Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
The internet is good for many things, and one of them is finding the solutions to problems. Sometimes, even problems you didn't know you had. Of course, sometimes, those solutions are absolute bunk.
I'm curious to see which of these conditions apply in my case.
In reading various SV650 postings, one of the things I keep coming across is the one about adjusting the Throttle Position Sensor. A TPS is an electronic sensor that tells the engine's computer what angle you've got the throttle set at -- how open it is. But it has a range of adjustment, and if it's adjusted incorrectly, the engine's computer has the wrong idea about where the throttle is set, and so it sends the wrong amount of fuel to the cylinders.
If you believe this posting, most bikes come from the factory with the TPS setting adjusted so the engine runs too lean, particularly at small throttle openings. Well, that's actually pretty important: running too lean means, among other things, that the engine is extremely sensitive to small throttle movements, amplifying any little disturbances (such as might be caused by, say, going over a bump in the road).
Interestingly, this is exactly what's happening with my bike. I refer to it in my initial impressions post as being the "Le Mans experience." It's that over-sensitivity when crawling through traffic that makes the bike a real chore to manage. It always seems to be either surging forward, or aggressively decelerating, with no comfortable middle ground between the two.
So, my hope is that if I can make this TPS adjustment (which will have to wait until I have a bit more time), it will calm the motor's uncomfortable twitchiness at low speed. It may or it may not. For all I know, the bike is already in perfect adjustment. But it's certainly worth investigating.
Maybe I can have the best of both worlds: a comparatively lightweight, powerful bike that is also gentle at low speed. It would be a wonderful thing.
Posted at 09:55 permanent link category: /motorcycle
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater