WARNING: If you do experience this issue, pull in the clutch lever to avoid the sudden surge when the bike starts getting fuel again. I always ride with a couple of fingers on the clutch lever anyway. I have been riding for over 35 years.
My wife has been trying to learn to ride on the 500 after successfully taking a rider course. She has been having a lot of difficulty then the last time she was on it, still has not left the neighborhood, she took a spill very unexpectedly. She is frustrated and has not been back on the bike in a few weeks. It had the fuel light problems so today I drove it to the dealer to have that checked. Boy was I surprised. The throttle on this bike is extremely erratic. I wasn't sure I would make it to the dealer. I was suspecting it was some fuel delivery issue, or injectors, or maybe it really was low on fuel but with only about 40 miles of cul de sac riding that couldn't be! I am really pissed this bike threw my wife due to the erratic throttle and I was totally oblivious. Until today.I realize there are already several threads on this. I am posting this one to see how many riders are experiencing this issue, and what you have done to try to resolve the problem.
I'll start:
My 750 does this all the time when low on fuel. It has been to the dealer 3 times, and the last time the tech was able to verify the problem. He said he is going to call Harley factory tech support regarding this. No word so far.
I called the factory 3 times, they plead ignorance, say they have never heard of the problem, and refer me to the dealer.
I have filed a complaint with the NHTSB. There are at least 7 others.
This bike is UNSAFE! A new rider could easily crash, or stall in front of another vehicle. Sales of the 500 and 750 should be stopped until this safety issue is resolved.
If the low gas lag and leap issue caused this crash, I would file a complaint at NHTSA.My wife has been trying to learn to ride on the 500 after successfully taking a rider course. She has been having a lot of difficulty then the last time she was on it, still has not left the neighborhood, she took a spill very unexpectedly. She is frustrated and has not been back on the bike in a few weeks. It had the fuel light problems so today I drove it to the dealer to have that checked. Boy was I surprised. The throttle on this bike is extremely erratic. I wasn't sure I would make it to the dealer. I was suspecting it was some fuel delivery issue, or injectors, or maybe it really was low on fuel but with only about 40 miles of cul de sac riding that couldn't be! I am really pissed this bike threw my wife due to the erratic throttle and I was totally oblivious. Until today.
My wife has been trying to learn to ride on the 500 after successfully taking a rider course. She has been having a lot of difficulty then the last time she was on it, still has not left the neighborhood, she took a spill very unexpectedly. She is frustrated and has not been back on the bike in a few weeks. It had the fuel light problems so today I drove it to the dealer to have that checked. Boy was I surprised. The throttle on this bike is extremely erratic. I wasn't sure I would make it to the dealer. I was suspecting it was some fuel delivery issue, or injectors, or maybe it really was low on fuel but with only about 40 miles of cul de sac riding that couldn't be! I am really pissed this bike threw my wife due to the erratic throttle and I was totally oblivious. Until today.
Concrete answer? No.I've been experiencing the lag and leap issue from the very first tank. As soon as the fuel light comes on it starts cutting out and surging. But when I go fill it up as soon as this occurs, and it's not really that low on fuel, the problem stops. I've been meaning to take it in to the dealer for a month now, but difficult finding a ride home. Going to see if they're open this Friday after Thanksgiving and run it over. Has anybody that experienced this issue actually had it resolved and gotten a concrete answer as to what was wrong? If you shift through the gears quick enough and get going fairly fast the problem sorta seems to go away, but maybe that's a bad idea, lol.
Well this is not the case with this bike. it was lurching and exhibiting erratic throttle behavior all the way to the dealer last night when I was riding it. The 500 doesn't have enough torque for us to use only 2nd gear.I have 3k on the xg750 now and have a suggestion. I let people ride it sometimes that want to know how it feels. If they are new I have them not use first gear. It is low enough gear when combined with the torque it can give a whiskey throttle jump to the bike to an inexperienced rider.
I doubt it is lag and leap as the fuel tank should be 3/4 fuel to 1/2 at worst.
My son is a beginner and has put most the miles on it. In the beginning he had some jumping on the start. I finally figured it out as a low end torque thing and had him riding 2nd through sixth. Once he got the torque pattern learned he went to using first gear.
Well this is not the case with this bike. it was lurching and exhibiting erratic throttle behavior all the way to the dealer last night when I was riding it. The 500 doesn't have enough torque for us to use only 2nd gear.
Much appreciated!Cool just wanted you to know what I found in case it helped.
That is good news. My service writer was supposed to call HD tech, but I havn't heard from him yet. I'll be calling him today.My dealer (Sacramento HD) called me today with news about this problem. My service writer called HD Tech and they are aware of the problem. HD is sending a fuel pump assembly and my dealer will be installing it next week. I will repost when I verify it is fixed.
Kudos to Sacramento HD for professionalism and proactive customer care!!!