When I let out the clutch slow to walk the bike it will stall/kill if I don't give it gas. Is this normal? On bikes I've ridden in the past you'd be able to do this with no problem, even with the clutch all the way out. With this bike being EFI I figured this would be no problem but I've killed it a few times doing this. I've even had similar problems at take off from stops f I didn't give it quite a bit of gas. It's like I need to give it a lot of gas just to make sure it won't stall - which I don't like. It just doesn't seem right but perhaps quick off the line starts are normal for these bikes? I've never owned a Harley and this is my first week with the bike so I just don't know. It could also be that I'm just getting used to the throttle & clutch/friction zone of the bike but I'm not entirely sure that's it. I bought the bike used with 11000 miles on it & I wouldn't be surprised if it needed some throttle or clutch adjustments, but before I did that I'd like to get some input on whether this is just how these bikes run. Any input from people riding the same bike or just more experienced Harley riders is much appreciated. Thanks.

- Nic

 

learn the friction zone on that bike, the others you "walked beside" probably were geared a lot lower than your sportster.
the fact that it doesnt stall untill you let the clutch out means it is the operator , not the bike .

 

I dont agree. I may be a noob, but I can walk my nightster with the clutch out and no throttle just fine. I got a clutch adjustment and tune up the minute I bought mine used with 10,000 miles on it and have never had the issue you are describing.

 

I generally give mine a bit of gas if I'm going uphill or something like that but if you're on flat pavement, you should be able to let go of the clutch, slooowly without having it stall.

 

what do u guys "walk" 10 mph? if you don't give it a little gas when releasing the clutch , the ECU and bike is going to think u dumped the clutch and kill the engine. It's a safety thing. you need to learn the friction zone.
And to wrestler, I don't believe you, so ur saying you can idle/give no gas, pop the clutch and it doesn't cut off? I'm not talking about half way letting off the clutch (whether you have throttle a bit or not) cuz just a little off the clutch with no throttle is still in the friction zone a bit.

 

Any Harley ought to be able to idle along without giving it gas, although a sporty may lurch a bit, and certainly will if you try to give it just a little gas. Just doesn't have the flywheel effect the bigger ones have. For what the OP is experiencing, I'd check the air cleaner and look at the plug color first. If plug color indicates lean, I'd check for intake leaks before worrying about the EFI; there's plenty of posts on other threads indicating sporties may need new intake seals by 10,000 miles. If the ac & plugs are good, I'd suspect a finer touch on the clutch might be needed. Sporties are geared pretty tall, takes good clutch work to run one smooth without a fair amount of rpm. Mine is no fun in slow/stop & go traffic.

 

Sportsters have a very light flywheel vs displacement, that allows them to rev quickly and high giving good performance from a relatively old fashion design.
They are designed to run not walk.
Keep riding it, you will get used to the right amount of throttle/clutch friction for smooth starts every time.

 

You can pop the clutch on an idling 18-wheeler on first gear and it just starts going.

Conclusion: Add 16 wheels to your Sporty and you can do it.

 

lol

 

Thanks for the input everyone! I'll keep riding and trying to get used to it. If it persists then I"ll look into some of the other suggestions.

Thanks again,

- Nic