HD owners educate me

[SteveLaoyster]

I have a carby HD. The blip is done before taking off from a stop so it doesn't stall. That has already been discussed here.

In the carburetor days, you had to warm the engine up before riding or you'll have a cranky, stuttering ride. At least that's how my Evo acts.

I did find that by putting Iridium plugs on both my HD's shortened my warm up time significantly.

[ChrisK]

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!

[boomerman]

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.

[ARNIE R]

Well, since we are here now, another HD question............why all the black t-shirts and/or black vests?

[vampyregirl]

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.....

[BoilerAnimal]

Not sure why they let them idle for 15 minutes, but this is why they throttle them up and down.





Well color me a moron. Everything I have has an aftermarket exhaust (except my sleds. That pipe dumps out down by my right foot, the noise can be excruciating). I love the sound of unbridled HP and it just is not the same with a quiet exhaust. In fact I just love loud stuff. I watch my movies loud, listen to loud music, love to shoot my guns and blow stuff up (boom boom, exploding targets anyone). I am the neighbor from hell.

I used to. Now I use hearing aids to hear what I used to be able to hear before I damaged my hearing. Now I limit the volume of everything that I can. Too little, too late, however.

[Peteoz]

Please accept the Big Pete comeback of the day award, asp. That is just brilliant...you've made my day.....thanks.....Pete

Old HDs with carbs might need some blipping to clear its throat. Those with EFI just like the noise. Just like those sport bikers who don't know when to shift; hitting the rev limiter in each gear. But seriously guys, how many of you pull these out of the drawer and give these a squeeze or two before using?

[ARtraveler]

Well, since we are here now, another HD question............why all the black t-shirts and/or black vests?

Pink and purple just does not cut it.

[Buckeye Bleau]

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. And people bitch like crazy about it to the point of being angry!

It is a Mad, Mad, Mad World out there.

Joe

[Yazz]

Well, since we are here now, another HD question............why all the black t-shirts and/or black vests?

Because black doesn't show road grime. I wore a white t-shirt riding once and the front was a medium grey by the end of the ride. That was back before using a windshield, but I still wear dark shirts while riding now.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

The way I understand it is a HD with a carb doesn't pull quite enough air/fuel mixture at idle and that gives it the potato noise with an occasional miss.

Blipping the throttle before taking off insures that the bike doesn't stall. Yes, I did experience this with both my HD's.

Once HD put the EFI on the bikes, this problem disappeared. No need to blip the gas anymore. Just a macho thing IMO.

I think it's actually caused by the firing timeing (?). But I may be wrong on that ..... Mike

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

as those young rascals said about them on south park, they are fags

[mxz600]

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

yes that is the ones that the word was redefined for

[vided]

And you folks talk about those snotty HD folks

3........2..........1..........fire

[ofdave]

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.

[Maddoggie501]

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.

Correct. The blipping was to keep the older bikes running. The new ones are fuel injected and do not need any blipping. A short warm up, while i put on my jacket and helmet, and ride away.

[subdude17349]

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.

[Sccar]

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.

[ARNIE R]

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......?

[melodys39]

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

P.S. As you can see, my avatar is HD. It will forever be a part of my life

[classicvw]

Correct. The blipping was to keep the older bikes running. The new ones are fuel injected and do not need any blipping. A short warm up, while i put on my jacket and helmet, and ride away.

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.

[ofdave]

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.

that vibration is on the rubber mounted engines
above 1500 rpm or so when riding it is not felt by the rider

[Lew L]

Reno has Street Vibrations!!!! Thousands of bikes in town. 2 fatalities so far. My bikes stay in the garage this weekend.

Kaos

[Maddoggie501]

that vibration is on the rubber mounted engine

above 1500 rpm or so when riding it is not felt by the rider

I just purchased a 2018 Softail Slim with the 107 motor. It has dual counter balancers. Nothing shakes at idle.