free website stats program Heritage Classic, carb or f.i. | Harley Davidson Forums

Heritage Classic, carb or f.i.

A

animal15340

Member
:)Ok, thanks for all the info on the Heritage Classic. Now that I am looking for one, used, 2000-2002 because of $. Is there a big disadvantage to getting a
carbed bike instead of Fuel Injected?

Thanks

Animal
 
I only have one thing to interject.

My carbed bike can be push started, EFI can't. (correct?)

There may be more involved because my bike is older but it kept me from being stranded on one ocasion
 
Clint said:
I only have one thing to interject.

My carbed bike can be push started, EFI can't. (correct?)
Click to expand...


I would imagine you are referring to a dead battery scenario??? In which case a carbed bike wouldn't start either under 9 volts to fire off the ECM or I should say ICM if it was carbed.

Otherwise why couldn't you push start a FI bike as long as you had fuel pressure?
 
thers more to go wrong with fi lol i was kind of afraid to get one but they start right up and run nice. from what i can tell it seems simalar to what gm used in the 90s lol.
carbs have workd just fine for ahundred years lol and almost surely wont leave you stranded , easyer to tinker with too but can be ,well, inconsistant at times lol.
i think either or isnt a bad choice
good luck lookin man
peace
 
A fuel problem on a carbed bike can usually be dealt with on the road because of the simplicity of the system whereas the FI isn't as user friendly if you get stuck due to a fuel problem.
 
If you take the time to learn the basics of FI it is as easy to tune and modify as a carb. and less prone to break. No needle and seat,no float,and no jets.All of these things are wear items that don't get along with the elements.With fuel injection if you want to take it to the next level beyond a tuner you can change your injectors,or if you become advanced you can alter the pattern.You can also change the throttle body for greater air flow or machine it. I have built cars with carbs and fuel injection and the more I play with injection the more I like it. Here are a couple of good explanations of fuel injection.

Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Fuel Injection Explained

EFI Electronic Fuel Injection System Fuel Management Explained - Super Street Magazine




Here is one that explains some of the upgrades you can do
Harley-Davidson Fuel Injection Upgrades
 
I had a 1997 Roadking with a carb that I put 35,000 miles on. Never a carb problem one.

In 2003 I bought a new Roadking with FI. Now it has 40K miles on it and never a problem with the FI. Nutshell, the FI seems to have better throttle response and is more user friendly on cold starts. But a carb bike still has some advantages as well, as folk have stated in prior responses.

I was recently in an Independent cycle repair shop that works on Metric cycles mainly. The owner is always working on metric cycles where folk let them set, DIDN'T ride them and the carbs get all gummed up. With the FI being an enclosed unit, this is not as big of an issue, from what he said.
 
The bane of EFI was always it's complexity and not very "serviceable" on the road as Glider pointed out. Also carb bikes have been around for quite a while, so everything is well documented, parts are readily available, and upgrades are easy to do as well.

While EFI is the wave of the future as Smitty eluded to...calibrating the fueling requires intellegent selection of aftermarket parts design, and getting the 3D EFI mapping right is fairly complex and formidable for the un-initiated.

If you are new to HD on a tight budget, carbed' bike is easier from the DIYer point of view. But once you "warm up to your bike" you will adapt to either.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top