[Kael from AZ]

Hello everyone,

So, I picked up a 2006 VTX 1800F with 22,000 miles a couple weeks ago. I absolutely love the bike so far, but since I've had it, I've been trying to do all of the general maintenance and improvements on the bike that I've been reading about here on this forum. And I've run into a couple of issues that I would love some opinions on. My apologies if this is long. I dont know how to ask my questions without the context around it.

Background on the bike, It had been owned by a bike cop, so the bike was immaculate, couldnt find a scratch on it. But he was older and due to injuries, he couldnt ride it anymore and it had sat for the past 3 years during the pandemic. He had his neighbor come and ride it around the block every couple months, but that was about it. Im not sure if they put a fuel stabilizer in it. The inside of the tank looked perfect tho and the gas smelled good. The only modifications that he had done to the bike were installing a power commander and a kuryakyn hypercharger air intake. The bike ran great, no issues, pulled strong thru every gear, with the only issue being that sometimes it gets stuck in neutral and you really gotta kick it into second.

Once I purchased it, I did most of the fluids and cleaned the air filter, I wanted to do a full lube job on the bike. But after watching videos on how to take the gas tank off, I held off the coolant flush until I could install a fuel line disconnect. While changing the engine oil, I noticed that it was far too dirty to have been changed appropriately, which I found very strange considering how well the bike seemed taken care of. But the bike ran great afterwards and no issues. I also ran a fuel injector cleaner thru the bike.

So then this week, I installed the 3/8 fuel line disconnect I had purchased from gotham cycles. And afterwards, the bike felt like it had lost a little bit of its speed at the higher end of the gears. I noticed it cuz, 2nd used to hit 60mph at a lower rpm. I found myself shifting into 3rd a little bit sooner. But whatever, the bike is fast as hell right and dumping gas down the side of the bike every time I take the tank off is worthwhile trade off. So, yesterday, I decide that I'm going to do all of the work under the tank. I flushed the coolant, did the desmog removal on the air system, and did the ground wire maintenance I hear recommended on the forum.

But here is where I found some things that I would love your guy's opinions on.

1. When I did the coolant, it had only taken about 2.5 quarts to refill it. I had read it was around 3.3 quarts. I had the bike up level on a jack and I drained the reserve tank. I idled the bike for 5 minutes up to temp after refilling it, with the cap off and I blipped the throttle a few times at the end. Some air came out in the beginning but it over flowed again quickly when I tried to fill it some more. I planned on riding it for a bit and checking my reserve tank in a few days.

2. When I was doing desmog removal. They had capped off 1 of the air system hoses after they put the cold air intake on, When I removed that hose, A good 1/3 cup of what seemed to be water and gunk came out. Secondly, when I took the air intake plates off each of the engine heads. I looked in there and there was a bunch of looked like dried oil and water moisture. I soaked up the moisture with a micro fiber cloth then put the blocking plates on. I guess my question here is, was a ton of moisture just building in that hose system?

3. Riding the bike today, I had expected an improvement after the desmog removal, but I have in fact lost more power. My rpms are up in every gear. I was hittin 4000-4500 rpms in 3rd at 65 mph.

4. My gas mileage has also consistently been about 25 miles to the gallon. It's been about 3 tank fills since I've ran the fuel cleaner thru it. I dont get any pops or soot in the drive way, but this thing is just eating gas. My gas light comes on consistently at 85 miles every tank and when I refill it, it takes 3.5 gallons. Which from what I gather so far, is pretty bad, even for the vtx's.

Overall, I guess my question is, what do you think is causing my sudden power loss after the work I did? The bike still runs fine ironically. Starts right up, idles smooth as a babies ass, pulls like a freight train. Honestly, I wouldnt even have known there was something wrong with the bike if I hadnt spent the previous 3 weeks speeding around town on it. I lost power and I dunno why 🤷‍♂️

So, if any of you guys can throw your thoughts in and give me some of that vtx wisdom, that would be greatly appreciated.

-Kael

 

[PaXman11]

Hello everyone,

So, I picked up a 2006 VTX 1800F with 22,000 miles a couple weeks ago. I absolutely love the bike so far, but since I've had it, I've been trying to do all of the general maintenance and improvements on the bike that I've been reading about here on this forum. And I've run into a couple of issues that I would love some opinions on. My apologies if this is long. I dont know how to ask my questions without the context around it.

Background on the bike, It had been owned by a bike cop, so the bike was immaculate, couldnt find a scratch on it. But he was older and due to injuries, he couldnt ride it anymore and it had sat for the past 3 years during the pandemic. He had his neighbor come and ride it around the block every couple months, but that was about it. Im not sure if they put a fuel stabilizer in it. The inside of the tank looked perfect tho and the gas smelled good. The only modifications that he had done to the bike were installing a power commander and a kuryakyn hypercharger air intake. The bike ran great, no issues, pulled strong thru every gear, with the only issue being that sometimes it gets stuck in neutral and you really gotta kick it into second.

Once I purchased it, I did most of the fluids and cleaned the air filter, I wanted to do a full lube job on the bike. But after watching videos on how to take the gas tank off, I held off the coolant flush until I could install a fuel line disconnect. While changing the engine oil, I noticed that it was far too dirty to have been changed appropriately, which I found very strange considering how well the bike seemed taken care of. But the bike ran great afterwards and no issues. I also ran a fuel injector cleaner thru the bike.

So then this week, I installed the 3/8 fuel line disconnect I had purchased from gotham cycles. And afterwards, the bike felt like it had lost a little bit of its speed at the higher end of the gears. I noticed it cuz, 2nd used to hit 60mph at a lower rpm. I found myself shifting into 3rd a little bit sooner. But whatever, the bike is fast as hell right and dumping gas down the side of the bike every time I take the tank off is worthwhile trade off. So, yesterday, I decide that I'm going to do all of the work under the tank. I flushed the coolant, did the desmog removal on the air system, and did the ground wire maintenance I hear recommended on the forum.

But here is where I found some things that I would love your guy's opinions on.

1. When I did the coolant, it had only taken about 2.5 quarts to refill it. I had read it was around 3.3 quarts. I had the bike up level on a jack and I drained the reserve tank. I idled the bike for 5 minutes up to temp after refilling it, with the cap off and I blipped the throttle a few times at the end. Some air came out in the beginning but it over flowed again quickly when I tried to fill it some more. I planned on riding it for a bit and checking my reserve tank in a few days.

2. When I was doing desmog removal. They had capped off 1 of the air system hoses after they put the cold air intake on, When I removed that hose, A good 1/3 cup of what seemed to be water and gunk came out. Secondly, when I took the air intake plates off each of the engine heads. I looked in there and there was a bunch of looked like dried oil and water moisture. I soaked up the moisture with a micro fiber cloth then put the blocking plates on. I guess my question here is, was a ton of moisture just building in that hose system?

3. Riding the bike today, I had expected an improvement after the desmog removal, but I have in fact lost more power. My rpms are up in every gear. I was hittin 4000-4500 rpms in 3rd at 65 mph.

4. My gas mileage has also consistently been about 25 miles to the gallon. It's been about 3 tank fills since I've ran the fuel cleaner thru it. I dont get any pops or soot in the drive way, but this thing is just eating gas. My gas light comes on consistently at 85 miles every tank and when I refill it, it takes 3.5 gallons. Which from what I gather so far, is pretty bad, even for the vtx's.

Overall, I guess my question is, what do you think is causing my sudden power loss after the work I did? The bike still runs fine ironically. Starts right up, idles smooth as a babies ass, pulls like a freight train. Honestly, I wouldnt even have known there was something wrong with the bike if I hadnt spent the previous 3 weeks speeding around town on it. I lost power and I dunno why 🤷‍♂️

So, if any of you guys can throw your thoughts in and give me some of that vtx wisdom, that would be greatly appreciated.

-Kael

My $.02 . I suspect you are wasting fuel, and getting poor power and mileage because of some fault with that HYPE-D charger. Just like a carburetor with a filthy air filter not being able to breathe right, it will have a power loss and waste fuel. Make sure it's working the way it should. I have no personal experience with these, but there have been more than a couple fellas that have issues with these boat anchors. They look good, but don't do much if anything for performance. There can be some 'gunk' that builds up periodically that needs either drained or wiped out. Make sure your hoses are not kinked or disconnected from where they need to be. Don't get angry, but if you're hitting 60 in 2nd, you're exercising your right hand a little more than normal, LOL. That can explain a few less MPG than most of us. Could you try to run a tankful through w/o jumping on it and running normal 3K-3.5K shift points until up to highway speeds? I'd bet that 85 miles per tank gets to 100 before that light comes on. Mine, normally between 105-115 mi., and I have an early model C with the smallest tank, 4.49 US gal. Mine has also had the FPR replaced, which your model doesn't have and needn't concern with. What do your plugs look like? The stock Iridium plugs are good for 100K, so don't waste $ on new ones if not needed.

 

[Vinish]

You are conflating "loss of power" with an engine rpm/speed/gear combination. If you used to go faster (higher mph) in a specific gear at a specific rpm then one of two things is happening. Either you are misremembering or your clutch is slipping. There is no other alternative. Power and acceleration are the rate at which you can get up to speed not a specific gear/speed/rpm combination.

The water in the pair valve system occurred probably because the hose that is supposed to go from this system to the airbox was disconnected and/or capped off. This was probably done when the Hypercharger was installed since it likely had no input port on the backside for this pair valve drain/vent hose.

 

[joneltmp2ebzq]

Gggg777777


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rhigbee38]

Hello everyone,

So, I picked up a 2006 VTX 1800F with 22,000 miles a couple weeks ago. I absolutely love the bike so far, but since I've had it, I've been trying to do all of the general maintenance and improvements on the bike that I've been reading about here on this forum. And I've run into a couple of issues that I would love some opinions on. My apologies if this is long. I dont know how to ask my questions without the context around it.

Background on the bike, It had been owned by a bike cop, so the bike was immaculate, couldnt find a scratch on it. But he was older and due to injuries, he couldnt ride it anymore and it had sat for the past 3 years during the pandemic. He had his neighbor come and ride it around the block every couple months, but that was about it. Im not sure if they put a fuel stabilizer in it. The inside of the tank looked perfect tho and the gas smelled good. The only modifications that he had done to the bike were installing a power commander and a kuryakyn hypercharger air intake. The bike ran great, no issues, pulled strong thru every gear, with the only issue being that sometimes it gets stuck in neutral and you really gotta kick it into second.

Once I purchased it, I did most of the fluids and cleaned the air filter, I wanted to do a full lube job on the bike. But after watching videos on how to take the gas tank off, I held off the coolant flush until I could install a fuel line disconnect. While changing the engine oil, I noticed that it was far too dirty to have been changed appropriately, which I found very strange considering how well the bike seemed taken care of. But the bike ran great afterwards and no issues. I also ran a fuel injector cleaner thru the bike.

So then this week, I installed the 3/8 fuel line disconnect I had purchased from gotham cycles. And afterwards, the bike felt like it had lost a little bit of its speed at the higher end of the gears. I noticed it cuz, 2nd used to hit 60mph at a lower rpm. I found myself shifting into 3rd a little bit sooner. But whatever, the bike is fast as hell right and dumping gas down the side of the bike every time I take the tank off is worthwhile trade off. So, yesterday, I decide that I'm going to do all of the work under the tank. I flushed the coolant, did the desmog removal on the air system, and did the ground wire maintenance I hear recommended on the forum.

But here is where I found some things that I would love your guy's opinions on.

1. When I did the coolant, it had only taken about 2.5 quarts to refill it. I had read it was around 3.3 quarts. I had the bike up level on a jack and I drained the reserve tank. I idled the bike for 5 minutes up to temp after refilling it, with the cap off and I blipped the throttle a few times at the end. Some air came out in the beginning but it over flowed again quickly when I tried to fill it some more. I planned on riding it for a bit and checking my reserve tank in a few days.

2. When I was doing desmog removal. They had capped off 1 of the air system hoses after they put the cold air intake on, When I removed that hose, A good 1/3 cup of what seemed to be water and gunk came out. Secondly, when I took the air intake plates off each of the engine heads. I looked in there and there was a bunch of looked like dried oil and water moisture. I soaked up the moisture with a micro fiber cloth then put the blocking plates on. I guess my question here is, was a ton of moisture just building in that hose system?

3. Riding the bike today, I had expected an improvement after the desmog removal, but I have in fact lost more power. My rpms are up in every gear. I was hittin 4000-4500 rpms in 3rd at 65 mph.

4. My gas mileage has also consistently been about 25 miles to the gallon. It's been about 3 tank fills since I've ran the fuel cleaner thru it. I dont get any pops or soot in the drive way, but this thing is just eating gas. My gas light comes on consistently at 85 miles every tank and when I refill it, it takes 3.5 gallons. Which from what I gather so far, is pretty bad, even for the vtx's.

Overall, I guess my question is, what do you think is causing my sudden power loss after the work I did? The bike still runs fine ironically. Starts right up, idles smooth as a babies ass, pulls like a freight train. Honestly, I wouldnt even have known there was something wrong with the bike if I hadnt spent the previous 3 weeks speeding around town on it. I lost power and I dunno why 🤷‍♂️

So, if any of you guys can throw your thoughts in and give me some of that vtx wisdom, that would be greatly appreciated.

-Kael

rain today in Southern Ca. Will give it a minute. I have same bike since new. Stay in touch if you like. I will try. First! Buy the Honda 2002-2006 Service Manual VTX C/F. It is written for basic education. Of course it can be intimidating but be patient and look for what you can do and can not do.
On the coolant if it is full then forget it. There is a screw on the water pump you might have missed. The one to the forward I think. Take it out. Cap off of course. If fluid is good color, again, forget it. This is your basic tractor engine. almost.
Now as to the other. This is gonna take a minute. These bikes are well known for slipping clutches in 4th and 5th. When you get on bike hard you get RPM and loss of acceleration "feel". If you get pissed off then it probably slipped. There are many fixes around on you tube. Most think the 6 clutch pressure springs are to blame. EASY to fix. Beware of new clutch discs that are poorly fabricated. Uneven thickness cause more problems. I think most of us just replace springs first.
As to air intake. This is a throttle body fuel injection system. MY opinion is tinkering with things behind the intake holes can be tricky. My bike gets 33 mpg in most all conditions. The air intake system is K&N. I used a set of electronic devices to cap hoses , by-pass catalytic converter (it is Gone) to fool the ECM into thinking "all is well". I have a CA> bike. Is yours different? Now...if your ECM thinks the catalytic converter is there and it is not OR if it thinks the injection mixture is correct and you have changed it then the engine fuel/air mixture is perhaps off. This causes performance issues. Carbon in the exhaust, poor mpg, smelling of gas. If really off then starting issues can come first if lean, then hot valves. If rich then carbon, gas and all that. But better than lean. However do not climb any mountains. Bike might flood as in not run as fuel mix gets too rich. Now.. the Power Commander. I have such a device. Again it is tied to fuel/air mixture. BUT electrically through the ECM. By the way, I use this term to mean electronic control module. All modern vehicles have one. Just under differing names. Just note it has to be correctly calibrated and functioning. I had to toy with mine a few times to get it right. Lots of info online.
All in all the bike is and should be a strong puller and run smoothly. It needs a 6th gear as it will red line in 5th. Forget that unless you are in need of moving right along. Again as to 5th gear, if you push bike and the clutch fails at around 115 mph or so due to wind resistance this is pretty common for this bike. It needs better clutch setup.
PS: I wish you well. See if you have or can get all original parts. They might allow you to see what was done by previous owner. Other people messing with your putt do not always get things right. Remember there are only two tires and no cage. Your life depends on thinking and doing correctly.