my stock 11RG is pinging

[Sailor285]

i have an 11 FLTRU. All stock except a set of Bassani slip ons. Added crash guard to oil cooling system. Temps never above 240. Been using 87 Octane since day one with never a problem. Bike has almost 45K on it now. About 2k ago on my way back home it started pinging real bad. Thought it was a bad load of gas. Ran yank close to dry and filled up about 270 miles up the road. Still have about 1700 miles to go. Put 87 in again and pinging like hell whole tank. Next fill up i found a hose dedicated to 93 octane. Filled up with 93, still pinged but not as bad or as much . Have a Lanale cooling fan and put that on , a little less pinging. Next fill up , found a dedicated hose and filled with pure 93 again. Still pings.   Did it all the way back home, the rest of the 1700 miles all with pure 93 from many different stations and all major brands of gas. No codes showed up on instrument panelNow the stranger part. it would ping up hill sometimes , then stop , on straitaway, then stop , even downhill , and stop. no headwinds. did it at random when it felt like it! Like it had a mind of its own. The injectors test fine, resistance in middle of specs. The crank sensor had no debris on it. I'm at a total loss here . Outside temps have ranged from 85 deg down to 60 degrees , engine oil temp in pan was between 200 and 230 . depending on the outside temp. Any help would be greatly appreciated. A couple of different HD shops wanted to do a stage 1 download. I don't believe that will do anything except separate me from some bucks lol. Thanks , Dan

[rbabos]

Well the intermittent thing would rule out carbon build up. Have you checked the iat sensor or map sensor? Both effect timing, which is likely the cause of the pinging.
Ron

[Sailor285]

no i havent checked them  I guess cleaning map sensor if its dirty . the iat sensor im not sure what that is or how to check it..Thanks , Dan

[rbabos]

no i havent checked them  I guess cleaning map sensor if its dirty . the iat sensor im not sure what that is or how to check it..Thanks , Dan

Cleaning won't do anything for the MAP sensor or IAT.  Got a friend with either TTS or PV tuner? A log can be run to see their function and readings. Codes don't always appear unless a sensor reaches a certain point or totally takes a dump. TPS sensor can be checked with good VOM, but it will be logged at the same time as the rest. I forgot to mention that one.
Ron

[danoflhrci]

Did you change your spark plugs? Harley plugs are the only ones that will let your ECM do the ion sensing. At least that I'm aware of.

[Sailor285]

i have tts for my 08 rg  but i thought the dongle has to be paired with the ecm your working with?

I havent checked the plugs.. thats cheap money to replace.

[Jamie Long]

Likely a result of a few things: a bit of risidual carbon build up, spark plugs near the end of their useful life, combined with the excessive amount of cruise range spark advance the Motor Company has in their late model 103 calibrations. If it is on the edge of detonation adaptive knock retard is continually chasing its tail under these circumstances, which is fairly common. You could check the MAP sensor & IAT (both of which are incorporated into the MAP sensor on 08- up TBW models), however generally speaking we see very few issues and in most cases it sets a CEL immediately. Also note a HD download will not resolve the issue as it does not change ignition timing or fuel tables on 07-up Stage 1 cals. I would try replacing plugs, filling the tank with premium fuel, and adding a bit of additive such as Sea Foam to try to break down carbon in the combustion chamber, also make sure the vacuum cap is not missing on the port on the throttle body.

[hrdtail78]

Likely a result of a few things: a bit of risidual carbon build up, spark plugs near the end of their useful life, combined with the excessive amount of cruise range spark advance the Motor Company has in their late model 103 calibrations. If it is on the edge of detonation adaptive knock retard is continually chasing its tail under these circumstances, which is fairly common. You could check the MAP sensor & IAT (both of which are incorporated into the MAP sensor on 08- up TBW models), however generally speaking we see very few issues and in most cases it sets a CEL immediately. Also note a HD download will not resolve the issue as it does not change ignition timing or fuel tables on 07-up Stage 1 cals. I would try replacing plugs, filling the tank with premium fuel, and adding a bit of additive such as Sea Foam to try to break down carbon in the combustion chamber, also make sure the vacuum cap is not missing on the port on the throttle body.

I agree and would start with the cap.  TTS will collect data on any bike.  Just like the other flash base tuners.

[HD/Wrench]

I read your post and think that you had a great running bike and then  it just starts to ping.  Plugs and those things are common but 45K on a plug today is not something I would freak out about. Is the plug worn more than likely but Have you checked for a intake leak. You stated that even 91 is not working. Something changed rather drastic,  I can see a plug doing this but it would not be like a light switch issue.. More so slow to start and then getting worse as time went on. 

That engine is either getting very lean now or oil is being introduced into the combustion chamber and reducing the octane and hence you have ping.  Before you remove plugs take a magic marker and draw a line down the plug facing straight out from engine. When you remove the plug this will allow you to see how it sits in the chamber.  It may add up to nothing or help you find the problem.

[Sailor285]

thank you every one . weather here just turned real cold.. dont know if i can do a data run ... i will check for intake leak and plugs . even a carbon build up i think would have been a slow oncoming of a pinging issue. i used an injector cleaner for about 1k miles , but i didnt use seafoam

[Jok Prayogo]

If I may add a comment, this was happen to my bike too. The bike is FLHT '08 had the same problem at about 45K...Pinging so bad on every acceleration.
I then removed the heads and found out that there were toooo much carbon build up on all the valves.
I cleaned all the valves, lapping them, polished the chambers, put them back together and all went well.
No more pinging now, happy days riding, haha.

[Blackbaggr]

Out of curiosity, where does the breather vent to ?

[HD/Wrench]

Most vent back into the inside of the air cleaner. SO the oil mist gets sucked back through the engine..

[Blackbaggr]

Most vent back into the inside of the air cleaner. SO the oil mist gets sucked back through the engine..

Yes sir, I'm aware most do.  Both mine are vented out. The reason I ask is to see if the OP or the other contributor to the thread had their's vented back to the engine...not sure if that has direct impact on build up or not...it is the reason mine is vented out though.

[rbabos]

I had a similar experience with my stock 96" back in the day. Running the Heavy breather and using Tmax. As miles racked up it started to ping more frequently and needed to pull timing some. Never figured it out until it was tore down to build a 113. Worst case of carbon I've ever seen. Don't know how the piston cleared the head. From then on, I ran the external vents. Throttle body was always wet with oil, showing the effects of venting internally.
Ron

[Blackbaggr]

I had a similar experience with my stock 96" back in the day. Running the Heavy breather and using Tmax. As miles racked up it started to ping more frequently and needed to pull timing some. Never figured it out until it was tore down to build a 113. Worst case of carbon I've ever seen. Don't know how the piston cleared the head. From then on, I ran the external vents. Throttle body was always wet with oil, showing the effects of venting internally.
Ron

[Sailor285]

did a data run for half hr after warm up. I noticed that 99 percent of it there was no spark retard in the run. I have no codes. Im really at a loss here . Cant ride bike as i live in NH. Nearest dyno that they might know what they are doing is 3 hrs away Even with 93 octane this shouldnt ever ping as its all stock except bassani slip ons that have been on since day 1. Some one sugested it might be bad o2 sensors ? dont really notice that power is off much. the few HD dearlers I talked with havent a clue about much. unfortunatly , here where i live ,if its not a canned hd upgrade the dont have a clue. Any help will be greatley appreciated . Thanks , Dan 

[2006FXDCI]

I agree with Ron , just tore down an 09 RK 103" that was vented through the Tbody and had spots on the pistons with 1/8" carbon deposits , no wonder HD uses such a thick head gasket . Soaked a rag in MMO and let it sit on top the piston for a day and 90% of the carbon came off with a plastic scraper . Going back together now vented to atmosphere .

[rbabos]

I agree with Ron , just tore down an 09 RK 103" that was vented through the Tbody and had spots on the pistons with 1/8" carbon deposits , no wonder HD uses such a thick head gasket . Soaked a rag in MMO and let it sit on top the piston for a day and 90% of the carbon came off with a plastic scraper . Going back together now vented to atmosphere .

At the time I had just switched to the SE Heavy breather and a Tmax. While the stock breather vented fumes into the intake the SE let liquid oil enter also. Didn't think too much about it at the time. Harley designed part must be good, right?  By the end of the second season I found roll on ping develop and constantly needed to pull some timing to stop it and no apparent reason for it. During the tear down to go 113, that's when I saw the carbon build up. Unreal for the milage. Ran the 113 close to the same milage with remote venting and during teardown it was only a fraction of the carbon compared to the 96. I've yet to remote vent the v rod due to warranty, so I've been sneaking MMO in the fuel for now to keep things in check. Maybe needed , maybe not, but I feel warm and fuzzy for the time being. Once warranty is off I might go remote venting.
Ron

[digga25]

Not familiar with MMO. Anyone help

[rbabos]

Not familiar with MMO. Anyone help

Google will bring up lots on it.
Ron

[wolf_59]

Not familiar with MMO. Anyone help

Marvel Mystery Oil