Hi everyone,
I have a 2009 M1100 that just recently has developed a problem with starting. It's not the typical problem, though I have experienced that one in the past as well.
My new problem seems to be that the cold start 'mode' never turns off. When I start the bike in the morning, it warms up nicely, but the idle never drops. Pulling up to lights, the idle stays at 2K ish, or slowly drops from 2K to 1K, but then goes to 2K again if I blip the throttle.
As well, if I stop for gas, restarting the bike is very difficult. I suspect it's because the engine is warm, and the cold start 'mode' is on. Once I get it to catch, I rev it up and take off and it runs fine other than the fast idle.
I'm still under warranty, so I'll drop it by the dealer, but I'll be waiting at least a couple weeks to get them to look at it. In the meantime, maybe someone can help with with some DIY questions?
1) Does the cold start mode thing sound reasonable to anyone? Has anyone experienced something similar?
2) What is the cold start mode? Is it a richer setting, or just a faster idle?
3) Is it bad for the motor to be run in this mode too long? Am I coking up the motor with a too rich mixture?
4) Where would I start with diagnosing this issue? Any obvious spots, like exposed wiring or levers or anything I can mess with?
5) Is there anything in the tail of the bike related to this? I did a tail eliminator mod over the winter, and I pulled apart a bunch of connectors - one of them could have come apart, or maybe I damaged a wire during my tinkering.
6) Could this be related to my battery? I didn't maintain the battery well over the winter, and I haven't gotten around to replacing it. It's still starting the bike, but I can tell it's not optimum.
Jimbo