New owner, Couple Issues(maybe)

[mike_847]

Hey all. I recently picked up a stock '06 CityX with 4100 miles. In the last month I have put about 700 miles on her. Everything seems to be in order on the bike. The previous owner seemed like a good guy and appeared to know what he was talking about. Recent oil change(current level is good), no loose connections anywhere, maintenance done w/ records provided. I love the bike, aside from...

If the following issues have been beat to death...I did a short search of recent posts and have been lurking for about 2 months, I haven't seen the first addressed. The second though, I'm sure comes up all the time.

Anyways...within the first 30 miles I performed the breather re route which helped low speed performance enormously. Within the past 300-400 miles or so though, whenever I am sitting at a light, the engine seems about ready to stall. The idle drops down to about 800(maybe lower?) and then it jumps up and settles in at ~1000 for a few seconds before starting the process over again. It really sounds like its about to die(I'm a previous owner of an 80's era BMW, I know what it sounds like when an engine is about to die). Again, this only happens when I'm sitting stopped, either in gear or in neutral, regardless of temperature. Once I'm off idle, the bike runs great. Any ideas? TPS reset? Idle set too low? Battery starting to give up?

Also, I know these bikes tend to run hot, but...jeez. The fan comes on after a few minutes and stays on high for the remainder of my ride, always. The weather in the Chicago area has been kind of wonky lately, but I'd say I have had the bike out in temps ranging from 55 to 95 degrees, in stop and go traffic to wide open cruising, the result is always the same, fan kicks on high and stays on. Is this normal? I've never had the engine light come on, so I don't know what to think. If this is standard for these bikes, thats fine with me(I can take the heat), I'd just like the peace of mind knowing that I'm not unintentionally screwing something up.

Well, Ive asked enough. I'll leave the issue of the weird soft ticking noise I head yesterday for another time. I'm not fully sure if I was imagining it or not yet.

I was planning on asking my local Buell dealer about these issues when I go in to pick up my replacement foot peg in a couple days(dammit...don't ask), but I figured I would bring it up here first.

Enought of my novel, thanks for your help.

Mike.

 

[mike_847]

Damn, I meant to put this in the trouble shooting forum, please move if necessary.

 

[His_and_Her_Buells]

tps reset sounds like a good place to start. ECMspy is a good way to do it for free, but a dealer usually only charges 20-40 bucks to do it and you could have the electrical system checked while your at it for peace of mind, although if you had real batt/charge problems you would know it.

The fan does seem to running a bit much though. My wifes 07 CityX fan doesn't usually kick on until bike is shut off. We are in Springfield so our temps are just a little warmer than yours on average. It used to come on a lot when new but settled down once broke in. It now has 3900 miles on it. I would try a synthetic oil if it doesn't already have it in.

 

[LeFox]

get a tps reset and remember to do a ride-in after that.

also, check which oil was used by the previous owner. your fan should not come on within 20minutes of very slow riding in really hot weather.
during normal riding, with good oil, the fan only comes on when at a stand still or just when you are parking it.

 

[mike_847]

Update.

Ok, I went ahead and changed the primary and engine oil. I tried to find a local place to buy the royal purple with no luck so I went with the HD synthetic. So far(after about 100 miles) there is no difference. I know thats not a whole lot, but I was expecting something. I'll give it a bit, but am not hopeful for the cooling issue. Is a RSS the way to go? Like I said in the op, I dont care if this is the bikes "natural state" I'd just like to know that I am not causing more damage by riding it in this situation.

As for the idle, I went ahead and bought a cable from xopti. After calling around to a few dealers, the best price I could get on a TPS reset was $45. I am hoping it comes later this week, then I'll try resetting it myself. I can't tell if the idle has evened out a little or if it's just me fooling myself into not noticing it now, or just accepting it. We'll see how the reset works.

On the upside, I love the bike, and kind of went into the whole deal knowing that it would have its "quirks" . I always end up with machines that have personality. Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment?

Mike.