Ok, so I am completely new to HD. I've ridden dirt bikes all my life, and have finally bought my first cruiser. I LOVE IT.

I ride a 2003 Heritage Softail 100th anniversary. Fuel Injected. 6500 Miles

So here is my problem. I've had the bike a few weeks, put about 1000 miles on it back and forth to work, and weekend rides.

So last night, I am headed home from work, and it starts cutting out, and backfiring. So I pull over, and it starts right back up. It does this a couple more times on the way home, but I made it home. I checked the bike over last night, tightened battery cables, checked fluids, and done the simple things I knew to do. So this morning i get back on the bike headed to work, and it is still doing the same thing. So I made it about a mile from the house, and it will not start back up. So I pushed it back home, and I have no idea what to do now. HELP!!

 

Did you check the ground cables where they connect to the frame?

 

I did not. Good point. I will check that when i get home. I talked to HD service tech, and he seemed to be leaning toward a sensor being out.

 

You have one or two things going on. Check your fuel pressure regulator housing, they tend to break and cause the symptoms you are experiencing. The other common issue is a pinhole in one of the internal fuel lines in the tank. I know you only have 6500 miles on the bike, but if you do go in the tank to check this stuff out you might want to replace the fuel filter too...

 

Ok. Thank you so much. I'm not sure if i'm comfortable doing these things, how difficult are these tasks? Is it more cost worthy to take it to HD and let them do it, or with basic mechanical skills could i do these?

 

The fuel tank service that dfwhockey refers to is fairly basic, but a bit "fiddly". There are you tube videos. Patience is the key, and there is a risk of breaking one of the plastic pieces if you manhandle it. Buy the filter and special hoses, and use fuel injection hose clamps. Once it's done, you're good for a long time.

Another thing is although the bike only has 6500 miles, it's still a fourteen year old bike. The ignition switch losing contact is a known issue. I had this happen with a '02 Sportster. I bought it '14 with 1500 miles. Had to replace the ignition switch because of intermittent loss of contact. Since you'd have the tank console off anyway to the filter and hose thing, the ignition switch is right there and very easy to change.

 

I believe i could probably handle these fixes. And when i bought the bike, i did have the expectation of issues like this because it is 13 years old. I figure whoever had it, obviously, did not ride very much, so i'm sure it sat a lot, and figured these small things would pop up anyway. I just do not want to get in to a high price fix right off the bat.
Thanks again!

 

If you're expecting to fix things yourself, better get a service manual for the bike. I recommend getting a searchable pdf electronic copy instead of a hardback.

For me, it's been invaluable on a tablet while also being able to pull up videos for a lot of the procedures while in the garage.

It's also come in extremely useful being able to pull it up on the phone while on the road.

 

What is the best way to tell if these things are the issues. Obviously check them, but how would i tell if the are bad?

 

If its EFI I'd put my money on the fuel line inside the tank or the pressure regulator also inside the tank. Had the exact same problem on my 02 Fatboy. And, like someone said, you might want to replace the filter while you're at it.