From day 1 my '09 FLSTF (96 TC) has chugged two or three times before starting. It also will not start in gear with the clutch pulled in (just chugs). I thought it was normal, but at least three dozen others are telling me it isn't and that it should kick over immediately. Dealer says the battery is good and to live with it. It has a stage 1 with V&H big radius, and it has been dyno tuned. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

isnt this under warranty? If so take it to another dealer

 

What tuner do you have on it?

 

An SE Supertuner. Added it with the pipes and AC about 5 months after buying the bike. Didn't effect the starting. Dyno tuner thought it was the battery, but the charging system is fine. It's as though it's starting on only one cylinder.

Taking it to another dealer this weekend as Tick Tock suggested, but I don't want them giving me a line like, "Some of 'em just start this way."

 

Have you checked your battery connectors for tightness? Have you load tested the battery to check for possible bad cells?

 

Connections seem tight and without corrosion, but I only put a guage on it unloaded.

 

Keep us posted, mine is doing the same thing, ex-specially when cold. It almost seems as if the starter or battery is weak. I have checked all of my cables and all is good, but I do need to load test my battery. My local indy thinks it could also be one of both of the compression releases malfunctioning.

 

Man, my 08 did the same thing for 14,000 miles. It did it stock and with the stage 1 and powercommander. If it was in gear when I started, sometimes it wouldn't want to start, other times it would lope like an evo while I was backing it up with the clutch in. Since I put the cams in it starts different, and I haven't riden enough this spring to see how it's gonna act. I personally think it's the nature of the fuel injection on a vtwin, and maybe the stock cam profile (we'll see). I admit it is slightly embarrasing. Mine would almost always act up when I stopped for 5 or 10 minutes and then when to start it. Kick over, blow out the intake, and stall.....usually when some guy on a metric bike was near by. That's my 2 cents.

 

Second dealer checked the electrical system and found nothing wrong. Gave me a slip showing normal test results. When I told them it must be a mechanical problem, they (tech and mgr) said not unless it's a high compression engine. The only other engines I've heard chug starting like this ARE high compression engines. This is really annoying. To make matters worse, the wife's Sporty is running before you can let off the button.

 

just for grins, have you load tested the battery? You can do the poor man's load test by simply putting a voltmeter on the battery and have someone start it for you to see what the volts drain down to when you engage the start button. If you can do that, post the low end here and let's see what you get.