I am passively looking at a 1997 FLHTCUI. I seem to remember hearing that fuel injection on the EVOs sucked. Is that true? Should I run away?

 

Note that I have no direct HD EFI experience, just stuff I've read on here and observations of friends' bikes.

Harley EFI sucked. Maybe still does, but I would hope they have learned something over the years. They have oxygen sensors now, right? Maybe an atmospheric MAP sensor? Anyway, the early ones, when they work and on unmodified bikes, seem to be OK, besides eating temp sensors. When they stop working, it is probably easier and cheaper to replace them with a carb.

I would consider EFI on a '97 bike to be a price subtractor for most people. Personally, I would convert it to megasquirt and then have full control, but that is beyond a lot of the wrenches out there. So, run away? Depends. Is it a good deal? Would it still be a good deal with an extra $1K in parts to get it to a carb?

 

I have a 1996 with FI and 86,000 miles on it. The biggest problem is that most Harley mechanics do not know how, or just don't want to work on them. I have the screaming eagle 97 ECM, I bought the power commander V, the auto tuner and the data logger, $850. I can tune the front and rear cylinder separate, tell it what AFR I want at 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% throttle, at basically any RPM. I like the FI on the EVO, at least for now. I can also change the engine timing with the PC V.

 

I've got a 98 RKC that is fuel injected. The only problem I've had with it is the head temperature sensor has failed a few times in about 70k miles.

Fuel injection isn't voo doo. Buy the bike and get a factory service manual. It's all explained in there.



carl

 

Nice thing about the 97 and up ecm's is that they are upgradable.

 

I've never owned an early EFI Harley, but will simply observe that queries like this perpetuate the internet rumour-mill. There are not thousands of EFI Evos dumped in ditches around the World, having suddenly failed! There are also upgrades available to modernise them, from the likes of S&S, who offer a replacement and tunable module. Changing to a carb can be pretty expensive, as it isn't as simple as swapping throttle bodies.

 

My 97 RK had efi. Tried the power commander and make it better but the bike never felt like it had any soul. Last winters project was carb and cam swap. I like the results and it was straightforward and not as pricey as new ecm and dyno tune. If you get a good deal buy it ride and have fun.

 

The system is OK for a stock bike. It was only used for a few years before they changed to a different system. For all practical purposes, it is obsolete...good luck finding anyone who knows how to work on it. I wouldn't run away from the bike if it is a good deal...but I also wouldn't spend much money on the FI if you start to have problems, carb change-over is the easiest fix.

 

With the new Power Commander V products for the EVO, the MM FI is very tunable for any EVO engine regardless of the build.
This Log_5 excel file is a 15 minute log of me just riding normal. It is only a portion of things that can be logged

 

I had efi on a 97 that failed 77k I swapped it out with a used S&S carb and intake off of eBay 100$ new cables 50$ and a tank petcock adapter kit for 65$ the carb even had a thunder jet
So it can be had for cheap. A power commander 5 will run you 350-400$
Auto tune another 2-300. Then you get to dyno....you guessed it 3-400$ . That's IF the fuel injection MM is working properly. That's why I ditched the efi.