engine ping
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,630
Likes: 185
From: Mountain West, Big Sky Country
2014 FLHTK (wethead)... after the engine is hot, I get quite a bit of engine ping on medium to hard acceleration.
I have over 20K on the bike... just had an ECM update that was supposed to help with this, but it's done this for quite some time (like since 10K miles). I always run 91+ octane.
This doesn't happen when I lug the engine, or when the engine is relatively cool (i.e. the first 15-20 minutes of operation). Hot engine 2500 - 4000 rpm.
Any ideas?
I have over 20K on the bike... just had an ECM update that was supposed to help with this, but it's done this for quite some time (like since 10K miles). I always run 91+ octane.
This doesn't happen when I lug the engine, or when the engine is relatively cool (i.e. the first 15-20 minutes of operation). Hot engine 2500 - 4000 rpm.
Any ideas?
first off, i would change the plugs from stock to the vrod plugs. about $16 bucks and 15 minutes of time.
if that solved the problem, then nothing else.
next if i still got occassional ping, maybe seafoam or octane boost for a couple tanks of gas. $10 to $15 bucks
if still pinging, then i woukd consider xieds or vieds. $100 or around there.
then a tune, 400 to 600
ny .02
Club Member
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 917
Likes: 95
From: Nashville, TN
I would think several easy non expensive things could be done.
first off, i would change the plugs from stock to the vrod plugs. about $16 bucks and 15 minutes of time.
if that solved the problem, then nothing else.
next if i still got occassional ping, maybe seafoam or octane boost for a couple tanks of gas. $10 to $15 bucks
if still pinging, then i woukd consider xieds or vieds. $100 or around there.
then a tune, 400 to 600
ny .02
first off, i would change the plugs from stock to the vrod plugs. about $16 bucks and 15 minutes of time.
if that solved the problem, then nothing else.
next if i still got occassional ping, maybe seafoam or octane boost for a couple tanks of gas. $10 to $15 bucks
if still pinging, then i woukd consider xieds or vieds. $100 or around there.
then a tune, 400 to 600
ny .02
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,630
Likes: 185
From: Mountain West, Big Sky Country
they are 2 steps colder than stock plugs.
hd # is 10R12 vs stock plug of 6R12.
cheap fix if ping is occassionally present.
Last edited by bigskyroadglide; Aug 6, 2017 at 09:48 PM.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 6,863
Likes: 3,727
From: St. Charles, MO
How would colder plugs prevent ping? Not being a smartass, just genuinely curious.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,630
Likes: 185
From: Mountain West, Big Sky Country
Detonation is the pressure in the cylinder rising too fast during the burn and mixture spontaneously combusting before it's finished burning. That's what you hear as popcorn. Bad, but most motors will tolerate a little. Get enough det, the cylinder overheats, something glows, you get preignition and boom. Only takes a single pre-ignition event to kill a motor.
Det is almost always the precursor pre iginition. If it's an old motor running some intake and cc cleaner through it every once in a while can help reduce det threshold.
Even more important than the heat range is the mass of the tip. If the tip gets red hot and holds the heat, when the incoming charge hits it, pre-ignition can occur. Kind of like the glow plugs in a deisel. The standard plug has a large center electrode (~0.125 diameter) and is steel soit tends to retain heat, moving to a colder range does not 100% eliminate this but can reduce it enough so the problem does not occur.
thats why my 120R has 2 ranges colder, no ping, and able to run almost any gas, although i prefer 93 octane without ping.
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