Hello all!

I bought a Sportster 1200L last week and I've put about 80 miles on it so far (rain has been frequent all week). My bike seems to have a carb issue, but my dealer says it's "normal for a new Sportster....it's cold natured...blah blah". Now, I'm new to Harley-Davidson motorcycles, but I'm not at all new to air cooled carb-fed engines. As an avid VW and scooter geek, I've torn down several, fixed carb problems aplenty, and I think my dealer is just blowing smoke up my ****. The problem is that, at an idle, when you first hit the gas it wants to blow back up through the carb and die. It doesn't do it every time, and it doesn't do it at all when you first start it up. It only does it when it's warm and you're coming up from an idle of a couple minutes..aka, at a stop light. My dealer says it's a normal thing, like I said, but it died yesterday while I was trying to turn across traffic on one of the busiest streets in Chattanooga....with cars coming at me!!! Now this certainly isn't normal behavior, even for most new carb-fed engines. I do know better. If it was a VW, I would instantly think I had an intake leaken somewhere as it only happens when it's warm. But if it was a Vespa or a Stella scooter, I'd just adjust the air/fuel mix and up the idle RPM's a bit.....Stellas are that way when they're new...you have to adjust the carbs 3 or 4 times then it'll just purr along.

My question, as a new Harley owner is this...."Is this normal for a new Sportster??" I just don't know. I haven't had one before....or is my dealer just basically saying "Thanks for the $15,000...now go away you're botherin me."?

George
Chattanooga, TN

 

Don't take no for an answer. My 04 had the same problem and the dealer shop mgr. told me they did not have the luxury to go for long rides.....to warm up the bike. Of course cold the bike was fine. I pulled the carb yesterday, checked both jets, drained the fuel from the carb and reinstalled. Works fine now which leads me to believe it was a vacuum leak. TAke it back....but buy a shop manual....takes all the fear out of trying and gives you an appreciation for the design. You paid 15K for a sportster?

 

well, I'll be paying $14,800 with the $1,100 of acessories and taxes and interest and finance charges, doc fees, and everything else associated with buying and financing a new vehicle.....that was how much the loan was for anyways.....the bike itself was about $10,000 with the wheel upgrade already on it. It adds up quick....I work at a Ford dealership, so I see how a cheap car like a Focus starts getting not so cheap when you add it all up . lol

George
Chattanooga, TN

 

This is "MY OPINION" The dealers are acting like ********! If they don't change their ways, Harley will go bankrupt, and we'll be left with nothing but foreign machines. TELL those stupid bastards to FIX your bike, or else poke it where the sun don't shine, and refuse to make any more payments. It can be made to run right. MINE does, but I did it all MYSELF, as I got raped enough, and learned my lesson, just getting my bike out the door. ($11,000.00+) Drill out the baffles, and "CAT" if it has one, re-jet the carb, if it has one. If it's injected, you're left with nothing to do, but buy a SERT, or something similar, and re-program. Perhaps we all should stop supporting our local "stealerships" and buy after market parts wherever possible. I have a "Thunder Heart" ignition module in my 883 sportster, and it runs GREAT. Keep us posted as to your progress, and good luck, ride safe.

 

Well....all I seem to get from the "service" department at Thunder Creek HD is that it's normal for a Sportster to run bad while it's still new. So...I've got 300 miles on it now, and it's worse than ever.....now it has a bad miss at any constant speed......I'm taking it down to them tomorrow (saturday) and I've decided to raise all mortal hell until they fix it. This will be trip #2. All I got on the first trip was the same like they've given me since I called them the second day I owned it and asked if it should have a surge at constant speed and blowback through the carb..."It's a Sportster they just run that way at first.".....it broke down on my way to work last monday...that's the last straw...

I'm not happy at all with the bike...the service from the dealership...nothing.....I'm really REALLY aggrivated and I wish I had just bought the Yamaha I was going to buy and not ever bothered looking at a Harley.....looks, to me, like they really haven't fixed the quality problems of the past.....if I get even the hint of a runaround this time I'm going to start a Lemon Law process and they're buying the damn thing back.....*sigh*.....even if they do get it fixed, I'll be so gunshy of it I don't think I could ever take it far from the house, which makes it completely useless to me.

This bike isn't a toy for me, it's supposed to be my main transport, taking the place of my scooter, because the scooter isn't built for highway driving and my commute would be cut in half by taking the interstate.....dunno, guys....I'm completely over this bike.

Sorry about the rant...but I do feel somewhat better for venting....now we'll see if they get it fixed....*crossing fingers*

George
Chattanooga, TN

 

Glad to see I am not the only one having this problem. Same as all of your guys, so I won't repeat it. Once it died going down a two lane highway when I pulled the clutch in to downshift - they don't bump start just skid when that happens.
I have screaming eagle pipes, a jet-kit, and hypercharger going on next week. If it still has issues, I will have some issues at the dealer.
No big deal though. I seem to treat them with respect, and they do the same with me.
If you are having trouble getting them to take your bike in cold and ride it, go ride it and then tell them to jump on it.
Good luck,

 

I've got an '05, few miles away from the 5K service.
It ran fine, up until very recently....
not as bad as some of what you guys are describing, thought, just a little rough (misses at times)
I'm doing "my variation" of a Stage I went I get past the 5K (and get my tax check).

*** One thing to remember, they run lean - new, if your revving it,
to keep it from spittin and sputtering, you may be fouling the plugs. ***

Pull the plugs yourself, before you get to the stealer, check them, to see how it's running.

Change the plugs (or at least keep a spare set), that might keep you going.....
(if it is not a vacuum leak...?)


- Get the service manual do a Stage I, your self.
** If you are not capable, for whatever reason (don't have the tools, space or time),
fine someone that has a good rep., get it squared away. Having the bike not run right
is dangerous in traffic ! And just a friggin pain in the A$$.

GOOD LUCK !!!

 

I've had other people tell me about he stage one upgrade, too. But I look at it like this....It is less than a month old, and if that's the only thing they can do to fix my bike then they should pay for it....it's under warranty for 3 years, right? If it's not running right, they should have to fix it.....regardless of what they have to do to it......at no cost to me! That's why it's under a warranty.

George
Chattanooga, TN

 

I brought my new Sportster to a very reputable dealer today hoping to get the same problem fixed.
I was told the same thing about them being cold blooded and lean yada yada.. (strange they are all saying the same thing word for word.. Maybe Harley put out a bulletin that told them to say that).
He said for $300 parts and labor they could get it running sweet using a rejet kit and different air cleaner. I told him that these parts should be covered under warranty.. no reason a brand new bike should be back firing and stalling in the middle of the road when turning[:@] and the dealer telling me to pay $300 to fix it.
Not sure what to do now, don't see me having $300 dollers any time soon[]

 

I am a little disturbed. Are regulations making Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company "Knowingly" sell a bike that doesnt run correct, only to make you have to pay for an upgrade that fixes everything......I agree that if they are doing this, that they should pay for the stage one upgrade. I have heard that the new ones are running lean, but I wonder about the one I just put a down payment on, a 2003 Ann. 1200 Custom. Does this year also have the lean run gremlins that everyone is talking about? This Sporty will be my first HD, so I hope the experience isnt a bad one; otherwise it will be up for sale VERY fast.