if its tuned wrong from the factory its a defect.

i've had this bike for 3 months and have put 10k on the clock. she will not last the full term of the warranty at this rate. that engine will go before 50k for sure.

i spoke with the dealer. they want the bike. but, it'll be 8-9 days before they touch it. and they dont want me to ride it till they look at it. they don't have a loaner so i can get back to work (i dont have another set of wheels. my bike is my life). to those guys i say: bull****. i called another dealer downtown and they said "get her here as quick as you can and i'll push a few jobs aside if i have too".

it pisses me off that they can manufacture these bikes with a design flaw, and then charge us to remove the flaw. i don't know who signed that deal but they need to be tared and feathered.

 

Do you have the SE stage 1 air cleaner? If so, I read some reports that the screws on the back of it or something get loose and get sucked into the engine. This causes all sorts of noise and then results in an engine rebuild, under warranty of course though.

 

well i met the techs at the other shop. they gave me a better feeling. i guess thats why they've been in business forever.

i reckon i'll know something tomorrow.

 

No trouble found. Can not reproduce failure.

weeeeeee

 

Dealers are not "concerned with warranty issues" because they get reimbursed from the factory on legitimate claims. Do you immediately start the bike after turning the key on or do you wait until the "check engine" light goes out? The system has to run through checks and the IAC goes through a step cycle during that time. If you feel it is something, have the dealer check it out on the Digital tech II (but it will cost you unless it's a warranty problem) and ask for a birth certificate if you don't already have one (record of settings plus lists run parameters for the EFI).

 

birth certificate is new to me. i'd like to say "i'll ask around" but its obvious to me that the shops don't care until the bike is dead. i guess i don't blame them but it was two service managers who said "don't ride it. i want to check it."

i wait for the engine light to go off before starting. i know the computer needs to bootstrap/orient itself.

the shop let it idle for 45 minutes and took it for a ride. then stopped/started the engine a few times. they never heard it ping.

someone melted their shoe on my pipes. there was no charge for the privilege.

if harley wont fix the bad factory tune i'll do it myself. looks like i just need to trick the ecm into thinking its leaner than it is. i understand a 30% drop in voltage will give desired results, so i'll start there and tweak as needed.

i have a degree in electrical engineering so i'm fairly sure i can make those plugs a little browner and get the engine temps down

 

I posted this same ping before. Mine only did it when hot and only when I really got on it but it sounded scary. Seemed to come from the primary case too but I really don't know. I babied the bike for about a month and then I decided to trade it in rather than be bent over by the service department. The wrong air pressure in my tires would have probably voided my warranty.!!

 

I've had this problem and cured it. It's not uncommon on 1200's (higher compression) in hot weather when doing a restart on a hot motor.

Normally when the motor has been shut off for say an hour or more, any residual fuel left in the cylinders evaporates. When you restart it takes a revolution or two for the motor to suck fuel into the cylinder and fire over. During the first revolution the engine has time to develop momentum.

On a hot restart, there may still be fuel left in a cylinder which is on the beginning of a compression stroke. If that's the case, the plug will ignite that left over fuel at the top of the initial stroke, before the starter has had time to develop crankshaft momentum. The result will be that the motor will kick back against the starter gear.

It's the same thing that use to break legs back in the kick start days.

I solved the problem by changing over to a programmable ignition module that has a setting for delaying the first plug fire for 1, 2 or 3 revolutions. This allows the starter time to develop some momentum in the motor.

Ignore the problem long enough and you will be replacing the starter clutch, it's plastic gear will be toothless. Ask me how I know.

 

well i wouldn't mind replacing a starter clutch now and again, but new piston/rods/pins are not something i want to try doing over the weekend.

it seems the problem is pre-ignition because of heat. its too lean and too hot.

i was gonna try the resistive voltage-divider trick (homebrewed xied) but i think i know of a better way to take care of the problem.

 

Well, let us know how your experiment works out. You are correct in that it is a form of pre-ignition, but that can't happen unless there is fuel left in the cylinder, so I doubt the problem will be solved with a richer mixture.

All I can tell you is that by adding a one revolution delay before the first plug fires solved the issue for me.

Good luck