On my new 09 FLHTP there is a feature to cool the motor. I believe the 08's have it to. The rear cylinder stops firing to cool the engine when idling when engine is hot. (Love the THUMP...THUMP...THUMP) Question is should I turn this feature off during break-in period?

 

I would leave it alone. The feature is there to stop the over heating of the rear cylinder and oil. It will only come in to play on my early 08 if all the conditions are met i.e. high oil temp, no bike movement, idle condition and a preset time factor. I have had it come on twice this summer and the conditions have to be met before it wil happen. On your 09 you can disable it but why would you want to?

 

My '06 does it too - to a certain extent. Dunno if it's exactly the same. But you should keep it as it might do some damage if you don't have that...

 

leave it alone

 

I would leave it on as it does not kick in until higher temperatures. You probably will not have it happen unless it is hot outside and you are in stop and go traffic. At that point, it does not matter whether you are breaking in the motor or not, you want the cooling factor(what little it is).

 

My Service Manual says that the bike is shipped with the feature disabled by default. I like the feature. I checked and the dealership had not engaged it. Are you sure yours is engaged?

 

it is disabled from the factory and only is activated by the owner. I turned mine on but I can't say I noticed if it ever kicked in....... or off for that matter. is it noticeable when it goes into affect?

 

I have never had mine in parade mode, but I am sure it would be VERY noticable with only one cylinder firing. It will sound very different, it will shake more and be noticably weaker.

I always shut mine off when it is getting above normal temps in stop and go traffic and foot pedal it along.

Dennis

 

My dealer says most people that have it enabled bring it back to have it disabled because they dont like the way it runs??
I understand it only works at idle and as soon as you hit the throttle it kicks out so not sure why other than that it would run bad. My is disabled from the factory and still is.

 

Mine is enable on my 08 EGC..had it kick in twice this past weekend here in Florida. It is noticeable when sitting still..you can tell by the way the engine runs..it has more of a pop pop pop to it...not a bad sound to me, it was just different. there is also a noticeable odor that comes off the engine..kinda weird smell, not bad but it does get your attention when you first notice it. the second time it kicked in was same and I actually like the thought of cooling that rear jug as it doesn't get as much air as the front. It immediately disappeared when I rolled on the throttle..no hesitation or anything...i like the feature