HELP!!! Street Bob running like CRAP
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Tourer
Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Eastern North Carolina
HELP!!! Street Bob running like CRAP
I need some help diagnosing why my bike is running so bad and I apologize for the lengthy post.
My bob is a 2007 with about 3500 miles on the odometer. The bike and been running fine until about a month ago. I participated in a "track day" and ran it pretty hard that day. The over course of the day I managed to sheer off the bolt that retained the baffle on one of my pipes. I continued to run the course. Additionally, I was running low on fuel and took on some cheap GOVT gas that the instructors had for emergency purposes.
Last week on a short trip to Central Virginia, I noticed that the engine was losing power in the lower RPM range but ran fine at highway speeds. It loses power then surges when the throttle is applied. It did the same thing a couple of times around 60mph as well. Haven't run it highway speed since I got back home but now it will continually stall when running between 10-30 mph.
I initially thought I might have gotten some bad gas but I since ran that dry and refueled with 93 octane. I got the diagnostic procedures, ran a check and got ZERO error readings. A friend believes that it may be an O2 sensors problem. Unfortunately, I have exhausted my mechanical capabilities and am looking for a little advice before I am forced to drop it off at the dealership.
My bob is a 2007 with about 3500 miles on the odometer. The bike and been running fine until about a month ago. I participated in a "track day" and ran it pretty hard that day. The over course of the day I managed to sheer off the bolt that retained the baffle on one of my pipes. I continued to run the course. Additionally, I was running low on fuel and took on some cheap GOVT gas that the instructors had for emergency purposes.
Last week on a short trip to Central Virginia, I noticed that the engine was losing power in the lower RPM range but ran fine at highway speeds. It loses power then surges when the throttle is applied. It did the same thing a couple of times around 60mph as well. Haven't run it highway speed since I got back home but now it will continually stall when running between 10-30 mph.
I initially thought I might have gotten some bad gas but I since ran that dry and refueled with 93 octane. I got the diagnostic procedures, ran a check and got ZERO error readings. A friend believes that it may be an O2 sensors problem. Unfortunately, I have exhausted my mechanical capabilities and am looking for a little advice before I am forced to drop it off at the dealership.
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Joined: Jul 2010
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Sounds to me like that crappy fuel might have clogged your injectors. A good injector cleaner might fix it. I don't think it sounds like your O2 sensor. I would also remove, clean, and re-gap your spark plugs. Always good to do that anyway. Let us know how it turns out.
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Tourer
Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Eastern North Carolina
No. It was unleaded but definitely cheap. It came from the fuel cans the instructors use to top off the their T125 training bikes.
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From: along the shore of Mishigami
Who knows how old the gas was in "the can", get a bottle of injector cleaner or Techron from Autozone (or any car parts place) mix it properly, pull plugs, gap, clean and reinstall. Check the battery connections, make sure they are good'n'tight. Let's know what you find.
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From: NC
O2
It would definitely coat the 02 sensors if you ran premix in your bike. No harm would be done to the injectors. The only thing that makes me wonder is why hasnt the ECU picked up on the bad 02 sensors? I have in rare cases while working in the automotive field have had poor performance resulting from aged 02 sensors, that didnt trip a fault code.
Do these bikes have any filter anywhere in the system/ tank? Did the cans have any dirt in them? If the old fuel had water in it, even though you have added a new tank of fuel in your bike you may still have a gulp of water floating around in there.
I would say use a fuel treatment in your tank that someone here approves of. If that doesnt work then I would probably look into cleaning the fuel system by dissassembly. Then replace 02 sensors if all that fails.
Has anybody used fuel treatment here? Any areas that get clogged in the fuel system commonly with dirt?
Do these bikes have any filter anywhere in the system/ tank? Did the cans have any dirt in them? If the old fuel had water in it, even though you have added a new tank of fuel in your bike you may still have a gulp of water floating around in there.
I would say use a fuel treatment in your tank that someone here approves of. If that doesnt work then I would probably look into cleaning the fuel system by dissassembly. Then replace 02 sensors if all that fails.
Has anybody used fuel treatment here? Any areas that get clogged in the fuel system commonly with dirt?
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Joined: Jul 2010
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You sheared off the bolt retaining your baffle? Has that been replaced now? Depending on what pipes you have that baffle can slip backwards a little when you accelerate at low speed causing some lack of back pressure, but hit the limit of its movement at higher speed and be o.k. It shouldn't cause you this much prob unless you pulled that baffle & left the other one in.
If that nasty fuel had any water in it, your probs might last for a couple of tanks. The black smoke indicates you are burning oil. I think the two cycle gas theory is a good one.
If that nasty fuel had any water in it, your probs might last for a couple of tanks. The black smoke indicates you are burning oil. I think the two cycle gas theory is a good one.