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Day48-Spinning our wheels and getting nowhere!, Sun, Feb 13, 2011

Start & Stop: Vina del Mar, Chile – No riding day #2!

Mileage: 0 miles

Hotel: 3 Poniente, 3 Poniente 70, Vina del Mar 2520306, Chile

Fuel: $716 Chilean Peso /l liter ($1.51/1 liter) or $5.72 per gal!

Currency Exchange: $1 USD = $473 Chilean Peso

Chilean Toll Road:  $400-1500 Chilean Pesos ($0.85-$3.17 USD)

Dean: As a matter of review, we are not vacationing here in Vina del Mar taking in the sights.  We are stuck waiting for the Suzuki Motocicleta dealer to open up Monday! We need basic service and more importantly, my engine is cutting out at 4100 RPM.

Lisa: We did nothing today. Or, to revise that: ‘I’ did nothing today.  Nothing except try to do some routing, try to find some flights, try to help Ninja Boy a little (as little as possible), try to find something to eat, try to find my cell phone and try to stay out of Dean’s way while he played motorcycle mechanic.

Dean:

1.  Pulled the left side plastic off the V-Stromasorus.  Found the Power Commander III (PCIII) splice on the front left and removed it.  Reconnecting the stock connectors.  Took a test ride and No Joy!  Engine still cuts out at 4100 RPM.  The PCIII seems to be OK.

2.  Removed the fuel cell and exposed the Dealer Mode Connector.  With a cotter key, I entered the bike into “Diagnostic Dealer Mode” by jumping the White/Red & Black/White wires. The readout is “-C00″ No Error.  Doesn’t seem to be a FI problem.

3.  Checked the battery posts neg/pos – OK.

4.  Checked the fuel tank vent – OK.

Just sitting idling I can rev the bike up to 5K without the sputtering.  The situation only seems to happen when the bike is moving.

Lisa: I’d say it was a highly successful day as, here it is, 7:00 PM and I’ve actually accomplished nothing, nada, zilch, try as I may.  Couldn’t get the routing done as there is a glitch, can’t find my cell phone – it’s obviously lost somewhere in SA.  I bothered the heck out of the Dean Meister, haven’t eaten anything except peanuts and couldn’t help him sort out his problem.  I am batting 1.000.

Dean: The options now are dealer determined.  Vacuum leak, clogged fuel pump filter, bad fuel pump, clogged fuel injection jets, or a bad electrical sensor somewhere.   Pal Brian Bentley has recommended to check the throttle body butterflies. Remove the airbox and open throttle all the way, look in throttle bodies and make sure the butterflies are all 90-degrees from closed.  After the bad weather and numerous get-offs I could have a cable or linkage causing the butterfly or slide to not open completely.

Lisa: Tomorrow will be a bit busier as we pack to leave this hotel (they’re sold out tomorrow night) and make a dealer run.  We have to get to the bottom of Dean’s issue and my chain needs some attention.  For some reason, the tightening Dean has been doing to it is not working and I have a rattling sound at slower speeds.  No bueno, especially when coupled with my clutch probs.  Oh well, we are on the home stretch, maybe 7 days from Ushuaia and then 7 back here to Santiago to ship home.  I have a flight scheduled from Santiago to Orlando on March 9th so we have some wiggle room if everything else works out.

Like it always is though, “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans” and this trip has certainly been the embodiment of that. But over my desk a little plaque reads: Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape! We’ll try to keep those things in mind and see what surprises tomorrow brings!


13 comments to Day48-Spinning our wheels and getting nowhere!, Sun, Feb 13, 2011

  • chuck hickey

    smart ass comments seem out of place today – you seem to be systematically removing problem areas which should cut down search time at the dealer. Good luck my friend.
    wont help you now but there is a good app to help you find your phone – assuming it is a droid, b’berry or windows. not sure if iphone has it – but Lookout mobile security is the name.
    Hope all works out tomorrow – but even if not – as long as you stay under 70 – it looks like you will be OK.

    Good luck my friends – the downhill stretch.

  • John H

    JC/NB, I would R&R the fuel filter, that seems like the most likely problem. If they don’t have the exact filter in stock, take the old one and compare to what they do have. One the is close in size with the correct size hose barbs and that is rated for fuel pump pressure can be made to work. Be sure to get the flow direction right when installing it.

    LL,
    Get JC/NB to figure out if the chain noise is from being too loose, which makes it slap on the frame/swingarm. On the other hand, if it has been too tight and/or not lubed enough for the rain and mud conditions, it may be worn out and the noise is from the rollers rattling. 14 days of possible adverse conditions is still a lot of miles to push a worn chain. If it is worn and breaks, it will likely take out the tranny case and the Stromapotumus will be done.
    If in doubt, get the shop to install a new one while you are there. Should also check to make sure it is aligned, but I am assuming that Dean has been careful to do that when adjusting.

    Glad to hear that y’all were not affected by the earthquake. I saw the news reports of buildings swaying in Santiago and found that your spot tracks showed that you were in the area. After hearing that y’all were not affected, I thought maybe y’all were palying dumb because you were the cause, i.e. you both dropped the Stromapoomuses at the same time!

    Still enjoying the blog and the photos!

  • pete Springer

    A noisy chain where the adjustment doesn’t stay adjusted is a bad deal. I assume that you are using some kind of Xring or oring chain. The seals keep the factory grease at the chain pins for lube. The grease can’t get out so the chain wears very little…..but the orings wear thin eventually, and quit sealing that chain lube into the pin area. Then the chains runs dry of lube where the chain needs it. Once they are dry of lube the chain begins to wear/stretch quickly, and they need frequent adjustments that don’t last 3 or 4 hundred miles.
    Once the orings quit sealing you should get a new chain…..or start oiling it like it wasn’t an oring chain. Cleaning the chain with WD40 or other oring chain maintenance isn’t good enough after the seals are worn. You need to oil it with chain lube or engine oil or gear lube every couple hundred miles. You may not get another 1000 miles out of a worn oring chain with out doing the Lube thing.

  • Van Freidin

    Tell me again why you would ship those bikes back home?

  • Brian R.

    I’m with Chuck about being a smart-ass today. Just read this on my phone and wanted to log on and just wish you both (Dean in particular) good luck tomorrow with the Vstrom problems.

    John H. and Pete are dead on about chain issues….. Not so much fuel filter but that is to be expected – As you guys already know – that filter is a special item built into the fuel pump and inserted in the tank. You got data on conversion to external filter and that may be your fix.

    Will be watching on SPOT, best to both of you.

  • Don Lindfors

    Just caught up about 7 days worth of this and I must say it was an intersting respite from the normal routine. I laughed, I cried, I said Holy Crap ~ Ok maybe that’s over stating, but it has really been interesting following you two. Hopefully the little Suzi is just being tempermantal and you’ll be on your way again tomorrow.

  • John H

    OK, I just looked up the DL1K fuel pump schematic. BR is right, it is not like most in tank pumps that can be easily replaced, such as what Honda uses. So ignore what I said about how to get around that. And what is up with Suzuki putting a $300 fuel filter in a cheap adventure bike?

    Thought about the chain some more. If it has been needing adjustment a lot, it has either been adjusted too tight or it iw worn out or both. Probably would be good insurance to have it replaced while you are at the dealership.

    Nope everything goes well today and y’all are back on the road ASAP.

  • John H

    Obviously, that was supposed to be “Hope”. It is early here.

  • H Marc Lewis

    Tell me you checked the air filter, please. I’m sure you did, but if you didn’t and it is coated in dirt you’re going to feel very bad for wasting a day or two when you could have been riding.

    And if it is some serious part failure that S.A. ingenuity can’t provide a replacement for, email me or chickey or someone on the LDR list and we’ll get a part put on an airplane for you ASAP!

    • Dean

      I’ve been at the Suzuki dealer since 8AM. While the air filter was quite dirty, the problem exists after replacing with new air filter. Took the entire fuel pump apart and the fuel filter has a little junk/debris on it, there was nothing to cause blockage to the feed. The fuel pump flow was tested and is normal.
      The bike is on a computer/Suzuki Diagnostic System now and the general consensus is a bad ECU.

  • Brian R.

    Well, bad ECU is pretty much the FINAL thing to check according to the cognoscenti on the Vstrom Forum. You have checked everything else so you are on the right path (and have eliminated everything in proper sequence – cheapest/easiest fixes first).

    Hope you get this sorted out. One thought, if some believe loose battery connections might cause this – possibly a loose (or corroded) primary ground might also. Seems to me I recall something like that on the forum……

  • Bob K

    Astrid Kunihiro said that she’ll be expecting your call if you have time to meet with her in Santiago!

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