Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Performance Mods aDJUSTING THE odLE

I have an 09 America that the idle seems to low on. It will conk out when idling at stop signs red lights. Also when sitting still in neutral it will sometimes die. The idle rpm's are only about 1,000-1,200. Is this something I may be able to do myself or something I am going to have to take to the shop?

Well Edwin, my bike's idle is set about 1000-1200 rmps and runs just fine. May be something going on there...I'm sure others might chime in about that.
If you want to ajdust your idle, there is an adjustment knob on the left side of the bike, under your carbs. It sits under and close to your cheese grater on that side. Turn it to adjust your idle speed.

No carbs on mine. It is a 09 with EFI. I was under the impression the rpms were where they should be but with it sputtering and dieing while sitting still I just figured something might be wrong.

There's not an idle adjust for EFI bikes, is there? Maybe the dealer should check the timing map for you.

OH! I realize that....now. I tried to do some research for you on some other forums and it seems most people are pointing to the EFI mapping for that problem. I hope someone else with more knowledge of EFI chimes in.

plus, it's under warranty, so it's really a no-brainer

EFI bikes DO have an idle adjuster under the carbs on the left side. But 1000 to 1200 is the right idle speed so it does need the dealer to check it out.

You could try increasing the idle a bit to see if the problem goes away.

It could be the wrong mapping, or a problem (leak?) with the AI which operates while idling or decellerating (but I'm just guessing).

There is a black knob under the port side 'carb' that will set your idle speed, via a flex cable to the throttle stop. If you have the tach installed, it reads almost 100-200 rpm high (viewed from the driver seat), and I have to set mine at 1400 to get it to run well. Actual rpm is probably 1100-1200. Any lower than that and you will stall out at lights and cold starts will be too low and you may stumble a bit when you snap the throttle. Also, it will run smoother if you let it warm up fully before touching the throttle or riding. The EFI samples it's environment a while before setting itself up to boogie.'09 BA running tapered TORs, factory TORs tune and other wise stock engine. Happy trails...

1000 +/- 100 is what the spec calls for when the engine is warmed up. 1200 is a little high, which makes me think your problem could be caused by a vacuum leak that is a little larger than the FI program can handle.

Thanks guys. I called the dealer today and was told to bring it in so that they can hook a handheld up to it. I am also having discoloration on the right side header pipe but not the left. The dealer thinks the mapping may be off and that is causing it to run richer on one side.