RC51 Troubles

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CORSCO · #1 Unread post by **CORSCO** » Mon May 22, 2006 11:43 am

I've got a RC51 waiting for me tomorrow when I get to work that has been kickin' my tail!
It came in about two weeks ago for a running problem. The bike runs fine under normal riding conditions but if you whack open the throttle hard, it breaks up.
The owner is a "racer" and brought it to me with no plastics or seat. Plus, he had ripped off alot of FI sensors and did some mods he had found on the internet...such as a soft rev mod, also has a Power Commander with Sato slip-on exhaust. No FI codes were being tripped.
I checked all the bases and came up with nothing. Called Honda and they said it was the exhaust, go back to stock....it is really hit or miss with those guys.
The customer did not buy the unit from us but it is still under warranty. I had four hours in this thing and came up with nothing. We decided to have the customer pick it up (at no charge to those of you who think dealers are heartless!) and put it back together as much as he could. Re-install all the sensors he had removed and make it look as stock as possible in case the Honda rep. was to stop by.
He dropped it off again last week and the bike is doing the same thing. Called Honda again. This time they said to drain the fuel. Wow, another miss.
On its first visit, I had checked the TPS sensor and found it to be okay. The service manual clearly states that if the TPS sensor is bad, it will cause the syptoms of normal driveability unless under hard acceleration.
I looked up the sensor and found that you cannot order it alone...you have to order the entire throttle body assy.!!
Got the okay from our service rep. since I have good relations with him. $1200 I am throwing at this thing..luckily it is Honda's dime. I figured they have screwed me so many times in the warrany department, once from me shouldn't be so bad!
Tomorrow will be the moment of truth. This bike is seriously giving me one hell of a time...been a long while since I had one like this.
Curious to see what advice you can give me that I may have overlooked.

NorthernPete · Mon May 22, 2006 12:38 pm

Hmmm, well let us know what happens Corsco, Im curious now...

And I absolutely HATE it when you cant buy the one little part you need, I cracked a tail lamp on my pick up, and couldnt order just the plastic lens, I ended up having to drop 130 bucks on a whole new tail light assembly. bleh.

One thing, with all those mods, wouldt that void normal warrenties?

#3 Unread post by **9000white** » Mon May 22, 2006 1:09 pm

as for me i would have taken one look at it and told him goodbye.
how do you fix something when some "racer"has removed half the parts because he saw it on the internet.you can bet this aint the first time honda has seen this type of engineering.

CORSCO · #4 Unread post by **CORSCO** » Mon May 22, 2006 2:42 pm

As for all the mods voiding warranty, we tend to let that info slide a little to help out the customer.
As for kicking the customer to the curb, that is my thought but my service manager and I tend to butt heads on this subject. I know what will make money and what loses money. Like I said, I have lost 4 hours on this job already. I will lose my arse tomorrow because the throttle bodies are freakin' buried in a confined area.
Man, I just hope this solves the problem.
I also make the service manager test ride the thing since you have to be aggressive with it to simulate the problem. I watch him on the road with the bike wanting to point to the sky the whole time. I have gotten too old for that kind of stuff, especially when its not my bike!
I have told him to pass it off to a dealer that has a dyno but he doesn't listen.

TechTMW · #5 Unread post by **TechTMW** » Mon May 22, 2006 6:06 pm

Does sound like the TPS dude. It's probably a bit restricted , or has questionable contact inside the sensor (I think that uses a carbon-track - resistance type tps)

If that was the problem, it SHOULD be Honda's dime, since none of the "racer" mods could have caused this fault (Unless he opened the TPS and fiddled with it)

Tue May 23, 2006 10:48 am

Like I said, I have lost 4 hours on this job already. I will lose my arse tomorrow because the throttle bodies are freakin' buried in a confined area.
Man, I just hope this solves the problem.

if you work on commission these kind of jobs will put you in the poor house.having worked on 18 wheelers for 45 years at many dealerships the only warranties jobs i ever saw cause even a ripple was when some engineer had tinkered with the fuel system because somebody at a truck stop told him to do it.it goes on a permanent record and there is no warranty whatsoever on any part of the engine

CORSCO · #7 Unread post by **CORSCO** » Tue May 23, 2006 11:44 am

Well, that wasn't the problem. And the rest of the day was rather unproductive as well. Screw it, it's Beer Time! I've made my comission for the pay period anyway!

CORSCO · #8 Unread post by **CORSCO** » Wed May 24, 2006 3:30 pm

The Honda Service Rep. is stopping by tomorrow or Friday. Can't wait to see what he finds out.

NorthernPete · Wed May 24, 2006 3:51 pm

Too bad you dont work in a mine like me.... A stick of blasting powder would solve that porblem lickity split!

CORSCO · #10 Unread post by **CORSCO** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:31 pm

The Honda Rep came by last Friday and spent 4 hours on it as well. He got no further than I did. Which I'm glad. I would have hated it if he found a problem right away. He is supposed to come in again this week to continue.