idle problem

[Shane J.]

2006 R1150 RTP 53000 miles

I have had a problem with my idle since I got this bike. I still have been able to put 12000 miles on in two years.

The symptoms are that it will not keep an idle below 2000rpm when there are less than 5 bars showing on the temp gauge. I start it with additional throttle and take off as soon as I can. The first couple of stops I have to keep the throttle up until the bike is warmed up. Run up and cruise is fine, smooth and plenty of power. After it is warmed up it will mostly idle okay, occasionally it will stumble and drop rpm's with a cough (more like a clunk in the engine).

I have gone through a throttle stop screw adjustment (They had been messed with) and multiple throttle body synchs along with many TPS resets. I can warm it up and get a really good synch and idle on the throttles. I cannot do it with a cold engine as it will not idle cold.

I am getting ready to pull apart the covers and do a full service, valve adjustment, spark plugs, oil change, air filter, etc. I am looking for any advice on what else I can look for while it is all accessible that may be causing this problem. I plan to double check the throttle stop screw adjustment and check out the throttle plates for wear. Also check the routing on the plug cables. Any ideas on what else could cause this?

Shane

Edited December 9, 2016 by Shane J.

[dirtrider]

Afternoon Shane

 

There are a LOT of things that could be causing your cold idle problems.

 

It could be a lean fueling issue like low fuel pump output or fuel injection/injector issues, or any number of reasons for lean cold fueling.

 

Or it could be a sparking issue like upper or lower spark plugs not firing properly on a cold engine.

 

My suggestion is to eliminate the spark (both upper & lower) as the problem before moving on to fueling system verification.

 

You might see if it will cold start & somewhat run on JUST the upper spark plugs then re-connect them & see if it will cold start & somewhat run on just the lowers. (once you clear or determine that sparking isn't the cold idle problem then we can move on to the checking the fuel supply & injection system)

[Shane J.]

Thank you D.R.,I will add those checks to my list. Would you expect smooth running above 2000rpm if it was an injector problem?

I am also going to be replacing the fuel filter on the off chance it is a culprit.

Shane

[Lowndes]

Shane, Do everything DR says, and THEN, if you still think it might be the fuel injectors....

 

My 99 R1100S was really "cold natured". Frequent stalls at stoplights, had to be VERY careful with throttle and clutch. Three weeks ago I purchased a pair of MATCHED EV-14 injectors from Injector-Rehab ($139) with adapters to replace the EV-6. Also installed an "AF-Xied" (Nightrider, $220) at the same time. It plugs in between the O2 sensor and the ECU and gets the injectors to run just a little richer (adjustable, too). These bikes are set to run very lean to meet EPA rules. Both the injectors and AF-Xied are "plug and play", EZPZ install.

 

I only have about 70 miles on it since then and I understand it takes about 4 tanks of fuel thru it to let the ECU adjust fully, but it is SOOOO much better, smoother, easier to crank, warm up, pull off from a stop. HOLY MOLY, different bike!!

 

DO WHAT DR SAYS FIRST!!

[Lowndes]

Shane,

 

I just looked up your stock injectors. They are #13711342366, same as mine, EV-6, 4 hole. But who knows if they are matched or not.

 

You can look up the specs on these at Stan Weiss

 

You will need to do the TB sync, too, don't forget!!

 

Stock EV6 injector:

 

Injector-Rehab EV14 injector with adapter:

 

 

Lowndes

[AndyS]

Shane,

 

I just looked up your stock injectors....

Lowndes

Your pictures / links are not working.

[dan cata]

Have you tried cleaning the idle screws and their passages? If the pulley stopping screws have been altered, you will have to do the 0=0 procedure, once that is done, continue adjusting/syncing.

 

Dan.

[Michaelr11]

Make sure you have some (1 mm) free play at the junction of the throttle cable and throttle body ferrule. If you are tight on either side it will be very hard to get an even idle side to side.

[Shane J.]

All very good tips. I will addressing all I can. Thank you!

[Shane J.]

I fixed this problem by replacing the throttle bodies with a super clean set off eBay and also replaced the injectors with the balanced gs1200 upgrade. Now the bike idles smooth, starts easy, and runs better at all rpm's.

[AnotherLee]

Shane - thanks for the follow-up!

[Shane J.]

[Shane J.]

This problem kept reoccurring at odd intervals. I finally managed to do a coil test at the right time and found the right side stick coil not working. New stick coils turned out to be the missing piece to my rough idle problem. Even though I tested the old ones a couple of times with no negative results, I think it was a intermittent fault that I just never caught at the right time. New sticks installed and my bike now runs like it never has. This after new (used) throttle bodies, new injectors, af-xied, numerous tuneups, all of which seemed to help until the next ride. And this was the easiest fix of all of them. It feels like a new bike. The af-xied was almost able to overcome the problem but not quite. Did a hundred miles yesterday and was amazed at how much better this bike runs now. I guess I can stop window shopping for a replacement bike.

 

I don't know why the photo links above are broken and I can't edit that post so just ignore them. They were photos of the throttle body and injector replacement.

[dirtrider]

 

I don't know why the photo links above are broken and I can't edit that post so just ignore them. They were photos of the throttle body and injector replacement.

 

Afternoon Shane

 

Photo Bucket no longer allows 3rd party hosting (like posting on this site) without paying a monthly extortion fee.

 

[roger 04 rt]

This problem kept reoccurring at odd intervals. I finally managed to do a coil test at the right time and found the right side stick coil not working. New stick coils turned out to be the missing piece to my rough idle problem. Even though I tested the old ones a couple of times with no negative results, I think it was a intermittent fault that I just never caught at the right time. New sticks installed and my bike now runs like it never has. This after new (used) throttle bodies, new injectors, af-xied, numerous tuneups, all of which seemed to help until the next ride. And this was the easiest fix of all of them. It feels like a new bike. The af-xied was almost able to overcome the problem but not quite. Did a hundred miles yesterday and was amazed at how much better this bike runs now. I guess I can stop window shopping for a replacement bike.

 

I don't know why the photo links above are broken and I can't edit that post so just ignore them. They were photos of the throttle body and injector replacement.

 

Shane, After replacing my coils, my '04RT ran better too. Next I wired the coils through a relay, directly to the battery and got a further performance improvement. If your bike doesn't have a 2nd load relay you might want to try it too.

[Shane J.]

I will take a look Roger, but being it is a 2006 bike it probably does already have the 2nd relay, right?

[roger 04 rt]

I'd think it's likely to have the relay but it's easy to check. DR posted a picture of where to look in the thread started by imgnr.