Poor running LeMans, banging in exhaust.

[quazi-moto]

I installed an Odyssey PC545 battery today and fired up the old girl for the first time in months. She ran ratty and the left cylinder appeared to be doing nothing and remained cool to the touch. I pulled the plugs and checked for spark. It showed spark on both cylinders so I swapped the plugs around and re-started the bike. Now the left cylinder began to slowly warm up, but I was getting a lot of banging in the exhaust. I took it for a short sprint and it ran like crap. No power, pinging under load and more banging in the exhaust. I turned right around and brought the bike back home. I'm guessing that either the throttle body and/or injector is clogged up and dirty. I don't have a shop manual, just the trusty little owner's handbook that came with the bike. I want my Guzzi back dadgummit! I had plans to install a Stucchi x-over pipe along with FBF intake kit and I've already got the Staintunes. I got a Power Commander that's mapped for my set-up. So far I 've only installed the mufflers. I have the FBF kit and the PC waiting and ready, I just have to order the Stucchi x-over. Obviously, before I do any of this I need to get the bike running like a Guzzi should run. Any other LeMans owners ever experience difficulties with the fuel system (IE: injectors, throttle bodies, etc.)?

[jrt]

Water in gas?

Can you drain the tank, and refill with fresh gas?

[quazi-moto]

It could be down to bad fuel, I'm not sure yet, but my first step will be draining the tank and adding fresh fuel. I'll have to take it from there. If it still runs poorly I might try some throttle body cleaner. I've never altered any settings from stock and the bike always ran great even after I installed the Staintunes.

[Guest Nogbad]

Put some injector cleaner in with the new petrol (gas) it might be a sticking injector.

[quazi-moto]

I drained (syphoned, actually) the old fuel and added fresh fuel along with some injector cleaner. It still runs like dogsh*t and the left hand throttle body visibly jumps all over the place at partial throttle openings. Kinda looks like the left cylinder is trying to suck the throttle body in through the intake port. Still some banging in the exhaust too. The air bleed screws were both about a quarter turn out from closed. I tried going to a half turn out, but it didn't seem to change a thing. It might be time for me to get in touch with Rockwell Cycles and have them take a look at it.

[jrt]

Jumps all over the place? That's weird. I assume the throttle action is smooth when the bike is not running? Check the intake rubber manifolds for leaks also- maybe you're just running heck of lean?

 

Draining the tank will only get you so far if you really did have bad gas or water in the gas. One thing you might try [Warning- this can be REALLY DANGEROUS- GAS IS FLAMMABLE] is disconnect the fuel return line and route it into a catch basin/container. Cycle the fuel pump by turning the switch on/off (pump runs for ~3sec). Empty the tank, add some more gas, empty it again and try to flush out the fuel filter and pump. A bit of methanol will help solubilize any water.

I have no idea if that's good advice, or just advice. A real mechanic could give you a better idea if this would work.

[bmc5733946]

I don't know where your bike lives but, if your'e going to take the tank off please take a look in your air filter box, if you still have one (pods or individual K&Ns don't count here). These nicely confined small spaces make perfect habitat for some of our furry little friends (mice and so on). I have actually seen a Jackal with a siezed throttle body resulting from this inhabitation, urine ran to low side while on side stand and really mucked things up. A little Kroil and elbow grease and all is right. By the by, not my bike but a customer's.

BMC

[quazi-moto]

I usually make every effort to tackle these sort of things myself, but my current workload really puts a damper on things. I might just schedule an appointment for a full service and tune-up. If they're willing to install the FBF intake kit, Stucchi x-over and the Power Commander, then so much the better. It'll save me the time which I don't have right now. I like doing my own service work, but my seven day work week has me running pretty lean right now and I don't even have a gerbil stuck in my b*tt!

[Guest davidb]

did you buy you bike from richard gere?

[quazi-moto]

No, but I bought a Triumph from Cindy Crawford.

 

 

Just kidding, LOL!

[quazi-moto]

Okay, yesterday when I got home from work I rolled out the LeMans and pulled the boot off the left side throttle body. I fired up the mill and blasted some throttle body cleaner in there. It didn't really clear up the off-idle response so I slid the boot back on and snugged up all of the clamps. I decided to try the power commander even though the map is for modded intake, x-over and slip-ons. Right now I just have the Staintunes on it, but I needed to richen up the mixture so I maxed the low and mid settings. The bike still surges a bit at partial throttle/mid-rpm's. It ran good enough for me to ride it up to Rockwell Cycles where I had booked an appointment. They will be sorting through the injection issues, doing routine maintenance and installing the FBF filter kit and an H-pipe style crossover. They can also customize the map in the power commander. I suspect that the throttle bodies are way out of balance and I doubt now that the symptoms started with bad fuel. I checked the compression for the heck of it and got an even 160 lbs. on both cylinders. With the power commander installed I wasn't getting the banging in the exhaust, just some hiccups in the mid-range. I'll post again when I get the bike back.