I did find that by putting Iridium plugs on both my HD's shortened my warm up time significantly.
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I have (and still regularly ride) a 75 FX-E that looks like an FL (created by my late brother who was somewhat confused). When I took over custody and care it had an old S & S 2 throat that he SWORE worked perfectly. I could not agree LESS - so I replaced it with a S & S Super E. Allegedly the BEST S & S ever... Bottom line? Taking off you've got to give it a bit of throttle and feed out the clutch perfectly or you sit there and wonder what happened. My thought? Old Harleys are just plain ornery - and I would love to find a way to hang EFI on the 'ol shovel just to see how good it could get.
Which explains a lot of why we have 2 RTs for the days when the Harley gets fussy! :yes:
My 99 and 2003 Harleys have carburetors and I just pull the choke, start the bike and ride off with no issue.
I do not have to let them "warm up" to ride.
I am old school and I have always worked with carburetors and if they are adjusted right you can set the choke, start the car/motorcycle and go.
No need to let them warm up.
Well, since we are here now, another HD question............why all the black t-shirts and/or black vests?
I have a neighbor with a Harley that lets hers warm up for about 15 minutes before she rides. My next door neighbor with a V Star does the same thing. I know the V Star will stall out if he doesn't warm it up. Quite frankly, it sounds like it's sick all the time (the bike, not the neighbor ;) ). Both bikes sound like they have mechanical issues.....
I started this and and it has all been very interesting, thank you.
What I find interesting in so many of the posts is that so many people have, did, or know someone, that does this long warm up thing, especially like my neighbors on newer HD machines.
We are talking ten to fifteen minutes, while the delay for start on the Spyder is 15 seconds. :roflblack::roflblack::roflblack: And people bitch like crazy about it to the point of being angry!
It is a Mad, Mad, Mad World out there.
Joe
as those young rascals said about them on south park, they are fags
And you folks talk about those snotty HD folks :roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:
3........2..........1..........fire
had two Harleys, a Softtail Classic and a Road King.
Neither one needed to warm up for more than a minute or two. Then driven slowly for a few min. to get it warm.
20W 50 oil in the engine and 75-90 gear oil in the trans, never had an issue.
15 minute warm-ups are probably more like 5, they're just so darn loud it seems longer. The engine would be very near overheating if it idled for 15 min.
Blipping is a throwback to when bikes (not only Harleys) didn't idle well and a quick blip kept them going.
The practice today likely has nothing to do with that, it's just because the rider thinks he/she has to and it's cool.
The blipping when letting out the clutch on older bikes (all of them, not just HD) did indeed clear the carb a bit so it wouldn't stall. Totally unnecessary these days.
But, I have a buddy who does it from every stop on his 17 HD FLQRPLSMFT. I have a great time asking him when HD is finally going to go with fuel injection so he can stop that annoying blipping. :roflblack:
I don’t have to warm up my HD any more than my spyder. I use to have to let my V-Star warm for a while especially in the cold.
Scenario...
Traffic lite....
Side by side...or, behind me....
First throttle blip, loud.....
Second throttle blip, louder and longer...
Third throttle blip, can't hear myself think.....
Fourth one, Geez, can't the lite just turn green and let this guy go ahead......?:pray:
When I met my husband, he owned a HD, and I rode on the back with him for about 5 years. Then I found scooters, and went from a small scooter, to a medium size, then a large one.
My scooter club always loved that he rode sweep with us, and the loud pipes kept the cagers off our butts.
He loved his loud pipes, and it is a 'Harley' thing. But he wasn't one to sit and rev the throttle over and over. That is not a 'Harley' thing, but a show of testosterone ☺
When my husband passed away almost a year ago, we buried his favorite belt buckle with him, which read 'Live Free, Ride Free'. Now I see Spyder memorabilia that reads ' Live Free, Ryde Free'. He would have loved that :f_spider:
P.S. As you can see, my avatar is HD. It will forever be a part of my life :doorag:
Maybe it's so the HD rider can keep the fillings in his teeth from vibrating out? I always laugh my butt off when I'm stopped next to a HD at a traffic light and you can't even read the license plate because it's a vibrating blur. That can't be comfortable if its transmitted to the rider.
Reno has Street Vibrations!!!! Thousands of bikes in town. 2 fatalities so far. My bikes stay in the garage this weekend.
Kaos