New member, V11 sport with many issues

[Guest mcphatty]

First off I'd like to introduce myself. My name's Matt, I'm currently riding a green 2000 V11 Sport. Love the bike, except its hardly running at the moment. I have very little mechanical knowledge of the bike (it's my father's bike, but he prefers his Valkyrie) but I do know a bit about automotive stuff. The bike was stored in my garage all winter, battery was kept on a trickle charger during the winter months, and ran perfectly with the exception of some relay problems prior to storage.

Upon finding out that the battery is now dead, I jumpstarted the bike and it started a little rough, but seemed to idle fine. After playing with the throttle a little bit I've noticed that there is some backfiring going on when in the upper RPM range. If I give it full throttle, it rarely makes it above 5k rpm, sputtering and backfiring around that time, usually stalling out afterwards. I'm at a loss here, im not quite sure where to start. I've read around that it could be timing, could be fuel pump, could be throttlebody, etc.. Any ideas?

In addition to that, I've been having problems with the relays in the fuse box. My tach dies, along with the brake lights. Sometimes if I jiggle the relay, it'll come back intermittently. I've replaced the relays in the past, and it has repeated itself since. Again, any ideas?

[BRENTTODD]

Check to make sure the boots for air intake are not cracked and your getting to much air. Then pm ryland and buy new relays then go riding. If that dosnt work look around the site you will fnd the answer to all your problems.

 

Good luck

Brent

[dhansen]

Hi Matt.

 

There could be many sources of trouble but it could be as simple as old gas and dirty spark plugs.

Start with the simple stuff first. Drain or syphon off as much of the old fuel as you can, top off with fresh stuff and maybe some Techtron fuel additive and new spark plugs. (Get a couple sets of spark plugs).

 

A search in the Technical Topics forum will turn up a couple sources for replacement relays.

 

Good luck!

[richard100t]

It sounds like you do have more than one single problem going on here. Things to check on your bike are the rubber throttle body intake sleeves for dry rot. Another is the tps may be out of whack, check that. Balance the throttle bodies, thats a symptom of what you describe as well. I'll leave the electrical gremlins to the experts! lol

[Ryland3210]

Welcome to the forum! You'll find there is a wealth of technical support from dedicated members.

 

My guess is that it isn't necessarily the relay, but the socket it plugs into or the wiring to that socket. Pull the relays out and take a close look at the terminals in the socket. Maybe they have lost their spring loading against the relay contact. If they have gotten hot due to intermittent or high resistance contact, the metal may have gotten soft. You could work with a scribe or thin screwdriver to attempt to bend them so that they grip the relay contact better.

 

If it looks like that's not the problem, take the socket out and have a look at the wire connections to the terminal. If all else fails, and at the risk of sounding like an advertisement, the relays I offer from Omron do have thicker terminals made of copper which make better contact with the socket.

[Tom M]

Welcome Matt! Sorry to hear of your troubles with the Sport, but with some mechanical background you should be able to sort it out yourself. The first thing you need to do is get your battery tested. If it's stock it's probably marginal at best by now. A favorite replacement on this site is the Hawker Odyssey P545. There's a mail order source with good pricing that I can't recall right now. Matbe someone else will chime in.

 

After getting the battery sorted you might want to replace all of your relays so you know they are good. One source for reliable relays is Dan Prunuske. You can get a full set from him for about $15 last time I checked. See http://www.dpguzzi.com/relay.htm . A member here, Ryland 3210, has found a relay that's a higher spec than what Dan sells. See the following thread for info: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...=relay&st=0 Regardless of which relay you choose, make sure the sockets the relays plug into are clean and tight.

 

Assuming the air filter isn't blocked the crapping out above 5k sounds like a fuel problem, but you really need to sort the electrics first then see what happens.

 

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

edit: looks like a few others replied while I was typing! All good responses

[Ouiji Veck]

Hi and welcome Matt. Hang in there and with us...

We'll get you sorted. These are the usual small problems.

Your going to need to search around a little on this forum but that's what

the "search" feature is for.

New relays are a must...from Ryland or Dan as stated above.

Fresh gas and tektron too...get the cooties out.

I'd start with a fresh valve adj. "world specs" not "Guzzi specs"

Makes a load of difference. Boots like everyone else said.

Your low battery may even be causing all your problems and

jump starting may be un-advisable. The ECU et-al are sensitive to strange voltages.

I believe....

After that if it's not a lot better;

Check your TPS and TB balance...it's all here in the forum.

Got after market pipes, cross over, PCIII or airbox ?

 

You came to the right place and that's a sweet bike you got.

We can't stand one not running.

Don't worry. It's always something simple and stupid with these things.

Once sorted out your good to go for a long time.

[Guest mcphatty]

Just a little update:

 

I looked at the intake boots, and they're definately needing replacement. Is there a better sleeve than the OEM ones, perhaps silicone? I dont think this is the issue causing the backfires and sloppy throttle response. I havnt had a chance to check the plugs, my tools are back at my apartment.

 

Back to jumpstarting the bike... After talking to my dad tonight, he informed me NOT to jumpstart it from a car (Of course he mentions this, after I had already jumped it). Apparently the computer on these bikes is exceptionally finicky? He said he had to replace the computer before, when he was experiencing similar problems.which makes me nervous... especially after he mentioned the price tag on a new one. Does this make sense to anyone?

 

richard100t- you mentioned you check the TPS... This may be a dumb question, but what is the TPS? Throttle Position Sensor?

 

EDIT- Looks like Ouiji may have answered one of my questions, the one about jumpstarting.... *wipes sweat off forehead* I have a feeling that I may have caused this problem!

 

Ouiji- you had mentioned world specs as opposed to guzzi specs for the valve adjustment... care to elborate? And to answer your question, the bike is 100% stock, and until I buy the bike off of my dad, it'll probably remain that way.

[Ryland3210]

Just a little update:

 

I looked at the intake boots, and they're definately needing replacement. Is there a better sleeve than the OEM ones, perhaps silicone? I dont think this is the issue causing the backfires and sloppy throttle response. I havnt had a chance to check the plugs, my tools are back at my apartment.

 

Back to jumpstarting the bike... After talking to my dad tonight, he informed me NOT to jumpstart it from a car (Of course he mentions this, after I had already jumped it). Apparently the computer on these bikes is exceptionally finicky? He said he had to replace the computer before, when he was experiencing similar problems.which makes me nervous... especially after he mentioned the price tag on a new one. Does this make sense to anyone?

 

richard100t- you mentioned you check the TPS... This may be a dumb question, but what is the TPS? Throttle Position Sensor?

 

You got it! A procedure for calibrating it and synchonizing the throttle bodies can be found in the "How To" section when you're ready for that. Make sure your intake boots are leak tight and adjust the valves before considering that procedure.

[Tom M]

Intake boots can be cracked on the outside but OK on the inside. It's a good idea to change them if they are really ratty looking though. Speaking of rodents, don't forget to check the airbox for a mouse nest. That's a pretty common cause for poor running when a bike comes out of storage.

[BRENTTODD]

When you install a new part or make an adjustment try the bike to see if that what you just did corrected the problem. Then you will get the satifaction of knowing what corrected what problem and if it happens again you will know where to go and what to do. Plus when somebody asked what was wrong with the bike you can tell them and not look like a goomer by saying i changed this and that now it works. This process will also let you see what does what and you will know your bike. I think that is important on these bikes because they are corkey and do require some sorting out.

 

Good luck God Speed

Brent

[Ouiji Veck]

Rats nest............good call.

Boots would cause your exact problem too.

You could wrap electrical tape around them temporarily to see if that

changed anything...better yet...spray carb cleaner around them while the bikes running.

If it changes the idle you're leaking air. (Try not to blow yourself up...ok?)

 

Valves .006 intake .008 exhaust is pretty popular.

 

Jumping....not from a running vehicle. Might be ok just from a good battery.

( I got away with it once...the day I bought it nyut nyut...made haggling easy)

 

Definately check your air cleaner for critter nests.

I've seen it several times. Gotta take the tank off...3 hoses and 1 wire (I think) 1 bolt.

Get in there and get your hands dirty. This'll help a lot.

http://www.mphcycles.com/Parts%20Manuals/G...920090_1100.pdf

Don't say I never gave you anything.....

Gotta love this place

[badmotogoozer]

All good advice! Number one - get a good battery and relays in.

 

Ouji's carb cleaner trick is effective but carb cleaner/wd40 etc all do nasty things to rubber. A better and cleaner way is to use a propane torch (just a trickle of gas and for god's sake don't light it first). Same principle - if the propane is sucked through the boot rpm will increase. If it does you need new boots. If not, carry on. If you use carb cleaner and they are fine, they won't be in a few weeks.

 

cheers,

[Steve G.]

With jump starting, your Dad's kind of correct. The battery/car doing the jumping must not be running, engine off. The two alternating currents of the two running engines can kill the ECU. If your battery has been put on a trickle charger rather than a battery tender, you could have cooked it.

Sounds to me like your fuel injectors are dirty, causing a lean burn, back firing means lean mixture. Get rid of the gas, put fresh 92 octane with fuel injector cleaner in it. Take it for a ride to get it hot and see what it's like.

The relays are a no brainer, get new ones. They can be had cheap from a forum member here.

Steve

[callison]

It really sounds like the battery is toast. Running the engine faster increases the load quite a bit on a marginal battery with the result that all kinds of things that require reasonable voltage aren't getting it and start to behave badly. Things like relays, coils, injectors...