Howdy all!
Today I added a second bike to my garage in addition to my 1999 FXST I am finishing. I picked up a 2010 Ultra Limited. The guy that owned it had a heart attack a couple of years ago, so she has set up for a while. I got her home tonight. She ran great and will be getting a 3 hole change Friday when I am off work. The paint is in perfect shape. The chrome needs a lot of love, but nothing a polishing wheel and some polish won’t fix. She will be getting a K&N breather setup and new slip ons. The PO gutted the cats out of the headers, but the slip ons he put on there are obnoxiously loud and have a loud drumming noise while cruising that gives me a headache. I have the factory service manual already.

So, I have three quick questions.

One, are the chrome switches actually black switches with chrome covers? I know that is something you can buy for bikes with black switches. Reason being is that you can barely read these things and the plastic is pitiful. I am hoping I do not have to replace the switches themselves. If they are in fact chrome switches, can I just buy a set of the chrome covers they make for the black ones and just put them over them?

Two, the turn signals work fine, but the four way flashers do not come on when you press both signal buttons. Where should I start to look for this one?

Three, the front brake lever does not go back fully when you let go of it. You can still feel it holding the brake. When I push it forward, you can feel the brake let go and it stays there until you pull it again. What is the first thing to look for here? Bleeding the brakes? Never had a bike with ABS.

Thanks for the help. I am well versed in carb EVOs, but this sucker is new to me.

 

Nice bike!
One: you can just replace the switch caps/levers without replacing the switches.
Two: I'm pretty sure your bike has a 4-way sibnal switch on the RH side.
Three: try bleeding but the front caliper and master cylinder might need a re-do.
Enjoy that beauty!

 

I don’t know if this has anything to do with the brake lever issue.

SAFETY RECALL 0171: 2008 - 2011 ABS MODELS

 

I went ahead and bought a rebuild kit for the front master cylinder. Can’t hurt since the bike is 16 years old. I will flush the old DOT 4 out of the system and put fresh fluid in after I install the rebuild kit and bleed the system.

I do not believe my bike has a four way flasher button. It should be activated by pushing both turn signals.

 

I'm not sure about 2010, but my 09 Ultra doesn't have a separate hazard light switch. You have to hit both turn signal switches at the same time to activate 4 ways, but they must be pushed at exactly the same time.

For me it's harder to turn them on and off, than older bikes I've had.

 

OP, go to the Harley Service Information Portal (SIP) and you can read the owner's manual, and get other info about your new bike. You can make an account as an Independent Operator, or read as a Customer

https://serviceinfo.harley-davidson.com/login


As far as activating the 4-way flashers:

 

Those chrome switch caps are just caps, but they replace the black ones. You'll have to get the OEM black caps from your dealer, or cheaper elsewhere, like eBay.

I have a '13 King and the 4-way flashers work as below from my owner's manual...

 

I had a 2010 Ultra Classic and it was a great bike, but the ABS brake system needs MUCH more care and attention than most keyboard warriors say it does. To properly flush the brakes you will need a scan tool of some kind to pulse the solenoid modules in the ABS system to get the old fluid out. If you do not you will leave a lot of old fluid in the system that WILL corrode those solenoid plungers in the ABS module and can cause the brakes to fail. I had this happen on my bike because the previous owner did not understand this and it cost me an expensive repair. I do not know if Harley still makes those ABS modules anymore so hopefully yours is OK, but if the system was not flushed properly on a regular basis the ABS module might possibly be the cause of your brakes acting up.

I had a decatted headpipe on my bike and really liked it with the stock mufflers. Gave it a deep sound but was easy to tune. When I had that headpipe with your average loud mufflers it didn't tune worth a crap (and as you have discovered was stupid loud). I found a good used set of Screamin' Eagle mufflers that also sounded good but were a little loud on the highway due to the missing cat.

You have a great bike, but I would be very careful with your evaluation and service of those brakes. Might be worth it to have a dealer flush the brakes with the Digital Technician. That way if they are still not working right they could at least tell you if the problem is in the ABS module or something else. Now that I am thinking about it my late Wife's old bike had a hydraulic clutch that was not re-engaging after pulling the lever and it turned out the return hole in the master cylinder was plugged. Might be worth a quick check of the return hole in your front master cylinder. I never had any problems with the calipers or master cyclinders on my bike, I was very pleased with how well they worked after I got the ABS module replaced.

Good luck with your bike, I think you'll enjoy it a lot.

 

Thanks folks. Let me answer the best I can.

For the brakes, I will rebuild the master cylinder and flush the best I can and evaluate them. I read the procedure in the factory service manual of the scan tool. Unfortunately, the closest HD dealer is almost 2 hours from me. We have a great indy here that has picked up pretty much all of the old HD dealerships non-warranty work. I will bring it by to them if need be since they should have all the appropriate tools.

For the pipes, the OP gave me the OEM slip ons. I am going to take off those loud a$$ pipes and put the stock ones back on and evaluate them on loudness and performance. The Op did have the bike dyno tuned (I have the result sheet) after removing the cats, opening up the air cleaner, and putting on those pipes. I am thinking a bit of back pressure may actually help the tune. If nothing else I will leave them on until I get some better slip-ons and then I will have it retuned.

For the 4 ways, I am very well versed on how to turn them on. I owned a 2009 Ultra. The issue is they will not turn on. Signals work great, 4 ways do not come on. There are turn signals mounted on the front of the fairing and one of them is not blinking when the turn signal is pressed, so it may be related. I will need to look more into that.

I have the factory service manual in my possession and an owner's manual on the way.

Lights on fairing (hopefully someone can point out what they are)

 

While the bold part I highlighted is true, there are other details that point to why ABS modules in the 2008-2011 models were “failing at a greater rate than their peers.”

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/201...16009-4201.PDF