I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I know the older RK's (2000) had a different FI system as opposed to Delphi. How unreliable were these systems.

Jim

 

Reliability is not their major issue. Tuneability is not so easy as the Delphi. Magnetti Marelli is a long time company that makes injection systems for a lot of foreign bike companies. Alpha-N doesnt seem to fiddle as easy as Speed Density. My evil twin has one, and plenty of other buds, they seem to work ok until you start modding them. Theres plenty of info here and on other sites. Heres one : http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/m...efi_basics.htm

 

Best thing to do with MM EFI is tear it off and put a Mikuni on it!

 

They get bad mouthed a lot, & some may have had trouble with them, but I've had a 99 & now a 00 with about 135K between them & have had no trouble. The last 55K has been on a 103 with cams, P&P heads, oversized TB, & DJ PClll, it's a tq monster. They don't breath quite as well on the top end, but other than that no real problems. They weren't around very long so a lot of tuners don't have enough experience with them, they can be a little finicky on idle settings though.

 

I used to have a 2000 RK with the MM fuel injection. Worked fine for me, though I didn't get too extreme with the mods. I had SE heads, 95" kit, SE air filter, Andrew TW37B cams, V&H classic slipons, with a Power Commander. Ran fairly strong, very dependable.

 

The MM worked fine until you started having Idle issues...then it is time to take it off and put on a carb......or like me went to carb and then later converted it to a Delphi off a 04.

 

They have a tendency to loose its cold/hot idle settings from time to time. I have no idea why that happens...but it does. However, it is very easy to set though.

The system is aging and things will have problems. The main thing is to keep the throttle body clean and troubleshoot everything before replacing parts.

It certainly is not a bad system. As long as you have a shop manual and Hdforums is available......you're set. There's plenty of folks here with plenty of experience on these things.

 

It's all about the tune. MM's are just fine if properly tuned. But as stated already, they are alot diffen't to tune than a Delphi system I won't say harder, just differn't. But once tuned they are fine If you are looking for a tuner make sure the know how to tune one, I wouldn't let them learn on yours.

 

I met someone who has a 2000 RK Classic w/13000 miles. Excellent shape. It has the Big Bore kit w/cams. Was just considering it.

jim

PS thanks for the replies.....

 

It is a simpler system and is less affected by vacuum leaks than the delphi.
It is not as tunable as the delphi and there are less individuals that know how to work on the M & M than on the delphi...a younger tech. may have never seen one.
There are EFI piggy back systems available that will increase fuel.
Most problems are easily fixed "IF" diagnosed correctly. Problem is most individuals do not want to read a shop manual and it would seem many techs. have limited knowledge.
The reality is that the system works and is reliable for stock and slightly modified builds.
The bikes have plenty of history and the most documented failures are:
1-crank position sensor
2-cam position sensor
3-engine temp sensor
4-The two external fuel lines from gas tank require replacement due to age and are very expensive from dealer but J and P cycle has some braided ones for about $160 for the set of two.
5-the odometer LCD screen would bleed out on many 1997-99??
6-the pins at the ECM can develop corrosion and require cleaning at leat once in their lifetime...no big deal,just a wipe down.. some bikes have been been cleaned and are running great..might be an up north /salt roads and water thing
7- It is a fuel injected bike and the throttle body must be kept clean..all the mechanical levers around the throttle body should be kept clean.
The above information would be for a 1997 1998 evo engine M & M fuel injection.
The 1999 road king is a different motor and others would have to provide that information.
1998 was the last year for the well known evo engine and it was also the first year of the road king classic.