I bought my 2011 RKC brand new in April of last year. After about the first 3 or 4 thousand miles I started hearing this pinging sound coming from between the gas tank and handlebars. The bike was still completely stock at this time. I took it to the local dealer where I bought the bike from and the head mechanic was baffled by the noise. This mechanic is very well respected and has worked at this dealer for at least 22 years. He called Harley Davidson about this issue and they stated that, and this is where it gets sorta confusing, some of the 103's are known to have a slight pinging but usually not loud enough to hear and that it had something to do with the way the computer is programmed. The mechanic found an updated map from Harley for my bike and put that into the bike's computer. The bike ran great, noise free for about 150 miles and then the noise came back. I talked to the mechanic, he called HD and they said that makes sense because the computer would re-adjust the fuel/air ratio once the bike was running and go back to whatever settings it was at before loading the new map on the computer. I asked the mechanic if buying a power commander would fix my issue and he thought that it would since this would put a different map in and take HD's computer completely out of the loop. So I bought a power commander V from Fuel Moto and installed it, it did not make the noise go away. I then went ahead and did a Stage I upgrade (air cleaner, head pipe and mufflers). That seemed to do the trick for a few days as I did not hear the noise at all, but it eventually returned. I removed a plate from the front end that I had my Fort Riley sticker on and the noise disappeared for several days. I thought I was golden!! No noise!! That lasted for about 3 weeks and the noise returned. So today as I am cruising down I-70 going about 80mph in 6th gear, the noise is driving me absolutely crazy!! I went straight to the dealer when I got back in town and he said he would call HD on Monday. He also gave me a ticket number so I can call HD and talk to them myself. While I was there I also spoke to the guy that worked my deal with me when I bought the bike. I told him how fed up I am with this noise and it not being able to be fixed. He said we should give the mechanic some time to fix this and if he didn't we would work on getting me onto a different bike.

I always use 91 octane gas. I have tried octane booster. Doesn't matter if it his hot or cold outside.

Normally I hear the sound in 5th and 6th gear when I'm going into a strong headwind or going up a hill, so it is not constant. Today I heard the sound while in 2nd gear and accelerating. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? Any ideas what my be causing it?

I don't know if it is the motor or something is loose. The dealer has looked it over and can't find anything at all and I am at my wits end.

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any ideas.

 

I bought my Ultra new in 07. Had not been on a Harley before but knew at 700 miles something was wrong. It sounded like a nickel loose in the valve train of my bike. Not a spark knock. But more at steady throttle around 2200/ 2300 rpm and eventually at idle. The dealer took the front rocker box cover off and found a valve damaged at the rocker end. The valve had mushroomed on the end increasing the adjustment gap. All under warrantee. Not a good feeling when they tell you some parts are soft.
What has caught my attention to your story is I had to put my ear or stethoscope down by my horn or ahead of my breather. Hope you get it figured out.

 

Did you call Fuel Moto up and tell them what's going on? if not, that's what I would do next.
Sounds like a lean condition to me, but I'm no mechanic. Good luck

 

That is EXACTLY what it sounds like.

Have not done that yet, but I am definitely going to call them on Monday.

 

Go into your ignition tables and take all the timing advance down a couple notches,(it likely has some 1&2's maybe even a 3 or two up in the higher rpm range. An easy way is to highlight the cells on the table and then hit page down a couple times. Be sure and save the original map first so you can always go back. I had the same problem and this fixed mine.

Mark

 

Here is what I have under the ignition section. All 0's except a small section with -2's....

 

is that where the pinging is taking place? I did find out these new bikes like a few more RPM's than the old 88's. I would catch myself lugging the engine.You can put some -1 or 2's in the range you are having trouble in.

Mark

 

remove the power commander ( as if it is doing anything it is just a band-aid)

and have the warranty take care of the bike.

put ( drop) it in H-D's hands.


mike

 

Used to just ping in 5th and 6th. On my way home from work I'll be doing 60mph in 5th and it's fine until I hit this one hill, then it starts making that sound. At the same speed and gear it will make the noise going into a strong headwind. 6th gear is pretty constant. Today I heard the noise while I was in 2nd gear and accelerating.

 

Yeah, I've thought about taking it down there and saying "I don't want it back until it's fixed".... It's still an option.