1.) My bike sputters under load. Running down the freeway on flat ground it is fine, but when I hit a hill it sputters. If I accelerate it will sputter a bit then it clears up and pulls fine. I have checked the battery connections, and electrical plugs on the ECM. I have had both of those things cause similar problems in the past, but they don't seem to be the culprit this go round.


2.) How much drive-train slack is normal. I replaced my IPB a few weeks ago, and maybe its my imagination, but I feel like there is more slack/play in the drive-train now. I don't notice it on takeaways or while up shifting under acceleration. Primarily where I notice it is when I don't quite come to a full stop before accelerating again. For instance, when I pull up to a stop sign and instead of coming to a full stop with my foot down, I just kind of balance at a near stop, and then pull away. This is when I notice play in the drive train. Is it normal gear lash, or is this a sign of future trouble?

Thanks

 

More information is needed. EFI or carburetor? Bike year and mileage?

 

Correct you are. I really dropped the ball on this post; I was working on it when I posted this. The bike is an 06 Wide Glide. Fuel injected, of course, and it has just over 20,000 miles on it.

The sputtering has been intermittent for awhile, but lately seems to be more common. I commute about 25 miles one way, and it only does it about 10-15 miles into the ride.

 

i had this same problem back in the spring. hd did the pipes and air before i had got the bike. when they do this they put on some type of fueler. on the fueler there is 3 setting. one for idle, one for medium range, and one for high rpm. they bumped up the medium one a little bit and the bike has been running great ever since. also this problem made the engine run lean causing the spark plugs to turn white. i replaced them when they fixed the fueler and they have been clean ever since.

 

This "fueler" you speak of, might it be a power commander PCIII? I have one as well that the previous owner installed, and, if I'm honest, I'm not real fond of it. Not that it matters; I don't have the cash to replace it with something better. I will look into the mid range settings on it though. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Sounds a lot like a clogged fuel filter too.

 

I forgot to ask you how long you've had the bike and did this problem just start.

As mentioned, at 20K the fuel filter may be getting clogged along with the injectors. Today's bad gas also causes problems for too many of us. If the gas is old, drain it for fresh and run some injector cleaner through it.

I also suggest checking for trouble codes at the speedometer. I just discovered this handy tool a week or two ago when my bike started acting up. The instructions for doing it were in my Dakota Digital speedo/tach manual, but it's probably the same on a factory unit. Very handy information to check out.

As for drive train slack, perhaps your primary chain is getting worn or the chain adjuster is loose. Those are fairly easy to swap out, despite what the manual says you have to do. I hardly EVER need to follow the manual for the majority of my upgrades and repairs. It seems the repair manuals are geared for doing a complete tear-down and don't take into consideration a repair that can be done by simpler means without the need to go any further into a tear-down to do the job.

I can cite many examples of this, but can't think of any where I had to follow the service manual. That includes replacing the compensator, primary chain and tensioner.

 

Okay, I finally got around to figuring out how to check the codes, and this is what I found.
P0107 Map sensor failed open/low
P0374 CKP sensor sync error

I thought maybe it kicked these codes when I got water in the ECM to PCIII connector, so I cleared the codes and ran the bike for a few minutes. The codes did not come back. I did not ride it though. I will take it for a good run tomorrow to see if the codes come back after a good test ride.

Have any of you had these codes? What do they suggest is the problem?

 

I have had the bike since April, and it was not doing this when I bought it. This problem started about a month or two ago, and has been slowly getting worse. Interestingly, sometimes it doesn't do it at all, but lately it has been acting up everyday. I have put about 6,500 miles on it since I bought it in April.

 

I have the drive train slack you speak of, '09 FXD with about 30k on the clock. Probably started being noticeable back around 20k. When this thing was still under warranty this past spring, I took it in to complain about this and a few other things and was told that it was all "normal" or "within spec" (go figure). I imagine its just the normal course of wear for the tensioner.