New-to-me VXII that runs poorly at full temp

[upright]

An update....I've had a tough week at work and didn't get a chance to ride the V much this week. However, I have established that the bike runs and idles smoothly until I've ridden it for about 15 minutes or 6 miles. This is in-town riding with stoplights. The bike is an absolute joy to ride until the party stops and the "miss" starts. Poor idIe and a stumble under 2K rpm. The Seafoam is still in there doing it's job and I have a new fuel filter I hope to install this weekend.

It seems to be improving since I've added the Seafoam, but I'm also aware that I'm getting more comfortable with riding the Voyager and perhaps I'm getting better at managing the bike when it starts running poorly. Thanks for all the advice!

-Craig

[triton28]

That sounds like coil/plug cap problems to me. When you have the time take the bike for a ride until the problem occurs and pull into the nearest diner/friends place and shut the bike off. Go have a coffee or tea and let the coils/plug caps cool down for at least 20 to 30 minutes, even a longer time is better.
If, after the coils/caps are cold, the bike idles and runs/revs fine BUT once again starts running erratic upon riding the bike towards home for another similar period of time, then it would seem as though either the primary or secondary windings within the coil are expanding to an open/intermittent circuit situation due to the heat generated within the coil housing; or the plug cap resistors are malfunctioning also due to heat.
The easiest possible fix is to replace the plug caps with known quantity working ones, or even better, new plug caps.
If the problem persists then, IMHO, it is the coil/s as fuel related problems generally are consistent regardless of temperature.

Dave

[Lucasind]

Right on !

[JHD]

I posted about checking my coils and installing new wires and caps a while back. Here is the link it might be helpful.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7951&p=59811&hilit ... ugs#p59811

I purchased the plugs, caps and NGK splicer online at NGK Wholesale. The splicers were used for the ferules that are used on the coil ends of the wire to keep the wire clamped into the coil. 2 or 3 of mine were completely shot so I used the parts from the NGK splicer with the original coil caps. One splicer will do 2 wires. Worked great. If you find that yours are in good condition you can either reuse them or use the parts from the NGK splicer so they are like new again. This link shows a picture of the NGK J1 taken apart. You can see the couple parts I'm referring too in the pic between the caps and the splicer body.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NGK-Cable-Splic ... -p&vxp=mtr

I bought my wire at O'Reilly Auto Parts by the foot and the rest of the parts at NGK Wholesale as seen down below from their website. Looks like the pricing is still the same.

4 Qty
Denso ix24b iridium plug
8.91
35.64

4 Qty
NGK SD05FP PLUG CAP
2.47
9.88


2 Qty
NGK J1 WIRE CONNECTOR
4.95
9.90

Shopping cart total is: $55.42     

[upright]

My new plugs, caps and wire connectors arrived yesterday and I'm planning to install them this week sometime. I'll keep you guys posted...hopefully with good news, but I'm prepared to learn I have a coil problem. And thanks to JHD for the shopping list!

-Craig

[Gator Mike]

Sent you a PM...........Gator Mike

[upright]

PROBLEM SOLVED! When changing the plugs and caps, I discovered that the #2 cap was corroded at the connection with the plug wire and wire pulled right out of the cap...didn't need to unscrew it. In addition, #3 plug was barely past finger tight. New plugs and new caps installed and the bike purrs like a kitten. It's amazing how great this bike runs when all four cylinders are firing correctly!

Thanks to everyone for all the help!

-Craig

[triton28]

Good news, glad it was the minor items.
Dave