Thought I wouldn't make it...

[WileyXB12X]

Rode in to work this morning, made a quick stop, then got on and continued down the road. After the stop, ZAGAM (Zombie Apocalypse Get Away Machine), my 06 Uly, started acting like she was pumping mud. She would bog down like I was pulling a half ton trailer. If I let off the throttle, I'd get a backfire and some pops and then it would idle between 900-1000. I got to work and didn't have time to eff with it and just hoped I would make it home. Coming home, same thing. Bogged down when the gas was applied, really low idle. About a mile from home it all stopped and she ran fine all the way in. ???

Anyway, I plugged it in and did a TPS reset. There was no CEL and no codes in the bank. The idle is still really low even after the TPS reset (angle is about 9.1 to keep the RPMs at 1050-1150).

Any ideas? I'm going to ride in tomorrow, but I may be thumbing it home.

 

[Cooter]

Fuel pump chaffed wires? Sounds like a lack of fuel.

 

[ztied]

Is it a normal place you get gas, maybe bad gas?

 

[WileyXB12X]

I feel like it's fuel related too, not sure if it's supply or gas. I'm going with supply, maybe a short or something loose since the problem randomly started and then randomly went away. I filled up a couple days ago and haven't had any problems until today. The only recent change I've done is run an additionally grounding wire from the grounding strap straight to the battery to see if it would solve my hard starting problem (it didn't).

 

[WileyXB12X]

Riding in this morning, the same problems surfaced. On the bright side, it idles perfectly at startup so the engine warms up easily without me having to coddle it but I have no power in the first zone, or when I try to accelerate sharply, or going up hills. It seems to be running noticeably louder, but that could just be my head playing tricks on me.

 

[user_deleted]

for what it's worth had precisely the very same symptoms and problems 2 weeks ago with one of my personal bikes being a 2009 lightning Ss long with 1900 miles on it. just what you described. dying fuel pump. the excess noise was in actuality the air intake with no exhaust response to soothe the noise.

 

[WileyXB12X]

Thanks, any other symptoms? CEL or codes or or erratic behavior?

 

[mriulvr]

Had my fuel pump going bad about a year ago. The other symptom that pointed to the fuel pump on mine was when I key the ignition on the fuel pump would start up but instead of stopping one fuel pressure was set the pump would just run "slower", which it had not done before. Replaced the fuel pump and o-rings and has been golden since. The other thing you might want to check is the breather hoses on top of the cylinder. The one on my rear cylinder had somehow popped up, not all the way out, and the bike ran like crap, very much like what you described. I thought it was bad gas, fouled plugs, and a host of other things. When I pulled the airbox cover and noticed it I pushed it back down and haven't had any issues since.

 

[user_deleted]

Thanks, any other symptoms? CEL or codes or or erratic behavior?

no cel activated...no stored trouble code. symptoms and behavior as below and keep in mind this is virtually a new 2009 model in my stable:
1-bike sitting unused and unstarted for 3 months....required 3 full start procedures to start and stay running.
2-ran flawlessly for 40 miles
3-stopped for coffee break and chit-chat....restarted flawlessly....idles perfectly...no abnormalities
4-two miles down the road from the break area failed to respond to even slightest throttle input...would fall flat....no CEL activated....wouldn't climb the slightest hill
5-pulled over and stopped....shut off motor...waited 1 minutes...restarted....idled fine...another 2 miles further down the road exact same symptoms re-emerged....limped home. replaced pump and filter and all was fine.

 

[WileyXB12X]

Thanks - not looking forward to the petrol bath.

 

[user_deleted]

not looking forward to the petrol bath.

then do this: remove air box cover and look at 1 o'clock position on frame/tank. that is vent. delicately pinch shut the rubber vent hose which sources from vent and over top and left side of air box lid. now remove drain plug at pump and start to drain. as drainage slows to a trickle gently relieve your applied pressure to the vent hose till flow increases. use the vent hose as a primitive method to control the fuel flow from the drain plug.

 

[WileyXB12X]

Physics, brilliant! Thanks for that

 

[Cooter]

You could use a brass MPT(?) to barb fitting that fits into the drain plug hole, put the hose in a gas jug and the only leakage you'll have is swapping the fitting out.

Or easier…
You can form tin foil into a funnel like shape around the swing arm stuff to direct the gas into a drain pan. A clean drain pan will let you re-use the gas[up]

 

[WileyXB12X]

The brass fitting might be a go, I tried the foil funnel once and that was an absolute mess. I'm sure I did it wrong.

A few more observations - when the bike is cool, runs great - once hot the RPMs sit at 3000. I can start rolling in 2nd gear with no throttle applied. The power is back, absolutely no problems on the interstate, but once I hit traffic or come into town it's annoying. To keep the RPMs down at stop lights I would hold the front break and let the clutch about half-way out to put a load on the engine and bring the RPMs down to 1000.

Is there a way to tell that it's definitely the pump before I make a mess and drop 350+ bucks on a new pump?

 

[Tbone]

Yes, Fuel pressure gauge. I do not own one but know someone who knows something, and owns an FPG. Intermittent electrical problems though can sometimes read good then bad, good then bad......If it is electrical, not mechanical I would investigate if it could be rewired somehow? Make that $350 pump work longer! or at least try is what I would do. I have been called frugal before......

 

[WileyXB12X]

Alright, I may see if I have some buddies here who have a gauge I can borrow.

I did some more digging and similar problems in cars and other bikes suggest an intake leak. The thought is that there's a small gap that expands when the metal heats up. So tonight I'm going to get the bike warm and start testing for intake leaks. If that comes back negative, I'll try to get a FPG and learn how to use it (HA!).

All this is new to me, but it should give me a good project to work on.

 

[WileyXB12X]

I pulled the airbox off to see if I had left anything loose when I put in the extra grounding wire. The air sensor felt a little loose, like I hadn't plugged it in all the way. Put all back together and warmed it up, took a ride for about 20 minutes and couldn't duplicate the problem the it stills feels a little weak accelerating from a stop in first gear. I tested for an intake leak and didn't get any kind of response.

So either the possible lack of air sensor was messing it up, but only when it warmed up (does that make sense?) or the the pump is still the culprit but the problem is manifesting differently now?

Or it's gremlins.

 

[WileyXB12X]

Also, I've looked up some how-tos on using a fuel pressure gauge, but all the videos are on cars. Where would you tap into the Buell to test the fuel pressure?

 

[WileyXB12X]

Nevermind, found it in the manual.

 

[WileyXB12X]

I was hoping the problem was magically cured, but not so. Starts fine (hard, but that's an old problem), pops and backfires at low speed when I first start riding, even if I let it warm up 5-10 minutes. Once the engine gets warmed, the idle jumps to 3000-3300 and hangs out there. Doesn't bog down in first, just goes - it's actually made stop-n-go traffic easier to manage, HA! If I shut it down and restart while the engine is still hot, spikes back up to 3k. If I let the back cool, comes back down to 1k.

Still trying to get my hands on a FPG. Leak test was nil. A friend of mine suggested throttle linkage. I wiggled cables and didn't get any response, then pulled off the airbox cover to see if the intake flap was stuck open and it wasn't. I missed mriulvr's post about the popped breather hose from the top of the cylinder so I'll check that too.