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From: The Free State of Jones, aka Jones County, MS.
What tuner do you use?
I have a 2003 Heritage Softail (FLTSCI)with a 5 speed, that I just recently acquired... I took it for a test ride from South, Mississippi to West Tennessee and back, just over 850 miles...
That Said, I discovered that this bike runs great as long as you are doing 60+ MPH, but at any speed less than that, you have to constantly swap gears in an effort to keep it in the sweet spot. I am pretty sure that the fellow I bought it from has used a tuner on it and apparently had it set up for nothing but highway riding. While riding in towns at posted speeds of 30 mph to 45 mph, my Heritage will work you so much from swapping gears to keep it running smooth, and then if you have to stop, you have to keep revving the engine to keep it from dying... Now I am new to Harley's, but thought that they were torque monsters and was expecting to be able to ride around town without constantly shifting gears. Now since getting back from Tennessee, I had the opportunity to ride an 02 Road King, about 30 miles, with both highway and city driving in that short run, and it ran great, and didn't require all the shifting that my Heritage would have...
OK, all of that was simply to ask, if you use a Tuner on your Softail from the same era, what Tuner do you use and what are the pros and cons of it.
I have a Vance and Hines Fuel Pack, that I am hoping I can use to straighten my Heritage out, but just in case I have to purchase a new one, I would really like as much info as possible on all of the options, with my tuning goals being to simply have a headache free riding experience, as I am not concerned with being the fastest Harley on the road, I just want to enjoy riding, regardless of if I am out on the Highways, on a Back Road, or riding thru the heart of one of Americas great Cities... This was taken on my way home from West Tennessee, and was taken in the parking lot of the Tin Lizzie Cafe' in West Point, Mississippi... If you are traveling thru West Point and want a good meal and great service, then by all means stop in at the Tin Lizzie...
I bought it from FuelMoto to get lifetime map support... I have used the maps from FuelMoto and a couple maps from DynoJet... I then did auto tune runs on them... Their maps are pretty good. I usually get within 4% average change (the goal when auto tuning) within one or two auto tune sessions...
Before messing with the tune, since it's a new to you bike, make sure everything else is up to snuff.... good gas, new fuel filter (you didn't list mileage), no exhaust/intake leaks, etc, etc before just diving into the tune.... and don't forget to check the cam tensioner shoes if the cam tensioners have not already been addressed....
I have an '03 Heritage I bought new in 2003... Love that bike....!!
From: The Free State of Jones, aka Jones County, MS.
Originally Posted by hattitude
I use the PowerVision Tuner by DynoJet...
I bought it from FuelMoto to get lifetime map support... I have used the maps from FuelMoto and a couple maps from DynoJet... I then did auto tune runs on them... Their maps are pretty good. I usually get within 4% average change (the goal when auto tuning) within one or two auto tune sessions...
Before messing with the tune, since it's a new to you bike, make sure everything else is up to snuff.... good gas, new fuel filter (you didn't list mileage), no exhaust/intake leaks, etc, etc before just diving into the tune.... and don't forget to check the cam tensioner shoes if the cam tensioners have not already been addressed....
I have an '03 Heritage I bought new in 2003... Love that bike....!!
Enjoy your the new ride...
Gas wise, during my recent 850+ mile trip I ran premium most of the time with a couple of fill ups with mid grade, but none of my fuel stops were over 3 gallons.
This scooter was supposedly serviced right before I took possession & the previous owner said he had it tuned for top end & I believe him because of the way it runs...
Mileage is in the included pic, which was right after I got back from Tennessee, it may have 10 more miles on it now... 37500 +/-
Are there simple checks for the following? "exhaust/intake leaks, etc, etc before just diving into the tune.... and don't forget to check the cam tensioner shoes if the cam tensioners have not already been addressed"???
From: The Free State of Jones, aka Jones County, MS.
Originally Posted by Uncle Peepers
I've heard good things about the Power Vision. I have a V&H Fuelpak 3 on my softail, but only because it came with the bike.
What year is your Softail? Will the Fuelpak 3 work with my 2003 Softail? I like the idea of all the info it will share via a smart phone, but was under the imprssion that it was compatible only with newer model scooters...
For an 03 with a stage 1 or below I would go with a dynojet pc5. Even a Vance and Hines fuelpak would be okay but the PC 5 would be better. If you've had a lot of work then I would go up from there. And I don't believe your problems has to do with the tune. I have a o6 fx with a pc5.... runs like a champ on a highways or through town. I had a Vance and Hines fuelpak in it before that and it ran well on that too. I think I'd be looking elsewhere unless the previous owner had a completely wrong tune for your setup.. I would try a different tune with the fuel pack first.
From: The Free State of Jones, aka Jones County, MS.
Originally Posted by golfblues
For an 03 with a stage 1 or below I would go with a dynojet pc5. Even a Vance and Hines fuelpak would be okay but the PC 5 would be better. If you've had a lot of work then I would go up from there. And I don't believe your problems has to do with the tune. I have a o6 fx with a pc5.... runs like a champ on a highways or through town. I had a Vance and Hines fuelpak in it before that and it ran well on that too. I think I'd be looking elsewhere unless the previous owner had a completely wrong tune for your setup.. I would try a different tune with the fuel pack first.
The previous owner said he had tuned it to try and run top end with some newer, bigger, and faster Harley, but he did not say what tuner or tune he had used, only that he had sold the tuner to a friend... So since the bike runs so well from 60 MPH on, I am assuming(which I know can be a big mistake) that my problem is in the tune... The only physical mods I am aware of is the Vance & Hines Long Shot exhaust, which is the 2 1/4" version and not the bigger 2 1/2" version. The air filter is a Harley element, and other than cosmetics, I don't think anything has been done to this scooter...
I thought you said you had a Vance and Hines fuelpak in the bike but I misread that. If you do not have the original tuner and it was flashed you might as well put in the fuel pack but you need to know what's exactly has been done to the bike. You know the pipes but you don't know if its was a stage 1 or stock air filter? Were any cams put in the bike? Headwork?
if what you said above was correct it sounds like you should just get a tune for the pipes and stock filter or Piipes + stage 1 air filter. I would think with those pipes you have a stage 1 air filter.
Last edited by golfblues; May 24, 2020 at 08:24 PM.
Nothing I can add to what's already been said . Your bike probably just needs to be re tuned to get it to where your happy with it , but it wouldn't hurt to give the the throttle body a good cleaning . Use some throttle body cleaner on the butterfly and scrub off any carbon build up it may have on it . Also spraying all the crud out of the IAC might help with a the idle issue a bit .
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What tuner do you use?
