blue flames at idol

[rowdyr1964]

i have a 2007 custom sportster1200.just put vance and hines short shots on,did everything harley said ,having nothing but trouble.finally had it dyna tuned seem better,until at idle and the blue flames are back.harley says its normal.can anyone offer some advice.[wish i had left stock pipes on.]

[Furcifer]

Hmmm, what are you remapping the fuel with, and who did the dyno tuning? Be advised that EFI does better with a little resistance. So you need baffles at least, possibly torque cones, or at the very least, it might benefit from longer pipes, too. Also, there are better solutions for intakes. If it's a tad rich at idle, maybe a higher flow air filter will lean it just enough to smooth it out and give you a little more torque under load, too. Personally, I like the Doherty Power PACC, but I'm one of the few here. Most have something else. I think the Power PACC velocity stack and bigger filter addresses the issue you're having a bit better than just "high flow". The velocity stack smooths the air into layers so it can support a denser air column.

[rowdyr1964]

harley did everything,i have the stage1kit.high flow air filter and race tuner.

[Furcifer]

harley did everything,i have the stage1kit.high flow air filter and race tuner.

Yeah, I got Stage I, but not the SERT - just the Stage I map on the ECM, and then later I added a PCIII when I changed my Screamin' Eagle I's for some Rush slip-ons with 2.5" baffles. Better sound and HP, but I lost some torque when I did that, and since I lived on a little island on the other side of the planet with no dyno available other than my own a$$, I then went with the Power PACC after much research about EFI air flow bench testing on various popular performance air cleaner setups. More, denser air coming in restored the torque, so I didn't have to tweak the map any. I get the occasional pop on decel, but I can live with it - I like the sound and performance so much better. Further research has indicated that my map does nothing for 0% throttle. I may try tweaking my map up a bit at 0% throttle in the mid-RPM range to see if I can take out that occasional lean pop when I roll off and clutch quick.

A lot of tuner guys are good with squeezing out max torque and HP, but they aren't so swift on drivability otherwise. Some think that performance and in-town drivability are at cross-purposes, and while that is true to some extent, they are not mutually exclusive. There are some trade-offs, but the negatives can be minimized, if not eliminated.

If you have the SERT, they should be able to map out a good bit of that. The Stage I "high-flow" air cleaner basically consists of doing away with the cheesy plastic backing plate and the filter, which is paper and not as tall or as much surface area as some other filter solutions. You could try a K&N filter. You could try a totally different air cleaner, or something that fits behind the stock cover like the Power PACC. Or you could go so far as to take it to an indy tuner and see what they can do for you.

They can probably map that out, but the trade-off might be worse than living with the occasional blue flames. You could try torque cones to give some more flexibility to leaning out the map, or change the exhaust for a longer pipe design and/or a tighter baffle.

The usual line is that if you change anything in the intake or exhaust physical configuration, it's going to require a change in the fuel map. HOWEVER, to the extent that you can't seem to get a map to give you the results you want with the current setup, you may be able to change some relatively inexpensive components to better fit the map you have. This is why I suggest a better air filter and/or housing, baffle change and/or torque cones first.

You said "nothing but trouble" - but all you've specifically mentioned here is blue flames at idle. What other issues are present, and are these blue flames on both cylinders, every stroke, or is it just the occasional pop?

[rowdyr1964]

at first it was popping,backfiring,just running like **** during decel.they said it was a map sensor so i let them change it i'd got it back it was still pop and backfire and blue flames.they said we need to dyna tune and i let them .it sounds better,but at idle it has the blue flame.it is only in one pipe.never did before at idle.people are telling me that it is normal.harley said they dont know what else to do.which i think is bull****.

[Furcifer]

at first it was popping,backfiring,just running like **** during decel.they said it was a map sensor so i let them change it i'd got it back it was still pop and backfire and blue flames.they said we need to dyna tune and i let them .it sounds better,but at idle it has the blue flame.it is only in one pipe.never did before at idle.people are telling me that it is normal.harley said they dont know what else to do.which i think is bull****.

Actually, I'm not surprised at all that they don't know what else to do...:D

Like I said, you can try some of these other cheaper changes on your own, but I'd say it's time for an indy tuner to look at it. If you get the same story, then you gotta figure you're limited by your setup. :cylon:

[rowdyr1964]

thank you.