Exhaust System Topics New and old exhaust system discussions. Fitment issues to sound bites and suggestions. Post them here.

Here we go again.

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Old Sep 22, 2005 | 03:36 AM
  #1  
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1200c
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Default Here we go again.

Previously, I posted problems such as the bike running hot, running poorly, the idle not wanting to return smoothly, and real noisy valves. Recently, after much persistence and tons of it's normal don't worry about it, I found someone at the dealership that actually listened and fixed the problem. [sm=happy046.gif][sm=happybounce.gif] It turned out to be an intake leak that was hard to detect. Now the rpms jump back down to idle smoothly. The bike's temp hasn't gone over 200 degrees. And she's got significantly more power, although something is still missing. So life should be great right? Well............I wish it was.

I just got this bike back and now she's not overheating anymore, but now something is whistling/whining. No, it's not all in my head like the intake leak wasn't all in my head. It seems to be coming from the rear and it's really starting to get annoying. It only occurs when I'm riding the bike at speeds above 10mph. Belt noise? Maybe primary? Any suggestions?

Even more troubling is the rear cylinder seems to be firing weaker than the front sometimes. I always put my hand by the exhaust while the bike is warming up as something to do and see how it runs. Before the front and rear cylinder use to fire at about the same power. Now the rear cylinder will fire weakly at times. Sometimes at 1/2 the pace of the front. Sometimes at 1/3 the pace of the front. The front cyclinder also seems to be getting hotter a lot quicker than the rear cylinder. Although, this isn't consistent. It will vary from firing at same power to 1/2 to 1/3. Any suggestions about that? Spark plugs?

I'm really getting fed up with this bike.
 
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Old Sep 22, 2005 | 04:11 PM
  #2  
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HDWRENCH
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From: Fort Worth TX
Default RE: Here we go again.

Well a temp gun would tell you if in fact the cylinder is not firing as often if it is not coming up to temp as fast. Of course check the plug and check gap as that is often over looked. Check the wires coil connections. Check battery voltage as the hd charging system is a one of a kind. Low battery voltage will creat huge problems for you. Also if that intake leak created such a lean problem it could be that a valve was burnt and could result in lower compression and that would lead up to you issue on the firing. A leak down test would tell you if you have any problems in the head or cylinder. I have seen a few burnt valves from intake leaks.
 
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Old Sep 22, 2005 | 07:00 PM
  #3  
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1200c
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Default RE: Here we go again.

Thank you HDWRENCH, you're really allowing me to endure these pains with the new Harley. If I didn't get such informative responses from you and others, then I would probably sell the bike.

What you said makes a lot of sense. Only one of the intake seals was damaged and I'm going to find out if it was the rear cylinder. I'm gong to check the plugs, wires, voltage, etc. Then I'm going to run a compression test, which should give me an intial clue right? I don't have a temp gun so if the compression test doesn't work out I'm going to have to force the dealer to use their gun and do a leak down test.

Any idea about this whistling/whining noise?
 
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