Hey all,

Well, not in a great mood today. Went on a nice long ride today on the Street Glide. Interrupted by hesitating engine half-way through...happy and surprised I made it home.

So, couple months ago, my '11 FLHX started doing something strange about halfway through a long ride. The engine sounded like it was "missing", and the bike felt like it was jerking or hesitating. I parked the bike for a couple hours and no repeat on the way home.

This occurred again a couple days later, and took it into Harley. They said they couldn't find anything wrong, but that the spark plugs were white. They said engine was running lean. I asked them if this could cause this problem and they said yes. I told them I would get some more data for them...like exact RPM, speed, time of ride, temp, etc.

After a couple more days of the same thing (after at least 30 minutes of riding before issue occurred), I took it back to the shop for the tech to ride. He also experienced the problem. The Harley tech said it was a lean engine problem.

I asked what the fix is, and they said a tuner. I decided to buy their recommended "fix" for the lean engine...a SERT and Dyno (also a 15K service).

All seemed well for the past couple of weeks. But, I haven't really taken the bike out for longer than an hour since.

Until today. Took a nice long ride for about an hour. No issues. Stopped for coffee and gas. After about 15 minutes of 60mph traveling, I started riding down a road with some curves. After I took it out of cruise for the curves, I started noticing the problem again as I would roll on the throttle. This time, it was happening at just about all RPM's and all gears. But, I would say, it "seemed" to happen more at 2800 RPM while going uphill.

It also happened when I subsequently set the cruise on a flat road.

I also noticed that at stop signs, the engine sounded like it was about to stall several times. I passed through a city on the way back, and a couple of times starting out after a light, the bike did some major "missing" and jerking. Was actually pretty embarrassing, too.

So, couple of things. I think I've ruled out a lean engine, now that the SERT and Dyno have taken place (the bike has SE Heavy Breather and V&H Slip-on mufflers. No other aftermarket engine components).

1. What in the heck do you think it is?
2. What troubleshooting can I do to help the Harley techs out? In other words, if you think the problem is "this thingy", what kind of test can I do to check and see if it's "this thingy"?

I'm not about to drop another $1000 at Harley just for them to tell me "that I need to buy this to fix it". The bike is only 1 year old with 15K miles...it shouldn't be doing this period!

Please help if you can!

Thanks!

 

First I think you need to find a new dealer or indy if its out of warranty to sort out the issue. A new Harley will run perfectly right out of the box and when you bring it in and they tell you that you need to put an additional part on the bike to make it run the way it should have right from the start you've got an issue with the dealer. I would lodge a complaint with the Moco customer service line as well as the DMV.

A SERT may be a good way to go but its not supposed to fix a problem; its supposed to make a bike that runs properly run better

 

I assume the ck engine light isnt coming on and no codes set? Could it be a problem with fuel venting? Fuel pulling from the tank and no air getting in? when problem occurs, loosen fuel cap and see if it corrects. Any aftermarket stuff added that may be engine or ground related?

 

Nope, no engine lights or codes are coming on.

I suspect fuel issue too...just don't know what part. Was thinking bad gas, but would have had an issue with that the past year (have been using the same gas stations). Was thinking fuel not getting to motor, but this is happening after the engine has been at highway speeds for over an hour...and then it starts happening when I come down out of highway speeds to slower road speeds.

Anyone had an experience with something going wrong with the engine and the Harley guys can't figure it out? What do they do...start replacing parts?

What if they say, "can't figure it out...have a nice day!" ??

 

I wouldnt worry about spending another K on this bike I would worry about my dealers ability to fix it under warranty if it is one year old. IMO unless you had a after market tuner they have no way of saying you created this issue. Even if you did going SERT with their dyno tune should have correted it. You had HD's tune and a dyno tune via their recomendation. It performed this way before and after a dyno tune and what ever the problem it should be covered under warranty. It does sound like a fuel issue though. Maybe water, fuel filter or pressure/pump?

Sath

 

Ya man. Give that bike back,tell em it ain't right and they can just give you similar bike. They are telling you they cannot fix it. So a different one please
Jmo

 

Sure......it's always that easy.

Skippy, I do think that there's legitimacy to the comments that it should be a problem covered under warranty. Have you spoken with Zach? I have never had need to have them do any warranty work, but he seems like a very reasonable guy. I will be interested in hearing what his reaction to you is after you speak with him about the need for warranty coverage on it.

Otherwise, I am at a loss as to what the problem could be. Hopefully others with a whole lot more experience than I have will be able to continue to chime in and point you in the right direction. I think that "warranty" is the foregone conclusion in any case.

 

1st thing would be to get your gas elsewhere for a while,if nothing other than to eliminate that.

 

Replace the gas cap. It sounds like you are having "vapor lock".

Try running a decent trip with the gas cap kinda loosened. DO NOT make any hard turns. Gas will spill out, but this might resolve your problem, or if you start to get surges and hesitation just unscrew the gas cap a turn or two to see if it remedies the problem.

If it does. You need a new gas cap.

If the dealer did not suggest this, and had you spend $450+ and this fixes the problem. I'd have a little chat with the store owner/manager/whatever.

 

How many miles on the bike since the mufflers and a/c were installed BEFORE the SERT?

When the mufflers and a/c were installed, was anything done to the ECU via a download or otherwise?

Carl