Backfire and Engine Light

[kalali]

While riding my '00 X1, the engine backfired a couple of times on separate occasions and each time the engine light came on momentarily. Otherwise the bike ran just fine. The bike is stock with the exception of a V&H slip-on exhaust. I was wondering what could be causing this...
Does the ECM require tweaking with a V&H slip-on? Not sure if the pevious owner did aanything with the ECM after he put the V&H on the bike.
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[LeFox]

since when does the bike have the problem?
does it occur when the engine is warm, cold, both?
any other mods except for the v&h?

 

[kalali]

LeFox,
Thanks for the reply. The backfire/engine light combo only happened two or three times and all during a single ride and it wasn't a real loud backfire - just a louder then usual popping sound. The motor was warm at the time. I do get a little popping at decceleration when the motor is cold but it goes away once warmed up. That must be normal.
As for other engine related mods, I am not aware of any. I did put in a measured amount of Techron FI cleaner when I filled up after my ride (which had the backfire) and I rode it this morning. It runs perfectly now. As it does 99.9% of the time. My only concern is if the backfire could somehow result in the motor to stall and get stranded somewhere. Does changing to the V&H slip-on require ECM tweaking? Not sure if the revious owner did that. Thanks again.
May be I should just put the stock exhaust back on..
Just as an aside, does sthe V&H add anything other than the throaty note, i.e., perfornamce gain, etc.?

 

[LeFox]

ok, now we're talking.

the backfire is most likely a result the ecm learning, ignition timing, which most likely resulted in a early burn or a bit of fuel pre-igniting in the intake.

aslong as you don't add an better airfilter you could get away with the slip-on, but you will be running a tad on the lean side.
i would recommend ecm tweaking...maybe browse ebay for an race ecm or remap your current. it not only gives you a richer mixture, it also gets your redline up to about 6800rpm
the x1 race ecm goes around 350€ new

without other tweaks, a slip-on will give you about a 2hp gain...nothing major, but the sound

 

[kalali]

LeFox,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
To be honest, the bike in stock form has more power/torque than I would ever fully use so I am really not after much performance improvements. I do like the V&H sound but if is going to make the bike "unhappy" I will put the stock exhaust back on. Before I do that, could the choice of the spark plug (or plug gap) help in making the mixture a little richer?
Thanks again.

 

[LeFox]

well tweaking the engine is actually a look for performance, but it's letter your engine run smooth & healthy...added performance is a bonus result of that smoother, healthier engine

no, the sparkplug isn't something that will make your mixture richer, it will make the 'explosion' better.

what i would suggest is leave the v&h on, go for a ecm reset (not expensive) and make sure you run in closed loop for about 15 minutes @ about 3000rpm

 

[kalali]

Thanks again.
Is this ECM reset something done by the dealer?
So now if I switch back to stock exhaust will A/F go back to normal/factory settings and everything will be OK or the ECM has to "relearn" the factory settings?
Appreciate it.

 

[FIDOSOL]

Just wanted to piggyback on your topic.

Okay, so today I was doing the no-no with a cbr600 and by no-no i mean rippin' it hard. Well going from 1st to 2nd my bike backfired through the airbox, startled me for sure, never had that happen before...any ideas? Oh and I ride 'aggressively' all the time, so the bike is used to it...

 

[LeFox]

Thanks again.
Is this ECM reset something done by the dealer?
So now if I switch back to stock exhaust will A/F go back to normal/factory settings and everything will be OK or the ECM has to "relearn" the factory settings?
Appreciate it.

you, it's done by the dealer, or if you have direct-link or ecmspy, you can do it yourself.
settings are stored, so if you're just switch without a reset in between you should be fine. if you experience trouble, unsmooth accel, etc...that is when you're in need of a reset.

Just wanted to piggyback on your topic.

Okay, so today I was doing the no-no with a cbr600 and by no-no i mean rippin' it hard. Well going from 1st to 2nd my bike backfired through the airbox, startled me for sure, never had that happen before...any ideas? Oh and I ride 'aggressively' all the time, so the bike is used to it...

tuber-part of the forum, fido
was the bike cold, warm, hot?
outside temp?
mileage?

 

[FIDOSOL]

hmm....bike was already warmed up, it's like 90 degrees outside, and i have around 2300 miles on it.

 

[LeFox]

any aftermarket parts on it?
has your tps been reset?
does your engine idle at variable rpm?
with that pop, do you lose power and then get it back resulting in a kick in the butt?

 

[kalali]

Seems like FIDOSOL is in the wrong forum asking about Honda CBR600!
BTW, my backfire was from the exhaust not air box...

Anyway...

LeFox,

As for the ecmspy tool, unfortunately I am not really a "techy" person and while there appears to be a lot of information available about this software, I am afraid to dive in and possibly screw something up. At this point I just want to solve this specific issue and if switching back to the stock exhaust solves the problem, I will go that route. The V&H sound is actually a mixed blessing and I am sure my wife and neighbors will be happy is I switched the exhaust. Now, since I never rode the bike with the stock exhaust, will I really be diappointed with the performance loss if/when I switch to stock? A 2hp loss/gain does not sound that significant...
Thanks again for all your input.

 

[LeFox]

Seems like FIDOSOL is in the wrong forum asking about Honda CBR600!

fido isn't asking about a crb600, he was talking about his experience vs. a cbr600.

for you, if the you don't experience the backfires and the bike runs smooth and is reacting good the the throttle...there should be no real problem.
if you're not going to do alot of tuning, i wouldn't go and get ecmspy and the cables just for that 1 reset.
if you don't want to risk anything, go back to the stock.

 

[FIDOSOL]

I'm completely stock except for the white wire mod, and the breather re-route. So nothing major...hasn't happened since, and yea, little loss of power, and then a slight kick. Did I break it?

 

[LeFox]

I'm completely stock except for the white wire mod, and the breather re-route. So nothing major...hasn't happened since, and yea, little loss of power, and then a slight kick. Did I break it?

nah, you didn't brake it...atleast not yet anyway
did you get a reset after the breather re-route?

you might want to get your AF checked, cause it could be a leaky inlet gasket. if that is the case, you would experience slight powerchanges during steady constant throttle position.

could also be your ignition, mainly the plugs.
i would say, upgrade your plugs...it's cheap and you can do it yourself.
no result => get your AF checked => value 100 => tps reset.

 

[FIDOSOL]

hmm, is that necessary? only happened once, besides, I am not allowed to get anything for my bike right now...childcare is expensive..and the wife is scary...[sad]

 

[LeFox]

hmm, is that necessary?

well i'm not placing a gun to your head [smirk]
you could have said before that it only happened once, though...could have just been a bit of dirt in the fuel line aswell

 

[FIDOSOL]

Well going from 1st to 2nd my bike backfired through the airbox, startled me for sure, never had that happen before...any ideas?

I did say it only happened once.

Thank you LeFox for your advice.

 

[LeFox]

nope, you said it never happend...never said it's not happening anymore

but anyway...if you're having no more backfires and the bike still puts a big grin on your face, i'm happy

 

[FIDOSOL]

Once again, like every other time on this forum (and your job too probably), you are correct, Oh and it hasn't done it since, and thank you.