Hey all,
I was on a poker run Saturday and the time at each stop was just long enough to get my card punched and smoke a cig. Temps were in the high 80's low 90's. It wasn't a very well organized run and I had no idea where I was so when the leaders were ready to go I had to just hop on and go. Well I found that without much cool down time, I had to give it some throttle just for it to start and keep the revs up for a little while to keep it running. Is this normal or is there something amiss?
Thanks as always for any input!
Evan

 

Should be easier to start while she's hot. Sounds like something maybe wrong with your FI, is she hard to crank or just hard to keep running?

 

Sick,
It cranks fine but won't fire unless I either give it throttle or choke. When it is cool it starts like a champ every time.

 

Have to agree with Slick1200 (except that you have a carb not FI), it should be easier to start when hot. How long does it take once it's started for it to settle down and idle right without any enrichner or added throttle? How many minutes was a typical "short" stop?

 

cHarley,
I only have to keep feeding fuel for about 10-15 seconds or so and it is fine. The stops were only about 5 minutes or so. It's strange because I could feel the heat coming off the engine more so than in the past and can only attribute it to the ambient temps trapping a lot of heat. It just felt like I was trying to start the bike like it was the first startup on a cool morning. Maybe it was hot enough to vapor lock or something?

 

Yea, you may have a bit of a vapor lock situation but not something I would be too concerned about based on what you have said. Waiting 10-15 seconds for things to settle down is not unusual and probably a good idea anyway. Crank & Go is never a good idea anyway IMO.

Maybe next time, try giving the throttle 2 twists and then crank it, then hold the throttle open a bit for the 10-15 seconds. It's a bit of a deviation from the "Harley Norm" but these aren't exactly sophisticated, precision machines.

 

Thanks for the reassurance cHarley and Sick! That was honestly one of the worst parts about this particular ride. There were only about 60-75 bikes but they all wanted to go flat out until they hit cruising speed and then slow down to cruise. It seemed as if no one but my dad and me gave a crap about good riding etiquette.
Again, thanks both for your input! I'm sure it's just paranoia.
Evan