I went for a short ride today, about 40 miles one way, stopped at an event for about 5 hours, got on the bike and rode home. The temp outside was around 75, a nice day for a ride. I got back into town and doing the stop and go traffic and the bike seems to be running weird. It seemed like when I started out at a stop light in 1st gear, it would run like I was started out in second. Even 2nd and 3rd were kind of the same way. It is a 2011, with around 13,000+ miles on it. This spring I put in a Timing gear +4, and it seemed to be running great. Now it seems to be back firing more (it didn't at all up until a couple of weeks ago). Also, when I got back into town, the dipstick gauge was reading 240 and general in is right around 200. I did change oil a couple of weeks ago, but I used the Victory kit and I checked my oil this morning and it was good.
It seems like when it gets hot it runs like that (at least the last 2 times of 40+ miles).
My closest dealer is 2-3 hours away, so I am just curious if anyone has any ideas. I have had the bike for about 1 1/2 years, and I know that the 106 motor is a little noisey, but this is a new noise.
When you installed the timing wheel did you torque the 2 small bolts that hold the timing setting? They are shipped set at +4 but the bolts are not torqued. Sounds like your timing may be off.
It could be something as simple as crap gas. Try the cheap route first, run it close to empty then fill up with premium at a new (or newish) gas station. Getting gas at old gas stations opens you up for pouring gas in your tank that is contaminated with years of crud and water that's sitting in the underground tanks.
Don't forget to check the battery connections.
Every summer the Victory gnomes go on vacation causing mischief wherever they go. Loosening battery terminals while you sleep is their specialty.
Make sure they're tight. You'll feel like an idiot if at the end that is all it was and loose battery terminations have caused stranger things on X bikes.
I would try new gas first unless you have already run gas from different stations and there is no change. I would also check the throttle body adapters for cracks. They do develop cracks after a while do to heat.
I agree; start with the fuel first. Make certain the battery bolts are tight and place lock washers under the bolts. Double check the timing wheel bolts; remove and apply blue loctite to threads and tighten, but not real tight - you can strip the threads as others have.
Tip: Never fuel up at a gas station that's fueling up, that roils up water and crud from the storage tanks bottoms. If you recently did that, I suspect water in your fuel.
Thanks for all the responses. I usually get gas a Kwik Trip, and run premium, I am almost empty so maybe I will try a Holiday Station. I will check the timing wheel, but when I got it, I knew that the 2 bolts were loose, but I still wasn't able to turn the wheel because it fit that tight. I did use the blue lock tite that they supplied when I put it in. If I pull off the cover to look at the timing wheel, should I still pull it off if it is still at +4?
Someone also said to check the air filter? I have the stage 1 kit, do I just take out the filter and blow some air through it? I will double check the battery. Where are the throttle body adapters?
I hope it is something that easy. It really made me nervous when it started to do it. Can't afford for something major to go wrong. It is raining here today, so tonight sounds like a good night to do some checking while I am smoking some Maple Habanero Beef snack sticks. I will let everyone know what I find.
Kwik Trip gas is ethanol free Holiday is not. Use some sea foam on what gas you have now.
download pure gas app to your phone and then you can find non ethanol gas
if you go get seafoam get some spark plugs at the auto parts store, ask for NGK p/n 3481 they will be $5.00 bucks for two. Thats a big savings over dealer wanting $14 bucks for two
So are you saying that I shouldn't be buying from Kwik Trip? It doesn't really matter to me if that is the case. Kwik Trip just opened in Duluth, so they are everywhere, but so are Holiday's.
Have you ever done that? Its quite and undertaking. I replaced the fuel filter at 25K per Rylan Vos' recommendation (which would involve the same work as inspecting) and you better have a sack lunch handy.
Incidentally, the old filter looked to be just fine. Aaargh!
Fuel filter isn't bad to change, maybe 30 minutes. What really hurt was paying $85 for a new one! Thankfully mine was obviously restricted (30k miles and dark brown) because changing it made a huge difference.
I think the key (for me at least) was working in a cold garage and wanting to get done before it got worse! I did forget to count the time it took to siphon the gas but I ran it almost empty so it only took a few more minutes to pull 1/2 gallon out of the bike and into the snowblower.
I have found it safer (to avoid breaking the fuel nipple) to lift the tank and disconnect the fuel line that's under the tank. Don't ask me how I know that.
Well tonight I didn't check anything, I started the bike in my garage, it's about 65 outside and raining. I let it run for about 45 minutes and the oil temp gauge was at 260-270, just sitting there idling. I know that before during normal riding it would be around 200. I will still check over the things that people suggested, but I don't think it's the battery.
To an early engine death. Be careful idling your bike that long. Yes check your temp gauge. You can buy a lower priced infered temp gun at Harbor Freight or Lowes. Point at your engine in several spots, see how hot the cylinders are. Put a FAN blowing on the engine, a cheap box fan works good. Your engine is AIR & oil cooled, but it needs air moving around it to cool it. If you engine has been running that hot I would be tempted to change out the oil. :|
Pull the dipstick and put a drop of oil on your finger and rub it between your fingers. Then take a drop of oil out of a quart bottle and rub it between your fingers. If they feel the same or almost the same, your good to go. If the oil from your motor feels not so slick compared to fresh oil, change it.
You can use the same test if you are running a lot in really hot weather and wondering if you should dump your oil early. As oil starts to degrade you can feel it. It's just not as slick. Then it gets downright watery feeling and almost gritty, at the end of it's life. You want to get it out of the motor before it reaches that point though.
With 400 miles on it, it should feel near as slick as new.
Fuzzy, the difference between idling 45 minutes in your garage and idling at a stoplight in triple digit heat is 44 minutes. In less than a minute, you're passing cooling air past the fins and oil cooler as you leave a stoplight.
Most of our plugs look a bit sooty--that's perfectly OK. That means its a bit on the rich side, which is better than being lean, which makes the engine run hotter. Not good. So your plugs may be reading correctly and don't need changing unless you have 10K+ on 'em.
It is a Victory Auction bike that I bought at a dealer. It had over 10,000 when I bought it, so I doubt if they were ever changed. And for $7, I will change them, just one less thing.
I have idled in traffic in 110 degree heat for a long time unfortunately. The top end gets real noisy and the heat pours all over your body. I really thought I would have damage, but have been lucky. Here in Phoenix when a traffic jam snarls up, you may sit for several minutes in one spot and move a few feet and sit again for several minutes over and over. I would guess you are probably ok.
Is what you are calling "backfiring" really decel popping out the exhaust? If so, minimize your throttle movement between shifts and see if that doesn't reduce the popping. Its easy to fool the ECM when moving the throttle too quickly. That's why we do not blip the throttle like you could on a carbureted bike.
I wonder if it's running rich. If it runs fine when first starting out, then gets worse as it warms up, that's a sign of a rich mixture. That would also explain why you don't notice it in higher gears, since the engine would be under greater loads, thus requiring extra fuel.
What do I do to correct it if that's the case? I have been to bust the last couple of weeks to do a good hour ride to see if it happens again, but it seems to run good going back and forth to work, but that is only 3 miles.
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