Service
SERVICE
Paul Dean
Smoky and the Bandit
I own a 2001 Suzuki 1200 Bandit that has a small problem. Actually, it has about 32 ounces of problems in that it uses a quart of oil every 500-600 miles. After talking to my mechanic, people on the internet and a few friends at MMI, there evidently is an ongoing struggle for the truth behind Suzuki’s doors. It seems the oil-ring holes in the pistons are too large, allowing too much oil to get onto the cylinder walls where it is burned and goes out the exhaust as smoke. Suzuki will not give me accurate information or even admit to this defect.
This problem afflicts not just my bike, but my friend’s bike, my neighbor’s bike, and every 2001 Bandit at the local hangout. Need proof? Just go to websites such as www.BanditAlley.com. The facts are there. These bikes consume oil.
Obviously, this problem is real, so should not there be some kind of recall or at least an admission that something is wrong and needs to be fixed with this particular series of bikes? We may have already voted for Suzuki with our checkbooks, but we certainly won’t make this mistake again if the problem goes unfixed! Joshua McKay Page Posted on www.cycleworld.com
You have a lot of company, Joshua, and not just on the Internet or in your circle of friends. I 've contacted Suzuki several times in response to at least a dozen letters and e-mails I’ve received from
people who have 2001 Bandit 1200s that smoke, and the company refuses to acknowledge that any such problem exists. I know some mechanics at a jew Suzuki dealerships, though, and they openly admit that there indeed is a problem, that it is related to the holes in the pistons behind the oil rings, and that American Suzuki has never issued any service bulletins on the subject. They suggest that anyone whose Bandit is affected by this problem should take
it to their dealer and politely request an appropriate repair under warranty-the operative word being “politely.” If the dealer refuses, call American Suzuki’s Customer Relations Department (714/996-7040) and discuss the matter with them. From what I understand, Suzuki has been repairing this problem under warranty, but only on a case-by-case basis, not as the result of a service bulletin, a recall program or any other “official”procedure.
La-Z-Boy
There’s something weird going on with my 2001 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy. A dealer recently installed Screamin’ Eagle big-bore cylinders, high-compression pistons, cams, heads and pipes on the bike, and reprogrammed the fuel-injection. The motor runs strong when I first fire it up, but it starts to fade almost immediately. It never quits or misfires, but the acceleration just gets a lot slower. I’ve had two different Harley shop mechanics check it out, but neither one has a clue about what might be wrong. They both say the engine has perfect compression and that everything else is right on the money. If you can offer any suggestions about what might be causing this mystery, I promise to buy a lifetime subscription to Cycle World. Bill H. McElroy
Covington, Kentucky
Your Fat Boy s lazy acceleration is caused by the ignition timing, which is being dramatically retarded as the revs increase, thus preventing the engine from producing
its intended power output.
Harley engines with high compression ratios-such as the 10.5:1 modified motor in your Fat Boy-tend to knock very easily, especially when run on today 's pump gas. The Delphi fuel-injection system on your bike has a built-in knock-sensor function that detects a change in ionization across the sparkplug gap the instant the engine begins to knock, at which point it retards the spark until the knock stops. The spark then remains retarded as far and as long as necessary to prevent the knock from reoccurring at any rpm.
We recently encountered a similar problem with a fuel-injected H-D Deuce that had been modified much like your Fat Boy. Using Harley ’s special Scanalyzer diagnostic tool, we discovered that the timing would advance normally until around 2500 rpm and then begin retarding farther and farther all the way to redline. By the time the engine approached peak rpm, the timing would have backed off from its normal advance of around 30
degrees BTDC down to just 5 or 6 degrees. An engine firing that close to TDC simply cannot make much power, especially at higher rpm.
Part of the problem is the poor quality of today ’s gasolines as performance fuels. Even premium-grade pump gas doesn’t do a high-compression H-D engine any favors when it comes to helping it resist knocking. We also tried running the Deuce on 102-octane race gas, but the ECM still retarded the spark enough to degrade the performance, though not nearly as much as it did with pump gas.
Recall Roster
NHTSA Recall No. 02V246 Indian Chief Model year: 2002 Number of units involved: 948 Dates of Manufacture: April to August ’02 Problem: The rear brake caliper could contact the rotor as the result of a misalignment of the caliper carrier, causing the rear brake to overheat and fail, increasing the risk of a crash. Remedy: Dealers will inspect the motorcycle to ensure that the rear brake caliper and rotor are correctly positioned. Owners who do not receive this free remedy within a reasonable time should contact Indian at 408/846-7228.
You have a few options. One is to replace your engines 10.5:1 pistons with lower-compression equivalents, something more in the 9.5:1 or 10.0:1 range. Another is to turn off the EC M’s knocksensor function. That operation requires the use of Harley ’s new EFI Race Tuner, a $450 software package that links to the ECM via a laptop computer. Turning off the sensor does, however, make the engine vulnerable to possible damage if it is allowed to knock for long periods. Or, since richer mixtures tend to delay the onset of spark knock, you could use either the EFI Race Tuner or a Dynojet Power Commander to riehen the fuel mixture by a few percentage points at larger throttle openings and higher rpm. A fatter mixture would likely kill a little of the engine’s true performance potential, but not nearly as much as having the spark pulled back almost to TDC. I strongly suggest that you have any EFI work performed by an experienced tuner who understands enough about electronic fuel-injection not to create more problems than he solves.
Now, about that subscription....
The liquid hater
Could you tell me why most all motorcycles are now liquid-cooled? It seems to me that air-cooled engines got along fine for at least 80 years without very many problems. Now that most bikes are liquid-
cooled, we have to worry about anti-freeze, hoses, radiators, coolant leaks, etc. Are there any advantages to liquid-cooling that really make it worth the added expense?
Louie Morriss Posted on www.cycleworld.com
Absolutely. In spite of the added complication you have mentioned, liquid-cooled engines offer all kinds of advantages over their air-cooled predecessors, most of them somehow related to superior management of an engine ’s operating temperatures. With air-cooling, it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to get sufficient air close to the sources of the greatest amount of heat, such as the areas around the tops of the combustion chambers. So, rather than trying to route cooling air in to the heat, liquid-cooling carries the heat out to the cooling air. The water jackets are strategically designed and located to draw heat from areas that need to be cooled the most, while allowing other areas to retain heat, resulting in more uniform overall temperatures. And with liquid-cooling, the flow of the cooling medium increases and decreases in direct proportion to engine rpm in any and every’ gear; not so with air-cooling.
This superior temperature control has led to many advances in both reliability’ and performance. The operating tolerances of mating and interacting components can be closer, because their respective differences in heat expansion will be smaller. This results in fewer occurrences of problems such as seizures, leaks and uneven wear Better reliability, in other words.
Recall Roster
NHTSA Recall No. 02V262 Moto Guzzi California Model year: 1998-2002 Number of units involved: 2284 Dates of Manufacture: September ’97 to February ’01
Problem: The throttle linkage can fail to return to a completely closed position. Should this occur, the motorcycle could fail to decelerate when the rider wants it to do so, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the throttle return cable with a new one. Owners who do not receive this free remedy within a reasonable time should contact Moto Guzzi at 678/238-0902.
Liquid-cooling also has been the most important factor in permitting the unprecedented gains in power that motorcycles have enjoyed over the past 15 or 20 years. Motorcycles today make more power than anyone could have imagined back in the air-cooled era, yet they are far more reliable than ever, in both the short and long term. Such extraordinarily high levels of performance and reliability would not be possible with air-cooling.
Recall Roster
NHTSA Recall No. 02V261 Kawasaki Vulcan Mean Streak, Vulcan 1500 Classic, Vulcan 1500 Classic Fi Model year: 2002 Number of units involved: 698 Date of Manufacture: December ’01 Problem: A flange on the transmission output shaft can fracture, resulting in engine damage and possible lockup, which would cause both the engine and rear wheel to stop suddenly, possibly causing a crash. Remedy: Dealers will disassemble the engine and replace the transmission output shaft. Owners who do not receive this free remedy within a reasonable time should contact Kawasaki at 949/770-0400.
What’s more, the temperature stability afforded by liquid-cooling has allowed the manufacturers to meet ever-more-stringent exhaust emissions standards much more easily without significantly compromising performance; the insulating effect of water jackets has permitted them to reduce engine mechanical noise, as well.
Harley-Davidson remains the only major motorcycle manufacturer to continue with air cooling, but does so not for reasons of performance or reliability but to maintain the traditional look and character that is revered by so many riders. Even the engineers at Harley acknowledge that their big VTwins could make a lot more power if they were liquid-cooled.
Triumph recall
Our in-servicc monitoring program has identified that on some of the single-sided swingarm models listed below, the rear wheel roller bearing may seize, resulting in an inability to control the stability of the motorcycle. This information has been forwarded to our dealer network via Service Bulletin 313. Consumers should check the Service/Warranty handbook that accompanies their Owner’s Manual. A note should have been entered by the selling dealer upon completion of this NHTSA Recall Campaign. If there is no note, please contact your dealer to verify that this repair has been completed or make an appointment to have the machine inspected/updated. Models included are: Centennial Daytona, Sprint ST and Speed Triple. Affected VIN (frame numbers, last 6 digits) are 132693 through 161257. Michael Vaughan
Triumph Motorcycles America Ltd.
Newnan, Georgia
Classy move, Mr. Vaughan. Other motorcycle manufacturers usually force us to learn about recalls by visiting NHTSA s website, but you volunteered this information to the motorcycling press. We and all affected Triumph owners salute your integrity and candor. □
FEEDBACK LOOP
In the December issue, you addressed a question from Bob Galdys (“Electracal gremlins”) concerning his 1990 H-D FLHTC constantly dying. I’m not a mechanic, but I work in the parts department at Kegel’s Harley-Davidson, and after reading about the checks you suggested, I’d like to add one more: Check the ignition switch itself. If the contacts inside the switch are worn, the main circuit could open at any time. The reason for the cutout could be nothing more than the bike hitting a bump, causing the contacts to, well, lose contact. Mike Rehberg
Rockford, Illinois
Great tip. I ’ve gotten the very same input from several other H-D owners, so there obviously is great validity to your suggestion. Thanks for the advice.
Got a mechanical or technical problem with your beloved ride? Can’t seem to find reasonable solutions in your area? Maybe we can help. If you think we can, either: 1) Mail your inquiry, along with your full name, address and phone number, to Cycle World Service, 1499 Monrovia Ave., Newport Beach, CA 92663; 2) fax it to Paul Dean at 949/631-0651; 3) e-mail it to CW1Dean@aol.com, or 4) log onto www.cycleworld.com and click on the Feedback button. Please, always include your name, city and state of residence. Don’t write a 10page essay, but do include enough information about the problem to permit a rational diagnosis. And please understand that due to the enormous volume of inquiries we receive, we can’t guarantee a reply to every question.
