Tenere not performing well
 

Hi guys.
My Tenere is not as snappy like when I first got it (Ive had it now for just 2 weeks!). It used to bullet in the low revs but is now rather lazy through the gears and it feels maxed out when it isn�t. It feels like something is stifling it or holding it back. Open throttle and effort= average speed\power. It is not sluggish but it feels like flogging a tired horse or like expecting 660 performances out of a 200; power is just not there. On the longer stretches it only wants to do 90-100km\h (and only because I �demand� it) and it is no longer excited and willing to jump to higher speeds. I have to squeeze it out of it.

I am not reckless or irresponsible rider. Medium rider at best. I did a bit of dirt roading recently (mud, sand, rocks, water), not dusty per se, and I washed the bike when I got home.. The air filter (DNA r-y6e08-01) did have a wee bid of water when I cleaned it. I have since done a 200km tarmac trip. If it�s a wet air filter it should be dry by now, right? Anyway, that night at home I tipped the bike over http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?p=205487 and the next morning I could immediately feel the lack of power. The speedo and trip meters have since been fixed.


As Im still learning the bike I would greatly appreciate any tips so I can fix it myself (if not too technical). What would the checklist be? Air filter? Injectors? Sparkplug? Sensors? Do I just leave it?
I am quite despondent.


Thanks in advance for your advice.

If you took the tank off to check the speed sensor cabling, did you by any chance trap/kink the fuel hose when refitting it? I once even forgot about a rag I'd used - left it under the seat. Eventually it found its way into the air filter (no snorkel) and I wondered why the performance was down! ;)

PS: Moved to appropriate section.

The lack of power was there before and after I checked the speedo sensor. The problem sounds like classic symptom of dirty air filter but Im not sure if the air filter is that dirty. I guess I can always wash and re-oil it.

But I wondering if the fall isnt the culprit. But it was so soft. Is it the rectifier??

*Sorry, how do I post in the right section?

Thanks.

I also think the backfiring is ALOT more.

Maybe worth checking the AIS pipework hasn't become detached or split in the fall? If it has come adrift on the exhaust side of the AIS valve it will permanently be letting air into the exhaust (increasing the backfiring) and be sucking unfiltered air into the airbox (when the valve is open).

What was wrong with the speedo in the end?

Is it much work to fix the ais if it is the problem?

yes, the speedo connector was unplugged, like you suggested.

No - it's all pretty simple pipework.

Just start by checking all the pipework is connected as it should be between the airbox (braided rubber hose), the AIS valve unit (by the coil), and then the rubber hose that fits onto the chrome pipes that connect to the exhaust ports. All this pipework runs along the right hand side of the frame, level with the bottom of the tank and may well have been disturbed in the fall, just like the speedo connector was.

Just an idea, but we all know that if the oil in the tube coming out from underneath the air box is not purged occasionally it can back up into the airbox, causing it to puddle at the lowest point. I do know!
If the bike has been on it's side, could some of this engine oil got onto the air filter which as standard is quite soft and absorbent.
I would try checking the air filter or take it out completely and see if this improves things.
Obviously be careful as without the air filter in place any dust or contaminents can get straight into the throttle body.
Just a thought.

Cheers Steve.

PS when you fire it up without the snorkel and filter it sounds great!:icon_biggrin:

Steve, will do.

Im scared the problem may be tougher, like TPS and ecu problems or other electrical problems...... not cool.

Something else to ponder over, could there have been some crud in the fuel tank that has now found it's way into the fuel line restricting fuel to the motor?
Other bikes I've had tend to backfire & splutter when they were low on juice.
If you have to take the tank off again maybe worth a look.

Good luck.

Check if it's nothing obvious as people have suggested, then have a look here could be the wiring to the injector.

http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?...highlight=loom

Ill give it a try. How would dirt get realistically into the fuel line? I hope its not the injectors. The bike is currently at the mech. For some reason the HID ballast wasnt connected to anything.

Hi could the bike be in limp home mode and need resetting after the tip over.
Steve

Resetting??

If it the lean-angle switch had tripped it won't start at all and the engine trouble light would be showing code 30. Once it is reset (after turning ignition off and back on again) it should run normally. The lean-angle switch will only give to running conditions: either it will, or it won't - there is no fail-safe mode for this fault.

The ECU should have reset the speedo sensor error code (42) and put the light out as soon as the bike was started (after fixing the coupler) and run at over 20mph.

Could well be, especially as other wiring was pulled about in the fall. However, this fault would throw up the engine trouble warning light at some point and is likely to cause intermittent or total non-running/non-starting and/or an obvious miss-fire, rather than a simple lack of power?

T'was the air filter, guys. Took a clean dish cloth as a filter and went for a quick spin. The beast is back! The monster power in all its devastating might was pulling through the low/high gears, low/high revs and mid range like a gorilla on something illegal. Aaaahhh, what a relief! What a rush! Glad it wasnt something technical or something expensive. Feeling much better. Cleaned the air filter and there was some dirt. Trick now is to get the oil exactly right so that the thing can breath properly. I flippen love this stuff!!

Is it a DNA or cotton type filter, foam, or the stock paper job? Sounds like it might have got covered in excess oil that was floating about in the airbox from the crankcase breather? Is it an 08/09 bike by any chance? Unusual to find a filter in normal use that gets that dirty performance is affected so badly.

Pleiaides, yes it a DNA filter, 2000km. PO didnt clean new filter and didnt have to since the bike was pulling deliciously. I did ride some off road the day before I tipped the bike over. But a few days before that I opened up the airbox RH and there was some light oil residue but no oil pool. I guess the fall caused some breather oil to splash onto the filter. The bit of dirt plus oil choked it good. Yes it is a 2008 Tenere. Lovely.

The early bikes suffered from inadequate baffling in the crankcase breather chamber (which sits under the throttle body) and tend to blow a fair amount of oil into the airbox under certain conditions. It is not a problem, but something you do need to keep an eye on - empty the drain tube regularly. The breather chamber was redesigned from late 2009 and can be retro-fitted, but it is a pain in the ass job to do.

Im not sure I understand. The engine is 'new', it was installed in Aug 2014. So the crankcase should be of a newer design thus not have the early bike breather problem? But yes, I will clean the breather hose.

Glad to hear it was a simple fix, good result !

Its the air filter making it run week.:064:

Errrrr, didn't I say this earlier?

Do I get a prize?:confused5:

Pleased it's sorted.

Steve

You deserve a prize, Steve. Apparently your idea has given the bike in question massive power, so you should patent that one.

And Cypress should get one too, for valiantly attempting to convert sarcasm to draught horse power. But I think we'll be still be hammering our Shetland ponies in spite of his effort.

Good result, though. Nice to hear that a simple solution did the job, rather than a having a massive issue to deal with.

66t,
Why get a stage 3 filter? Airflow 98-99%? Why does it matter?