3,000rpm idle speed

[Will]

When riding home from the dealer a couple of weeks ago (they had just replaced the chain and sprockets) after a few miles I became aware that the idle speed had jumped up to about 3,000 rpm. It was raining at the time, but I'm not convinced that this was the cause of the problem - it has never happened before.

I stopped the engine and then re-started it - the problem disappeared and has not returned since.

Very dangerous, especially when negotiating slow corners and junctions in the wet!

Has anyone else had the same problem?

Will
M620ie (2002)

[Shamus]

I have had both 2002 and 2003 620 Sie's and both suffered exactly the same problem in the wet. I have had the idle stick as high as 7000rpm!

Excuse lack of technical knowledge here - If you look on the right hand side of the bike where the throttle cable connects to a brass coloured roundy type of thing - It is this that sticks - Cover it in WD40 and the problem will go away for a few weeks - Or at least it does for me.

HTH

Shamus.

[DesmoDog]

Maybe not use WD40 - I think that cables should be lubed with something more. Like "white grease" - I think thats what its called, it's like regular grease, only white - comes from the food industry I think. Someone more technical will help out here I'm sure.

[JJCool]

Same prob on my fire blade, Cables stick, I switch it off, twisted the throttle wide open, started the bike and its never done it since, Bloke at shop said it can happen, the cable if not adjusted properly can sit proud of the cable guid and get stuck hence holding the throttle open when at idel, twisting the throttle wide open with the engine shut off, realines the cable, however, its worth checking the play in the throttle, if its to much, the cable can ride up out of the guides and cause a problem....I know its a Honda but thought it may be worth a look....

[slob]

My throttle does exactly the same('02 620ie), only in the wet. DLS are 'taking a look' next week(thank god i've got week's warranty left). They've already changed the cable but apparently Ducati won't let them change the throttle bodies without an inspection. It's definitely not the cable or the twistgrip, there's slack in the bottom of the cable when I push the quadrant(brass coloured thing) to shut the throttle.
I agree, it's f#*@ing scary in the wet, at 5000RPM in traffic.

[gjams]

Same here. Only happened a few times. Most times it is a case of switching the engine off and openning the throtle a couple of times. Revs went as far as 6500 on one ocation. I almost sh*t my pants as I was exiting the motorway and was very wet.

Until now, I thought it was only my 600 that did it.

[Banshee]

First ride out on brand new bike and it stuck at 3000, my advice is take an Elmo with you.

[Elmo]

Ha ha

[Duncan]

You have to be careful when lubricating nylon lined cables as the oil can cause the nylon to swell and I use a ptfe based spray grease that was given to me years ago as a sampler. You dont need much in nylon lined cables.

The place they do stick is at the twistgrip and this should be greased with a waterproof type grease, I use something in an unmarked bucket that I borrowed a few years back from a boat builders and its used on boat prop shafts.

If the nylon washer between twistgrip and housing is missing, or if the twist grip rubber rides along the inner too far, it will bind on the twistgrip housing causing it to stick. The tomaselli grips are quite soft and do that. It used to be a handy cruise control on mine like that.

[Will]

Thanks to everyone for their comments - right after it happened I checked the amount of free play and there was sufficient to allow the 'brassy coloured thingy' to return fully so I deduced that it wasn't the cause.

I have always kept the cable and the all the moving parts clean, well lubricated and regularly checked them as they are clearly very exposed to the elements.

I try to avoid riding in the rain but have been caught out a few times - but this has never happened before and I have done 12,000 miles since new in just under 2 years.

As an Electronics Engineer by profession I know what electronics and embedded software can do sometimes!!

I suspect the electronics but can't be absolutely sure. If it is as common as the comments on the website suggest then I think that Ducati ought to be told about this as it is potentially lethal.

Will