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[Graybeard]

Greetings...

Don't post much on this site, usually over in the VTXOA. Anyway, I picked up a 2006 VTX 1800 R trike (Motor Trike kit) and I'm having problems with the VTX. It has aftermarket exhaust, THINK they MAY be Samsons. No name on them, but look like straight pipes and have a baffle in them.

I have the stock air cleaner, but have done the de-smog and the PAIR removal, so the stock box has a good size hole in it that may be letting it get a little more air.

It seems to start off and do allright in the first three gears, but when you get into 4th or 5th it starts acting like it's really lugging the engine. The only way I can use 5th gear is to be over 3000 rpm, anything less than that and it feels like it's lugging. There is also a rattleing sound when you just give it enough gas to stay at a certain speed (doesn't do it when you let off the throttle or when you are accelerating (or when idleing).

It feels like it is trying to run on one cylinder.

I've gone through it, done the ground fix, new plugs and ran several tankfulls of both Techron and Seafoam cleaner.

I added a Power Commander III, but haven't had it dynoed, just used one of the maps that sounded close. It helped a little, but things are still not right.

It SEEMS to run better on premium gas. It's had this problem since I bought it, and I'm about out of ideas, so what I need is an honest dealer/mechanic to work on it.

There's a Honda dealer in La Marque, but they don't even do inspections (had to go to a Kawasaki shop to get my last one).  

I live in Dickinson, so I'm looking for a shop on the South side of Houston to Galveston. I stopped by the dealership on the west side of 45 up near Pearland (?). I think it's owned by the same people who have the metric and Harley dealerships (Stubbs) on Telephone road. I asked to see the repair dept, and they had bikes lined up in a really haphazard way for a dealership. There was one young kid and one older guy. When I was talking to them, they really didn't seam to know that the 1300's had carbs and the 1800's are FI.

Anyway, the problem is now beyond me, so does anyone know of someplace I can go ?

Thanks

Greybeard

[Chad]

Wish I was closer to ya Louis I would help ya out.
 I am sure it is something simple
that is causeing the problem. There should be someone
that will chime in and find you someone close.

[Niterider]

Steve,

I've had good experiences with Northwest Honda (also listed as Lunsford Honda) on I-45, on the northbound service road, just north of the West Rd. exit.  They've said and done a number of things that lead me to trust their competence and integrity.

I've also had good dealings with the service department at El Campo Cycle Center, located on U.S. 59 on the south side of El Campo.  However, they disappointed me when I took my VTX1800 to them with an intermittent stalling problem.  They told me right off the bat that, unless they could easily and immediately duplicate the problem, it would'nt be very high on their priority list, and after a month, they hadn't invested much time toward solving the problem.  To their credit, though, they didn't charge me anything when I finally picked the bike up.  If you bring a bike to them with a readily reproducible problem or with a specific request for service, you can count on them to do the job right and to do it at a competitive price.

Have you considered the possibility of a problem with trike conversion kit in 4th & 5th gears?

Mike

[Graybeard]

Thanks guys, but my name is Louis.

Anyway, I thought about it having something to do with the trike kit, but don't think it is.

The differential is from a Ford truck, and they cut it and weld it back together.

The only problems I could find about them, is if the universals on the drive shaft are not lined up, it will cause vibrations, but that is supposed to give you more vibrations at lower speeds, and go away as you go faster.

If you are going 50 MPH, the RPM of the driveshaft is the same if you are in 4th gear or 5th gear. It's the motor speed that will change.

I also thought about the rear end being geared to high, but it seems an 1800 should be able to cruise at a lower RPM than 3000 without feeling like it's lugging.

[Chad]

Thanks guys, but my name is Louis.

Anyway, I thought about it having something to do with the trike kit, but don't think it is.

The differential is from a Ford truck, and they cut it and weld it back together.

The only problems I could find about them, is if the universals on the drive shaft are not lined up, it will cause vibrations, but that is supposed to give you more vibrations at lower speeds, and go away as you go faster.

If you are going 50 MPH, the RPM of the driveshaft is the same if you are in 4th gear or 5th gear. It's the motor speed that will change.

I also thought about the rear end being geared to high, but it seems an 1800 should be able to cruise at a lower RPM than 3000 without feeling like it's lugging.

Oops sorry about that Louis ! 

[Gumbo]

Thanks guys, but my name is Louis.

Anyway, I thought about it having something to do with the trike kit, but don't think it is.

The differential is from a Ford truck, and they cut it and weld it back together.

The only problems I could find about them, is if the universals on the drive shaft are not lined up, it will cause vibrations, but that is supposed to give you more vibrations at lower speeds, and go away as you go faster.

If you are going 50 MPH, the RPM of the driveshaft is the same if you are in 4th gear or 5th gear. It's the motor speed that will change.

I also thought about the rear end being geared to high, but it seems an 1800 should be able to cruise at a lower RPM than 3000 without feeling like it's lugging.

Louise and your handel is graybeard    Could be my type of gal 

[RedDragon]

Thanks guys, but my name is Louis.

Anyway, I thought about it having something to do with the trike kit, but don't think it is.

The differential is from a Ford truck, and they cut it and weld it back together.

The only problems I could find about them, is if the universals on the drive shaft are not lined up, it will cause vibrations, but that is supposed to give you more vibrations at lower speeds, and go away as you go faster.

If you are going 50 MPH, the RPM of the driveshaft is the same if you are in 4th gear or 5th gear. It's the motor speed that will change.

I also thought about the rear end being geared to high, but it seems an 1800 should be able to cruise at a lower RPM than 3000 without feeling like it's lugging.

Louise and your handel is graybeard    Could be my type of gal 

You sure about that Gumbo? Its Louis, not Louise! 

[Gumbo]

Thanks guys, but my name is Louis.

Anyway, I thought about it having something to do with the trike kit, but don't think it is.

The differential is from a Ford truck, and they cut it and weld it back together.

The only problems I could find about them, is if the universals on the drive shaft are not lined up, it will cause vibrations, but that is supposed to give you more vibrations at lower speeds, and go away as you go faster.

If you are going 50 MPH, the RPM of the driveshaft is the same if you are in 4th gear or 5th gear. It's the motor speed that will change.

I also thought about the rear end being geared to high, but it seems an 1800 should be able to cruise at a lower RPM than 3000 without feeling like it's lugging.

Louise and your handel is graybeard    Could be my type of gal 

You sure about that Gumbo? Its Louis, not Louise! 

I know just funnin

[bluestreak]

Try Galveston Honda down  45 South near LaMarque.
I haven't used them for service but I did go through thier shop and talk to some techs before I bought my 1800 there.  I was impressed with them.  They are not a big dealership but they do remind me of what old bikes shops use to be and operate like...........and that's a good thing.
 
What ever you do..............please report back here with what you found to be the problem.  

As far as your problem goes, you haven't stated enough to really diagnose the problem but first.............
Leave the Power Commander off until you resolve the problem.  Having in installed makes sit suspect and something else to trouble shoot.  Your bike should be able to pull the trike set up without it.   Do a compression and leak down test to determine the condition of the internals.  If you have a worn out upper end, it won't pull the load (produce the HP) required to carry the higher speed in 4th and 5th.  Currently you have and are using the mechanical advantage of gear reduction of 1st through 3rd gear to propel the bike which will mask a lack of power problem.

The fact it seems to run better on premium gas AND it appears to be lugging AND you hear rattling under throttle ALL indicate it's detonating.  
As long as the trike addition/components are mechanically sound and installed correctly and not dragging due to an increase in speed, personally I'd be looking at it from a detonation problem at this point.
- First thing to do is pull the tank and drain it.  Fill with known good regular grade fuel WITHOUT any fuel additive and try a test ride.  Poor old fuel will lose octane quality quickly and cause detonation,  Todays fuels are really crap from a power producing stand point and do not hold thier octane ratings for very long.  They degrade as quickley as one week.
- Second thing is too confirm your running the correct heat range spark plugs.  In any case install new ones. 
- A compression test will determine if detonation is being caused by high carbon build up.
- Check the timming to make sure it hasn't moved too far adavanced.  This is not likely on this kind of ignition system but that can cause it to detonate if it has.  If your bike pulls to redline in lower gears at WOT, it's not timming or spark related.

[Luckys Lover]

You can just unplug the power commander and leave it where it is while you're checking it out. Stick the original cables back together and away you go.

My PCIII started acting up on the rear cylinder only. Bike would run then bog down at highway speeds. Drove me nuts trying to find the cause. Then I pulled the cables on the PC and got my old bike back. It's been months and the PC is still under the seat, just not adjusting the fuel or spark.

[Graybeard]

First off, thanks for the suggestions so far. I guess I got some of you confused about what I’ve already tried, so here goes…

Used 2006 VTX 1800R with a Motor Trike brand trike kit installed. Also has aftermarket pipes, one for each cylinder with no crossover. Don’t know the brand, but they are the same size from the cylinder to the end. You can see they have a baffle in the exhaust end. While idling, putting your hand over the end of the exhaust pipe, they both seem to be equal.

If any of you have gone from a motorcycle to a trike, you’ll know what I mean by it taking a while to get used to it.  I’ve never had an 1800, or a trike, so I did a lot of “is this normal” kind of thinking
When I actually started getting on the freeway going fast is when I really noticed the problem.

It seems to run fine in the first three gears, but feels like it’s lugging down unless you’re up above 3000 RPM in fourth or fifth, and it hits harder than just pinging or knocking. It’s almost like one of the cylinders is not firing. I searched for and found posts about what RPM you should be in to shift from one gear to the other. I found several that said running 3000 RPM was normal.

I started looking for anyone who had this problem, but didn’t find anything. For the most part, all I found were posts about this motor being bulletproof, and getting 150,000 miles on them.

Anyway, I DO have a problem because it can’t be normal hitting as hard as it does.

I set about trying all the suggestions. I did the PAIR removal, the de-smog and the ground fix. I changed the spark plugs (don’t remember the brand but they were recommended by several people). Checked the valves (only had to adjust one, and that was very little). Ran several bottles of both Techron and Sea Foam through it (some at a very high concentration). I only use “top tier” gas such as Shell, Chevron and Exxon. I mostly run regular, but have run premium, and it SEEMS to run better (could be my imagination along with thinking that it runs better for the first half hour or so).

I thought maybe if the bike was running lean from the factory, then had the extra weight of the trike kit, plus my better half and me (neither of us are exactly skinny) it might be a fuel problem. I added the Power Commander, forget what map I used, just a generic one that added gas in the mid-high range. It seemed to help a little (or maybe it’s just wishful thinking).

It also makes a lot of rattling noise. Seems to come from the front cylinder. I’ve checked everything (pipes, covers, fan, radiator grill, etc.)I can find. It only rattles when you are just giving it a little gas to hold your speed. If you give it a little gas, or let off the gas it quits making the noise. It’s definitely not a “normal” noise. I don’t THINK it’s pre-ignition or knocking, too much of a rattling sound.

I’ll be checking the compression next, I know you have to do it in a strange way because of the compression release at low speed. I’m a fair mechanic with most any tool I need, and I can probably change out any part, but I’m not very good at diagnosing problems.

Sorry about writing a book here, but wanted to get all the symptoms and things I’ve already tried.
Any more suggestions or ideas are welcome, and thanks for the ones already posted,

Greybeard

I’m also posting the above on the VTXOA site, and in the general forum here..

[bluestreak]

The 1800's have a unique rattle that eminates from the headlight nacel at certain engine speeds and other conditions are met.  Bang on the side of the housing with your hand and see if it sounds like what your hearing.  If that's your problem you can buy an inner headlight bucket made of a rubber like material from Bare's VTX site.  I just fixed mine with split tubing.

If you thinks it's running like it's misfiring, you can try riding the bike with both front cylinder plug caps off to confirm it.  I doubt that's your problem though.

[Graybeard]

Bluestreak, I'll stop by there again (that would be my first choice because I only live about five miles from there) but that is the Honda dealer I went to for a safety inspection, and they said they couldn't do it because they didn't have a mechanic.

Just as an aside, that place used to be a nursery (flowers and bushes type).

I went down the road a little to the Kawasaki place, and they did the inspection. They told me the Honda dealer was trying to close the service side down. I'll stop by there this weekend and find out what's up.

Thanks for the tips.

[bluestreak]

Bluestreak, I'll stop by there again (that would be my first choice because I only live about five miles from there) but that is the Honda dealer I went to for a safety inspection, and they said they couldn't do it because they didn't have a mechanic.

Just as an aside, that place used to be a nursery (flowers and bushes type).

I went down the road a little to the Kawasaki place, and they did the inspection. They told me the Honda dealer was trying to close the service side down. I'll stop by there this weekend and find out what's up.

Thanks for the tips.

Sorry to hear they may be scaling back.  Things change with time.  I bought mine there ten yeras ago and they seems to be thriving, but then again so was the bike market too.