what the heck????? Harley Engine Discuss what the heck????? in the Harley Tech & Harley How-to forums; so im accelerating today,i shift from 2nd to 3rd,twist the throttle,and instead of the usual acceleration accompanied by a nice note from my exaust,i get no acceleration,and hear a noise,which ...

[pono60]

so im accelerating today,i shift from 2nd to 3rd,twist the throttle,and instead of the usual acceleration accompanied by a nice note from my exaust,i get no acceleration,and hear a noise,which i can best describe as what sounded like a quick burst of air,coming from either right underneath me or maybe slightly more forward than that on the right side of the engine.after a brief moment,the bike begins functioning as normal.my bike has done this a handful of time in the last 3500 miles,since i've put on new pipes,air filter, & dfo on. i'm a rookie,so of course im baffled by this.anybody have any idea what this could be??

[evoKENevo]

Hi Pono
Based on the info you've given here...I'm figuring your "quick burst of air" is what's more commonly refered to as a "cough" or "spit" from air filter (right) side. All of what you described is what occurs with a lean running engine...and consistent with the results of installing a less restrictive exh/int.syst'm.etc. like you did just before this problem developed.

So it seems that all you may need is to re-jet your carb OR re-map your fuel-inj (depending on which you have) fatter/richer...and has nothing to do with the oil consistency questioned in your other thread/post here.

If you provide more info about your bike's model/year and weither it's carbed or injected,etc...more help can be provided for you here.

[Tbone]

These guys are probably going to ask for year and model of bike plus more detail on the modifications.

[pono60]

how surprised was i to see evo answering another one of my questions?not at all thanks again. my bike is a 2008 fat bob, 5,000 miles, Ness stage 1 big sucker, vance & hines 2-1 big radius, and vance & hines fuelpak, all installed by me.pretty sure i got the installation right,pretty straightforward even for a rookie.now i just went out and checked the spark plugs since you metioned a too lean condition may exist evo,and when i pulled them a black,sooty deposit was on the plugs,which according to the manual indicates a too rich mixture.im guessing,like you said evo,the best thing for me to do is prolly call v&h tech support and they will prolly have me adjust the fuelpak settings.

[evoKENevo]

Okay,pono
This is were I throw you to the "dawgs" in a good way. EFI is over my head..but others here can help you more. Meanwhile you and your manual are right...black & sooty indicates a rich mixture. But, just like a carb (only different) your AFR (air fuel ratio) is adjusted in stages so to speak. So you can be rich in one RPM range..lean in another..and (uhhh) well this is where others need to take over

BTW..good to hear from you again.

[pono60]

well its good to be back in the forums again evo as much as i'd like it to be,my hog cannot be the #1 priority in my life,that pesky work thing keeps getting in my way im gonna call v&h today,i'll keep you posted on what advice they offer me.

[pono60]

okay,i called v&h tech support,and they had me make a minor adjustment on a few of the settings on my fuelpak,he said it was running a little too rich in a certain area,and the corrections we made should lean it up enough.he also told me a couple things about spark plugs,one i didn't know,one that contradicts what i've learned.as for what i didnt know,he said that the salts they are putting in fuels now can leave deposits on your sparkplugs,almost like a a dry,hardened salt appearance,which is exactly what i have on the electrodes of my plugs (anybody else noticing this?) but,now this is what contradicts what i've learned so far,he said that looking at the plugs is not always an accurate way to measure if you have the right air/fuel mixture in an air cooled,efi bike.constantly changing motor temps are the reason he gave why,and he also said that checking the sparkplugs is more accurate in a carb bike.so yeah,that was kinda long,but that's what the man told me,figured i'd bounce it off some brains in here and make sure he wasn't bs'n me.

[evoKENevo]

Thanks for bouncing that off "mybrain"...and straight into the crapper.
Well...Noooooo...actually I'm always open to any new ideas/concepts etc.
But...until someone I trust in tells me different...it's my considered opinion that a spark plug has NO idea weither the AFR coming into the cylinder came from a carb-jet OR injector-nozzle...

The correct way to read spark plugs is rpm-range by rpm-range....low speed to high speed.
Start by riding at a constant low rpm/speed,for awhile...then at SAME time pull in clutch AND kill the ignition...brake/coast to a stop...remove and read the plug. Then repeat the above the SAME way at say 1/2 throttle...and again at 3/4 to full throttle...CARB or EFI same-same,as far as I'VE ever known,and/or heard of.

Oh,well...here's hoping the setting adjust'mts he recommended does the trick for you..."ride & report",Okay !?!

[pono60]

will do, i've ridden about 150 miles since i made the adjustments and no air hiccup yet,although it did only do it eevery once in a while,so we'll see.it'll be kinda tough for me to find a good place to check my plugs the right way around here,everybody drives like maniacs,even in the country.i'll be able to do it when i get home though,i'll be there in a couple months,at which time it will be snowing,so i guess it'll hafta wait till spring,but once i get home to ohio,i wont be riding it til then anyway.

[evoKENevo]

Oh,"hey"..you don't have to go thru the whole regime to check your plugs every time. That was just an example of how to get a full idea as to whats going on in there. As long as your bike's not giving you any problems..just a periodic random look at your plugs should be enough give you a general idea. Which you should have a general idea of by now. And I only used that example to assure you that AFR is AFR...carbed or injected. So unless they don't look right overall...just go enjoy your rides !!!