Harley Davidson Forums - 2018+ Softail Models

No power/electrical---23 heritage

Blackout25 — Wed, 20 May 2026 23:00:13 GMT

I was getting the bike cleaned up and ready to ride, but before hand I swapped my front signals. I went to re learn the bcm for less, and my dumbass didn't have it on the tender. Well battery got drained, but no problem, I wired in a pigtail for my biostpack when I put in my lithium battery last year. I plug it in turn it on, and no juice when turning on the ignition. I have a little voltage dongle for the tender pigtail so I can check it so often, even that isn'tgetting juice. I checked the main fuse, and the 3 smaller fuses, 2x 7.5a and a 5a. All four are good and clean. I'm at a loss here. I have the boost pack still plugged it and switched on, been sitting four about 10mins and nothing, but it at least should've switched on the electrical, even if it won't turn over. I didn't even try to start it. Any ideas what else to check? Or should I get I to a shop. I'm so pissed right now, perfect evening for a ride. The bike is a 23 heritage, not even 5k in the clock, never had any issues until I drained the **** running the four ways with a cold battery.

Harley windsplitter windshield

Paul Elsen — Wed, 20 May 2026 12:31:41 GMT

Hi to all, I'm 5 ft 9 and have the stock mini apes on my Street Bob 2026, should I take the 14 inch or the 18 inch windshield from Harley to minimize buffeting ?
THX

My impressions after 10,300 miles on a LowRider ST

YGBSM — Tue, 19 May 2026 13:07:24 GMT

Just some thoughts, let me know if your experience is similar or different!

On April 30, 2025, I purchased my first Harley- a new leftover 2024 LowRider ST. I've put 10,300 miles on it in a year. The only mods I have made are heated grips and Custom Dynamics Triple Play and LEDs. Overall, I really like it.

Highs: reliability, styling, comfort, fun to ride, fuel economy, dealer experience

Mids: power, features, handling

Lows: vibration, heated grips

The bike has been very reliable; not one single problem. It is very easy to handle at low speeds and is comfortable for all day trips. I have the stock windshield and there is no buffeting at 80 mph with my Schuberth S1 helmet. My dealer experiences, at the 4 dealerships close to me, have been outstanding. I'm getting between 45-47 mpg. It's just plain fun to ride, and I think it looks great.

The power is just OK; it seems to poop out on the top end. I'm sure a cam change would fix that. I dislike the tiny display, but it is functional. I do wish it has tire pressure monitoring- my 20 year old BMW had that! I'm going to switch to an analog tach at some point. Handling is pretty good, but I wish it was more "flickable" in turns. I plan on getting an aftermarket suspension (probably Ohlins) this summer.

The most annoying thing is the vibration- it is worst around 2500-3000 rpm, around 4000-4500 rpm, and on decel. Multiple dealers have told me the vibration is abnormal but they have torqued everything and Harley won't approve any other fix under warranty. And the heated grips just suck. They take forever to warm up and do not get very warm at all- pretty much useless below 50 degrees.

I test drove a '25 ST last year and the fuel injection mapping was better, with better throttle response, and less vibration- definitely an improvement over the '24s.

Despite these small issues, I really like it and would buy it again.

Attached Thumbnails

Belt tension after rear shock change--Heritage

Blackout25 — Tue, 19 May 2026 13:07:04 GMT

Last night I swapped out the stock rear shock for the Legends revo on my 23 Heritage. The new one is a 13.5". After I was done I went to check the belt tension. At first sight, the belt is below the viewing window on the guard. I honestly didnt check the tension on this bike, since I havent even got 5k on it and this was the first time messing with the rear end.

Did anyone else notice this? I did put the tension tool to it, I honestly didnt give it a good eye, just one push, but the belt hanging just under the guard threw me off. Its not slacked by any means. Im going to get a real view and measurement on it next chance I get though.

I put 1" taller shocks on my old dyna, and belt still had correct deflection on it. This one just barely made it sit different. Even on jiffy stand, if I didnt know I changed the shock, I wouldnt know any more lean. If anything on the jiffystand, it feels more secured, even with it down and rocking the bike forward, its doesnt feel like itll flip up anymore.

I have the fsm so I know the half to 9/16 deflection, but ive never messed with wheel alignment on my bikes, frankly seems like something I need a more skilled/experience eye on, so I may take it to my local shop I use if it needs adjusting.

2025 Fat Boy limp mode

markpescod1 — Sun, 17 May 2026 15:52:29 GMT

Good morning all. Went for a 100 mile ride yesterday. No issues at all. Today was riding locally, in a 35 mph area, I may have been lugging the motor doing 40, made a right at a round-a-bout, bike lost power. Pulled over real quick, but kept the bike on. Sat there for about 15 seconds, and then everything went back to normal, except for the Check Engine light. Pulled into a parking lot to check codes, and got a P230100. I cleared the code, fired it back up, got on the freeway, rode 70+ mph for 15-20 minutes, no issues. Once home I glanced at all the wiring. Everything looked good and no codes. No idea what happened there. Bike has a stage 1, around 3200 miles, no engine mods.

MPG surprise

chunks — Sat, 16 May 2026 20:02:35 GMT

Did some real world calculating of my fuel economy

FTR HD claims estimated 47 mpg combined highway and city for my 2025 fat boy with 117 in M8

I usually assume the manufacturer advertised MPG is gonna be WAY higher than ill get in real life.

Anyhoo, I figured stock id get low 40's and after my mods maybe even upper 30's

My testing was pretty solid, or solid enough for me to know its pretty accurate

filled the tank exactly to the fill hole thing that stops the gas nozzle and added little squirts until it stopped sinking and stayed right at that level.

, sorry i have no idea what the actual name for that thing is :)

Rode the bike.

Specifically, I rode the way I ride, not going easy to get a better figure. I'm aggressive at times but not nuts. On the highway I'm doing 80 if the wind is at my back, maybe 70ish in a headwind (cuz no windshield).
I definitely use the torque the bike has, but I'm not a radical rider.

I had previously mapped out several routes that were equal parts highway and local riding and did them all until the gas indicator had one little pip left showing,
and then refilled the gas at the same station, same pump, so id know the bike was on the same level as when previously filled (within reason)

It took 3.55 gallons.

I wish the fuel gauge was an accurate assessment of whats in the tank. Vehicle manufacturers like to save us from ourselves and tell us the tank is empty when theres still
gas in the tank. In my case, assuming the tank really holds 5 gallons (ive never actually tested this) then there was 1 1/2 gallons left when the fuel gauge says its nearly empty.

Anyway thats beside the point :)

I rode 166 miles on 3.55 gallons of gas, which works out to 46.76 mpg

I was really quite surprised. Adding so much torque and hp over stock with my mods, and its only 0.24 mpg less than advertised

As a side note, I posted about this on FB Fat Boy group, and got a bunch of people that seem to think even wanting to know the mpg of my bike is getting means I bought it to save on gas, is totally uncool,
and offends their sense of the spirit of motorcycle riding and suggest I buy a prius.

Wheel speed sensor

Ziondogg — Fri, 15 May 2026 21:17:05 GMT

So after changing my front pads and fluid and swapping bars with extensions I'm getting a C1032 code. Before I start looking at the wiring could I possibly put the sensor in backwards or does it only go one way?

Power From a 2025 LRST HO

$tonecold — Thu, 14 May 2026 14:09:21 GMT

Yesterday I went to Trask Performance to drop off a bike that I am having tuned. Just for members that live in the Phoenix area's information, they were the only tuners around that I talked to that would tune with the TTS Mastertune. The other tuners I talked to either just said they didn't want to do it or tried to sell me a Power Vision license.

So while I was there I was having a conversation with one of the employees and I told him that I ride a 2025 LRST. He informed me that they had one that with a high volume air cleaner and their exhaust system made 125 hp / 130 ftlb tuned with a TTS. I will have to say I was rather impressed by that. Granted, none of their parts are inexpensive, over $500 for the AC and almost $1200 for the exhaust, but that is in the ball park of what others are charging. That is the best I have heard of using the stock configuration with AC & exhaust. He also told me that they later installed a 131 ci. kit and a turbo, so now that bike is making over 200 hp.

I'm still not sure if I'm going to do much to my bike. I've installed the TAB muffler and I will probably change the air cleaner, but I'm somewhat reluctant to do a cam change. Time will tell.

How are there removed?

MesquiteFLD — Tue, 12 May 2026 02:35:27 GMT

Thought I had the correct tool. None of my the attachments work. Seems HD uses odd clips.

Illuminated handlebar controls

offbeatmammal — Mon, 11 May 2026 09:11:02 GMT

I've got a 2018 FXBB (Australian delivered) and still very happy with it, but as I ride quite a lot at night I hate that it doesn't have illuminated hand controls - sometimes finding the horn takes a little longer that I'd like!

Had anyone found an aftermarket solution to solve this? Don't want to spend a ton of cash, but it's a ****le I'd like to fix!

breather recall

chunks — Sun, 10 May 2026 14:17:07 GMT

Apparently many 2025/6 models are subject to a safety recall due to a possible blocked breather port in the airbox

The good news is that if you have already (rightly) replaced that stock air cleaner on account of sheer ugliness and lack of performance, you are already in the clear :)

I'm doubly clear as I not only tossed that thing in the trash within a couple weeks of purchase, I also installed an external breather to avoid spewing any crap back into the intake.

Cant even check that stock part to see if it was blocked since it went to the dump last summer :)

Extra Cable Length on 2026 Heritage

GrenV — Sat, 09 May 2026 16:44:08 GMT

Just got a new 2026 Heritage and I'm looking to move the bars closer. I have a Kraus plate that moves the bars 2" closer and 2"higher. I'm wondering if I need to extend the cables. Does anyone know how much extra length you can get with the stock cables?

Rear master cylinder

Ziondogg — Fri, 08 May 2026 19:56:19 GMT

Nevermind

Black out the Fat Boy or polish the chrome?

Horgh — Wed, 06 May 2026 03:56:25 GMT

Hey all,

In the early 90s when I was a teen, I sat on a Fat Boy at a city fair and it has been stuck in my head ever since. My first bike in my 20s ended up being a chromed-out VTX 1300, since then I've had adventure and sport bikes, and I also ride a lot of dirt. Over the years the Fat Boys have always turned my head, in fact the only Harley YouTube channel I subscribe to focuses almost elusively on Fat Boys (shout out to the Canadian Sa1nt). But I've never ridden a Harley and have considered myself a closeted Harley fan since my riding buddies have a lot of biases against them.

Well, this past weekend I decided to finally take some Harleys for a test ride. I first test rode a Lowrider ST and honestly I didn't like the seating position at all. I thought that would be my bike, but no. I then went to the other extreme and rode the Road Glide. More comfortable for sure, but I felt like I was in a space ship and too separated from the world around me. It also felt very heavy. Before I left I told the sales guy I needed to test ride the Fat Boy, since that's the bike that has been in my heart since childhood. So I did... and I freakin' loved it.

I'm a grown man in my late 40s and I honestly had a few tears in my eyes. I just really connected with that bike, I'm not sure why, but it felt exactly like what I thought a Harley would feel like. But there is one small issue... the chrome.

I'm not a huge fan of chrome, I'm not sure why. My VTX had a ton of it and remember polishing it a lot (and hating it) because I have OCD about dirt, water spots, and couldn't possibly live with any rust on such a beautiful bike. I don't exactly have a lot of polishing time on my hands these days, though, I already spend a lot of time in the garage wrenching on my bikes.

I like the look of the factory blacked-out Fat Boy Lo and the 30th anniversary, but I'm really set on the 2026 model, maybe in white. Looking through the parts catalog, I could black out most of the chrome with catalog parts or parts from the Street Bob, I believe. I might have to get some pieces vinyl wrapped too. I even had AI do a rough rendering of what that might look like. It's not perfect but gives you an idea (see below).

Am I crazy? Is it sacrilege to black out the chrome on a Fat Boy? Is keeping the chrome clean easier these days, maybe with some better modern products? I read that maybe I could get the non-hot chrome parts ceramic coated and get PPF on the paint, making cleaning easier. I know I wouldn't be ok with rust spots on my chrome, but I also don't have hours to spend in the garage between rides polishing it all. All feedback and ideas are welcome. Thank you in advance.

Heritage rear tire max size

j79phan — Tue, 05 May 2026 20:23:10 GMT

Metzeler ME888 Marathon Ultra

170/70B16
Anyone tried this tire on a M8 Heritage?