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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 21
London, UK | It woul be the one vision that came half way round the world to have an engine problem. I am in no way technical so those of you that understand how a engine works, don't laugh.
Over the last couple of months I have been struggling with my vision 'hunting' for rev's. starts up fine but after it warmed up and i start it again with a warm engine it would idle up and down between 1800 and 2000 revs. I spoke to my US dealer and he suggested investigation of the idle air controller.
On the odd occasion it would also just idle on one cylender.
With dealers in the UK few and far between and this being the only vision on the road in the UK it was a stuggle to get it looked at. This week I had it at the dealer and they discovered heavy corrotion on the front spark plug, they replaced it and had it on the digital wrench and all appeared fine. The fitted my stage 1 and on Saturday I collected the bike.
On the way home I lost spark in the front cylender. Called the AA and the guy took the plug out at the side of the road and said 'oil on the plug....not good' he cleaned it and i returned with the bike back to the dealer.
They quickly did a compression test and plugged it back into digital wrench. Compression is fine and nothing else reports any issues on the computer.
They now have to open the engine up to see where the oil is leaking into the cylender. It looks like one hell of a job to get the engine out so we will see what happens. I am not going to see the vision for a while......
So if anybody ever experience a bike 'hunting for revs' have a look at the plugs first. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 136
CALGARY ALBERTA | I'm sure the dealer you bought it from would assist you or at the very least the Victory Engineers. Don't do anything rash before checking with them first. Could be as simple as moisture in an electrical connection. Have you done any of the recall stuff? Bobby Calgary |
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Cruiser
Posts: 136
CALGARY ALBERTA | PS I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT AND IF THE VICTORY IS ANYTHING LIKE THE HD. THE INTAKE MANIFOLD SOMETIMES COME LOOS AFTER A FEW MILES DUE TO IMPROPER TORQUE OR FITTING. IF THE FRONT MANIFOLD WAS LOOSE AND LETTING AIR BYPASS, YOU WOULD LOOSE THE FUEL MGMT SYSTEM. CAUSING THE SEARCHING. MY 2 CENTS WORTH
BB |
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Cruiser
Posts: 238
SF Bay Area | Hmmm... do our Visions have separate maps for each cylinder? perhaps the front cylinder has a bad 02 sensor or an intermittent ignition fault, like a bad coil or connection, causing the front plug to gas foul, and the idle to surge?
My thinking is that if you had emough oil in the cylinder to foul a plug, you would have noticed the smoking from the exhaust...
??? |
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Visionary
Posts: 1350
| I wonder if someone along the way to prep the bike for it's trip to the UK put oil in the cylinders? Maybe they read on the internet to do this to keep salt water moisture out? Then on top of that they used too heavy an oil which hasn't completely burned out and has soiled some of the sensors?
I guess all of us are guessing. I hope all works out for you and you get to enjoy your Vision.
Keep us posted on what happens. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 21
London, UK | Guy's
Thanks for your coments, all very valid points and I am passing all of it on to the dealer in the UK who is as appreciative as this is new for them as well. I think they will be looking at it tomorrow and I will let you know the cause as soon as I get news.
can't bear to be without the bike. I am lucky to still have my TC so I'll have to ride the TC for a while.... still a lot of fun to ride but not quite a Vision.
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Jacksonville Florida | Poor idle quality. 1. Air leak, mounting surfaces and hoses 2. IAC system fault, inspect IAC system hoses. 3. Fuel mixture rich, check F.I. 4. Fuel mixture lean, check F.I. 5. Ignition misfire, check ignition system. 6. Excessive oil in combustion chamber, valve guides. 7. Excessive oil in combustion system, worn rings, cylinder, or piston, engine oil system overfilled 8. Valves not opening fully, worn cam or rocker arms. Since you already stated that the compression check was good half of these indicators can be dismissed. I pulled these indicators from the Victory Service Manual Section 7.29 |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 21
London, UK | I posted some picture is the gallery of how none of us would like to see our Visions !
They found the fault - a cracked cylinder head.
It took two guy's 9 hours to get the bike into the state that it is now, broken in half with the front end standing one side of the room and the back end and engine on the bench. Makes you want to cry.
Not beeing mechanical I still do not understand the exact details but according to the guy's at the dealership the cylinder head has two casting lines running in an X shape between the 4 bolting points and along one of these lines there is a crack in the cylinder head.
Parts on order from the US to replace the cylinder head and other stuff and then they will have a go at bolting her back together. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | Jacques, One of my main reasons for taking a chance on the Vision is because of the bulletproof reputation of the Freedom engine and tranny. It is unbelievable that this has happened to the first one to arrive in Europe. The pictures are indeed sickening. The boys at your shop are obviously in the middle of a giant learning curve on the bike and I hope it all works out ok for you. Best wishes. |
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Tourer
Posts: 354
20 miles west of Chicago. | As painfull as it is to see your bike like that, kudos to your mechanic(s) for his tenacity in digging deeply enough to find the problem, which seems to be unique among Visions. If he is religious in his observance of torque specs putting it back together I'm sure it will turn out as good as or better than new. Hang in there. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 103
| Jacques Sorry to see your Vision apart but it reminds me of a new boat I just got from the factory. Put it in the water for fishing that night and found it at the bottom of the marina the next moring. I was sick to my stomach. The result was the new engines had to be rebuilt and they were the best engines I ever owned. So think positive and ride safe. Bruce |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | Jacques thanks for keeping us posted. It's no doubt you have the top Vision tale to tell for years to come. I'm sure it will work out for you and perhaps better than new as mentioned by someone else. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 136
CALGARY ALBERTA | Thanks Jacques, I hope that there is some warranty for you???? This is too much to chew for a new bike.
Cheers Bobby BHB |
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Visionary
Posts: 1324
So Cal | Your a brave man Jacques. Bad enough seeing your baby torn apart likes that and still able to take pictures for the rest of us to see.
My hat's off to you bro, hope everything turns out well. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 5
Atlanta, Georgia | Amazing, Glad they found the problem and are getting it fixed. I would be in tears. Will be glad to hear how this ends. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2026
Brighton, TN | Bunch of crying and whining wussies! I tell you, I've had more mishaps than Jacques and no crying, not manly. Crying not good for testosterone. Need my cowboy hat and them thar chicken bones and four rounds around Vision backards. That ought to do it.
Good to see they found it, keep us updated.
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 21
London, UK | Vision still in bits, the parts should be in the UK next week. Stopped crying when they found the fault, drank beer for a week which was a good distraction and this weekend we are taking the TC and the Vegas for a spin to Belgium and Holland. Cant wait to do the same trip with the Vision in a few weeks to see the faces of the bikers out in Europe that has almost never seen or heard of Victory never mind seeing a Vision. Will update next week.
Jacques
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Tourer
Posts: 496
Scottsdale AZ | Bottoms up Jacques! Not a bad way to wait for the machinery to be fixed. What kind of beer would be the favorite of you and the greater population of UK? Bud is at least a 2 to 1 favorite here. Pollopoop and Bucky drink the skunky stuff, thats why they have those upsidedown personalities. |
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Tourer
Posts: 496
Scottsdale AZ | pollolittle - 2008-05-08 10:24 AM
Bunch of crying and whining wussies! I tell you, I've had more mishaps than Jacques and no crying, not manly. Crying not good for testosterone. Need my cowboy hat and them thar chicken bones and four rounds around Vision backards. That ought to do it.
Good to see they found it, keep us updated.
You in a cowboy hat? Ha! With a skirt, and a ballerina outfit would be proper and appropriate. Early in the morning in the back 40 please, don't alarm the chickins or animals of the forest. Daniel Boone would have a good laugh at that one. Testosterone was mentioned? |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| Jaques look at it this way, at least your mechanic is going to know your bike inside and out after this repair. Sucks to have a new bike down but glad they found the problem and are getting you fixed up.
Did they have any suggestions as to why the head split? poor casting, inherent weakness? |
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Cruiser
Posts: 136
CALGARY ALBERTA | Hey Jacques, Have a good ride. Maybe post some pictures of the trip???
BB |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 21
London, UK | 1400 miles and NO MORE engine problem !!
After a very long 8 weeks off the road I got the call yesterday to collect her. I am like a kid with a new toy again.
Please allow me a THANK YOU to VICTORY. I have been a customer for the last 4 years but they have proven why I will be a customer for life.
As far as I know this is still the only Vision in private ownership in Europe, the dealers have not seen one until mine arrived and then it ended up having the engine problem. Throughout the process my dealer had the support of Victory UK and Victory in the US and they did what it took to get her back on the road. Never once a whisper of resistance to doing the work under warranty or taking on this huge task on a bike they have had no technical training on.
I have seen the amount of body parts they removed to just get to the engine, then how they broke the bike into 3 pieces by unbolting the front end and the rears end off the engine and then removing hundreds of electric connectors and cables just to get to the cylinder head. AND THEN THEY PUT IT ALL BACK TOGETHER.
I can not wait to go for a proper run, weather forecast is good for the weekend so I booked my crossing from the UK to France, I am out to play this weekend.
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Jacksonville Florida | Jacques, perhaps you could meet up with the Kiwi Bums. They are touring about in the Old Country this summer. Glad to hear you are back in the saddle. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 21
London, UK | Yes, I have already made contact with them. They are up in Scandanavia at the moment. The plan is to meet up when they get back to the UK end of July or early August. No doubt the Victory Owners Club in the UK will make them feel welcome.
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1300 miles and a serious engine problem
