Looking for thoughts on where to go next... bought a new to me (used) 2015 SG CVO a little over 3 weeks ago, only had 4K miles on it, local owned and as would be expected for the miles pretty much mint condition (previous owner owns a set of restaurants in the area, trades off for new CVO every 3 to 4 years...).

Anyway, rode the bike for a couple of local / day trips then took it on our planned ride - 5 days, close to 2,000 miles total since purchase. Rode it hard, esp last 2 days through the mountains and it performed like a champ. After breaking from the group and heading home bike felt like it was running hot but easily could have been me, no other symptoms at all.

Then I get on the bike with the wife on back last weekend and take out for a short ride, air temp was coldest since I bought bike... in the upper 40s when we left. Less than 10 miles in, check engine light and red temp lights come on. Stop at gas station, check coolant (it's good) and manually cut in fans (good, blowing warm air). Start back after sitting and cussing for a bit (wife got coffee), made it another 5 miles at the most and lights cut back on. Stop, check sameness things - all look good. Get breakfast where we were, back on bike heading home and lights come back on within a few miles.

Bike sat in garage until after lunch time, tried a short ride now that engine has cooled, same thing. When I kick on fans and pump (throttle right after power on) fans run and it feels like the water pump is running. Check the DTC codes - no codes thrown. Coolant level is good.

Bike does need and oil change (1k service done at 1.2k with HD fluids - I'll use my preferred, but that's another discussion). Can't figure how that would impact the cooling system, but will get done this weekend either way.

Anyone with other thoughts on what else to look at. Don't warranty on it, prefer not to drop off at the dealer if I can avoid it (prefer to turn my own wrench as well, at least I know who to cuss if something is wrong that way).

Thanks

 

first, need to confirm the actual temp. i had a honda vt1100 ace that did the same thing, light but normal water temp, the sender was bad. you can test it if it is the immersion type by putting it in a pot of water with an ohm meter and slowly bring up temp and having a thermometer in the water recording temp vs resistance readings.
do not let them rest on the bottom of the pot as the temp there will be higher. there are thermo-couple charts on the web that will give the range to compare to, there are many and i do not know what type hd uses but if it has a number on it, google to see if it tells, they are alphabetical designators like j,k and such.

 

Thanks buster... went in and talked to the dealership today, have a case opened with the mother-ship to have HD cover the work since the bike is only a few months out of warranty and very low miles. Hopefully that will work itself out and I wont have to tear into it.. quoted $400 for the pump as a straight up replacement part and I about crapped my pants (should know better, but dang)

 

i feel your pain but hd needs to take a lesson from honda. they rarely have fuel pump and water pump issues. i assume hd uses an electric drive pump? if you foot the bill, keep the pump as you can learn from it, remember you can't break what is already broken but if you fix it, knowledge for life.

 

I'm more on the sender boat here. Those engines don't need water cooling and would seldom, if ever overheat without it. If there's air moving across the engine it should be within temp specs.

 

Thinking along your lines, knew the 110s got hot but was liquid cooled really needed or something done for the marketing team... should have listen to good ole dad "power windows, just one more f'n thing to break", but timing and deal worked out so wasn't going to walk away from this machine. Still happy with it, just need it to work right

Good news is dealership is picking the bike up (no charge) and working with HD Tech Support to do the official diagnosis and repair (should be no charge from what I was just told).

 

I just went through this a week ago and can not verify water pump operation. Replace hot cat and did a TTS custom configuration. Did not use the bike for awhile. Did the new pump resolve the issue.?

 

Ended up with a new Pump and Thermostat (long story, dealer did the thermostat without asking after they called and said they confirmed it was the water pump)... been on 2 rides since getting bike back and no issues, so I'll call it fixed.

FWIW - HD mothership declined to cover it under warranty or other "known issue", but my sales guy at the dealership went to bat and got the costs split... still a little ticked, they know there's a bad batch but wont own up to get (get there has to be limits but this one doesn't sit well with me).

 

My 2015 Shriners edition Ultra Limited did the same thing. Just out of warranty and only 7000 miles on the bike. Pulled the pump and checked all the electrical and the Magnetic impeller was stuck with coagulated coolant. Cleaned it up and put all back together working fine now. Change your coolant every two years. I used dex cool as if its good enough for my Cadillac it'll be good enough for a vtwin.

 

I rode my 15 Ultra Limited every weekend in the 80's and approx. 800 miles later combined with my lady on the back, the bike runs as it should just a little bit hotter with no issues with check engine and water light on. Had the rear cylinder shut down activated in traffic. My dealer said before all this they would not be able to get on it b/c 3 of 5 mechanics went down on a ride so they been on short help. So I will drop it off when I get a chance since there is still riding days left on the calendar in the NYC area.