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I was having a problem with the bike stalling, which I thought was related to a throttle adjustment because I just had to rewire my turn signals inside the handlebars. I had the rear end jacked up for an unrelated reason started the bike was gonna let it idle for a while and see if I had a vacuum leak using the brake cleaner test Bike was in neutral idling, and I noticed that the rear wheel was turning, and when I stopped the rear wheel from turning the bike stalled. Is this normal? If not, what’s the issue?
I was having a problem with the bike stalling, which I thought was related to a throttle adjustment because I just had to rewire my turn signals inside the handlebars. I had the rear end jacked up for an unrelated reason started the bike was gonna let it idle for a while and see if I had a vacuum leak using the brake cleaner test Bike was in neutral idling, and I noticed that the rear wheel was turning, and when I stopped the rear wheel from turning the bike stalled. Is this normal? If not, what’s the issue?
How much effort did it take to stop the rear wheel....??
Many bikes will spin the rear wheel in neutral due to clutch plate drag, but stopping the rear tire usually takes little effort and won't cause a stall.
However, any bike I've ever ridden with a properly adjusted clutch, will stall if you let the clutch out, with the brakes on.....
Have you adjusted or done anything recently to affect the clutch adjustment?
It could be that your clutch needs adjusting...
If not the clutch, IMHO, there is not enough info for a good guess at a diagnosis.
We could use more info about the conditions that lead to the bike stalling; how and when, hot or cold, moving or stationary, accelerating or decelerating, etc, etc
Also what work has been done recently. You mention some handlebar rewiring, and that you had the rear wheel jacked up for an "unrelated reason". Other issues that you were working on, and/or mods you have recently done could be important...
We are not there to see what you see, hear what you hear, and know what you have done, checked, or tried in order to fix the issue.....
Help us help you....
Last edited by hattitude; Sep 28, 2025 at 08:24 PM.
OK, you have a lotta good questions. I’m going to try to answer all of them. Firstly, it took very little effort to stop the wheel from turning it was turning at a very low rate however, it did seem like it might be picking up momentum. The bike was in neutral not in gear. I have done clutch adjustments many times in the past usually when I have trouble finding neutral. prior to having the stalling problem the right front turn signal was not working. I determined that that was a broken wire pinched where the controls go into the handlebars. Fixing this problem required me to remove my right front controls which also involved removing my throttle control cables when I reinstalled them. I had to readjust them. Of course I did not get this adjustment correct when I took the bike out for a ride, I noticed almost immediately that I had too much play in my grip and the throttle wasn’t rolling off the way it should. Shortly into that ride 20 minutes or so the bike stalled at the light and stalled several more times at other lights basically almost every time I tried to stop then eventually stalled at a light and I couldn’t get it restarted. I have since been able to get the bike started in my shop on the lift. I determined I have good spark the reason I had the bike rear wheel lifted was because I realized I had a flat amongst all the other problems that I’m having and I was looking for the culprit. I was planning to let the bike idle for a while and do a test to see if I have a vacuum leak around the manifold. Also planning to do the test to see if I have a exhaust leak however, I can’t test the manifold for a leak unless the bike is running and now I can’t get it to start after I stalled it with the rear tire. I did have one code in the ecm saying that my front cylinder was running lean which is why I want to check for a vacuum leak.
Thanks.... a lot of good info there. Especially that you are no stranger to a clutch adjustment. Shows you have some skills when it comes to Harleys... That helps a bunch.
I have a couple ideas, but they would depend on the bike you have.
Let's get the basics down, so we all know about the bike....
Could you give us the year/ model/ carb or EFI / mileage / any engine mods...?
2014 fsxb breakout with a stage 3 kit vans & Hines big radius. I did install the upgrade starter motor a couple years ago. Also last year I over filled the oil and ran it for about 15 minutes before realizing. She was running great up until I she broke down as described 2 weeks ago
I was surprised to see your 2014 still has an IAC (idle Air Control) module. I thought they had switched from those by 2014... must have changed on just the touring "A" Twin Cams.
A bad or dirty IAC will cause your bike to stall as reported, and have hard starting issues. I don't recall it causing the bike to completely fail to start....
In any case, that's where I'd start with your reported issues. You can clean the plunger and its seat in the induction module that controls air at idle. You can also check to see if it is functioning altogether.
A quick search on this forum, or a general internet search, will give the directions for a cleaning and/or operations check. Both pretty easy...
Report back what you find...
Last edited by hattitude; Sep 30, 2025 at 09:50 AM.
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Stalling
