Help. I idled my bike until it overheated. Now I can't get full throttle. I understand there is a heat management built in to my 2008 fatboy. How do I reset it?

 

Heat management in the PCM will cut off the rear cylinder when the engine temperature gets too high. It will then lope along on one cylinder. I don't think it has a reset. Mine has kicked in while idling in traffic. Getting the bike moving again solves the problem. Either that or shutting it off for a while to let it cool. The rear cylinder only cuts off at idle. As soon as you advance the throttle, both cylinders are running again.

Jake

 

Curiousity... at what temp does the PCM cut off the rear cylinder?

 

It sounds like you've done some serious damage. I'd recommend taking it to a qualified shop to see what it needs.

 

I did a dumb thing. Worried about low battery. Started the bike, went inside. Came back, bike hotter than fire. It was in a trailer, no air movement. Backed it out, checked oil temp, greater than 300. Shut it off. Cooled to 210 restarted, only had 1/4 throttle. Ran it down the road, could only get to 30 mph. Shifted fine. Let it cool comp;ete;y then restarted. Full throttle now, got up to 50 mph, no odd noises, no smoke.
Thanks to the heat management system. Will change the oil (synthetic) Tues, ride it easy and see what happens.

 

Wow, never heard of a softail getting to 300 deg, but idle in a trailer would probably do it!!! Hopefully no permanent damage, but I imagine it at least lowered the life of the engine considerably.

 

Take off the air cleaner and see if the throttle blade will open all the way.

 

Have full throttle now. Going to check oil viscosity and the plug for shavings. Hope it looks okay. Can't do it till tues. Hope the synthetic oil lives up to its reputation.

 

It should.
Idling the bike to charge the battery won't work. Not an expert by any means, but I don't think the system starts really charging til you get over 1500 rpm. If you are letting your bike sit for extended periods I suggest getting a battery tender.

 

Thanks. I have a lot to learn. Hopefully my education won't be too expensive.