Stumbling and surging

Discussion in '7th Generation 2010-Present' started by chainedlightning, Jun 26, 2012.

  1. Knight

    Knight New Member

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    I hope you solve this. I am rooting for you.

    Every such problem is solvable.

    The dealer should be able to hook a diagnostic computer, even if that means a gas analyzer, run the bike cold or under whatever conditions you specify, and they should see something egregious happening, even if they do not hear or feel the stutter themselves.
     
  2. VFRKEN

    VFRKEN New Member

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    Agreed , but everytime it cost more money and thus far they have not found anything , and any testing or diagnostics , and wild ass guess part changes are out of my pocket , sometimes you gotta just say enough is enough ......
     
  3. ststrada

    ststrada New Member

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    Sorry to hear that you all are still have this problem. Yes this is a problem that Honda hopes would go away. This is also a very unsafe situation as it happened to me several times on a expressway....very dangerous
    I finally had mine corrected after I took to the lemon law. the first step was to send american honda a registered letter stating the problem and that you have documents of a least 3 or more times to have the problem corrected and you are filing a complain under the lemon law.
    After this, I got a call from Honda saying that they "just HAPPENED to have a known good ECU and will forward to my dealer for the change" this solved the problem.
    get your paperwork in order and go after Honda.......they have always known there was a problem with the earlier bike. Get Tough.
    I have moved onto another bike as I just could not get comfortable on the bike.
    Good Luck
     
  4. Ricko600

    Ricko600 New Member

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    So, I put Chevron fuel treatment that is specifically for water removal if a full tank of fuel. I rode 150 miles with no significant stumbling. Was this the fix? Who knows. However, I fooled around riding about 3,000 RPM in every gear at what ever speed that produced and found that the engine stumbled and surges SLIGHTLY. Nothing major just kind of flat spot in power delivery. It occurred to me that this is not that uncommon for non-Honda motorcycles particularly carbeurated Ducati's. So I started riding this bike just like I ride my Ducati's- always at 4,000 RPM and above. Problem solved!
    I really do love this bike. Did the Guhl red lash, Heli bars, lower pegs, heated grips and throttle meister. As some knowing motorcycle enthusiasts said to me when I bought this bike "you really don't need another street bike".

    Finally, hit a stretch of remote road outside Bishop, CA that was newly paved, level, smooth and straight. Hit 140 without a worry.
     
  5. CMG241

    CMG241 New Member

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    Sorry old thread brought back - Seafoam in every other tank in both bikes. I blame the latest version of fuel being sold in the US..
     
  6. crumb.counter

    crumb.counter New Member

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    I have this problem severely as of very recently. Before knowing about the ECU problem I had mechanic change air filter and spark plugs. On the ride home from the mechanic the bike stumbled and surged 4 times in 10 miles. I then read about resetting the ECU by cutting power for > 1 hour. This was a temporary fix and 3 days later the bike continued to stumble and surge. I have called my mechanic for a quote to remove and re-install ECU. I have also reached out to Don Guhl. If this does not work, I will sell the bike. Fuck this.
     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2019
  7. ytvfr

    ytvfr New Member

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    I was having the same issue, eventually my bike was brought to Honda Canada and fixed. I'm unsure if they put a different ECU in or applied a flash that is not available to Dealers. Either way I road the bike 6500kms after they applied the fix and the problem never came back. I've since sold the bike as I was ready for a change.

    I'd suggest a call to Honda and see if you can get any traction.
     
  8. crumb.counter

    crumb.counter New Member

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    Thanks ytvfr. I got a quote from mechanic to remove and replace ECU ($318) and Don Guhl to reflash ($375). Right now I am weighing replacing the ECU vs the bike altogether. Looking at these forums I see that this topic was hotter in 2013 and since has died down. Probably alot less VFRs on the road now.
     
  9. ytvfr

    ytvfr New Member

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    You should give Honda customer service a call. I know your bike is most likely way out of warranty, however being nice can go a long way. Not to mention I’m certain Honda is aware of the issue to some extent along with the fact that it poses a safety concern.

    The 3rd party reflash is really a shot in the dark if it will solve the issue and the route I’d go only after Honda corporate washed their hands of the issue so to speak.

    Wheee are you located out of curiosity?
     
  10. crumb.counter

    crumb.counter New Member

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    I am located in Atlanta. I called Honda USA who said they were unaware of an update and referred me to my local dealer. My local dealer said they could remove and replace the ECU for $130. I think I will take the motorcycle there to have ECU removed. I will then send the ECU to Guhl. If this does not go well, I will be forced to sell it as I do not see any other solutions.
     
  11. ytvfr

    ytvfr New Member

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    If it were me I'd bring it to the dealer, have them test ride the bike and experience the issue, then they reference the case you opened with Honda USA and hopefully get a solution.

    Right now you are attempting to fix the problem yourself, and how are you going to sell something with such a large safety issue?

    Just my two cents.
     
  12. Thumbs

    Thumbs Member

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    Getting the ECU flashed will mean the bike is not standard and is going to cut the price you get for the bike

    Either a Rapid Bike module or PowerCommander will let you know what the fuelling map is like when you plug them into a PC ....there are maps out there for both, including the OEM map ....so you can not only check WTF is going on but also change it
     
  13. whiskthecat

    whiskthecat New Member

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    Any update on this?
     
  14. whiskthecat

    whiskthecat New Member

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    Anyone had this issue while also having O2 eliminators fitted? I put about 2k miles on the bike with eliminators installed and had zero stumbling issues. Removed the eliminators about 2 weeks ago and plugged the stock O2 sensors back in and have had 2 stumble events. Once it does it a 3rd time I will swap back to eliminators and see what happens.
     
  15. BMEPdoc

    BMEPdoc New Member

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    What is this O2 eliminator you speak of?
     
  16. whiskthecat

    whiskthecat New Member

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    It is installed to disable the oxygen sensors in the exhaust and prevent the ECU from changing the fuel mapping from what a power commander expects it to be. I am theorizing this may be at fault since the problem is so intermittent and these adjustments are only made by the ECU under specific sensor conditions for a very small portion of overall operating time. Also, see my post above about how these symptoms coincided with eliminator removal. 1 engine warm stumble event and 2 engine cold stumble events.

    The bike finally did it a 3rd time this morning. Went to leave a stop sign just outside my neighborhood (one stop sign before where it stumbled last), bike still warming up and no go. The bike wanted to die with slight stop sign take-off throttle levels, have no response with slightly more throttle than that, and then finally rev with even more throttle that would normally equate to hard acceleration. Letting off would return to an extremely low near-death idle. I repeated this poking and prodding maybe 3 times over a few mins until I finally just revved it out hard once and it returned to a regular idle and I proceeded on my commute to work without issues from there.
     
  17. BMEPdoc

    BMEPdoc New Member

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    I understand what 'it' is claimed to do, what is 'It' specifically

    -doc
     
  18. whiskthecat

    whiskthecat New Member

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    It is just a resistor that replaces the oxygen sensor. From the ECU's perspective this makes the oxygen sensor input a constant value that never changes and therefore the ECU never attempts to adjust anything based on the oxygen sensor. Never got around to plugging the eliminators back in this weekend and had a 4th event, this time fully warmed up, going a constant low speed in 1st gear surrounded by traffic, had to pull off into a parking lot while the bike sorted itself.
     
  19. whiskthecat

    whiskthecat New Member

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    Removed O2 sensors, evap canister, PAIR valves, cleaned intake, replaced air filter, inspected rear spark plugs, within a week the bike died coming to a stop and then a few days later refused to accelerate around 20mph. Any updates on your end crumb.counter?
     
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