Hey guys. Looking for some opinions here:

My 07 Road King has been starting hard all year, and the end of last year too if I remember correctly. It's stage 1, tuned by the dealer with a Pro Streer Tuner. Seems as though the problem manifested itself since tuning it but honestly my memory is fuzzy so it may be coincidental.

Anyway, symptoms are, sometimes it'll fire the instant I hit the button, other times it'll turn over, stop cranking, spit smoke out the intake, and then try again, without starting, until I let off and try again, and eventually it goes. Seems arbitrarily based on piston position when it shuts down, I guess? Thought it might be the starter clutch, so changing that will be a winter project.

The wrench in that idea is that during my cross-country trip, while we were at altitude (6000+ feet, around Cody and Yellowstone), my bike started like a dream every single time, no issues the entire time we were in Wyoming. Once we got to lower altitudes it started acting up again.

So I'm wondering, is it possible that the bike is simply too lean on startup? My thought process is basically that the thin air in the mountains caused the bike to run richer (no decel pop either) which made starting easier. Does this make sense? And if so, can the tuner adjust fuel on startup and perhaps solve this issue?


Thanks for your thoughts guys. Appreciate it.

 

Do you have the street tuner or the pro super tuner? If it's the latter, I would reduce timing in the 90,95 and 100 Kpa columns at the lowest rpm. Mine are set at -3 after having similar symptoms, but you should probably just reduce 1 degree at a time until it's sorted. Good luck

06 NT, 95", S&S .510g, V&H 2-2, K&N AC, P&P heads, SEPST

 

Thanks for the advice, I only have the Street Tuner so I don't think I've got that much adjustability. And I didn't tune it myself.

But that does pose a good question, if I go to modify the tune that the dealership did on the dyno, will I lose the entire map and have to start from scratch? Or can I make minor tweaks on it like what you suggested?

I'm a self-confessed rookie at all this. Thanks for the help.

 

Sorry mate, I'm fairly new to all this as well. I've only used the SEPST, so I really don't know what the street tuner is capable of. Hopefully some of the more experienced guys will chime in!

06 NT, 95", S&S .510g, V&H 2-2, K&N AC, P&P heads, SEPST

 

Thanks, I'm sure someone will have an answer.

Even if I end up needing to get a super tuner, it sounds like this is a problem that's fixable, so that's good. That is, if I can still GET a super tuner here in Canada

 

Was just looking at the HD website and apparently the new 'Pro Street Performance Tuner' can adjust spark advance. At a glance it looks very similar to the old pro super tuner that I have. 06 NT, 95", S&S .510g, V&H 2-2, K&N AC, P&P heads, SEPST

 

Yeah that's part of he problem, all their damn tuners sound exactly the same. I don't think that's the one I've got. Mine is a "Street Performance Tuner". Not a Pro.

Had to look at the damn thing to remember the name even.

 

If I had my time again, the SEPST would probably be my 3rd choice. Power Vision or TTS seem the most popular, but I definitely recommend doing your homework and getting a real tuner!!

06 NT, 95", S&S .510g, V&H 2-2, K&N AC, P&P heads, SEPST

 

Yeah it's on my list, just a $$$ thing. The super tuner was gonna require hours and hours on the dyno plus the upfront cost of the tuner itself, I couldn't justify the price when all i was doing (at the time) was Stage 1. I'd already forked for a major service and new tires that day, so I went with what was easier on the wallet.

 

The beauty of you having an 07 is that you're ready to smart tune. I had to retro-fit 02 sensors to mine. It's never going to be as good as a full dyno tune, but it'll get you pretty damn close.

06 NT, 95", S&S .510g, V&H 2-2, K&N AC, P&P heads, SEPST