'03 Electraglide: carb or fuel injection??
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Intermediate
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'03 Electraglide: carb or fuel injection??
Looking to buy an Electraglide and wanted to get your opinions on one with a carb v. fuel injection. Pros & cons of either? Is there a difference in performance or maintence. Should I even care. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks!
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 4,351
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From: Illinois
You will get miles and miles of smiles with either one. If you are not into upgrading and maximum performance, there is no reason why you should care either way. Reliability is too close to call.
If you are into building a high performance machine, you will have more option with the efi.
If you just want to ride and enjoy it and you are smart enough to operate a manual choke, you can't go wrong either way.
Dennis
If you are into building a high performance machine, you will have more option with the efi.
If you just want to ride and enjoy it and you are smart enough to operate a manual choke, you can't go wrong either way.
Dennis
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,532
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From: Rochester N.Y.
I bought my last bike (06 FLHT) because it had a carb.
Tuning was easy and very cheap , usually under $25.00.
Got the same fuel mileage from both bikes.
Throttle response is slightly better with EFI.
If I could have ordered my 09 with a carb , I would have.
You can fudge a carb and still get home , if EFI pukes , you call a tow truck.
If you ride through big altitude changes , the EFI may run a bit stronger.
It just depends on what you like , both work pretty well.
I guess if you found the "bike of your dreams" it wouldn't be a deal breaker either way.
Mick
Tuning was easy and very cheap , usually under $25.00.
Got the same fuel mileage from both bikes.
Throttle response is slightly better with EFI.
If I could have ordered my 09 with a carb , I would have.
You can fudge a carb and still get home , if EFI pukes , you call a tow truck.
If you ride through big altitude changes , the EFI may run a bit stronger.
It just depends on what you like , both work pretty well.
I guess if you found the "bike of your dreams" it wouldn't be a deal breaker either way.
Mick
Road Warrior
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,396
Likes: 146
From:
You will get miles and miles of smiles with either one. If you are not into upgrading and maximum performance, there is no reason why you should care either way. Reliability is too close to call.
If you are into building a high performance machine, you will have more option with the efi.
If you just want to ride and enjoy it and you are smart enough to operate a manual choke, you can't go wrong either way.
Dennis
If you are into building a high performance machine, you will have more option with the efi.
If you just want to ride and enjoy it and you are smart enough to operate a manual choke, you can't go wrong either way.
Dennis
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 4,351
Likes: 461
From: Illinois
I'd have to disagree on the performance build. A bigger carb and manifold can be had cheaper than the fuel management system and tune. Jets are cheap. Race tuners, Power Commanders, etc. aren't. Then you need to pay a tuner to put your bike on the dyno. Change pipes and it's back to the dyno. If you read this forum you'll see that fuel management and tuning and retuning are the biggest hassles with late model Harleys. A good carbureted bike will run cooler, accelerate faster, and be way more flexible if you decide to upgrade cams, displacement ,compression etc, than a fuel injected bike. F.I. is great if you buy the bike and ride it as it is and don't mind the heat destroying your motor.. Most of us don't do that.
If you are paying someone else either way, it will depend on where you live and what mechanics are available. For me, it is just as hard to find someone who will do a carb build right as an efi tune.
I think the carb vs. efi debate is endless. There are pros and cons both ways.
I am fully convinced though that if you are going to ride a stock machine and are happy with it that way, there isn't enough difference in performance or reliablility to be a deal breaker, especially from 2003 when lean wasn't the way.
Endless options aren't really a good thing if you can't or can't find someone to truly use those endless options.
Dennis
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Intermediate
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Thanks for all the great comments, they were helpful. For the type of rider I am and the riding that I do it sounds like either would be fine. So, I'll make the decision on the best bike out there for my budget and not worry about this aspect. Appreciate the input.
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Road Warrior
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From: SoCal
EFI and no regrets afterward through Stage III+! Never once missed my old carb'ed bikes either! 
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