[hugo.atx]

Something very strange happened to me today when I started my beloved vstrom.

In all this time, when starting the bike, the rpm goes up to a certain point, and as the bike warms up, the rpm stabilizes.

That is normal operation.

But today, after almost two weeks without starting the bike, I started it up and after 20 or 30 seconds, the rpm dropped drastically.. it looked like the engine was going to shut down!!!!

My wife was with me and she also can view the situation. It was very obvious.

After that, the rpm went back to its place and everything was fine .. but what happened has me worried.

Any ideas or similar experience? The gas tank was full and the battery is in good shape.

Thanks in advance.

 

[OydnaR]

question, was it in a warm/semi-warm place before you rolled it out in cold to start?

I have experienced similar in that situation, sensors tell the ecu that the water is warmer than ambient temp. I have to babysit the throttle till it really warms up

 

[hugo.atx]

question, was it in a warm/semi-warm place before you rolled it out in cold to start?

I have experienced similar in that situation, sensors tell the ecu that the water is warmer than ambient temp. I have to babysit the throttle till it really warms up

Hi OydnaR.

The temperature is good, 18 celsius.. is very rare situation!

 

[Hogges]

Any chance there could have been a very small amount of water in the tank, either from condensation, bad gas or rain though a leaky fuel cap? It would make sense to me that it could take 20-30s before the contamination reaches the engine.

 

[hugo.atx]

Any chance there could have been a very small amount of water in the tank, either from condensation, bad gas or rain though a leaky fuel cap? It would make sense to me that it could take 20-30s before the contamination reaches the engine.

Hi Hogges.

The bike sleeps in a private garage, there are no extreme temperatures these days, and I don't go out with it if it's raining.

I don't think there is water... but it is possible that the gasoline is not too good (I live in Spain and here the gasoline is good, it would be rare, but it is a possibility).

After all this, everything went well, as usual. I'll try not to make a big deal out of it... I can't think of anything else to do.

 

[Motorpsychology]

It could have been a small bit of contamination, either water or a particle of rust from the filling station's equipment getting past their filter, or something dislodged in the air stream; airbox, filter or throttle body.
Wild speculation, If the bike was in a colder garage, then brought out into a warmer area and started, the bike may have gotten "confused," the temperature sensor still thinking it was in the cooler environment and leaned out the fuel mixture prematurely, until it was reading the correct ambient temperature and returned to normal.

 

[hugo.atx]

It could have been a small bit of contamination, either water or a particle of rust from the filling station's equipment getting past their filter, or something dislodged in the air stream; airbox, filter or throttle body.
Wild speculation, If the bike was in a colder garage, then brought out into a warmer area and started, the bike may have gotten "confused," the temperature sensor still thinking it was in the cooler environment and leaned out the fuel mixture prematurely, until it was reading the correct ambient temperature and returned to normal.

Hi Motorpsychology.

Well, I must have been unlucky.

I don't ride on dirt roads, and I even try to avoid roads that have salt on them, or that are in bad condition.

The air filter is new.

Anyway... Today I went out for a while and everything was fine (the gear shift on this bike kills me, it's very rough, but I'm used to it).

The Vstrom and noises or strange behaviors, it seems that they go together hand in hand.

 

[PerazziMx14]

It's nothing to worry about. A blip of the throttle would have cleared it up if it didn't clear on its own. I'm sure you'll get many responses telling you to change the sparkplugs, check the valves, change the oil 12 times, rebuild the motor and add a bunch of magic in a can fuel elixir. You can do any or all of the aforementioned or do nothing and the end result will be the same.

 

[Rolex]

If your gear change is giving trouble have a look at the linkages to ensure the leverage points are lined up for the best results.

Then everything is lubricated well, I have drilled a hole in the top of my lever so I can drip in some chain lube each time I do my chain and the linkage points need some too.

 

[hugo.atx]

Thanks for everything guys.

In the end you realize that many things and noises we feel on our bikes are part of the party... I will try not to give so much importance to these things.

About the gear changes, I will take a look at what you guys mentioned. Thanks again.

 

[Philbytx]

When I do an oil change, I also lubricate all the control pivots. Doesn't take but an extra couple of minutes to do it.

 

[Motorpsychology]

If your gear change is giving trouble have a look at the linkages to ensure the leverage points are lined up for the best results.

Then everything is lubricated well, I have drilled a hole in the top of my lever so I can drip in some chain lube each time I do my chain and the linkage points need some too.

I remove the belcrank linkage and inject some grease into the rubber boots each spring. It helps somewhat, but the problem is that the direction of force changes direction a lot between the shift lever and the gear shaft, and torque is reduced along the way.

 

[Motorpsychology]

Hi Motorpsychology.

Well, I must have been unlucky.

I don't ride on dirt roads, and I even try to avoid roads that have salt on them, or that are in bad condition.

The air filter is new.

Anyway... Today I went out for a while and everything was fine (the gear shift on this bike kills me, it's very rough, but I'm used to it).

The Vstrom and noises or strange behaviors, it seems that they go together hand in hand.

You should be fine, Hugo, The time to worry is if it continues to do this. I avoid ethanol blend gasoline, and buy only from major brands as much as possible.
For shifting, I find that if I apply a little upward force on the shifter before pulling in the clutch lever, the shifting is positive and smoother.

 

[hugo.atx]

You should be fine, Hugo, The time to worry is if it continues to do this. I avoid ethanol blend gasoline, and buy only from major brands as much as possible.
For shifting, I find that if I apply a little upward force on the shifter before pulling in the clutch lever, the shifting is positive and smoother.

You are right, here in Europe it is already impossible to find gasoline without ethanol.

 

[Rolex]

but the problem is that the direction of force changes direction a lot between the shift lever and the gear shaft, and torque is reduced along the way.

That is why I suggested he look at the angels of the linkages.

If the lever tip has been lowered or raised the angels can get off and the forces changed, getting them lined back up will help.

The main binding point is the lever on the support / pivot point, it has the biggest surface area and can quickly dry out causing the most trouble.

 

[za.petio]

Something very strange happened to me today when I started my beloved vstrom.

In all this time, when starting the bike, the rpm goes up to a certain point, and as the bike warms up, the rpm stabilizes.

That is normal operation.

But today, after almost two weeks without starting the bike, I started it up and after 20 or 30 seconds, the rpm dropped drastically.. it looked like the engine was going to shut down!!!!

My wife was with me and she also can view the situation. It was very obvious.

After that, the rpm went back to its place and everything was fine .. but what happened has me worried.

Any ideas or similar experience? The gas tank was full and the battery is in good shape.

Thanks in advance.

Hi, hugo.atx!

I had this issue 2-3 times in summer, where the weather was hot and first start for the day.
Any solutions?
Please, take a look of mine troubles here: A strange interruption after a cold start V-Strom DL650...

 

[hugo.atx]

Hi, hugo.atx!

I had this issue 2-3 times in summer, where the weather was hot and first start for the day.
Any solutions?
Please, take a look of mine troubles here: A strange interruption after a cold start V-Strom DL650...

Hi, Za.petio.

In all this time the bike has started well and has not had any strange behavior.

The bike has always started well, except on this occasion. The only difference from the rest of the time is that it was stopped for 2 weeks.

I have no idea what it could have been..... By common sense I can only think that the injectors would have some rest of gasoline that was doing some kind of vacuum, or that would have some air and hence the drop in RPM... not having fuel due to that vacuum (or air bubble), low RPM and then returns.... I can't think of anything else, and I'm not a mechanic either.

I will see your post and let you know if it is exactly the same thing that happened to me.

 

[STCorndog]

@hugo.atx Modern bikes have several sensors that interface with the ECU. When you turn the ignition key on it’s a good idea to wait a few seconds to hit the starter button. This gives the ECU time to read all the sensors.

The ECU looks for these sensors at start up and for certain sensor values. It’s possible you have a sensor, TPS for instance, that is close to out of range. Don’t worry about it unless it becomes excessively repetitive or you get a chec engine light.

It can be expensive to try and fix a transient problem.

 

[hugo.atx]

@hugo.atx Modern bikes have several sensors that interface with the ECU. When you turn the ignition key on it’s a good idea to wait a few seconds to hit the starter button. This gives the ECU time to read all the sensors.

The ECU looks for these sensors at start up and for certain sensor values. It’s possible you have a sensor, TPS for instance, that is close to out of range. Don’t worry about it unless it becomes excessively repetitive or you get a chec engine light.

It can be expensive to try and fix a transient problem.

Thank you STCorndog.

Actually, I wasn't so worried about this issue anymore, and the bike has been behaving well all this time, but I was trying to give some help to Za.petio by telling him about my experience.

However, I think that what happens to him is different from what happened to me... His seems more like a "cut" in the ignition.

 

[hugo.atx]

Just to complete the above information a little bit, I can tell you that almost automatically, when the motorcycle is stopped for a week or so, the event occurs.

It doesn't matter the temperature, the gasoline used, or if there is humidity or not.

If 7 days pass, the bike starts, the RPM drops sharply, and then recovers.

No strange symptoms on the road.

If I start the bike the next day or after 5 days, everything is fine.

I'm not worried, but it would be great to know what's going on.

I think I will record a video and show you what happens.