It looks like I stirred up some emotions. Maybe it's perspective, but I bought this thing with full intention, plans, and budget to modify it fairly heavily. I think back to when I bought my springer brand new in 1991. It did not have the power to get out of its own way, but I knew that going in and proceeded to get the heads flowed, modify the intake, re-ject the carb and alter the exhaust. I added 40% more power (dyno-tested) and I ride two-up with a bunch of twin-cam guys at Stage 1 and can pass them in high gear without problems.
In the Road King's case, I travel up to 80% of the time these days. I've had the bike almost a month and have barely covered 200 miles. I will be adding the Power Commander as soon as the 2007 maps are available. Even if that's December I might not have my break-in mileage fully completed.
As for the problems, my position is this:

-Runs hot: This is a problem that cannot be ignored, but it will be fixed by me with a proper remap of the FI. HD is painted into a corner and the only real solution we'll see them implement is when water cooling arrives. Get a look at the latest Motorcyclist magazine for some shots of the new liquid cooled Sportster expected for 2008.

-Rattling can noise: Some guys are reporting this as very loud and I think they've got a real mechanical problem. I got lucky. Mine is very soft and I have little doubt it is engine knock or even a bit of detonation. I'm keeping the revs up for now and believe the air-fuel remap will resolve this.

-Mechanical rap when starting: Not a problem, this is the compensating sprocket. If you don't like it, run a smaller engine.

-5th gear whine: This is annoying, and not something I can fix myself. I'll be watching for a possible recall or maybe an aftermarket cure or improvement as has happened on so many of these issues in the past.

So flame away, I don't care. I am a happy customer. This bike is so much better than I expected in so many ways. I feel badly for those of you who have suffered some real problems and will have to do battle to get resolution. I have a great local shop. If I decided I didn't want this bike there is no doubt I could work out a fair resolution. It ain't gonna happen because I love this thing, and can't wait to start with the mods.

 

I too have the glowing pipes,noisy tranny issue on my 07 but im not concerned because it came w/ a 2 year warranty and when I take it in for its 1k check up i'll let them know so it'll be on record. I called the moco and registered a complaint just in case. I remember not that long ago reading all about the 06's having there problems yet those problems were worked out. So I say just give them some time and things will work out for us too. I agree you spend 19k for something that isn't right but Im still happy with my purchase. Most people that are posting questions on this fourm are just looking for other people w/the same problems and whats being done by there dealers to fix it and what there getting are a lot (not all) 07 haters telling them they never should've bought one. just my .02

 

Have an 07 Ultra....yes the pipes glow and it seems to run hot when riding around town. My question: Can a HD dealer install the PCIII? How much does this cost?

 

i dont know guys---- like what has been said before, you should be able to buy a brand new m/c off of the showroom floor and ride it for THOUSANDS of miles... and only perform fluid changes, tire/brakes and fuel.

you shouldnt need to add a PC3, SERT or any other device to get it to run properly.

what would these guys say if they bought a new F150. within 300 miles, the converters were glowing cherry red, the transmission clunked and whined, and the started knocked. we ALL know that theyd be on the phone with Ford HQ IMMEDIATELY!!

im VERY glad i have an 06.

 

My '05 RKC has the glowing pipe syndrome and the rattling noise in the upper RPM ranges. Had it to different dealers and I am told also "it's normal".
The factory was contacted about the pipe issue. The service manager asked me"havn't you ever ridden your bike at night?"
This was supossedly a question from the factory.
Seems like ya just can't get any help from anyone from the factory or at the dealership level.
Had a security light come on periodcally and rap a fault code. I had to throw a s**tfit in the showroom to get this fixed.
I'm getting tired of this crap.

 

This is what Im talking about.The service we are getting on these newer models is total crap and unless youre willing to go it alone and raise some cain,nothing is going to be done.None of this is normal.Have youre dealer see if your oil pump is returning oil.Again one member here has had pump o-rings fail and cause what you are seeing.These bikes are real lean from factory.Mine has no pipe glowing yet has no stage kits installed either.Could a stage one cause these????possible.Dont change muffs w/o remap.An updated remap may be all you need.Dealer shouldve tried something.Dyno run info would help.Stay on em Bro,its every man for himself so far.

 

Has anyone with the glowing pipes checked your oil temp? I got a big shock today on my 07 Street Glide. I installed the Wally's oil temp gauge in the dash in place of the air temp gauge this morning. During a thirty minute ride, the gauge steadily rose past the 300 degree mark and settled around what looked like 325. This was on an overcast 85 degree day riding at a steady 60 mph in fifth gear on a flat highway. I'm hoping the gauge is reading wrong, but based on the pipe's heat shields starting to yellow, I doubt it. I'm going to compare the gauge reading with a long deep fryer thermometer tomorrow to check accuracy.

 

met a guy the other day on a ride, he was out on his first ride on his 07 heritage, couldn't help but notice just how blue the rear pipe was, and on a bike with only 300 miles. as time goes by that will have a very bad effect on the metalurgy of the pipe, it can (and probaby will) get very brittle and develop cracks.

 

Pipes glowing red is normal, said the MoCo. What a joke, yea there going to say it's normal. Because it is normal when you run an engine super lean. It's normal for race cars, race bikes, but not for a everyday driving vehicle or motorcycle. The truth is, it's not normal. What about engine life. Can't be good for it in the long run. Heat is an engines greatest enemy if it is in excess.

When I got my 06 SG the bike ran extremely lean. The MoCo fix for this was 25 degree injectors and an ECM remap. Remeber this, no matter what fix the MoCo puts out it will have to meet the EPA standards. So even after they fixed my bike, yea it ran better, it did'nt stall anymore, but it still ran hot. I had to have the dealer retune the bike using a SERT. This fixed it, and that was only because they were able to richen the settings.

I am one to say give it some time, but to say that this is normal, right.... so is the pain when you get kicked in the *****, it's normal for awhile. The fact of the matter is the MoCo has known for years that the EPA was going to tighten the belt. This is because they are trying to hang on to the air cooled motor, but it's not going to last, they will have to give in to the tight restrictions sooner or later or they will just produce bike with problem and very unhappy customers.

I have to agree with Bountyhunter, there is nothing normal about some of the problems, yes I also experienced some problems with the 06 but I will not except the thats normal response from the dealer or the MoCo. Just fix it and stop giving excuses.

 

I agree with strtgld. MoCo is trying to hang on to the air-cooled engine and the EPA is doing their typical government procedure of strangling the crap out of a good product until it conforms to EPA rules. EPA is going to force HD to convert to liquid cooled engines, but until then the bikes are going to run like crap from the factory.

Rather than replying "This is NORMAL," (which it's not) what MoCo should be saying is "This is EXPECTED. It is not physically possible to set up an engine like EPA wants it and meet all of their restrictions without sacrificing the performance and longevity of the engine. The customer wants an air cooled engine and the only way we can deliver it to you is for it to run super lean and hot as blue blazes."

I also agree that anything HD does to alleviate the problem will still have to meet EPA regs, so I don't expect to see much in the way of improvement. It would appear the consumer's choice is to either go with the aftermarket folks and abandon the new bike warranty (the svc mgr at the local dealership told me yesterday that adding a Power Commander and aftermarket pipes would immediately void my warranty) or to wait it out and hope HD comes up with a solution (all the while riding the bike under extreme heat conditions and possibly causing long term damage to the bike).

Nice position to be put in.