On my second year of owning a '98 road king classic (FI). when I transfered the title last year, I had to get the smog check done (in AZ) since it was a transfer from out of state. Of course, it failed and the local stealer nearby took 3 attempts to get it right. They fixed it, got it to pass but it ran like crap the first 2 attempts. On the 3rd attempt to tune it they got it mostly right, although I get some pops on deacceleration and idle at hot seemed rather high. Fast forward to this year, smog check again for the tags and it fails. Take it to a different dealer and they get it to pass and it seems to idle better. At this point, I think it's done right and it ran well over a 366 mile trip I took on Friday.

I'd rather not have to do the smog check/fail/fix dance every year. Of course, I could be fine going forward but the MM FI module seems to be a pain to deal with. Would a PCIII or some other fuel management system deal with this issue? I've heard lots of bad opinions on the fuel injection system on this year of bike, gotta wonder if I could do better.

Second, I've got a SE stage one air cleaner (came with the bike). However, the darn air cleaner cover rattles around against the mounts - even when tightened down after I got it back from the re-smog. Anyone else ever have that problem? A simple re-tightening or adding some washer to offset the cover doesn't help keep it quiet as the clearance isn't enough to just touch the back plates. I'm at the point of wondering if a better air cleaner system could be had for it. Any opinions on better systems?

 

There is a gasket that can go on top of the SE air filter that might be of some help. Yea, the MM is not as good as the Delphi. If you have a Stage 1 air cleaner then I assume that the bike only had a download and has no fuel management setup now? You might try a fuel management setup like the PCIII or another.

 

The SE air filter element should have a thick black rubber gasket on it that insulates it against the cover. If you don't have one on there get take the element to your dealer and get one that will fit that has the gasket. Or get a K&N and it comes with a stick on gasket. Thundermax makes a replacement system for the MM which is a bit pricey but is supposed to be pretty good. See it here: http://www.thunder-max.com/Products/...arelliKit.aspx

I don't know if this will fit your bike but check it out.

 

I would check the basics first......before going to any smog testing proving grounds.

Air leak and/or exhaust leak...make sure exhaust system is plenty tight.
Replace the sparkplugs no matter what...some people would actually use the next heat range of plug just to pass the inspection. After the inspection, the proper plugs would be reinstalled.
Change the oil and filter no matter what....especially if you are having any blowby.
Fresh fuel

I would also like to add....if the check engine light is on....don't even bother taking it for inspection. At that point, something is wrong and it will probably fail.

As contrary to lots of what people say....the older magnetti marelli system really wasn't such a bad system. It was reliable and it did the job just fine. It was Harley's first attempt at EFI, usually dealers including riders didn't quiet fully understand the system. In stock form....that EFI system was good. Delphi may be better in someway ways.....but they are still light years away from where the automotive EFI is today.

 

Even worse for the EFI deniers, Magneti-Marelli is still a contractor to HD for new HD EFI system components, with the ECM beinga DELPHI product (and a darned good EFI system it is!). That Zippers system has had good feedback, including on this forum,but is a steep $2000 in closed-loop kitbefore labor. BC Gerolomy was the first to show that these MM systems can work flawlessly and reliably in modified engines with proper setup and a tuning device. Your issues with passing smog inspection sound ready-made for a PCIII-usb + Dyno tune setup where the two maps (emission testing + "off road use only") are easily interchanged without headaches, from the comfort of your garage and a usb cable interface.

 

Not a bad idea either IMO...

 

I have to admit, I've been riding around for about a week the tune the dealer did last week is much better- once it's hot it idles correctly and it seems to run pretty well. I'm lacking a gasket on the air cleaner, so that explains my rattling with the cover. Thanks for the heads-up on that, something that wasn't apparent.

The engineer in me really wants to tweak the system and make it better. I'm going to investigate options, PCIII or a thundermax when the finances gell. Ironically, MM sells quite a bit of fuel injection systems in South America (especially in Argentina/Brazil which run the sugar cane ethanol) in cars.

Thanks for the info.