Operation Smoothness

[allrider]

Ditto on lubing the throttle tube.

It also helped when i lubed the throttle cables and cleaned that spring off a bit.

The thing that helped my control on the AE most was practicing trail braking, feathering the rear brake. In slow speed situations where you want to keep the clutch engaged like crawling around a U turn (fully loaded with a passenger) it's critical. At a light just before you start off, I load the throttle just enough to bring the clutch to life with the brake still on so launch is smooth a silk.

Trail braking is really helpful and fun in higher speed situations like in some really good twisties. I'll trail brake into a corner after I have done all my down shifting and continue to scrub off speed while staying on the gas lightly (to keep the throttle from closing completely). As I'm apexing the corner I come on the gas as I let the rear brake off. It's basically launch control.

Where we used to control all this with clutch and throttle, and a little braking, now it's more throttle and braking while engaging the clutch or keeping the clutch engaged. The cold bloodedness of the 06-07's just makes it trickier.

 

[s.ga.rider]

I have all these same issues with my recently purchased 07. The bike has a throttle lock and quicker turn throttle which makes on off throttle kinda touchy. After putting about 600 miles on it(11600 total) its quite obvious I need to do a clutch soak. the fi is bad at small throttle openings too so I guess a pc is in my future.

 

[gixxerjasen]

It has a quicker turn throttle? Holy wow! The G2 slows out the stock at small throttle openings and works well. Both that and the PC have made my bike much much better. There's a PCV in the classifieds right now for a good price.

 

[s.ga.rider]

It has a 1/4 throttle tube. You definitely have to have good throttle control. Im trying to sell off parts from my other bike to get accessory money so maybe I can pick up a pc before long.

 

[gixxerjasen]

LOL, I hear ya, I'm about to have some stuff for sale to fund my impending Shad/Givi purchase.

 

[allrider]

I wanted to mention I also have G2 throttle tamer that was helpful for smoothing the initial throttle response also. I didn't think I saw anyone mention that trick. It's only really applicable to the 06-07's. They fixed that on the 08 throttles.

I have to say I'm not sold on clutch soaks. That grabby clutch thing happens to me if I let her sit for a week or two but goes away fairly quickly if I do enough starts and stops in the first 10 min. I would guess that if you don't do enough starts and stops you aren't getting the clutch plates slipping between each other and getting em lubed up. It stands to reason that if you leave the bike sitting long enough it's going to do the dry clutch thing again.

 

[gixxerjasen]

I wanted to mention I also have G2 throttle tamer that was helpful for smoothing the initial throttle response also. I didn't think I saw anyone mention that trick. It's only really applicable to the 06-07's. They fixed that on the 08 throttles.

That's actually 1/4 of what this thread was about. I did clutch soak, throttle spring unwind, Power Commander, AND a G2.

 

[allrider]

Sorry i missed the G2 comments earlier.

My point on the clutch soak was, do you think you will have cured the issue with a soak?

 

[gixxerjasen]

I dunno, time will tell I suppose. I've been riding to work daily for a few weeks prior to doing the soak and the best I can explain it was the herky jerky motion, not attributed to the throttle issue, was there as the clutch was engaging. Checking on disassembly, they didn't seem as dry as I expected them to be but there was a distinct difference between the outer plates and the inner ones. Herky jerky motion seems to be gone now. We'll see how long it lasts. I'm still new to these bikes and learning.

In the end, even if it didn't really do anything, several things were accomplished.

1. I got to check out the clutch and fully inspect it. Not that it needs it or anything but it was done.

2. I got to hone my piss poor mechanics skills with a superb step by step photo tutorial. Even I couldn't screw that one up with such fantastic help.

3. I got to dig into the bike and learn some more about it and the various maintenance of it and where things are.

And in the end, it cost me some leftover oil and a gasket. Not too bad.

 

[s.ga.rider]

I did the jumper mod today and just finished pulling the clutch out. I have done a few clutches in the past and this is the easiest so far. A lot of the plates were dry and had a lot of burnt clutch material on some of them. Im glad I went ahead and done this. I cant wait to get it back together and go for a ride tomorrow.

 

[JamesK]

Another very knowledgeable forum member (HaulinAshe) has previously, in some other threads posted up the idea of reconnecting the O2 Sensor. This has minimal cons, but does help with the mpg in general. The only issue you'll see with this mod, and it's just a bogus indicator, is that if you're cruising at a really steady pace (like if using a cruse control) for an extended period the engine light will come on. This is simply resolved by momentarily accelerating or decelerating, there are NO other drawbacks to this, only benefits. I've run this config for the past 60k miles at least and have not seen any issues.

Re the running temp, I can confirm that my 07 runs about 1 bar cooler with the PCIII (running the Wally/UP map).

 

[gixxerjasen]

I didn't think I was looking at the temp gauge before I did this stuff but I realized that I had been. Normal cruising was at 4 bars usually. I see no difference now.

MPG? Ok, well I've screwed the pooch on that one. See, I disconnected the battery for a while to hook up my fuzeblock and, well, lost my trip meter. However, some calculations via my starting mileage and fuelly I think got me close. But that first tank post mods I don't think really counts. I finished another tank and am working on a third right now. I was going to report back after I had at least two good tanks of gas for stats but here ya go.

#------Date-----Miles-----Gal.-----MPG-----Price

10-----5/10/12--217.0-----5.43-----40.0----3.539

9------5/3/12---209.1-----5.40-----38.7----3.569

8------4/26/12--211.6-----5.15-----41.1----3.739

****MODS COMPLETED*****

7------4/18/12---40.8-----5.58-----43.2----3.700

6------4/12/12--197.6-----4.72-----41.9----3.789

5------4/9/12---244.6-----5.82-----42.0----3.899

4------4/2/12---211.7-----4.91-----43.2----3.819

3------3/31/12--159.1-----3.71-----42.9----3.939

2------3/29/12--222.5-----5.23-----42.5----3.84

Fillup 8 doesn't count as half that tank was used before and half used after the modifications. Fillup 9 was where I disconnected my battery so it's a rough guestimate or inaccurate calculation.

So it looks like a slight drop in mpg. I'll take that slight drop in exchange for the rideability!!!

 

[Aasland]

When I originally installed a PC3 my mileage into the upper 30's. I just accepted it as "that's the cost for minimizing the lurch". The PC3 was installed over the winter at the same time I did the 26k maintenance.

Two years ago I was on an 8k trip and battling the check engine light and some bogging down. At one point I got 24 MPG, but figured it was due to a very strong headwind going west across hell. I mean South Dakota. Same thing. My borthers' VFR, which usually gets 55 MPG, saw upper 30's. My dad's F350 got 5 (!!!!) MPG ... when diesel was over $5/gal. I just chalked it up to the wind. And South F*kota.

I mucked with maps and tried to compensate manually. Still, the bike ran reasonably well. Got me where I needed to go. When I got home I discovered the connected PC3 .. apparently when I did the 52k service (which required no valves changed) I saw the disconnected connector and where is was supposed to go and just hooked it up. After I disconnected it my fuel economy remained the same (i.e. poor) but the bogging at higher RPM's went away.

Last winter it was time for the 76k maintenance and ... lo and behold .. my intake cam was off by a tooth. Back when I did the 26k maintenance it was winter and I wasn't able to have a "today it has less power than yesterday" moment. There was still more than adequate power in any gear, in any situation, and with the exception of 7k+ it ran rather smoothly. So, after fixing my intake cam, I've got another 20 hp (butt-estimate) and it spins smoothly all the way to redline. My MPG is back in the mid 40's, which is nearly the same as without the PC3.

Thus, my recommendations are:

1. Leave the O2 sensor unplugged.

2. Don't worry about slightly lower MPG. Price difference is minuscule.

And that's my story!

 

[Apostate]

Nice of you to think of us and take pix while you were doing these repairs. Made for a nice read. And that SW bedding was looking mighty snazzy.

 

[FarWestFastEddie]

I am a little concerned, am I the only one who noticed the fraying on the closeup pic of the throttle cable going to fuel rail? Is that just some fuzz from a rag or is it some frayed throttle cable?

FWFE

 

[gixxerjasen]

Nice of you to think of us and take pix while you were doing these repairs. Made for a nice read. And that SW bedding was looking mighty snazzy.

Usually I forget to take pics. Sometimes I like to get pics of the bike all torn down to send to my dad. He's not very mechanically inclined (Learned everything I know on my own after I moved out) and those kinds of things tend to freak him out. Best ever was when I sent him pics of my dirt bike when I was replacing the piston. But some I took for here specifically just trying to document things. I get a lot of help from others online so on the rare opportunity I can contribute something I try to do so. mcatrophy makes my photo taking look amateur by comparison though. That my friends, is how you do a writeup!

I am a little concerned, am I the only one who noticed the fraying on the closeup pic of the throttle cable going to fuel rail? Is that just some fuzz from a rag or is it some frayed throttle cable?

FWFE

Hrm...I didn't have a rag down in there...and it's tough to tell from the pic because of the point of focus and depth of field there...I'll have to take a looksee the next time I pull the tank. I need to mount my GPS which will require routing some cables and I found that is much easier with the tank removed so I'll maybe check it then. Hrm...still need to find some cash for some wiseco block off plates too.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Filled up this morning, 41.9mpg. I'm not noticing much of a change here. I'm taking tomorrow off from work and going riding, should have more data when I get back. Of course it'll be inconsistent with my normal riding which has been mostly commuting, but I never took statistics so I don't care.

 

[creg-ny-baa]

Then I did the throttle spring unwind. Rather than go the suggested method of letting it zip around on it's own at light speed, I figured I'd try a more controlled method. I came to this conclusion from hearing stories about it zipping around more than once sometimes. I figured control is better. So, with some safety wire bent in half with a nice kink and then wrapped around a socket extender for a handle (wasn't sure how much tension I'd be fighting here and didn't want to trust sweaty hands on safety wire) I went to work. Oddly, my plan worked perfectly exactly as designed. I allowed the spring to move around in a controlled fashion.

---snippo---

After letting the spring go 90% of the way around I let it be free, and it just kind of sat there, with a gap between it and the hook it's supposed to be sitting against. Eventually it stretched its way against the hook but it feels very light. In addition a later test ride showed that while letting go of the grip at full throttle with the bike off will allow it to snap home, letting go at small throttle openings doesn't bring it home. I played around and tested and my tool will also work to rewind the spring. I'm going to let it go for now and see if it gets any better but I've already got plans to rewind it back.

I know that this is an oldish post/thread, but I used this and Rickster's excellent thread as my guide to do the throttle return spring mod today. Like gixxerjasen, I had some reluctance to just "let the spring fly." I didn't have safety wire, but I had craft wire, which turned out too stiff to wrap around the throttle body cam. Fishing line wasn't strong enough. But, I did have some braided nylon string. I made a loop, snagged the spring end, nudged it off the cam arm with a thin screwdriver, and let it work it's way around...until the string bound up somewhere out of sight. Grr. So, I positioned the screwdriver to catch the spring as I expected it to come whipping around, and gradually pulled the string out. And it came part way around and just sat there. The cam would snag it when the throttle was opened, and it would push the throttle closed, but there was still a little gap. But, I pushed the spring onto the tab, opened and closed the throttle a few times and it seated.

Here's what I think happened: Working from the left side of the bike, you can't get your wire or string directly in line with the cam and the wind of the spring. So, as you let it unwind itself, you're pulling outboard, which may be "tangling" the spring on itself. It appears that by pushing it in place and working the throttle a few times, the windings of the spring found their way back into smooth operating alignment.

Now, if we'd just get out of monsoon season, I'd take 'er for a ride and test out my handiwork. Many thanks for the photos and the tips.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Sounds good. I do know that I'm still not 100% satisfied with the way my throttle closes though. From open wide it'll snap shut but from a partially open throttle it does kind of drag. I have gotten used to it and manually close it with my hand, but it's kind of a pain sometimes in heavy traffic where I'll relax thinking it's shut and the clutch won't disengage on the AE because it's hovering just above the disengagement point.

I've done all manner of cleaning the bar and and such and the throttle tube by itself spins effortlessly. Next time I'm in there I'm going to use my safety wire method and see if I can't rewind it and try that for a bit. I didn't ride it much with the way it was wound before so I can't say how it was prior, I just went off of the advice found here and generally it was spot on. But heck, it's not like I can't unwind it again, right? Reversible mods rock!

 

[gixxerjasen]

Sorry i missed the G2 comments earlier.
My point on the clutch soak was, do you think you will have cured the issue with a soak?

And since this has been bumped back to the top I'll revisit this comment.
After the clutch soak the difference was night and day. I'm not sure how long the bike sat at the dealer between Steel trading it in on his new car and when I picked it up, but it must have been long enough for those plates to dry out. Since getting the bike I can count on one hand the number of times it hasn't been ridden at least once a week (vacations and work trips) and the herky jerky hasn't returned. Who knows, it may have worked itself out eventually with routine riding but it certainly solved the problem more quickly this way. And like I said, since I was doing all that work anyway, it wasn't much more $$$ or time to do the soak while in there.