Well, yes and no. It will make the bike run lean so you'll start to hear "more" decibel popping over time. Low fuel pressure manifests itself in a bunch of wierd different ways. I didn't have Harley check my pressure because I was thinking it was something different. The only way I discovered it was while on a long ride. I was headed back home and about 30 miles away the bike started decible popping real bad and not too long after it started running funny. Then it started bogging and puking real bad. I limped it home. The fuel system sounded different, so I pulled it out of the tank. The regulator housing had finally completely failed and pushed almost all the way off. Since I replaced it I've had ZERO starting issues..

Have you happened to notice any change in how the fuel pump sounds when you flip the ignition on? Even if you haven't, it's an easy possibility to eliminate with the pressure test.

Edit:I attached a couple of images of my pump. You can even see the o-ring sticking out..

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/attac...-top-hat-1.jpg

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/attac...-top-hat-2.jpg

 

PitBull, wow! how many miles on it?

I didn't get a chance to get to HD today, but I did go for a 5 minute ride, turned it off let sit for 3 minutes then tried starting it. The link is a vid after sitting for 5 minutes, 3rd time trying to start it. it usually sounds like the beginning of the vid for about 5 seconds longer. Hopefully this will help diagnose it.

 

It sounds similar, but mine got much worse over time. Sometimes mine would belch and spin the engine backward. Basically losing its mind. It got to the point that it was doing it hot or just after the short ride to the gas station. It never did it when it was cold though. But, like I said, it manifests itself in strange ways. Next time you ought to try what I said about hitting the starter right after the pump pressures up and see how it does.

Oh, and my bike has 71K on it, but it started around 50k. Don't let that fool you. Harley tells me that the housing failure is a very common thing. You should know after the pressure test.

It may not be your problem, but you can eliminate the possibility.

 

Thanks for the info Pitbull. Mine does the belching too. more so on the first try, more times than not by the 3rd try it fires up and is fine for the rest of the day. Its always that initial stop at the gas station a few miles from my house. I will keep ya posted after I stop at HD. Is this something they will do as a curtesy ?

 

Thanks. Your initial discription matched my problem very closely. It's 4.7 miles to the station. About 2-3 minutes to fill the tank and then craziness happened. Of course it would never do it when I took it Harley.

 

Can you short the solenoid on an 09 to start it ?
If you can try it it'll give you a direction if it starts no problem that way.

 

Huumm, not sure. How do you start it that way?

 

Be sure to check back in and let us know what the final finding is. It adds the the knowledge pool..

 

My 09 Deluxe had the same type of issue and turned out to be the compensator. The problem got progressively worse over the course of a year until I had it replaced.

 

I had a starting issue with my 07 Night Train. Cold starts ,no issues. The second start ,usually after a very short ride, (less than a mile or when the bike was hot) hit the button and it would sputter and even smoke. I went the cheap route and replaced the starter spragg clutch, about $70, problem solved.