Mine is really bad, dh is so pissed that he is calling the dealer today to see when is the earliest that they can get it in as it is under warranty. I have to ride with the choke out almost 1/2 inch and then it still c oughs sometimes. I almost dropped it the other day as it coughed and stalled on me and it went over but somehow I managed to keep it up till dh got there. We went on a long ride yesterday and it was still coughing even after being really warmed up. I dont want it to cause a stall in an intersection..

Oh, and I am the one that couldnt get comfy on my sporty , b ut now I am loving it. I put on about 100 miles this week. My goal was to ride to a place that dh and I call the hole,,,and I finally did it today,, we took everyback road there to keep me off the hwy,,, we came up on loose cows running around on the road first,,dh had to chase them off with his bike,, then a HUGH hill, I could not get up it as I stopped to soon...,, so dh had to get it up the hill,, and it stalled on him coughing,,, then we got there and had some lunch,, a really nasty t storm blew thru, so we had to sit there a while, I was freaking out,, I did not want to ride in th e rain,, but it stopped and we had a great ride home.. thanks to all that told me to stick with it.. I am much more comfortable and spending money on it like crazy. I sold my rebel and dh let me use the money to get the custom tank,, (it wont be here for about a month) pipes, new windshield, and a few chrome accessories. I am a happy girl. Now I am hoping to take it to gettysburgs bike week this weekend but we really dont have room to put it on the back of the truck with us hauling a camper... now to get rid of the cough..

 

Does it happen to have old gasoline in the tank? As gas ages it becomes more volitile (octane decreases) and is more likely to pre-ignite upon combustion. If this is the case, mix some high-octane fuel with what is in there. Plus, if you have a 1200 engine you need to always use at least 91 octane fuel. The 883 has a lower compression ratio and can use 87 octane, but I would use high octane until you get this problem solved.

 

no, it has fresh gas in it. I think it is 89 octane,, I will try a higher octane to see if that helps, thanks (883L)

 

Most HD's are delivered from the factory running on the ragged edge of being too lean. Cough through the carb is a classic symptom of lean. Dealer should be able to correct the issue by adjusting carb and/or checking for and fixing intake leaks, which can also be a cause of running lean.

 

This is a problem that all the newer sportys have. HD has to run them lean to get the EPA cert for emmisions, thats why everyone talks about doing the stage 1 with a rejet to get it to run right. If you read the DIY section on Fuel & Carb related there are some great articles on fixing this problem. Cost to get rid of the problem is about $10 plus some time, if you get the slow jets from the dealer.

 

Common for 06, my custom did it. Rejet took care of it.

 

mine was really bad when i first got. Then i started running 93 octane gas and its way better. Almost completly gone at warm up.

 

My 883L coughs a little when it's cold and I put the choke in too soon. I've never run less than 91 octane (which is premium here in SE AZ) as it only makes $0.30 difference on a fillup to use good gas.

When you said "HUGH" I thought I was back on freerepublic.com for a minute. I'm series.

 

thanks for everyones replies, dh messed with something in the carb last night and says the cough is gone!!! I am agoing out for a ride in a little while to check it out for myself..I hope it is gone...

 

I hope the cough is gone.If it isn't you need to rejet the carb.My bike and my wifes bike both do the same thing.I try to rev the engine a couple times before I pull out and that seems to solve the problem.