For future Reference for the site- X9 Back fire / pop / stall

[Solo]

Hello

Last Year Dave M Piaggio X9 500 had a strange Backfire and pop on deceleration, he tried everything and  trust me he tried everything ( i looked at the service history ) I brought this X9 off him, and its a lovely example of an X9, I had taken it for a ride, and i had the same issues, i was getting Back fires loud pops and bangs, Caused a Brake down one bike night as somehow don't know how it killed my injector.

I decided to check the things that's not been checked on this list, Throttle body was good, cleaned and checked inside and out, all good.

Finally i stubbled upon a bent wire, thick At first i didn't know what this wire was called, i tugged on it  and bent it and bike cut refused to start, bent other way and started, so went for a ride and found every pothole and bump i could find and there it goes pops and bangs, so cabled tied the wire in place, found it was called  ( Cam Sensor ) once in place it ran smooth then let hang lose and it popped again.

I removed the Cam sensor and Tested, with the muti-metter and got a good reading, but once moved at joint other way the readings went dead,

So basically as the X9 is going along as engine moves and bumps the wire is moving, and the micro brake in the wire interrupt the signal to the ECU than in turns stops the Injection and spark, hence popping of unburn fuel and incorrect timing as ECU getting intermittent signal.

Fitted a new Cam sensor and she fired up and ran smooth, no popping or back fires, problem solved, so if your an X9 owner and have these problems, try replacing the Cam Sensor, its not a problem that can be easily recreated on the center stand, unless you remove and rest the 2 of the 3 pins in the connector for a reading.

Also Dave's X9 500 Remap and Dr pully rollers works a treat, compared to my X9 500 SL, Rapid.


Thanks for reading.

PS- The Cam sensor on the X9 is in the most awkward place to get to!

[macplaxton]

Well found.

Sensors are usually pretty reliable, but in the environment of a PTW, wiring has a hard time (be it internal breaks or corrosion).

[Mike H]

Interesting, but this is how modern components can get you, not just the component but the wiring. If it were me I would look at repairing the wire if possible, then you've got a working spare! Depends what your soldering skills are like tho. 

[Dave Milnes]

The sensor has far too much cable attached so it has to be looped around on top of the motor. Shortening it a few inches so it just reaches the plug on the main loom would probably be a good idea. The plug and the loom socket are large and so probably bounce around a lot. Maybe tywrap everywhere you can.

I never suspected this as I even changed the whole engine complete with injector, manifold and cam sensor, and it still did it, so swapped it back again. This is what made me suspect the ECU and why I got my spare de-immobilised but again still no improvement. All that was left was the silencer, and on swapping this the back firing did stop, but it still popped slightly on over run. Maybe it just needed more use to be just as bad as the old one and I didn't use it much before Solo bought it. Possibly the cam sensor on the spare engine was also failing.

[Solo]

''The sensor has far too much cable attached so it has to be looped around on top of the motor''

defiantly agree, as when my brand new one arrived, the extra length of wire and how long it is was, is just stupid as i had so much excess, i could wrap it round the throttle body and still have have some.