I have been off Harleys for a while, well since 97 anyway,, last was a 94 FLHTC. Ok now i buy a new 2011 FLHTC and i was thinking i wanted to idle it down a little,,The dam thing aint got no carb on it or cables!!!

I have been reading till my eyes bleed about tunning and mapping and power commanders and such,, what i need is a 101 class on tunning these things.
Is there such a thing? can the stock ecm be flashed? and what do i need to do it? i do have a lap top...what needs to be changed and how...

I built some fairly mean engines in my sprint car days but we didnt have electronics,,, so can i be pointed in a direction to start reading?

thanks in advance
Jess

 

i know you can lower the idle with the harley tuner sepst..

 

The new bikes are like the new cars no more throttle cables everything is electronic - TBW=throttle by wire

Go to the ECM section and get ready to do some reading.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/elect...-injection-55/

The short story is yes the ECM can be "flashed' to make tuning changes or you can add a "piggy back" tuner to trick the ECM.

There are many Flash Tuners available the HD SERT or now called SESPT, TTS (made by the person that designed the HD SERT) Power Vison and many more, Popular Piggy back Tuners are the Power Commander and the Fuel Pak.

If you plan on engine mods later go with a Flash Tuner, they are not limited in what they can do , timing, fuel ,front or rear cyl, rev limiting and a lot more.

There are also auto tune modules available.

Everything has its price based on that it can do.

Ive used the piggy back tuners (power commander) and HD SERT and now on my 2011 anm using a Power Vison Tuner, it is very user friendly , can be used on dyno, or loaded with a factory or custom MAP or can data log and allow self tuning.

Call Jamie at Fuel Moto (site sponsor) for a lot of good info and customer support.

Also be careful turning down the Idle speed , Twin Cams like a higher idle to maintain oil pressure.

 

very informative, thank you,
Jess

 

hey Jess,

you'll want to read the manual through as well.

Your bike has a mode is which the rear cylinder will shut down and pump cooling air if it is idling and reaches a preset temp.

the rider can activate this by rolling the throttle forward and holding it.

you'll recognize by the idle sound that there isn't much of a cam in your bike and the idle speed is pretty high to reduce emissions and for cooling. the now internal oil pump needs that higher idle to maintain oil pressure and volume.
the oil system includes jets which spray cooling oil at the bottoms of the pistons.

So read up and enjoy the new ride.

there are a lot of things about the evo you won't miss at all.

mike

 

Carbs are an extinct species on new Harleys and probably most other street bikes by now. Also, no cables on '08 and above, but even if you had cables you couldn't adjust the idle without a flash-based tuner (SEPST, TTS, PV, to name a few). If you change it, keep in mind that 950 rpm is considered the minimum to maintain proper oil pressure and/or alternator function.

No general tutorial that I know of except those for specific tuners in various threads scattered throughout this and the ECM/Tuner section. I did several on the PCV and PCV with Auto Tune if should decide to go that route, but you can't adjust idle with a PCV or any other "piggyback" system. There are also sticky threads in the ECM/Tuner section for PV, SEPST, and TTS. If none of this helps, just ask if you have specific questions.

 

With the tight tolerances of manufacture, the newer Harley motors require the higher idle. If you drop the idle below 1000 RPM the motor will be oil starved. This can cause loads of problems.

if you want the old "Potato, Potato" sound, better fins an old Shovel, Pan, or Knuckle. The specifications are so loose you can idle them at 500 RPM.

 

again, Thanks Guys!!! I am still reading,,,,I am glad i found out this stuff before i ruined my engine,,,is there a higher volume oil pump available? do you guys use them? can I add stiffer bypass spring in the oil pump or is there one?

 

Well if you have a '06 or earlier Twin Cam, there is the Screamin' Eagle® Billet Cam Support Plate with High Volume Oil Pump (25282-11). It uses the oil pump that is stock on the '11 and later Twincam 103" and larger motors. The specifications say that it increases oil supply by 16% and scavenging by 29%. Harley first had the Support Plate kit for use on the '06 and earlier starting in 2008. It did include an Upgraded Oil Pump. But upgraded the oil pump in '11 even more. The Oil Pump in the latest kit is better than the oil pump that is in my '09. But I am not going to spend the extra money to replace mine. It is good as it is now. I might if I was to increase the displacement in the future.

There is also a better oil pump included in the Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle® Hydraulic Cam Chain Tensioner and High-Flow Oil Pump Upgrade Kit (25284-11). Specifications say that it increases oil supply by 23% and scavenging by 50% when compared to a '99-'05 original equipment oil pump.

 

I have an 08; do the 2011-2012s still get the high idle after you turn it off without waiting until it's at 1000rpm? It's when you restart the bike and it memorized the last throttle/idle speed and position therefore it wants to idle at 1800-2000 until you do the "off-on" reset procedure.

I'm sure it's not an issue anymore but its the first thing I thought of when he mentioned high idle on a new bike.