2007harleydavidsonroadkingfixes01

Softail Standard®, Softail Deuce®, Softail Fatboy®, Softail Deluxe®, Softail Heritage®

The informed ideas keep rolling in. Everyone needs to read all of the ones I have posted, follow the links I have posted and look for other references that I have either not posted or found yet. The more information you study the better decision you will make. Luckily for me and you I have folks that actually seem to know what is going on sending me information on almost a daily basis. Read on and I hope my efforts and those of my contributors help you in your decision making process. I have to place a disclaimer here: I am not an expert in this field. This information is provided for the reader to discern for themselves. Use your head and make your own decision and accept the responsibility for it.

11/15/2006

Dear Biners,

This story is nothing new, I've lived it ------ in 1982. By '82 the EPA had mandated all cars meet certain CO, NO2, and hydrocarbon standards and the only way the car manufacturers could deal with it was to make the damn things run so lean they constantly "hunted" (automatic trans shifting in and out of converter clutch lock up), surged, and had a cold high idle that would frost the balls off an eskimo. We had to tell out customers that was how it was because of emmission controls regulations but they did not like it. Neither did I since I've been a mechanic/engineer most of my life.

I finally fixed a bunch of them.............by removing the catalytic converter (HOT), tossing the carb and finding a non-emissions carb, distributor and other things. The people who bought the fuelies were just plain SCREWED because you really couldn't do anything with that.

Now I'm a Yamaha guy (no offense, I was riding HD when you couldn't keep them running but refuse to pay $20K for a bike) and also a dyno operator. IF you can get that bike to a *qualified* --- and I mean *qualified* dyno operator (I know, a bit late in your case) that dyno operator can either install a power commander module from Dyna Electronics, remap the fuel/spark curve to produce the right amount of fuel/timing advance and you wouldn't have to put as much money into it as you did -- although I imagine your wife is quite happy with the bike now. A decent dyno with an air/fuel "sniffer" will do all you need. I imagine as with everything else that HD has their own proprietary ignition module (off road as you said...) that only HD dealerships with the outrageously expensive tool can use to remap everything. I saw GM do it, I saw MOPAR do it, and some of the early fuelies were, well, for lack of a better word, shit. A good dyno operator (very few around) can see this issue and correct it.

You see the issue is that the EPA wants a perfect 14.7-1 mixture at all times as that keeps emissions low...............but the engines don't like it. That *can* be accomplished and has been by the automotive market, but the bike market fuel injection systems are still in their infancy, in time I'm sure they'll get better but it ain't gonna be this year.

A good mechanic, which I am, can make any engine run at any rpm desired and the real kicker is that *as long as the engine is kept in tune it won't pollute more that it should anyway*.

The thing that really, really grinds me is the price HD now shafts us for these great bikes. If the frickin Japs, Brits, Germans, etc can produce a quality, dependable motorcycle for $10K then why the hell can't HD???????

I certainly hope this insight helps any frustrated HD owners, and anyone with any questions can feel free to post to me on my forum:

http://forums.delphiforums.com/torque/messages

and I will do my best to help. I am SOOO sorry to hear about these issues, a good friend of mine just bought one of these and is going through the same hassle as we write. I'll try to use your info to get him straightened out on my dyno.

Many Thanks,

Art A.

Machinehead Cycle, LLC.

4465 Sunny Ridge Road

Alanson, MI 49706

PS -- You should hear the Yamaha Road Star owners complain about the engine noise those damn things make................<GRIN>

12/19/2006

HELLO, LOVE THE SITE .

I AM AN INDEPENDENT SHOP NEAR HOUSTON TX . WE HAVE HAD SOME CUSTOMERS WITH THE SAME HEAT PROBLEM . THIS IS WHAT WE DID TO FIX THEM I HAVE BEEN USING ZIPPERS MOTORS IN BIKES FOR SOME YEARS NOW AND HAVE COME TO TRUST THEIR WORK .

MY REP CALLED ME SOME MONTHS BACK AND TOLD ME OF A NEW UNIT THEY WERE USING TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM ALONG WITH GIVING YOU SOME MORE PERFORMANCE . I HAVE TO TELL IT IS NOT CHEAP BUT IT DOSE WHAT IT SAYS IT DOSE YOU SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT IT THE NAME IS THUNDER MAX EFI UNIT AND IT ALSO HAS A UNIT YOU CAN PUT WITH IT FOR BIKES WITH O2 SENSORS THAT WILL AUTO TUNE THE BIKE WHILE YOU RIDE IT ,KEEPING THE A/F RATIO AT 13.7 - 1 YOU CAN FIND IT AT WWW.THUNDER-MAX.COM .

THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER UNIT OUT THERE IF YOU DON’T WANT TO CHANGE YOUR ECU CALLED TERMINAL VELOCITY II AT WWW.TERRYCOMP.COM THAT PIGGY BACKS THE STOCK ECU AND CHANGES THE A/F RATIO TO 13.7 - 1 MUCH CHEAPER !! BOTH ARE PLUG AND PLAY UNITS AND DON’T NEED DYNO RUNS TO TUNE .THEY TUNE THEM SELF'S TO YOUR BIKE OWN NEEDS ,THEY ALSO CAN BE USED ON OTHER BIKES AND ARE NOT MARRIED TO THE BIKE LIKE THE HARLEY RACE TUNER .I HAVE ALSO HAD CUSTOMERS THAT HAD THE RACE TUNER INSTALLED BY HD DEALERSHIP AND THEM NOT HONOR THE WARRANTY SO THESE ARE A FEW WAYS I GO ABOUT FIXING THE HEAT PROBLEM.

12/28/2006

Nice site....I too had heat issues and surging symptoms. I installed a KN RK series air filter, a Vance and Hines Fuelpak and Vance and Hines slip-ons. Problems solved and will add Vance and Hines tech support was excellent.

I had tranny noise and trouble finding neutral. I put in Am soil Severe Gear tranny fluid and now it shifts quietly, neutral is always there.

Hope this helps.

I am sure there are more work arounds and fixes out there. If you have a simple fix or even a complicated one please let me know. They keep rolling in and I keep posting them so check back often. In case you have missed it on the other pages my contact address is biners@crowderinc.com.