Ron,

I think you're right regarding the P1004. I cleared it, restarted the motorcycle, and the code did not reappear.

Techron boosts the octane rating a little, but at most a few tenths.

I have extra, new spark plugs. The next time the detonation occurs, I will replace both of them with new ones.

I also looked in my parts manual to find the crank sensor connections and the engine temperature sensor. From what I can tell, there are no loose wires.

I am not very adept at working on motorcycles, but I am 52 and used to work on cars all the time in the pre 1972 days. There are two kinds of sporadic problems the way I see it. Those that are mechanical (eg. loose battery terminal making connection, then losing connection) and those that are electronic (eg. in some sort of black-box like the ECM or some weird sensor). I could have one or both. I just can't believe how well the bike ran this afternoon - I mean I ran the crap out of it and not a single ping from detonation. Sheesh! If this keeps happening, I'll take it to the dealer in the winter in Nov or Dec when it is pinging constantly. My warranty is good til April 21, 2007 (although I have the extended warranty for 7 years after that).

Thanks Ron,
Richard Dondes
East Brunswick, NJ

 

I did wonder at one time if the Fuel pack was taking a vacation every now and then. This would lean it out and could bring on detonation. You would think the knock sensing would stop it, unless it's out of it's range. Since you mentioned that the front plug was lean and rear was ok, you would think that both would be lean if the Fuelpack was at fault. I will pm you on how I'd check it.
Ron