Well here we go again with the dealer. My 2005 Midnight Roadstar was back in the shop right before Christmas because of the coughing and stalling it was doing during the first 10-15 minutes of a ride. They had tried to address it before but apparently just running a bottle of ring free thru it was not the answer.

I have straight pipes (Shogun Slashers) and a BAK on it. I am sorta ashamed to admit that I had them do the BAK but I did do the pipes. Anyway. The problem seemed solved after that, with the rejetting and all. But after 4-500 miles it was back to stalling and backfiring even worse than before.

The initial diagnosis was that I was running too much oil and when the engine got hot it caused the oil level to rise which splashed on the rear cylinder and would gum it up when it cooled down, causing my problems. Ok now it gets fun.

They had been working on my bike (all under warranty still b/c I had taken it in under the original 1 yr warranty and it was the same issue) in the heated part of the shop and that's where my bike stayed.

He took it out for a test on one of the warmer days and it ran perfect. I spoke with him and he said he just wanted to take it out one more time (I think he loves my bike) just to be sure. He parked it in the other garage they have, an unheated one, and the temp dropped that night by 15-20 degrees from the day before. And can you guess what happened. Keep in mind this was after the now "correct" oil level was obtained. It started stalling and backfiring again.

One of their techies said that maybe it had to do with the fact that it was taking in so much cold air that it was making the bike run lean until it was properly warmed up. I am curious as to what the resident experts might have to say. And no I don't know the settings on the needles just that it is set for the BAK.

Any ideas before I completely loose my mind over this.

As an added side note, the shop manager is going with me and some of my friends when we go ride the &quot;Tail of the Dragon&quot; in April. It had better be running right or I do believe I'll have to rip him a new one and I hate to do that cause he's a really nice guy but damn I am starting to get really frustrated.<br><br>Post edited by: clifdog, at: 2007/02/01 08:45

clifdog wrote:
Well here we go again with the dealer. My 2005 Midnight Roadstar was back in the shop right before Christmas because of the coughing and stalling it was doing during the first 10-15 minutes of a ride.

This is where is becomes tricky giving you long distance advice.

My bike is almost optimally setup. Until it warms up, the colder the ambient temp the more the bike hates aggressive throttle inputs. It bucks and stalls. When it 80-90 F then I can get on is soon after starting but when it's around freezing then were talking miles. I know don't have a sticky valve problem, it's just the nature of the beast.

One the other hand, the valve problem is more noticeable at cold temps as the tolerances are smaller.

It would appear that you need to determine whether it is a valve problem (use the paper on the exhaust technique) or just a cold engine problem.

Sounds like you have a good dealer so no matter how frustrating it is I'd stay on his good side. I would not be surprised if he's frustrated too.

Doc

While I do not have the extremes here in Florida that many of my northern brethern contend with, I have noticed that my scooter is a little harder to start and needs a little more choke for a longer period before it starts running optimally. This morning is was in the mid 50's (cold by our standards) and my usual start routine is full choke as soon as it catches I push it in to about 3/4 let it run a few moments and I can hear the engine start to stumble a little I push it into half. When it is warm out I can push it into almost completely open and it will idle slowly. In the cold anything less than half and it dies. As soon as I can feel a little warmth in the valve covers I start rolling slow at first. I live in a development where I have about 1/2 mile of slow speed to exit. By the time I am out to the open road I push the choke in all the way. The scooter sometimes will cough a little when I give it throttle, but does not die. After about 2 or 3 miles it is warm and running perfectly.

Air cooled engines are all fussy until they get up to near operating temperatures. We do not have thermostats and fluid to regulate temperature so our settings are dependent on heat from the engine. My old 750 K1 Honda used to be a real bear when it was cold. I had to run it with the choke half closed in the cold up north until it was well warmed up or it would die.

I think maybe it just needs a little gentler warm up to get going when it is cold???

Clifdog

Hold a kleenex to the pipe if its sticky valve it will suck it in the pipe and spit it right back out......Coug

I will put my money on the fact that the ambient air is too cold for the motor to run right, right away....these bikes are cold blooded to begin with and it will take longer to warm them up. After they warm up, then they run great if they are set up and jetted correctly. I think pretty much all of us here on the forum has the same problem.

Yep, I'm with beefcake and the others. Cough and splutter and backfire and die in cold weather. Below 50. The remedy is to baby the throttle and choke for a few miles till I get on an open road and do 55, then I push the choke in all the way and it's fine from there.

I should try it today, it's about 15 outside with snow. That would be a good test! .... Naahhh! I'm going back to bed!

Old Shep

I would like to add it was blowing major flameage out of the pipes and it could not be saved through the use of the gears or choke. It could only be cranked with the choke and in less than 2 min of just idle it would cut off. It was brutal. I expect a little popping but this felt like the bike was passing a kidney stone.

And yes, I do believe I have a good dealer. It's just been an exasperating experience.

Has your dealer tried parking it back on the warm side overnight to see if it still happens? That would pretty much answer the temp question. Does it blow flame out of BOTH pipes or just the rear? And a long shot - Has he checked the float level? The jet and needle setting would help people here try and guess what's wrong.

clifdog wrote:
I would like to add it was blowing major flameage out of the pipes and it could not be saved through the use of the gears or choke. It could only be cranked with the choke and in less than 2 min of just idle it would cut off. It was brutal. I expect a little popping but this felt like the bike was passing a kidney stone.

&quot;blowing major flameage&quot; ... out of both pipes or only the back?

If you're &quot;blowing major flameage&quot; then it sounds like a either the valves or one of your plugs may be fouled or not firing.

And if it keeps coming back it may be because you're too rich on the carb.

Doc

Hey Clifdog,
Didnt I read that you were only putting in 3.75 quarts of oil when you did an oil change....was that after you had the bike in the shop and the dealer had you run the ringfree and was that the Yamibrand?????The reason I am asking is everyone thinks oil level has something to do with SVS and if it came back on you could be you are running too rich in the Carb..but it could be Yamis springs were simply too weak and they are trying to outlast warranties to cut down on their losses.....Coug