DANG IT. A new problem reared it's head today. I believe Barrett is on the right track with his previous post on the electrical side of things. I installed a voltmeter in the gauges four years ago. On a ride this afternoon I noticed the voltage would drop back to around 10.5 -11v when I was under heavy throttle. Check engine light popped on a couple of times and then would then pop right back off. Also, my cooling fan immediately tuned off when I turned off the bike. It's never done that before. It did that twice with me today. So...I definitely have an electrical monkey in the wrench. Fortunately I was not far from home and I rode her gently back to the house. Lot's of work to do at a couple of job sites this week and then off to the center of the universe (Myrtle Beach) next week with all the fam. I'll get to checking on this when I have a little time for diagnostics. It just figures that after having such an enjoyable ride yesterday that this would pop up today. Well, it could have been way worse. I could have been stranded on the side of the road like the wheel bearing dude, what's his name, oh yeah...young scooter. Thankful to make it back home.

 

[34nineteen]

Damn, that Barrett guy is smarter than Cooter. Probably better looking too.

 

[njloco]

We're all better looking !

 

[Barrett]

WELL DANG IT. A new problem reared it's head today. I believe Barrett is on the right track with his previous post on the electrical side of things. I installed a voltmeter in the gauges four years ago. On a ride this afternoon I noticed the voltage would drop back to around 10.5 -11v when I was under heavy throttle. Check engine light popped on a couple of times and then would then pop right back off. Also, my cooling fan immediately tuned off when I turned off the bike. It's never done that before. It did that twice with me today. So...I definitely have an electrical monkey in the wrench. Fortunately I was not far from home and I rode her gently back to the house. Lot's of work to do at a couple of job sites this week and then off to the center of the universe (Myrtle Beach) next week with all the fam. I'll get to checking on this when I have a little time for diagnostics. It just figures that after having such an enjoyable ride yesterday that this would pop up today. Well, it could have been way worse. I could have been stranded on the side of the road like the wheel bearing dude, what's his name, oh yeah...young scooter. Thankful to make it back home.[/QUOTE

I installed a voltmeter in the gauges four years ago. On a ride this afternoon I noticed the voltage would drop back to around 10.5 -11v when I was under heavy throttle. Check engine light popped on a couple of times and then would then pop right back off.

absolutely positively voltage loss/charging system drop-out. therein lies your problem. and in all likelihood you will now have historical fault code #16 stored.

 

[lancruza]

absolutely positively voltage loss/charging system drop-out. therein lies your problem. and in all likelihood you will now have historical fault code #16 stored.

Brand new Deka battery last fall, so my battery should be good. I'm guessing I need to check my main grounds again along with the stuff you listed in your post above.

 

[Barrett]

Brand new Deka battery last fall, so my battery should be good. I'm guessing I need to check my main grounds again along with the stuff you listed in your post above.

levan: do the below. should resolve it.
1-remove...clean...reinstall and tighten both battery cable ends and companion battery terminals
2-remove...check...clean if necessary the KEY SWITCH RELAY and the male terminal ends that it plugs into
3-go to left front air intake cooling scoop and unplug the 2 VR wire connectors. check for corrosion...clean...reconnect
4-check the VR wires where they loop over top of or around the VR attachment bracket. are prone to rubbing thru right there
5-remove VR...clean attachment points where VR attaches to bracket...reconnect. i never determined exactly why but a clean, solid connection between the VR and attachment bracket tends to promote more consistent, accurate charging voltage.
6-remove negative battery cable frame attachment point....clean all surfaces well...reattach

 

[34nineteen]

i doubt anyone on here is smarter than Cooter. but there is a reasonable expectation that i might be somewhat more attractive. my invitational profile pic from my Tinder account.


PS-shut up Aaron!!!


View attachment 13719

Fixed it for you!

 

[Cooter]

You're in good hands with Chicklet teeth D), you definitely have a charging system issue. Maybe it's causing the stutter too? Once you do all his wiring/connector checks, you can start checking the system components. If you have a DVOM, they are listed step-by-step in the manual and easy to do.

I would 98% bet you have a voltage regulator going bad. Besides the wiring Barrett told you to check it's about the only cause of an intermittant charging issue. Not super common in an XB so a stock replacement is an easy swap, but there are upgrades you can do if you're feeling sassy.

 

[34nineteen]

blah blah blah ---- Barrett is right ---- blah blah blah

Fixed it for all of you!

 

[Cooter]

True ^^^ you pot stirrer!

And as my punishment, Stella needs a VR.... :upset:

Because intermittent charging I wouldn't have known if I hadn't just put a voltmeter in the dash! One of the oddly rare Buell engineering oversights.
It's all good though, I'm planning a long trip and would rather fix it in the cool garage with a beer than overnight Amazon parts on the side of the road in Idaho. Again.

 

[34nineteen]

I'm going to put one of these on my S1.

http://www.sparkbright.co.uk/sparkright-eclipse-battery-voltage-monitor.php

 

[njloco]

Looks like a pretty good idea, simple but effective.

 

[Cooter]

Oh jeez. thats really funny man.

I have been looking for that dang thing for AGES!! It's the reason I hesitated to install the digital voltmeter all these years. Who needs to know if it's 13.6 or 13.7 volts? I'd rather have that in my peripheral all the time.

 

[lancruza]

Well....that was easy. I like easy. Does anyone else like easy?

My paint shaker had shaken loose the positive terminal connection on my batry. You know what that means, right? I must have done a piss poor job of tightening that connection when I put the battery in last fall. Tightened that sucka down...14.2v ALL DAY. Thanks for all the input and guidance on what turned out to be a bit of slackery on my part.

 

[Cooter]

That’s a win! Glad you found it

 

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I know I’m a newbie bit scratch every electric surface and use di-electric grease. No faults since rotation.