Finally picked up my first harley, '08 1200C being new to HD not sure how the bike is supposed to feel. Bike starts fine, idles ok but the darn thing feels like it's misfiring, my brother noticed it too. Pulled the plugs look fine gapped them to spec. but still the same. Is this just the way they run? I hope not bugs the he** out of me. Advice? Thanks in adv...... JD

 

When do you feel like it is "misfiring". Are you experiencing a hesitation to accelerate for just a brief moment with neutral throttle/almost accelerating? Harleys are good on the low end, great wide open, but in the middle they are finicky. An exhaust that doesn't provide enough back pressure will cause that. In fact, I removed the baffles from my pipes, it ran awesome wide open, sounded fantastic, but in between it felt like it was "misfiring". Put the baffles in - all is well.

Is your bike stock as far as pipes/air cleaner go? I don't recall if the 08 was injected or carb'd - which?

 

It,s inj. It happen's just cruising along especially notice in 1st gear when driving out of subdivision. Just has that slight hesitation feeling but also at speed. By the way it is stock. The bike does'nt jerk hard or anything, just feels like a misfire cause it's so consistant.

 

Assuming the bike Is a low mile bike In new condition I think Intake leaks
are unlikely. Got a clean air filter ? no exhaust leaks ?
To check anyways have a freind hold a Hi Idle and shoot some WD-40
around the intake manifold,,If the Idle slows ya got a leak,,I doubt that.

Once again these EFI bikes are set up from the factory EPA compliant
LEAN,,with an ARF of 14.6 or 14.7.

Did you Look at the Plugs before you cleaned em ??
Were they white and chalky ?? thats a too lean sign.

Read the X14ieD threads,,there are several and they are current.

As for slow rolling In first gear,,a 1200 don't like that. It will buck.
Try staying In the friction zone.
What you desribe sounds like that when yer slow rolling.

Now when you are at a decent speed,,I hope yer not lugging It.
This Is also most common, Remember that Sportsters love to rev not
lope along like a Big Hawg.

Don't get lost trying to decide If yer In the right gear for the speed
yer rolling. Looking down at the speedo while yer tryin ta figure
out the bike will get ya killed.

Try the Old School methode:
Wrap a Dew-Rag around the speedo for a month or so. Use yer *** to
decide what gear to be In.
When ever you roll on 10-15% throttle In what ever gear except maybe
5th you *** should Immedeatly press back in the seat.
Not after you roll on the throttle but while you roll It on.
If not, downshift one or two.

Stay outta 5th gear for power untill yer past 60 mph.
Gettin on the superslab ? stay outta 5th gear till 70 mph

I can roll along in 5th at 50 but she can't give me anything untill about 55 mph

SPORTSTER'S LOVE TO REV,,
Get On It !
That engine Is tuff as nails.

 

Hmm... 1st gear is kind of rough on the sporty IMO. I try and get out of it as soon as I can. I honestly think the bike is fine and that you aren't used to how Harley's really "are". But don't take my word.

 

Also to add, since this is your first HD, don't lug the engine! What speed are you shifting at? This engine like to run around 3000-3500 RPM.

 

I undrstand what you guys are saying especially the "lugging". But my brother noticed it under acceleration and I feel it just cruising along @ 40mph in 3rd gear or 55 in 5th. As for being in first gear I purposly stayed in 1st up to perhaps 30 mph and concetrated on the motor and could deffin. feel what seems like misfire. I think I will try and get a "seasoned" hd rider to ride it and see what they think. Thanks for the help and still welcome any more ideas. THANKS JD

 

It is a Harley and performance is not as important as the aesthetic appeal. Some tuning will help however. Actually, if you stay on the throttle and let the RPMs roll, you will forget all about it. I have learned to love my technologically-challenged dinosaur.

 

My 09' 1200 does the same thing, if you keep it at a steady rpm high or low, just like you said, i really see it happen in the neighborhood, smoooth studder, smooth studder, smooth studder and its not lugging at all, I have been thinking about taking it in to my tech to see what he thinks, let us know if you find anything!!

 

JD, when I first got my 2007 1200C new, one of the first things I noticed was that the throttle was "vague". I live on a dirt road so I ride in and out of my neighborhood in low gear at low throttle. My engine "hunted" under these conditions and when cruising at say 55 mph and you come to a hill it took quite a twist of the throttle to climb the hill compared to on the level. I had noticed the Fuel Moto ads on here so I called Jamie Long at Fuel Moto, he fixed me up with a PowerCommander III set at 10% richer than stock across the board. The throttle suddenly became rheostat like, no more hunting, climbing a hill requires no more than a mere thought. The oil temp dropped from 205 to 220 down to around 195 to 210 most of the time. The mileage dropped from 57 to 51 but that's perfectly OK.

This is not a great picture but the plugs are the perfect color at 14,500 miles. When I replaced them.