Loosing power on a very bumpy (rough) road?

[Paultergeist]

Greetings,

I took my V85 TT out on a ride this past weekend.  I rode around a 100 glorious miles of asphalt, but I also came across probably a 4-5 mile stretch of very rough road.  This rough road was gravel and hard-pack dirt.  This particular stretch of road seems to have this regular bumpy-ness to the surface.  It reminds me of corrugated cardboard, only with the little bumps and valleys being on the order of 2-3 inches high/apart.  The road doesn't really look that rough to the naked eye, but once ridden upon, one R-E-A-L-L-Y  F-E-E-L-S the rapidly-firing small bumps of the terrain.  I don't know if this dirt road was intentionally groomed to have this bumpiness as a means to control speed.

It was extremely unpleasant to ride upon this terrain, not just for me, but also -- it seemed -- for the bike.  I could just feel that the bike was not happy.  For one thing, the orange shift lights in the gauge cluster started flashing at me angrily.....as if they were telling me to shift gears such that the RPMs would drop.  The thing is, I was doing like 12-15 MPH, in first gear, at maybe 2500 RPM.  I can't see why the shift lights would be flashing.  The other thing was that I felt like the engine was losing power, as if the vibration effect encountered was caused a disruption in fueling or ignition.  The motor felt as though it was being bogged-down by the sheer bumpiness.  It sounded like it might even die.  As soon as I (thankfully) made it back on to asphalt, the bike again ran perfectly.

It was an absolutely awful stretch of dirt road, and I am in no hurry to ever ride on it again, but I do plan on exploring some other dirt roads/trails with the bike, and I am trying to understand this issue better.  It occurs to me that I might encounter all sorts of variations regarding bumpiness of path if i indeed explore fire roads, etc.  I am not sure if what I experienced was due to a limitation in my own rider skill or understanding, or if this sort of terrain is just not a good fit for the V85......seems puzzling.

Anyone else have this kind of experience?

[80CX100]

      Does that bike have some type of traction control? If so turn it off and try that road again.
   
      just a wag fwiw

[Scout63]

+1 on the traction control theory. Maybe the sensors got crossed up and started cutting the ignition. That sounds like a road that needs to be spanked by a KTM big single.

[GeorgiaGuzzi]

Losing!!!! Loosing is when you let the dogs through the gate.

Grammar policing aside, when you get is rough stuff turn off the traction control. As the rear tire loses traction the TC retards the engine to regain traction. Which causes the symptoms you describe. As to the road, that’s called a washboard road. It’s a common experience on dirt roads.

[Paultergeist]

Thanks everyone......now that you all mention it......I am sure that I had left the bike in "street" mode...as I don't think I have ever ridden in any other mode......I wonder if that was part of the issue?

"Washboard" terrain......yes, that would be a great descriptor of this surface.

[Huzo]

T.C. for sure.

[Paultergeist]

I am sure I was in "street" mode, as I have never used anything else.

[blu guzz]

my previous 1400 was my first experience with traction control.  i was trying to climb a fairly steep gravel drive and got a real lesson.  i had to stop half way up and turn off the traction control.  i then made the rest of the trip in relative ease.

[Ncdan]

Another reason I don’t want to own a more modern bike again. I experienced the same issue while attempting to get up a moderately steep gravel driveway with my 2015 1400 tourer.

[Caffeineo]

My 500 thumper dirt bike did the same thing on washboard roads. Almost felt like the brake was being applied. Zero traction control or any other electronic interventions. I reduced the compression setting on the rear shock to zero and it has not happened since. May want to try the rear shock settings if shutting off TC does not help. Best suspension set up advice I ever got was to set the sag. Then put all shock/fork settings to zero. If you are bottoming out add a bit of compression. If it pogo's (bounces up too fast after being compressed) add a bit of rebound.

[egschade]

See if you can change level of traction control in Street mode. I can on the V7 III. From the dealer it was on level 2 which was too much, causing similar issues to what you experienced. Set on level 1 it's rarely noticeable.

[Paultergeist]

Everyone,
Thanks again for all of the replies.  I probably need to let this thread fade-off into the sunset.

While I did read-through the "Use Manual" right after I got the bike home, I confess that I have yet to fully understand or internalize all of the information.  I didn't really think about the riding modes (street/rain/off-road) during this recent experience (where I had left it on street mode).  I completely forgot that there IS a switchable traction control feature -- I am sure it was set to however the bike comes stock -- probably "on."  I didn't even consider the setting or pre-load on the rear shock (although the bike even comes with an adjustment tool for this, I think).  In short, I think at least a big part of my issue was a lack of understanding on my part as to how to configure the bike for this kind of terrain.  In other words:  user error.

I'll keep trying to learn....I have a way yet to go.  Thank you all for the support and good guidance.