Hey guys and girls,
Just wanted to update you and possibly help if your XB is having a similar problem. Earlier this year, or possibly last season my wife was trying to get help from you(thanks, btw) with our 2008 XB12R. We thought we had a lemon since we bought it with 1,000 miles and had mysterious problems only about 2-3 months after we got it.
First off, we bought it in the middle of winter, only riding it occasionally in the freezing temps and we didn't notice how hot these things really got. Then when spring came around, holy crap! I could barely sit on the bike in traffic, and the fan never came on with the engine running. It would only run when the ignition was cut after riding. After some help from you guys, we learned that the '08's and later didn't always have a fan control re-flash done to the ECM. On top of that, the bike came with a D&D muffler, so we figure get 2 birds with 1 stone and buy the pre-programmed ECM from EBR. It came with the proper fan software and mapping for the muffler and seemed to fix the issues right away. Not sure about the power increase overall, but throttle response was improved, and most importantly, the bike ran cooler in addition to the fan actually running when in traffic. We live in the DC metro area so traffic is impossible to get away from, even close to midnight.
So here's where I got turned around....maybe weeks or a month after the new ECM, the bike started to display a weird issue. Ran perfectly basically anything above 1,500 rpm whether it was part-throttle or full. But after it got hot, usually 10 mins into a ride, it would idle horribly and sometimes die at a light. There could have been other situations, but I was mainly doing the same ride during this time(leave the house, 2 miles later hit the interstate, then about 5 miles of traffic to work which is when it would act up). As the summer went on, the problem progressed from dying occasionally at lights and starting up perfectly, to dying at every light, and by June it was dying at every light and sometimes not wanting to start back up until the engine cooled off a little. But the constant was that as long as I got to the highway I was fine. At its worst, it would sometimes stumble so hard during the split second of a down shift that it would cut off and die.
Early on,since the problem arose after the ECM install I contacted EBR and the tech said possibly it could be the head temp sensor, but of course without seeing the bike, he was uncertain. I tried it anyways, since the dealer had already checked the bike and said everything appeared normal, except the temp sensor voltage was a hair too low sometimes. The Buell tech said this could maybe cause the ECM to think it was too cold and dump fuel and foul it. New temp sensor in, no change. Dammit.... I have my Sportster to commute on, so during most of this summer I just let it sit, not wanting to deal with it. The last few rides, to me it was really feeling like an ignition coil problem, and finally I got around to getting a service manual, and after reading the codes, aha! It had a misfire code for the rear cylinder. Switched the plug wires first, then the plugs to see if the code would change before possibly spending money on a coil. Still the same, no front cylinder codes.....dang it..I also check all the related wire from the ECM to check for breaks in the wires I couldn't see.
Then I remembered reading the link to the write up of the guy who had the bad CPS(cam pos., not crank) on his bike.
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/3842/712569.html?1362582842
Luckily, my '09 Sportster has the same crank pos. sensor as the Buell, so I swapped it for sh!t's and giggles. Went for an hour long ride, and it's perfect! Bike didn't die a single time, and I made sure to get it super hot and then cruise around in traffic. It even runs better at low speeds, when at the time I thought the new ECM made accelerating from a dead stop a little trickier, it seemed to take a little higher RPM's before letting the clutch out. I even stalled a couple times, and I NEVER stall my bikes! Like someone else said in another thread, " I swear I can ride! It's not me, it's the bike!"
So anyways, thanks to all that helped. I suddenly do not hate this bike anymore! I'll probably ride it a few more times before buying the sensor, but I think I got it.
Just wanted to update you and possibly help if your XB is having a similar problem. Earlier this year, or possibly last season my wife was trying to get help from you(thanks, btw) with our 2008 XB12R. We thought we had a lemon since we bought it with 1,000 miles and had mysterious problems only about 2-3 months after we got it.
First off, we bought it in the middle of winter, only riding it occasionally in the freezing temps and we didn't notice how hot these things really got. Then when spring came around, holy crap! I could barely sit on the bike in traffic, and the fan never came on with the engine running. It would only run when the ignition was cut after riding. After some help from you guys, we learned that the '08's and later didn't always have a fan control re-flash done to the ECM. On top of that, the bike came with a D&D muffler, so we figure get 2 birds with 1 stone and buy the pre-programmed ECM from EBR. It came with the proper fan software and mapping for the muffler and seemed to fix the issues right away. Not sure about the power increase overall, but throttle response was improved, and most importantly, the bike ran cooler in addition to the fan actually running when in traffic. We live in the DC metro area so traffic is impossible to get away from, even close to midnight.
So here's where I got turned around....maybe weeks or a month after the new ECM, the bike started to display a weird issue. Ran perfectly basically anything above 1,500 rpm whether it was part-throttle or full. But after it got hot, usually 10 mins into a ride, it would idle horribly and sometimes die at a light. There could have been other situations, but I was mainly doing the same ride during this time(leave the house, 2 miles later hit the interstate, then about 5 miles of traffic to work which is when it would act up). As the summer went on, the problem progressed from dying occasionally at lights and starting up perfectly, to dying at every light, and by June it was dying at every light and sometimes not wanting to start back up until the engine cooled off a little. But the constant was that as long as I got to the highway I was fine. At its worst, it would sometimes stumble so hard during the split second of a down shift that it would cut off and die.
Early on,since the problem arose after the ECM install I contacted EBR and the tech said possibly it could be the head temp sensor, but of course without seeing the bike, he was uncertain. I tried it anyways, since the dealer had already checked the bike and said everything appeared normal, except the temp sensor voltage was a hair too low sometimes. The Buell tech said this could maybe cause the ECM to think it was too cold and dump fuel and foul it. New temp sensor in, no change. Dammit.... I have my Sportster to commute on, so during most of this summer I just let it sit, not wanting to deal with it. The last few rides, to me it was really feeling like an ignition coil problem, and finally I got around to getting a service manual, and after reading the codes, aha! It had a misfire code for the rear cylinder. Switched the plug wires first, then the plugs to see if the code would change before possibly spending money on a coil. Still the same, no front cylinder codes.....dang it..I also check all the related wire from the ECM to check for breaks in the wires I couldn't see.
Then I remembered reading the link to the write up of the guy who had the bad CPS(cam pos., not crank) on his bike.
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/3842/712569.html?1362582842
Luckily, my '09 Sportster has the same crank pos. sensor as the Buell, so I swapped it for sh!t's and giggles. Went for an hour long ride, and it's perfect! Bike didn't die a single time, and I made sure to get it super hot and then cruise around in traffic. It even runs better at low speeds, when at the time I thought the new ECM made accelerating from a dead stop a little trickier, it seemed to take a little higher RPM's before letting the clutch out. I even stalled a couple times, and I NEVER stall my bikes! Like someone else said in another thread, " I swear I can ride! It's not me, it's the bike!"
So anyways, thanks to all that helped. I suddenly do not hate this bike anymore! I'll probably ride it a few more times before buying the sensor, but I think I got it.
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