Hi all!
Bought a 2010 Hammer with 12 000 km (~7400 miles) on the clock a couple of months ago. Except for the engine backfiring a lot, the bike has run perfectly for the ~1000 km I've ridden it so far. I came back from a trip with the bike about a week ago and left the bike in the garage for a few days. The next time I went to go riding, the battery was so drained, that the starter barely turned over and the bike wouldn't start. Just a lot of "relay rattle". Before this happened, there were no obvious signs of the battery being weak. I figured the battery had come to the end of it's days and bought a new one. I installed the new battery and went for a test ride, behold; the check engine light came on. Stopped the bike and started again, the CEL went out but came back shortly after. In the beginning the CEL would come on after revving the engine e.g. after a brisk acceleration, now it lights up at steady 2000 rpm. I'm baffled! I've checked the battery voltage (12,8V) and charging voltage (14,4V at idle) and they seem ok to me. Checked the air filter, the spark plugs and they seem fine, plugs had the right color & gap etc. If i set the throttle to 2000 rpm and hold it steady, the rpm's will sail between 2000 - 2100 and the motor sounds a bit rough. Since the problem started with the battery change, I'm thinking it has to be some sort of electrical problem????
Any ideas on what the culprit could be? Could anyone suggest some troubleshooting methods to find the problem or to rule out properly working systems? I have an appointment with a Victory service shop in about a week and a half to hook it up to a diagnostic machine, but I'm somewhat skeptical of the outcome and I'd like to try and find the problem myself, saving me a trip to the dealer & throwing away money.
I called the dealer today to ask about the bike's service history and I found out that they had recorded problems with the battery draining at all services up to the 8000km service (after that no maintenance record to date). They had "fixed" the problem by changing the battery & spark plugs.... Eh? Wut?
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
:devil Stefan
2010 Victory Hammer (Stock, except for the pipes???? dunno)
Previous bikes: (that never gave me trouble!) :grin
-06 Triumph Speed Triple 1050
-06 Hayabusa
-93 Honda CBR 1000F
-82 Honda CBR 900C
-81 Honda CBR 900F
Bought a 2010 Hammer with 12 000 km (~7400 miles) on the clock a couple of months ago. Except for the engine backfiring a lot, the bike has run perfectly for the ~1000 km I've ridden it so far. I came back from a trip with the bike about a week ago and left the bike in the garage for a few days. The next time I went to go riding, the battery was so drained, that the starter barely turned over and the bike wouldn't start. Just a lot of "relay rattle". Before this happened, there were no obvious signs of the battery being weak. I figured the battery had come to the end of it's days and bought a new one. I installed the new battery and went for a test ride, behold; the check engine light came on. Stopped the bike and started again, the CEL went out but came back shortly after. In the beginning the CEL would come on after revving the engine e.g. after a brisk acceleration, now it lights up at steady 2000 rpm. I'm baffled! I've checked the battery voltage (12,8V) and charging voltage (14,4V at idle) and they seem ok to me. Checked the air filter, the spark plugs and they seem fine, plugs had the right color & gap etc. If i set the throttle to 2000 rpm and hold it steady, the rpm's will sail between 2000 - 2100 and the motor sounds a bit rough. Since the problem started with the battery change, I'm thinking it has to be some sort of electrical problem????
Any ideas on what the culprit could be? Could anyone suggest some troubleshooting methods to find the problem or to rule out properly working systems? I have an appointment with a Victory service shop in about a week and a half to hook it up to a diagnostic machine, but I'm somewhat skeptical of the outcome and I'd like to try and find the problem myself, saving me a trip to the dealer & throwing away money.
I called the dealer today to ask about the bike's service history and I found out that they had recorded problems with the battery draining at all services up to the 8000km service (after that no maintenance record to date). They had "fixed" the problem by changing the battery & spark plugs.... Eh? Wut?
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
:devil Stefan
2010 Victory Hammer (Stock, except for the pipes???? dunno)
Previous bikes: (that never gave me trouble!) :grin
-06 Triumph Speed Triple 1050
-06 Hayabusa
-93 Honda CBR 1000F
-82 Honda CBR 900C
-81 Honda CBR 900F