guzzler Posted March 12, 2023 Posted March 12, 2023 G'day folk's Well life has conspired to keep me off the green one for the last 6 bloody weeks.....Argghhh! Finally, an opportunity arose to get a ride in turned up when asked to help out at our Dandenong branch last week.So not only did I eagerly volunteer, I didn't give a flying fornication what the weather was going to do or even if it snowed on Friday.... I'm taking the bike! So up a wee bit earlier in case of trouble starting her,I'm togged up and ready to go at 5 am. Ha ha no sign of any snow and a nice cool morning! Hit the starter and bingo she fires right up! I expected some bother after 6 weeks but warmed her up well as I normally do and pulled out the driveway and through town to the Freeway on ramp.Just as I feed in the power to get up to speed, she just loses all power and dies! So Brrrr Brrrrr over to the side of the road and what the....I turn everything off and try to re-start but all I get is d,d d, d,d d, d,d,d and no go! Weird and just as I'm about to get off and call the wife I thought I'd flick the kill switch a couple of times and try again.BINGO she fires up! Great so off to the servo for gas and she won't fire up again! Another flick of the kill switch and she fires up...Phew! I decide I'll keep going but she's running ok but just not quite right.Can't put my finger on it but give her a bit of the ole Italian tune up a few times when I'm certain Mr Plod's not looking and by about 50 or so Kay's she's coming good! By the time I get off the freeway at the other end she's back to her old self again! She stalled when warming up after work but quickly back to normal and I had a so so ride home. It was only due to traffic on a Friday arvo of a long weekend but I did enjoy a few brief clear patches. After that wee taste I decided I'd take the bike again Saturday to see Dad after we'd done the weekly shopping. She fired up ok but I think she took a little bit longer to warm up and idle ?? Not sure but she was all good on leaving the servo again. Now about this time the cloudy overcast morning gives way to a bright and sunny clear 20 degree wind free day and I hit the brilliant twisty bits between Drouin and Lang Lang! Both of us ( me and the bike ) are running well and we have the road to ourselves....! It was just one of those rides where everything goes just right and made even more enjoyable as it'd been too long ! I was babbling away about it for ages when I got to Dad's but my brother's an ex- rider and knew what I was on about! I could see the wistful look in his eyes and left the subject alone from there. Twas a great catch up but more of the same lay ahead on the way home again.I didn't quite have the road to myself this time round but we still had a bloody great ride home. I'm sure as hell not leaving her sitting idle for six weeks again! ( touch wood ). Cheers Guzzler 7
docc Posted March 13, 2023 Posted March 13, 2023 So, you left your Italian mistress to languish and then, when you finally take out for a dance, she steps on your toes a couple times to make you remember? Could be worse. She might "stab you for no reason at all" . . . 2 4
audiomick Posted March 13, 2023 Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, guzzler said: Well life has conspired to keep me off the green one for the last 6 bloody weeks.....Argghhh Bugger indeed. But mate, I bought mine in December, and still haven't ridden more than about 120 km. . I think spring is starting to spring here, but it's still going to be another two weeks at least before it gets good. I hope you get a good winter with regular sunny days where you can ride a bit. 1
guzzler Posted March 13, 2023 Author Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, audiomick said: Bugger indeed. But mate, I bought mine in December, and still haven't ridden more than about 120 km. . I think spring is starting to spring here, but it's still going to be another two weeks at least before it gets good. I hope you get a good winter with regular sunny days where you can ride a bit. Cheers mate. You must be hanging out to put some kays on yours.... Hang in there mate as they're a great ride and you'll love it! Cheers Guzzler Ps as you know we are lucky to be able to ride year round here, just gotta ensure things other than the weather don't get in the way from now on! 2
guzzler Posted March 13, 2023 Author Posted March 13, 2023 2 hours ago, docc said: So, you left your Italian mistress to languish and then, when you finally take out for a dance, she steps on your toes a couple times to make you remember? Could be worse. She might "stab you for no reason at all" . . . Ha ha Yep, she sure as hell let me know she wasn't impressed eh! Think I'm forgiven though as she was brilliant on Saturday! And I have promised not to leave her be for so long again... Cheers Ps in fact we're going dancing again on Thursday!! 3 2
ScuRoo Posted March 13, 2023 Posted March 13, 2023 10 hours ago, guzzler said: Just as I feed in the power to get up to speed, she just loses all power and dies! So Brrrr Brrrrr over to the side of the road and what the....I turn everything off and try to re-start but all I get is d,d d, d,d d, d,d,d and no go! This also happens when the battery is near completely drained (especially Lithium) - seems it can expend the last bit of energy starting engine & runs for a bit but the ECU can go brain dead & not have enough synaptic connections to make any decisions! Dies Like a shot of Floradix tonic - give battery a charge 2
mikev Posted March 13, 2023 Posted March 13, 2023 14 hours ago, guzzler said: give her a bit of the ole Italian tune up a few times when I'm certain Mr Plod's not looking 1
audiomick Posted March 13, 2023 Posted March 13, 2023 11 hours ago, guzzler said: You must be hanging out to put some kays on yours.... Indeed I am.
docc Posted March 13, 2023 Posted March 13, 2023 5 hours ago, ScuRoo said: This also happens when the battery is near completely drained (especially Lithium) - seems it can expend the last bit of energy starting engine & runs for a bit but the ECU can go brain dead & not have enough synaptic connections to make any decisions! Dies Like a shot of Floradix tonic - give battery a charge This is really good insight for the V11, even for the OEM AGM battery. Our charging system is, let's say "adequate for the most part." If the AGM battery has dropped below the 12.65v charge threshold, the charging system will be struggling mightily to restore the battery and fail to provide the spare electrons to actually make the bike run. Especially if various connections and switches have gone dodgy in the stagnant period. Much more especially if the AGM has dropped to 50% (12.5v). I have made it a rule to always bring the battery up to a full charge before that long awaited dance. It's like tipping the barkeep well to ensure that next round of Margaritas is perfect!
guzzler Posted March 14, 2023 Author Posted March 14, 2023 G'day folk's Scuroo, I reckon you're right there mate with the battery being weak and just had enough to fire her up and run for a wee bit. Add in I always warm her up for 3 or so minutes before I ride off too, so add this time running under 3 k and battery not charging plus we have headlights wired on always here and there's another drain! The freeway is only about 1 maybe 2 kays from my driveway and this was when she died when I tried to accelerate on to it. I'm going to ride her a fair bit over the next week and get a decent charge into the battery again as don't have a trickle charger. Never needed one as I do ride year round. It's never been an issue before in that before Covid I'd always take the bike into the office once a week rain hail or shine but since working from home last 3 years I've missed that and then you get caught up with other things in life and bingo there goes six bloody weeks! Long story short she won't ever sit idle like that again! Cheers Guzzler 1
audiomick Posted March 14, 2023 Posted March 14, 2023 3 hours ago, guzzler said: bingo there goes six bloody weeks! and somehow, the older one gets, the shorter the weeks get. 1
docc Posted March 14, 2023 Posted March 14, 2023 8 hours ago, guzzler said: G'day folk's Scuroo, I reckon you're right there mate with the battery being weak and just had enough to fire her up and run for a wee bit. Add in I always warm her up for 3 or so minutes before I ride off too, so add this time running under 3 k and battery not charging plus we have headlights wired on always here and there's another drain! The freeway is only about 1 maybe 2 kays from my driveway and this was when she died when I tried to accelerate on to it. I'm going to ride her a fair bit over the next week and get a decent charge into the battery again as don't have a trickle charger. Never needed one as I do ride year round. It's never been an issue before in that before Covid I'd always take the bike into the office once a week rain hail or shine but since working from home last 3 years I've missed that and then you get caught up with other things in life and bingo there goes six bloody weeks! Long story short she won't ever sit idle like that again! Cheers Guzzler Three minute warm up? Sounds painful. Not enough charge, not enough oil moving in a cold motor. Start up, swing on, ride off. Keep the R's under 5k for maybe 10 kays, then let'r rip! "Trickle chargers" can be damaging to the Odyssey PC545 if their float voltage is below 13.2v (according to the manufacturer). The handiest charger I have for the V11 is a 6 amp manual automotive charger. When the static voltage drops to 12.65v, turn the lights on for a few minutes, then hook up the charger and bring the voltage to 15.0 monitoring a voltmeter. If the battery has been more deeply discharged, repeat this procedure up to several times.
audiomick Posted March 14, 2023 Posted March 14, 2023 28 minutes ago, docc said: "Trickle chargers" can be damaging... Indeed they can. I've got an MXS 3.8 and an MXS 5.0 from this mob. https://www.ctek.com/de/batterieladegerat-12v-24v/fahrzeugtyp/motorrad/motorradladegerät No fluffing around, just connect it to the battery and wait until all the lights are on. If the bike is going to stand around for a while (weeks, months...) just leave it connected. 1
guzzler Posted March 14, 2023 Author Posted March 14, 2023 G'day fellas Yeah, the 3 minute warm up may be a hangover from the previous mapping? She'd splutter a bit and didn't want to accept much throttle unless warmed up just so, but still reckon she likes a decent warm up all the same. Cheers Guzzler Ps I still give her about 20kays before any serious throttle but might just try less warming up before moving off and see how that goes... 1
audiomick Posted March 15, 2023 Posted March 15, 2023 1 hour ago, guzzler said: ..might just try less warming up... I read something once, that warming up is not so necessary. If one takes it easy for the first 10 minutes or so, that is enough. And it saves fuel, which is better for your wallet and better for the environment. The Japanese bikes I have had all played along very well, and the V11 seems to be ok with that too. My V35 Imola is a different story. It has a phase between "choke is ok" and "I'm warm enough now" in which it is inclined to stop running if I don't keep it revving. In summer it is not much of a problem, but in winter when the temperatur is down around 3°C (yes, I do ride it sometimes in those conditions...) it can be a bit critical. Letting it warm up for a couple of minutes is not a bad thing. If I were prepared to invest some money in the carbs, I might be able to sort that out too, but I have most of the parts and the notion to put together a 350 4-valve motor, which would need bigger carbs, so I'm living with that for the time being. 2
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