2013 TXC310 Help

Hi, I am hoping somebody can help me with what I think is a problem.

I live in Utah and hit the single tracks in the mountains and the elevations are ever changing. At my house, the eleveation is around 4600 feet and the bike runs and feels great. When I hit the trail head up AF Canyon (guessing 5500 feet)i can really feel a drop in power but it still works great. When i get to the higher elevations I can really feel it dropping power, I think around 7000 feet is where it really affects the ride. My thoughs are that since it is fuel injected, the elevation should not bother the bike the way it does. Clean oil, air filter everytime I go up so it shouldn't be related to a dirty air filter. I did remove the screen between the carb and the air filter and it has the wide open air horn looking thing in the air filter box.

Any ideas what may be causing this feeling of lost power? Thanks in advance for your help.

I'm going a little out on a limb, because I have no real power loss data.... but FI is great at adjusting the air/fuel mixture. however less air pressure at altitude you lose power FI or not. Check top tier racing reports even with their high end engineering and technical teams F1, Superbikes MotoGP all have lower % HP numbers at altitude tracks. The 310 is only a boosted 250 she isnt a open class 4 stroke, so its probably more noticable. Truth is I just did the Idaho 2 day on my bike and I really didnt notice much difference but Im sure it was a little down at the high levels of the course, not enough loss to not make anything.

This report from Fox sports goes so far as indicating Severe power loss.

"The second round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship headed into the mountains of Lakewood at the weekend. The track sits over a mile above sea level causing severe power loss to bikes and an added variable to the stamina of the riders. High elevation cause dizziness, headaches, nausea and shortness of breath which are all unwelcome symptoms to athletes already competing in one of the toughest sports physically in the world. This, however, is something that every rider on the track has to deal with although some more than others."

Thanks for the info Robert. When I had my Yamaha WR450 (carberated) I could not feel a power difference at all, even being a 450 you would think it will also feel like a power loss. My riding buddy has a 2013 TE310 that has been uncorked and he said he could barely feel a difference. I totally get what you said though and it does make some sense. I almost wish I had a air screw so i cold turn it up if you will.

When you got rid of the backfire screen did you notice any changes in power or performance?

You should lose about 5% of your power going from 4,000 to 5,500 feet, and about 10% of your power going from 4,000 feet to 7,000 feet.

I can't say if what you are experiencing is along these lines, or if it's a lot worse.

I honestly couldn't tell you. I took the screen off the minute I got it home. I have no real riding experience with the screen in.

okay fair enough

I rode at elevation in Idaho last year and my 310 was a little down on power - about what one would expect. I also recently removed my backfire screen since it was partially blocked with gunk from air filter changes. I felt a pretty large power increase all the way thru the rpm.

I'd guess that you're on the rich side to start with and the elevation change is pushing things over the edge. If it was me I'd either try a JD tuner if you don't have one (mine leaned things out some) - or some oxygenated race gas when riding at altitude.

To be honest I've never even noticed a backfire screen. Than again I've never looked lol but I will have to check it out.

2013 TXC310 has a bad backfire issue on when the throttle is chopped, I'm running fmf power core 4. At about 150 hours i had the valve clearances checked, my shop said they were spot on. I changed to new smaller orifice spark arrestor tip with no change to the popping issue.
I also have hot starting problems with this bike. I ride in CO at elevations between 8000 and 12000 ft. If I stall the bike on a rocky climb or on the side of a mountain I have trouble getting it to fire with the electric start, although it turns over fine. Seems like problem may be worse when the front wheel is elevated on a big rock step. I can usually get it to fire back up kicking, but sometimes its not so easy on the side of a mountain, this is not something i am not willing to just live with. It will always fire right up when bump started. It was suggested that I remap, but no shop locally can do this. This is my first bike EFI I don't know what other steps i can take to correct.
So Far:
Changed plug, old plug appeared white maybe lean?
Changed thermostat, fan is functioning properly
Valve clearance checked out ok

I starts up cold fine with the estart button and the bike snorts off the bottom and pulls strong. The hot starting issue may be getting a bit worse and i did notice that after a short blast at 70 mph on the highway the bike stalled as i coasted of the exit. I have been burning regular unleaded at altitude, should i be using high octane?

I did see some other post related to hot start problems on this bike but no definitive resolution. There seems to be a plenty on-line knowledge about this bike. Any suggestions to correct are welcome.
Thanks

Bob. I had the same symptoms when doing the pass roads in CO. Hot starts a problem and popping on decel. Also Idle screw out at 40 to keep the idle high enough to not flame out on closed throttle. I wanted a second map for these times and a map switch. PCV only solution and using Autotune made 2 good maps. I will dig up my adjustment tables to post here that show how much fuel I have subtracted from a Map 3 baseline.

Look at this past thread. http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/power-commander-5-and-autotune-on-a-13-te-310r.44827/#post-437949 I show a few tables which represent the data the PCV uses to adjust fueling. You can see a fair amount of low fueling trimming. The upshot is with my maps and pcv hot starts no longer an issue and no popping. Basically, Map 3 is slightly rich and just made slightly worse at elevation. I still adjust the idle screw 4-8 turns at high elevations but otherwise no flame outs or issues.

....and I would definitely suggest running hi-test gasoline; that regular gas is probably doing you no favors. ethanol-free if it's available in your area.