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Rain Rain go away (frankly a bit dissappointed with bike)

1K views 25 replies 18 participants last post by  powergod 
#1 ·
2 days after i bought my bike and it's raining. Supposed to rain throughout next week too! Decided to take the bike for a ride in the rain just now and am sorry to say that i am a little dissappointed. Didn't expect it to start missing when im hardly a mile away from home. Infact i had to head back home after 2-3 miles to avert a scenario to be stranded with my bike in rain on a sunday!

The japanese bikes they gave us in the Rider Education class never missed or stalled when it rained hard during the 2 days of the class!

Perhaps i should bring it up with the mechanic!

:banghead:
 
#2 ·
First of all... wait and break the bike in a bit. How many miles do you have on it, 10-20?

I ride mine in major downpours and nothing ever misses. If it keeps missing, yup, bring it back to the dealer....

And if you are REALLY disappointed in it, I can take it off your hands if you are willing to take the hit.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the quick replies. You guys give me hope!


mikep i have 170 miles on it now and the 'little' 'missing' has happened in the rain only today


mikep said:
And if you are REALLY disappointed in it, I can take it off your hands if you are willing to take the hit.
no thanks! i agree i need to break it further and hopefully all quirks in it will be gone after the 1st service... :D

It only 'missed' a little and didn't really stall, so thats a good sign :D
 
#9 ·
hey welcome! Another NJ DX! Awesome!

On riding in the rain, I've ridden through drenching downpours & the bike's been solid as a rock all the way around. I think this might be an early break-in thing only. Mine loosened up nicely over the first 1500 miles, only gets better with each mile - almost 4000 now.

Send a PM if you want to cross paths, I know a few other local DX'ers too.
 
#10 ·
Riding in the rain is mandatory in Oregon if you don't want a 45 day riding season. No problems at all here.
 
#11 ·
NightRodX said:
hey welcome! Another NJ DX! Awesome!

On riding in the rain, I've ridden through drenching downpours & the bike's been solid as a rock all the way around. I think this might be an early break-in thing only. Mine loosened up nicely over the first 1500 miles, only gets better with each mile - almost 4000 now.

Send a PM if you want to cross paths, I know a few other local DX'ers too.

I can verify that. I was in that same downpour and had no problems.
 
#12 ·
Vrod-Mike said:
I can verify that. I was in that same downpour and had no problems.

:) I think it was about 15 of us were in that storm? Noone's bike failed or missed a beat. Can't say anything good about my cheap rain suit, but the bike ran flawlessly.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for all ur replies!
From your feedback i am happy to gather that it's not a normal behaviour for this bike and i will further ride it in the upcoming rainy days and see if the problem goes away and if not will get it fixed.

I will be spending next few weeks breaking the bike and getting more used to it and look forward to be there in one of those storms with u guys when u next brave it together... :)
 
#16 ·
I ride mine thru the E'glades all the time. Rains so damn hard you can't see 50 feet! NEVER missed a beat in 12K miles!
 
#17 ·
Arjun said:
No it wasn't warmed up. Maybe that was the reason!
I will make sure i do that every time in future!
Yes I get some sputters if I don't let 'er warm up before hitting the road. It's so hard not to kick it into gear & just go when it's sitting there running though so I understand the feeling!

Looks like we might have the basis of a good-sized V-Rod contingent in NY / NJ / PA here by the way....
 
#19 ·
vanslam said:
Maybe the bike wasn't warmed up. I know if I take off with a warm up it sputters a little. Last no more than a mile or two.
Mine always misses a bit when it's "cold". However, by the time I get to the first big intersection, she's ready to go!!!!!!!!!! I found that the missing lessened as the bike was broken in too. Good luck!!!!!!!
 
#21 ·
TBAR said:
Mine always misses a bit when it's "cold". However, by the time I get to the first big intersection, she's ready to go!!!!!!!!!! I found that the missing lessened as the bike was broken in too. Good luck!!!!!!!
:them:

As the bike was breaking in, everything started working better together. From tight as a drum to comfortable -- especially beginning at 1000 miles. At 2k, everything came together perfectly.
 
#22 ·
When you ride in the UK the rain is guaranteed to catch you at some time. Never had it miss a beat in the rain, runs better than my jap sports bike, main problem is trying to stop the rear wheel spin on greasy roads.
 
#23 ·
Thanks for all your replies folks!
Much appreciated!
I found out that it was the recommended warming up i was missing on...

1 week and 500+ miles later, now i need to know if it's ok to race it 60+mph?
The manual doesn't say anything about that...or do i still need to wait till the 1000mile service?
 
#25 ·
60 mph is not a problem. You want to keep your RMPs reasonable (I think it is below 6500 - look in the manual) and varried. Mostly you do not want to do long stretches always at the same RPM like steady highway driving until the 1000 mile maintenance.
 
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