Sup fellas.. I am here to share and hopefully get some feedback to help me with my new 06 SG. I have the first 1k service in three days but did want to get a good understanding of the issues and if there is anything I should look out for while talking with the dealer.

I picked up a 06 SG (Carb model) with 13 miles, off the showroom floor. I absolutely love the way the bike looks and drives but am having some issues that seem to be more common than not. After reading several postings, I fear I may have trouble ahead.

1-The first thing I noticed when I got going down the road was the carb. Starting out, 6 out of 10 starts are some sort of choke or sputter than ends up stalling out. If the bike doesn’t just die, it runs up through the gears and stables out. Once I got around 300 miles on it it started to buck and die off while running down the road ~2k RPM. It can be sitting idle for a few minutes at ~900RPM and just die during one of the lopes. The more miles I ride, the worse it seems gets. I am hoping adjustments to the carb can be made to correct this.

2- The mirror location on the fairing seems low. I have seen a couple of posts about a factory recall upon complaint so hopefully I can get this resolved. The problem is I see more of my hand and grips than I do behind/beside me...

3- This one is what worries me the most. I have a whine starting in 3rd gear up through 4th and then goes away in 5th. 3rd gear you can just start to hear a whining noise but once you get into 4th is real loud and goes completely away during 5th.

4- The factory seat is just sub par. As previous posters have mentioned, 60 miles and you really start to feel it. Passenger usually starts to feel it around 25 miles. New seat in the future.. I have been shopping for a seat and not sure if any other model of HD has a compatible seat. I am not finding a lot specially for the Street Glide. Are seat mounts for FLH models all the same?

5- Radio sounds really nice going down the road. Real clear.. the problem I am having is CD skips. I have tried multiple CDs, including brand new ones and they all seem to have something different. The skips are not uniformed and can happen any where in the CD and never happens in the same song/spot (cd had no scratches, even tried new ones from the plastic) Doesn’t happen all the time and never when you would expect it to (during rough roads or during idle from vibration).

6) Front brake squeals. Started right after the 100 mile mark and hasn’t stopped since. Def sounds like the harmonics of the rim itself, not the brakes (of course applying the brakes creates the harmonics but I don’t feel it is related to the caliper/pad/rotor)

Even though I love the look, sound, and drive of the bike, I am really disappointed at the workmanship. I spent a good penny on a dream only to be plagued with issues. I just hope that HD and my dealer can work out the factory defects so I can actually enjoy showing off my new ride.

 

The carb can be adjusted, but ya shoulda got EFI. The mirror recall was ages ago, doubt if it applies to your bike, only very early production, ask the dealer. Order a Sundowner seat and put on floating brake rotors. Get your dealer to check out the gear whine and stereo issue. Relax, it will all get sorted out![sm=boohoo.gif]

 

Thanks man, I am willing to hang in there and work with them. I was dead set on EFi but my old school riders told me not to be scared of a carb. I do agree with them that the pipes do sound much better than the Efi models.

Wish me luck!, will post on Friday- what comes of the dealer visit.

 

1. EFI would have fixed this, make sure with a carb model your bike is warmed up before taking off. Its simple..... its a carb. Needs to be adjusted

2. My SG i can see everything behind me with no problems, tilt them up.... they move

3. in a constant mesh tranny your going to have gear whine. Why 4th? Who knows... its fine...

4. My shortest ride has been 60 miles, over 1900 miles in two weeks, never a problem

5. maybe a bad sensor mine plays fine

6. my 80k H2 squeals too, geez. It happens. In fact our Lexus does too. Brakes/dust... squeeling.
I htink the SG has something else wierd, maybe a little misalignment on the rotors. Shims fix this. Every HIPO bike shims the rotors so they dont drag

Go ride and enjoy, seems everything is fixable.

 

Sorry to hear this. Sounds like you've found every previously posted 2006 problem (SG or other). While pretty much all of us have experienced the brake squeal (again, all touring models), the other issues you mention have been hit and miss.

My mirrors, I believe, are low on the fairing. But I am so short that they work perfectly for me. On my next service I will likely have them corrected (in the event I ever sell the bike).

The radio skipping is one of those things that some people have had tons of trouble with, others none.

Definitely get that bike back to the dealership ASAP!

 

I agree on the brakes. Go to floating rotors and eliminate the squeal.

As for the seat, I just posted my Sundowner for sale: Sundowner 2 up seat

A little tweaking and all of your problems should be easily remedied.

Primo

 

Don't sweat the carb either. Once you get the bike broken in and tuned (if necessary), you bike will run circles around the EFI bike. Exception being traversing major elevation changes ~ you won't have a problem, it just won;t run as well as you're accustomed to.

The seat... Yes, almost all stock HD seats suck! There are many seats for many different butts. I have been VERY pleased with Mustang seats. I have had them on 3 Touring HD's and 1 Heritage. For me, it's a must. AND... get a seat with a rider backrest.

The brakes do tend to make some noise. Floating rotors help and SBS and/or Lindell brake pads also help.

CD Player.... better get that one checked out.

Mirrors... Yes, the stems are too short. You will see your shoulder in 50% of the glass. Two options for your scoot.... 1) HD fairing mounted mirros are good. 2) After-market, long stem mirrors resolve the issue too. I have used the Kuryakyn "Long stem" billet looking mirrors on all my HD's and have been totally satisfied. They look like the HD billet mirrors, but they are 1/3 the price and they are BETTER because they are "long-stem" and you can see around your shoulder.

You have a great bike... get it ironed out and enjoy it!!!!

Post some pics when you get a chance.

Welcome to the site!

Later,

Phil

 

As far as the mirrors ( not sure this applies on Sg) but harley sells a mirror extension kit that lengthens the stems on the mirrors. (basically just a spacer, but it put mine at just the right height on my ultra)

 

Im only 5'6 maybe that why my mirrors seem so perfect

 

i'm 6'1" and i see great out of my factory SG mirrors....if you dont want to buy floaters, take the front wheel off...take off both rotors, fill the voids with foamin goo...and swap sides with the rotors....my CD dont skip so i got no remedy...youre right, IMO a carb is far superior in sound to an EFI...dont worry, they're easy to tune