The bike is a 2020 road glide limited. The bike has stock air box and filter, stock tune, stock headpipe with cat, mufflers are v&h eliminator 400's with quiet baffles installed. The temperature is 95 degrees and somewhat humid, 1300 ft above sea level. Riding two up with luggage in 6th gear, cruise set at 62 mph. Running 93 octane. I noticed a slight ping when the bike would accelerate up grade, it would only last a moment. I could accelerate and the ping would be eliminated. Would this be the effect of the combination of load on the bike and the hot weather, or could the installation of the eliminator 400 mufflers leaned out the fuel air ratio just a little too much?

 

You're lugging it.

 

Some M8s just do that. Mine did.

At higher RPMs too. And after a tune as well.

 

I’ve had 2 M8s and they both did it under load. I’m surprized Your’s does it with 93 octane.

 

Mine did it with 93, the prescribed dose of octane booster, a tune, and riding one up exclusively.
I researched it here for the past 18 months going back to 2017. Some M8s just have personality issues.
My two Evos didn’t possess the grunt of the M8 of course, but they sure didn’t misbehave like my M8.

Docile riding around the countryside? It was a perfect gentleman. But ask it to move out on the interstate, and you’d get noises from time to time. Might have even sumped a couple of times. Not sure what the heck else that could have been. It was a 2020.

 

My Heritage has done it a few times. In the most recent case, it was crummy gasoline. Put an ounce or so of octane booster in the 1/2 tank remaining and it was fine. Went back to Top Tier premium (Shell) locally and no more problems. Never heard a ping out West either, but that was mostly non-ethanol 91 octane.

 

I also have a 2020 Road Glide Limited and I get the same noise you mention. I honestly believe it's the spark advance/retard/anti-knock doing its job when rolling on the throttle. The sound is metallic, transient, and immediately goes away. True pinging will continue as long as the engine is under load. My Twin Cam did t do it so it drives me a little crazy, but seems to be the nature of the beast with this engine.

 

Count me in to the "2020 RGL ping club". Like the OP, mine is stock other than HD Street Cannons. Strange thing with mine is that it never did it the first 2 summers of riding. No changes at all this year and since spring it's been noticeable?
For your reading pleasure, I did start this thread here in the M8 section about a month ago...https://www.hdforums.com/forum/milwa...r-2-years.html

 

Navy Mustang... it's the spark advance/retard/anti-knock doing its job

Statement in the bold above is true. Adding open mufflers without a tune might add to the frequency of occurrence, but the M8 will ping slightly in cases described by the OP. All three of my stock M8s have done it. My 18 FLHTK still pinged slightly on occasion, even after an aftermarket cam oil pump, tune, etc. etc...

 

That's awfully low RPM in 6th gear, especially being fully loaded. Sure, the engine will power through, but it is lugging (not pinging) - don't confuse valvetrain noise with pinging. Just riding solo I don't cruise in 6th gear until 65 mph.