It is an issue.

Several '08 owners have complained about it, but only/mostly those who stepped off older Harleys they had driven for years......At best, you gotta learn a new feel, but at worst a few owners have discovered really flakey and unpredictable throttle response that has caused them to dump the bike in situations they might have survived with cables.

I will never trust fly by wire throttle.....There is just too much at chance and too many reports of flakey and unpredictable reactions for me to risk the slow speed balet I perform whenever I need to.

The MOCO eliminated the cables for ONE reason.....and it wasn't appearances as many here will claim....Throttle cables are not ugly so they don't need to be hidden or replaced by wires tucked inside the bars.

The real reason they went with fly by wire was to satisfy EPA requirements and place the throttle in full control of the ECM, not you.

This WILL somdeay become an issue once experienced riders start getting hurt and figuring out why.

 

It is a learning curve......
In slow speed handling you have to adjust for the "lag"in response time of the 08's.

Check with your dealer to see if there is new calibration out that may address this issue.
While you are at it stop in for an upgrade to the EITMS. Engine Idle temperature management system. It is now loaded into your ECM and you may turn on the activation by reverse throttle like kicking your cruise off. If you dont want it activated turn the throttle the same way. You dont have to load it into the ECM and unload it anymore...

 

Thanks everyone, a lot of well reasoned and good comments. I'm a returning rider and have been away for many years. I've only put a little over 400 miles on the bike and I love it. Idon't know if something changed I'm just now noticing it and I guess I could ride a little more aggressive and overcome it. It's just a very uncomfortable feeling and I would like a more controlled or quicker response. I'll talk to the guys at my dealer about it after the blizzard.

Thanks again,

Jim

 

I just found this in the service manual pertaining to my issue. I'm not going to do anything untill I talk to my service guys but it could be related. I though you might find this interesting.

Quote:
Note
Whenever a new twist grip sensor (or ECM) is installed, place the engine run/stop switch in the RUN position and turn the ignition/light keyswitch to IGNITION and then back to OFF four times (without starting engine). Allow at least three seconds to elapse between ignition cycles. As the ECM uses the first four ignition cycles to establish the optimum idle speed, there may be initial performance problems if the procedure is not performed, such as high idle or hesitation when the throttle is opened.

Ride well,

Jim

 

THAT'S interesting....

 

I would try that procedure and see if it helps.

When installing cruise control on models without Fly By Wire the cruise has to be intialized or the cruise will lag big time during engagement. So that procedure could cure your lag.

 

Thats is very interesting, i have no slack in my RoadGlide and I am NOT a new rider and still have an "older Harley", maybe some dealers are'nt quite doing setup correctly. I would try the ignition switch trick and if that is'nt the cure bring it back to the dealer, something is not right.

 

I experienced the same problem during demo day at my local dealer on a 08 Screaming Eagle Ultra, I couldn't even blip the throttle while downshifting, there was so much hesitation, it was strange twisting the throttle and having to wait for the engine to build up rpm before easing the clutch out. I almost backed out of buying my 2008 FLHX because of this problem. I test rode the 08 FLHX I was buying and it responded just like it was cable operated, I figured it was an adjustment issue and and bought the 08.
capt42a

 

Must be something wrong because with mine the throttle response is immediate.. I've ridden cable bikes forever and this is an easy transition. I work for a Dodge dealership and we have "drive-by-wire" on most cars now and the Harley system on my bike seems quicker to respond than our systems... Just my input. Hope you get it fixed! Good Luck!

 

Crap, it's snowy and 4* here so I won't be riding for awhile. The more I think about it I don't recall seeing this condition starting out or from idle or if you rev it up in neutral. It'sonly seems to happen when turning or slowing down to turn and it's almost as if it stalledor the idle goes very low.

Thanks for the suggestions,

Jim