Bike stalls while riding/shifting gears....

[Markm]

I also had the habit of blipping. Also had stalling issues, I resolved the problem by breaking my habit of blipping.

[newoldrider]

Originally Posted by Speedblue

Is the bike stock. Does it have customized exhaust. IF it has modified or aftermarket mufflers and air filter was the fuel system reflashed or stage 1 installed at least. If not the bike may be running to lean.

The bike has its stock pipes installed but they were definately altered to sound louder than stock. I don't know what what was done to the pipes and I'm sure no re-mapping was done to compensate for the pipe mod.

As for blipping the throttle when down shifting, I don't agree that it's a bad habit and after 20 years of riding I've never had a bike stall when doing it and it does allow for smoother down shifting IME, So this issue will need to get resolved... My bike idles at around 8-900 RPM's and I up shift between 3K and 3.5K RPM's and cruise at around 2k to 2.5K. When the bike stalls it happens as soon as I twist the throttle, like the throttle us cutting the engine off. This doesn't happen every time but it has happened enough to annoy the shit out of me. I have also noticed that if I rev the throttle after it has been idled for a few minutes that the idle starts to cycle between 900 and 1200 RPM's. This is with the engine warm.

I think I'll run the bike up tot he dealer this week and have them check everything out. Appreciate the responses.

[Goatlocker95]

I read this on "another Victory website" and thought it might help

I have had my Cross country tour since march. From the begining it has had a stalling issue. As I was slowing and down shifting the bike would simply shut off. This had happened about twelve to fifteen times in 2500 miles. The shop could not duplicate the problem at the first service. I took it in again last week. Before I did, I contacted Victory customer service. They had not heard of this problem. So they gave me the regional dealership that over sees my area. They thought it might be the injectors leaking. the injector seals or maybe even the intake. They did not have any technical service bulletins but they had heard of the problem. The test showed the seals and intake to be okay. The next idea lead to the clutch switch. Since the stalling happened as I down shifted. The shop replaced the clutch switch and this fixed the problem. Seems simple, but there was never anything definate pointing towards the switch. I think I've read a couple of other people with similar problems of stalling. As I said, this condition was from day one for me. So right from the start it had a bad switch. The computer and trans were not communicating correctly. By the way, I live in Illinois and my regional dealer is in PA.

[newoldrider]

I replaced my dead battery a few days ago and today I decided to take the bike out for a ride. She didn't stall at all but I was intentionally blipping the throttle above 2,000 RPM's. I also did some searching around the internet and this seems to be a well documented occurrence. To me it's a nuisance but I don't think anything is mechanically wrong with the bike.

[BBob]

Originally Posted by newoldrider

I replaced my dead battery a few days ago and today I decided to take the bike out for a ride. She didn't stall at all but I was intentionally blipping the throttle above 2,000 RPM's. I also did some searching around the internet and this seems to be a well documented occurrence. To me it's a nuisance but I don't think anything is mechanically wrong with the bike.

I agree. A weak battery or battery connections can cause all kinds of havoc with new Vic's.

[gulliverstoe]

Originally Posted by ridealittle

if you try to blip the throttle on my 2011 xr it makes the engine cough. i just quit doing it.

howdy
my 2010 has been doing since new and still does...i call it a "cough"...i really can catch me at a rolling stop-turn when she coughs when i am in a lean....REALLY gets your attention....i am at 26k miles and so nothing is gonna change....i fella here way back said it might be caused by the "ECI" calculating an "infinite" accelleration and going to rev-limit ...although i have no hands-on skill in this area, this makes sense to me as every "sensor" will have a lag in the sample time and every processor based control system has a sample time....

to close...if i have to blip...it is just a little and never when beginning a turn....especially at gas stations around the cement posts...

[Tims_04V92TC]

Originally Posted by newoldrider

The bike has its stock pipes installed but they were definately altered to sound louder than stock. I don't know what what was done to the pipes and I'm sure no re-mapping was done to compensate for the pipe mod.

Sooty pipes? Have you pulled the plugs to check how they are burning? Just a thought.. Someone asked me why I change my plugs every other oil change and I told them because I pull them to inspect them I might as well change them since I had a bad plug that was not that old one time that caused me all kinds of headache. What caught my attention here is you mentioned that you had stocks that were modified. This is touchy and may get more comments from some of the more experienced performance riders that know more about it than I do but I know that after modding my stocks, I was TOLD to disconnect the O2. Nope, it ran too rich. Plugged back in, good milage and still on the rich side at lower RPM but my overall burn is looking good. About to pull the plugs after 1000 miles post mod and see what I got.

Originally Posted by newoldrider

My bike idles at around 8-900 RPM's and I up shift between 3K and 3.5K RPM's and cruise at around 2k to 2.5K. ...
I have also noticed that if I rev the throttle after it has been idled for a few minutes that the idle starts to cycle between 900 and 1200 RPM's. This is with the engine warm.

Well you might not think but fix this first. Follow RICZ lead and adjust that idle to 1000 +/- 50 and I try to stay at 1K or just a bump over... Don't have ANY issues with a blip on downshift but your shifting RPM is on the lower side from what I have read and use. These motors like that 3500 band it seems....lol.... Not sure why either my V92 or V106 are so temperamental about the idle RPM but they are. KevinX explained it one time so I took it as gospel and no more issues.

Next thing that caught my attention was reving at idle then getting erratic idle. Should NOT be happening and most definitely NO blipping during warm up. Tricks the computer and fouls the plugs on this system. I am no way trying to stomp on your experience, just point out headaches I have resolved or read about that were resolved concerning problems like yours... May EVEN be a LITTLE guilty MYSELF... As per Lloydz start up recommendation,

Before hitting the button I roll the throttle slightly (about an 1/8 rotation) than I hit the button, once to life I like to hold the rpm's between 15-1800 Rpm's for approx 30-40 seconds if the bike is real cold (50 degrees and below) and 15-30 seconds if were above those temps

Here is the link for more tech tips:http://www.lloydz.com/techtips.asp

IMO, your shift RPM is good, 2200 is about as low as I go but to each is own. If I blip on downshift it's to save rear tire wear along with front breaking before someone chimes in about that lol.... Im with Goatlocker on both his points as you could have a hard mechanical issue however bringing the RPM back up to a lower gear is not a bad practice. BBob is dead on about both the battery and ALWAYS checking those terminals during your monthly inspection or what ever you got set up. My new VV, 3200 miles now... guess what, neg terminal slightly loose. Causes all kinds of headaches with the computer. Last note, and just my opinion, select your octane as per Lloydz and KevinX. I did, again... I blip, no issue, plugs are clean with a great burn. I match ambient temp to my octane.

Hope some of this helps. Before I took it to the wrench I would adjust the RPM, change the plugs, run a 1/3 can of Seafoam through the tank to see what you got. Just my two cents.

@ Gulliver, I am not prone to agree with what you got as being "ok" but that is my opinion. Post more data as the OP did and get some fresh input.

Safe ridin and post a followup...

[drummer12345]

Originally Posted by newoldrider

I have a 2011 XC and when I down shift I have a habit of revving the engine slightly just prior to dropping the bike into the next lower gear and releasing the clutch. I've shifted this way on every bike I have ever owned and have never had a bike stall on me before. My cross country stalls almost every time. Has anyone else experienced this? What is wrong with my Victory?

I purchased this bike used and have owned it for two weeks now. I appreciate any help.

My 2012 Cross Country Tour has done this literally since day one. Happened about 3-4 times on my way home from the dealership.

Originally Posted by CrossRoads

Once the bike's fully broken in, you will be able to blip the throttle a bit more, but do a slow blip compared to what you're used to. Do a fast one, and it will shut off. Breaking it in along with you getting used to the kind of blip you can do will take care of the issue.

I now have 7,000 miles on her and it's still happening.

Originally Posted by Lostintexas

Stop doing that. The problem should go away. It is nothing but a "bad" habit and has no function for a Vic.

How is this a "bad" habit? I have also done this with every motorcycle I've ever ridden and never had a problem. Quite the opposite when I first started riding and I wasn't blipping my back tire went into a slide.

Additionally every single MSF course I have taken and every instructor I have spoken to about this have advised to blip the throttle when downshifting to avoid a sudden decrease in speed. Are these professional instructors giving bad advise? If so what facts or studies do you have to back up your statement?

Originally Posted by Speedblue

Is the bike stock. Does it have customized exhaust. IF it has modified or aftermarket mufflers and air filter was the fuel system reflashed or stage 1 installed at least. If not the bike may be running to lean.

I have no aftermarket engine or exhaust parts on the bike.

[newoldrider]

Originally Posted by drummer12345

My 2012 Cross Country Tour has done this literally since day one. Happened about 3-4 times on my way home from the dealership.

How is this a "bad" habit? I have also done this with every motorcycle I've ever ridden and never had a problem. Quite the opposite when I first started riding and I wasn't blipping my back tire went into a slide.

Additionally every single MSF course I have taken and every instructor I have spoken to about this have advised to blip the throttle when downshifting to avoid a sudden decrease in speed. Are these professional instructors giving bad advise? If so what facts or studies do you have to back up your statement?

.

Since replacing my battery I haven't had any issues with the bike stalling when blipping the throttle. I did notice that the positive terminal was loose when I was removing the old battery and I'm starting to believe this was the culprit. Check you battery connections. I'm curious to know if yours are loose or not.

I've intentionally avoided turning this thread into a debate on riding technique which is why (until now) I've mainly left the bad habit comments alone. The bad habit comments are all opinion based and have no bearing on the mechanics of the bike. However, the mechanics of the bike for whatever reason seem to suggest that blipping the throttle isn't effective on Vics. This doesn't make blipping a bad habit though.

[joeg]

I have the 2012 xc and was told you can not adjust the idle, even though I see a screw that looks like an adjustment.