103" Stage II Hard Starting
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,847
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From: Missouri
Well after 82 miles on the dyno I'm back home and happy to report no starting problems. I told the tuner about my hard start problems and told him I wanted that looked at for sure. He did say he cleaned the contacts at the starter. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the problem so you might check yours too. I rode it pretty hard for 60 miles killed it and tried to restart it and it fired up like it did before the 103. So check to see if there's any arcing at the starter. And have it dynoed there's no need for compression releases if mine is any indication. By the way my #'s 84hp and 98.5tq.
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Road Captain
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 554
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From: SoCal
Well after 82 miles on the dyno I'm back home and happy to report no starting problems. I told the tuner about my hard start problems and told him I wanted that looked at for sure. He did say he cleaned the contacts at the starter. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the problem so you might check yours too. I rode it pretty hard for 60 miles killed it and tried to restart it and it fired up like it did before the 103. So check to see if there's any arcing at the starter. And have it dynoed there's no need for compression releases if mine is any indication. By the way my #'s 84hp and 98.5tq.
Marc
Retired Admin
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 21,865
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From: Wisconsin
Not taking any chances. I'm having the compression releases installed when they install the 103" Stage II kit. I had them on my 2002 Heritage, but that had SE ported heads and a 260 cam. When it was hot, it started real hard.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,847
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From: Missouri
That sounds great. Do you have the stock exhaust system on yours? The problem my guy had was that the cat is in the header and he couldn't get the sniffer up far enough to get any readings. How did he do yours? Its also possible that your stock system is different than mine since mine is a California setup. BTW, I stopped for gas today after riding on the freeway and damned if it didn't do it again. The starter just about stalled altogether but I kept my finger on it till it inched over TDC and then fired right up. I shut it off and it restarted without incident so it seems that it depends on where in the stroke the engine happens to stop as to whether its going to have trouble or not. I think I'm going to call HD Monday and see if they have anything smart to say.
Marc
Marc
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Joined: Jul 2007
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From: Missouri
I'm sure releases will make it easier but I'm convinced now it's all in the tuning. If my bike was hot it would even kick back and the starter wasn't going to last very long. After the tune I rode 60 miles hard and didn't stop until I got home. I Killed it and it started like new.
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Road Captain
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 554
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From: SoCal
The thing that bothers me about this is that it isn't consistent. It can start perfectly 10 times in a row and then stall the starter like it did today. You would think it would have difficulty all the time under similar conditions. The other thing that is bothering me is that HD recalled all the 103" police bikes to install compression releases. Now why would they have done that if there wasn't some kind of issue they recognized that was acerbated by the severe service authority bikes work under. Can you imagine how many times a day those things get restarted? So, if a civilian bike runs into the problem 10% of the time maybe they figure the starter will live at least long enough to get through the warranty period but with the police bikes they wouldn't. Besides, they can't afford to have police bikes failing starters under potentially emergency situations. Do you see where I'm going with this? Certainly the timing can be part of the issue but if all it took was a timing adjustment to negate the problem wouldn't they have just done that on the police bikes rather than pulling the heads? Maybe EPA restrictions? I think the reality is that you aren't going to know if the timing really cured it for a while. On the other hand, compression releases will white wash the situation and take the load off of the starter regardless of the cause.
Does this make sense??
Marc
Does this make sense??
Marc
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Road Captain
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 554
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From: SoCal
Oh, I forgot to ask, did you have the SE clutch spring installed along with the 103" kit? The new spring comes in the box. My hand has some issues so I left the original spring in place. I've been worrying whether the original spring can handle the increased load or not. I haven't felt anything unusual so far. I was thinking tonight about installing the new spring and one of those Clutchlite ramps. Any opinions out there?
Marc
Marc
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,847
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From: Missouri
Oh, I forgot to ask, did you have the SE clutch spring installed along with the 103" kit? The new spring comes in the box. My hand has some issues so I left the original spring in place. I've been worrying whether the original spring can handle the increased load or not. I haven't felt anything unusual so far. I was thinking tonight about installing the new spring and one of those Clutchlite ramps. Any opinions out there?
Marc
Marc
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Billings,Mt.
You might be able to get away with it not slipping if your easy on the right grip.
But whats the point of doing a build and not giving it throttle in fear of the clutch slipping?
Cruiser
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 221
Likes: 3
From: Texas/Arkansas border
I, too, had hard starting problems after my 103 upgrade. I took it back to my dealer, they called up the map on my PCIII and did several adjustments. In the end, they took some of the timing out of the 0-500 rpm mode, plus leaned it. That didn't help. It turned out to be a weak battery. Once I put a new battery on, all my troubles went away. We left the settings as is and if there are no more problems, I'll be a happy camper.