On my FLHTK I have RH true duals,AN big sucker,and running the SEPST. It hasn't even been hot here mid 50s to 60s and my EMS is already kicking in. If I do city driving or let the bike idle for more than a minute or two it kicks in. Also my gas mileage is just plain awful,at best I can get 35-38 mpg for highway. Not 75 mph either,a steady cruise about 60 will only creep me up close to 40.

Took it to the dealer today for the third time,their excuse was they can't get the EMS to kick in. I guess not if you only drive a few miles,and its mostly highway. Just really frustrated right now,and wondering in anyone else with a new touring bike has had this issue?

 

EITMS - Engine Idle Temperature Management System.

Your predicament is perfectly normal, not desirable, but normal. When you stand still with no airflow the cylinder head temperature climbs rapidly. The EITMS kicks in at approximately 290 degrees and it doesn't take long to reach that temp.

The dealer is simply not being straight with you. They should be telling you that the EITMS kicking-in is exactly what it is designed to do. To say they can't get it to kick-in is being dishonest.

There is only one cure. With an engine cooling fan you can keep the cylinder head temp around 250 degrees during periods of prolonged idle. This is just a generalization as actual temperatures will vary along with ambient temps, but the fan will keep your engine cooler.

I can let my bike idle indefinitely and the EITMS will never kick-in as long as I have the fan running.

As far as fuel mileage goes, 35-38 isn't that far from the average. That's about what I get with mine. Too many variables can effect fuel mileage to definitively say yours (or mine) is not within the expected range.

 

So nobody else has had theirs kick in on regular basis?

 

Mine does ('11 Ultra), but as long as the heat doesn't bother me physically, its no big deal to me. The fact that it toggles back to running on both cylinders after a while tells me the system is doing what it supposed to do: shutdown the back cyl, turn it into air pump and cool it down.

Its not something to get nervous about over the long haul. I purposely did not replace the temp gauge with a oil temp gauge for that reason. The only "oil" gauge on a near stock motor that you need to pay attention to is the oil pressure gauge. Anything else just creates unnecessary worry and detracts from the reason I ride in the first place.

 

Thanks,that does make me feel better. The main reason I'm worried is I had a 2011 Rg w/103. Same exact setup as far as stage1 on this bike. Never once did it kick in,even getting stuck in stop n go traffic in the middle of summer. Also my gas mileage was at least 10 mpg better,just wondering if that was some kind of correlation of something is not right with the bike.

 

If it drives you nuts, turn it off. I only leave it on if I'm doing a lot of city driving sitting at lots of lights.

 

If you're previous bike never had the EITMS kick in, it was either not working properly, you had it disabled, or your riding condition did not meet the required parameters (listed below) to engage the EITMS.

At 70 deg. ambient temperature and the bike at normal operating temperature it only takes about 2 minutes sitting still at idle for the head temperature to climb enough to engage the EITMS. Anytime your bike is at operating temp and you sit at idle for 2 minutes or longer the EITMS should engage. On a windy day that may not be true because then the engine is getting some airflow even when sitting still, but under normal conditions the EITMS should engage. Additionally, if you're playing with the throttle, moving even slightly, do not have the clutch completely disengaged, or the idle rpm is above 1200 rpm, the EITMS will not engage.

Here are the parameters that activate the EITMS:

• Engine temp is > 287 deg
• Twist grip opening is at idle
• Vehicle speed is < 1 mph
• Engine speed is < 1200 rpm

And here are the parameters that deactivate the EITMS:

• Engine temp falls below 275 deg
• Twist grip opening is > idle
• Vehicle speed exceeds 2 mph
• Engine speed exceeds 1350 rpm
• Clutch is released with vehicle in gear

Like I said in my previous post, there is only one cure... Otherwise, you can either manually disable the system, or live with it. Personally, anytime my engine is getting hot enough to engage the EITMS I want to do something to cool it down - that's where the fan comes in.

 

If it bothers you, use 2Black1s's procedure to turn off the feature. My '07 doesn't have EITMS enabled with the ECM firmware I have installed, but if it was it would turn on at 290°, and I rarely see it get that hot even in summer traffic. I have an oil cooler which helps keep peak oil temps in control, and although EITMS isn't controlled by oil temperature keeping it lower will keep the entire engine cooler, enough to notice some improvement. If you have a factory 103 or a '12 touring bike you already have an oil cooler.

Some flash-based tuners (like Power Vision) will allow you to increase the EITMS on-off temperature thresholds, as well as to turn it off completely if desired. The dealer may be able to do both, but will probably charge you every time you request a change. My dealer will do it once or twice free within the warranty period, but dealer policies vary.

 

Turned mine off on the ride home from the dealership.

 

A tune will help out. Do a Stage 1 and get a competent tuner to tune the bike and most of this issue will go away.