i can smell something burning

hey guys. i ride an 07 rwb with 7500 miles on it. bike has been running less than spectacular lately. not awful or even bad, just not smooth. seems to have been getting a little worse with time but ive been planning to do the pair mod, add a power commander and modify the exhaust and expected that to fix the problem. plus, like i said, it isnt bad so ive been just dealing with it for now.

but, night before last when i pulled into the garage after work i could smell something burning. like an electrical problem. bike had sat in the rain at work and drove home in a light rain, figured (hoped) it was just from the rain. yesterday afternoon when i left for work i smelled it again. but, it went away. when i got too work i sniffed all over my bike and smelled nothing unusual. leaving work last night at 11:30 pm and 40 degrees out, my bike didnt want to start. like if the battery was low. didnt notice any more smells though. she warmed up and ran fine. well, fine as usual. still surging. also backfires and spits a little when warming up. never use too. even backfires occasionally when riding before it is completely warmed up. hoping this will be just a battery swap. but im rarely that lucky.

might be worth mentioning, but i think it is an unrelated problem, that my bike has started to run hot at odd times recently. not real hot and doesnt stay hot. but on a 65 degree day it will heat up from 180 to around 220 for know reason. not traffic related or anything like that. and after a few minutes it cools back down. and the surging/sputtering is decidedly worse when she heats up like this. different from when she is just running at 220 on a hot day. im thinking thats a thermostat problem and not related to the distinct smell of electrical problems.

any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. pretty broke right now and am hoping for a cheap fix. in fact, i really need to ride my bike to work to save on the gas money. but my most important question is... should i park my bike till i get it fixed? i got no insurance if she burns down!

 

Seems to me you have two potential issues. The heating/cooling appears to me, to be a thermostat that is sticking. The other issue leads me to believe that you better check your R/R and stator AND the stock connectors associated with those as well. The burning smell may be related to the connector going to the R/R. etc. In any case, definitely worth checking it all out for peace of mind.

 

Also make sure the battery itself looks ok since some 6th Gens had issues with the monitor wire that regulates how much charge the battery gets from the R/R. I have actually seen a battery get so hot from overcharging that the top of it started to melt.

Rollin

 

Pull the plastics off and start checking all the connectors espcially the R/R and the head light.
Some member here having the same issue and turn out the connectors on the headlight were badly burn.

 

DEFINATELY check the RR connectors quick, probably melted to death judging by your voltage woes. If you're lucky it's just the connector that's cooked and you can hardwire it back together or get the wiremybike repair kit and replace the connector.

 

I too usually smell a strange burning odor after a long ride. Pic below.

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__________OOOOOOO_____(..)
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Rollin

 

You crack me up rolling. :rofl: