Hey Kris, if you had a blown seal or two (unlikely), you whould see fork oil either on your floor, or at least dripping off the lower tubes. I had a Venture Royal that leaked right off the dealership floor. They replaced the fork seals, and the sucker still leaked, finally sold it with leaky seals, oh well! If your bike is still under warranty, have the dealer check it out! Good luck.

 

The fork oil probably needs to be changed out. If the seals were going you would see a ring of oily residue on the fork shaft indicating how much travel the front end was doing. I've got 33k miles on mine and I can tell it's getting pretty spongy. I rode my buddies Warrior with only 11k miles (I think) and immediately I could feel the difference.

 

The Warrior comes with soft springs & they will get softer as they get some miles on them. The way I see it you have 4 options. Run the preload adjusters down, install heavier fork oil, have the forks rebuilt to your specs or change them out to R1 forks.

 

Thanks guys. I don't think the seals are bad. I just got back from a test ride and I think the engine is running rough and is causing the funny feeling in the front. Could cold weather cause the engine to run rougher? The tone is higher and the response is different. It seams like it is missing a bit. Usually when I start it, it revs high until it warms up and the rpm's drop just below 1000. Tonight they never dropped below 1000, ever after a lettle ride. Again could this be because of the weather (cold and dry)?

 

Hmm, that does not sound right, it should sit right at 900-950 for idle. When you say "rough" what do you mean? Does it accelerate smoothly? Have you tried rolling the throttle all the way to wide open and if so was it smooth? I would suggest pulling the spark plugs and checking the color. If your not sure of proper color take a picture and post it or Email it to me.

 

That'll teach me to read more carefully. I've heard of harbor seals and fur seals but blowing a fork seal sounded like serious eskimo perfersion to me. Glad I came in here and got it squared away

 

LOL @ WashingtonW

Just from my experience, my bike runs better with the cooler weather. Granted the idle is a tad different but I just attribute that to the ECU adjusting to the climate. I rather like the cool weather, bike runs like a bat outta ****[/emoticons/emotion-2.gif] I've got fresh oil, spark plugs, and air filters and am getting a new rear tire later this morning. Once the weather clears up this afternoon or tomorrow, it's going to be on like donkey kong. Time to rack up some mileage!!!

 

quote:Originally posted by kdb2963

Thanks guys. I don't think the seals are bad. I just got back from a test ride and I think the engine is running rough and is causing the funny feeling in the front. Could cold weather cause the engine to run rougher? The tone is higher and the response is different. It seams like it is missing a bit. Usually when I start it, it revs high until it warms up and the rpm's drop just below 1000. Tonight they never dropped below 1000, ever after a lettle ride. Again could this be because of the weather (cold and dry)?


Kdb, Try bumping your ECU setting up i bet your running lean.
Instructions are on this site.

TRex[/emoticons/emotion-2.gif]

 

I bought this bike from DTMsurf and he is in SoCal and now the bike has been coastal GA and I am wondering if the bike is getting used to the weather in GA but is set up for SoCal weather. It has been in GA for a month now and has been running great. Would it take some time for the climate differences to have an effect on the bike? My biggest problem is that I no nothing about fixing anything but someones golf swing. So, if the problem is something I can fix, I will need detailed instructions. If the bike is running lean, would it cause the rpm to drop quickly and sputter a little after you goose the throttle? I started it up this morning and let it idle for a couple minutes and it never seemed to warm up. It was idling a shade over 1000 and the pitch of the engine was higher. Usually when I start it, it idles at 1300 and then settles down to around 900 with a nice deep tone. Thanks.

Kris

 

Well, you can make adjustments manually using the Power commander it is actually very simple, but you will need to check your spark plugs first to see what they look like. I think this maybe a good time to get the power commander remapped. Did you ever find a shop that has a dynojet dyno?

 

It sounds like it is just not warm, like its still choking itself. let it warm up for a good five minutes and see if it still sputters just off idle.

 

I actually let it run for about 10-15 min and there was no difference. The temp at the time was about 39. I was going to start it up again this evening when it is a little warmer. Is it possible for it to not warm up even after a 5-10 mile ride. Also, could my riding style have anything to do with it. I don't ride it very hard and I wonder if that might be part of the problem. My dad owned a 240Z and it never ran right until a mechanic told him that he needed to really open her up on occasion. Those were always fun trips!!!

Kris

 

"When I got home I got off the bike and pushed down on the front and and there was about 2-3 inched of travel without much pressure."

"I don't think the seals are bad. I just got back from a test ride and I think the engine is running rough and is causing the funny feeling in the front."

I would think you still have a front end problem. Just can't see the link between those two statements. Seems like two separate issues since you "got off the bike and pushed down". Or, just slap me and wake me up and tell me what I'm missing!

 

may be simplistic but did you by chance buy gas at some cut rate, el cheapo place? I've had bikes completely sputter to a stop from this, water did it to me

 

Never thought about the gas, but I think I might have put 87 octain in it for the first time since I owned it. I don't know what it ran on when DTM had it but I will find out. As far as the front end goes, I think I might have jumped the gun on the fork seals and since I am still learning how this bike feels, the softness of the front end was the first thing that jumped out at me. As I rode it again the engine sound, feel and performance seem to be the cause of the strange feel that I was getting. If I get it running great again and it still feels funny then I will look more into the front end.

Kris

 

Kdb I doubt it is the cold I was out riding last week in NJ and it was 19 degrees. The bike started right up and was idling within 3-mins. It sounds more like plugs, 87 octane is fine for a stock bike run.

 

You should be fine with 87 although I always ran 89 not for any particular reason, just cause. We need to look at the plugs, if they are black I would think it is the LCV still choking the bike thinking it is cold. You did not do any electrical changes recently did you?
Dont be afraid to run it to 4500 rpm before shifting. It may just have some dirty gas in it and cause it has not been ridden much lately it is slowing things down. Take it out, ride it hard, and run it down to the reserve light. Then go to Chevron or Mobil and put some 89 in it and see how it feels.

 

I will check the plugs when I get home from work and if they are fine I will go to plan B and run the gas down and see if that is it. I will check in later with the results. Thanks.

K

 

Is anyone missing the idle adjustment here??? Turn it down to run at 900-1000 rpms after letting it idle for 3-5 min. It should be real warm by then, even in 39 deg. weather.

 

I set the idle at 925 before I shipped it to him. I suppose the colder weather could be giving him more dense air that would increase idle spead. I am working on it with him through Email right now. I would just say turn down the idle but he is saying it is not runnin well either so Im thinking its a too rich condition. Well see.

 

when I said bad gas, I meant bad gas, not low octane gas. Ocassionally, a station gets to the bottom of the tank and sometimes there's water available with the fuel. It's something nobody ever thinks of first but I've had it happen more than once and more than once went through all sorts of contortions trying to tune around it. Just personal experience, take it however you want

 

I got what you meant Wash, thats why I told him to go to Chevron or Mobil.

 

Alright everyone here is the deal. I adjusted the low and med rpm settings in the pcIII down to the middle setting. I just got back from a quick ride around town and she is purring like a kitten. When I pulled the plugs they were black so DTM recommended turning down the settings which he had turned up. I also will not rule out bad gas but I will fill it up tomorrow and see if it gets even better. Thanks everyone this site is great! Thanks again Bill.

K

 

kdb, with it purring like a kitten, did the front end feel better? back to like it should feel?

 

cool. hope it continues to work well for ya and welcome to the "club"