08 efi k-9 problems

rutro123

rutro123

Active Member
don't know where to start. .. bought my bike in the beginning of march. had them ship it to me with the big radius on it. since the first one hundred miles, it sputtered and had the engine indicator light come on and off with numerous metal rattles :bang: the dealer told me to keep riding it and the computer would relearn what it needed to and it would all work out:job: (guess i'm gullable) i took it back for the first service hoping to fix the sputtering and the backfiring. they had it for three very long weeks. they told me they replaced the ECH and they did the first service which cost $369.00. i rode the bike home and it seemed fine. later that week the weather let me take her for a ride and the friggin engine light came on again. now my clutch slips out of 4th gear. :angry: :angry: needless to say, my bike is back in the shop for probably about another week. i finally call them and the mechanic tells me he talked to big dog's EFI guru and that he says "yeah uh there is something def wrong with this" :angry: :angry: :angry: hmmm. so needless to say i have not had a big dog that's ran right yet and it's been in the shop more than it's been in my garage! i am now 3 monthly payments deep and no bike! :spank: :spank: is this common and has anyone else had these problems with their EFI? what the hell do i do? i'm going NUCKING FUTS sjljasah;ha;h oh and as if my bike doesn't have enough problems already, the black paint sucks. it has swirl marks all over it in the right light and when my buddy went to polish the rear bumper for me, he had black paint all over his cloth after polishing it?!?! wtf!
 
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rwill20

rwill20

Well-Known Member
Mine was having engine light issues.at Myrtle Beach.Jason the BDM tech their fixed me up think he said it was a raw wire causing the computer to act up.Hope this helps.
 
Nomad2day

Nomad2day

Longhair Redneck Geek
You are not alone. I have had more than my share of issues and the bike has gone back to Kansas once already. Most of my complaints were on the old forum and I tried to let it die there and be positive over here on this one and try to help those that have issues. Do a search on my name and you will see some of the issues I had on my 07 Bulldog EFI bike. I thought it was funny the Bulldog was the first EFI bike made by BDM and then the next year it did not even come out as a model. I feel this summer will make or break, do or die if the EFI BDM offers on their models is worth a crap or a crap shoot. I am waiting to see if they start to cut off, weez through the throttle body and miss terribly when the weather gets hot. Mine has had all the electronics replaced and I missed most of the riding season last year due to it being in and out of the shop.
Yes, BDM took it to Kansas and worked on it. They even picked it up at my house and I thank them but I was paying for it and not having it available to ride. That does suck and I feel your pain.
Be sure to post your problems in the EFI section here and what they tell you is going wrong with your bike so we can see if we have a manufacturer problem going on here.
Most of all I hope they get you going soon...
 
G

Gas Man

Cool isn't cheap
Calendar Participant
alot of the time the continued problems you have with your dog are more related to the dealership.

You're in south jersey and I'm not sure where that is in relation to some of the other jersey boys... but I'm sure they could point you towards a proper dealership.

Further, please don't call your rear fender a "rear bumper" again!!! TNX!! :D
 
baddog64

baddog64

Member
rutro, i know how you feel. my bike had problems in Myrtle and Jason worked on it twice. change the throttle body and o2 sensors. now the bike runs ok, but the efi light still comes on. the bike been in the shop for a week, with no answers. when i bought the bike, i like the efi, but now i not sure i made the right choice. also in may of 07, i was told that all of the o8 models would be efi. well that not the case, so it makes me wonder if they are having problems with the efi.
 
rutro123

rutro123

Active Member
hey neil, how many times was your bike at the dealer before they took a more serious approach? can you give me any pointers on how to speed this up and get the proper service? thanks i'm desperate!!
 
Nomad2day

Nomad2day

Longhair Redneck Geek
hey neil, how many times was your bike at the dealer before they took a more serious approach? can you give me any pointers on how to speed this up and get the proper service? thanks i'm desperate!!
Click to expand...
rutro123,
My dealer where I bought the bike, never did step up to make anything right when I had problems but washed there hands of it and said it is a safety issue and it was between me and BDM to correct it. Told me they were doing me a favor by not working on it and it was the only way the bike would get fixed right. They were only calling the home office to allow them to hook up to the bike and let them tell them what to do. No one was EFI trained there. Lost a season of riding. Had every intention of running the Tennessee Lemon Law down there throat. Corporate then sent a semi to the house and took it to Kansas to work on it. Put a set of pipes on it and a tire for my lost time and started the warranty from this date of repair for lost time in the shop. I figured if they were good enough to take it to Kansas and try to fix it, I would wave the lost time and give then a chance. I talked to Bob like in my signature to get things rolling. 316-219-6566 is his number. Tell him I sent you, he will know what you mean. I believe Jason worked on it in Kansas. If my memory serves me right, Jason is the one that made things happen to get it to him so he could work on it. Jason is the first person I ever spoke too including the shop that wanted to put his hands on it and make it right and sold me that BDM cares about me and the bike. It has not died anymore when it coughs out of the throttle body from this time. With a 2 year warranty, it does not take long for it to be gone and then for you to be asking them to help you out when in need. I have mixed feeling about the dogs, electronics and the other proprietary issues but I failed to do my homework up front so not their fault. The shops being independently owned keeps them from being up to standards of the equipment they sell. Many of them are top notch from the post here I read but many of them just reap the customers and blame BDM FOR ALL THE DOWN TIME ISSUES. BDM gave me some breathing room and I gave them some to make this work. I will end up spending a ton of money to make the bike what I thought it should be but every biker here does just that to make it there own. Give me a 12vdc system and a fuel system I can control and I will be a happy camper. The ehc needs to go, give me old school so Jason can take a Vacation, thanks dude for all your hard work. Give me wide band so it is not so stingy and coughing. This summer will take it;s toll I am sure. Perhaps the XWedge is their calling card to get the EFI to work with the EPA restraints.
Call BDM and hold them accountable to the laws of the land or ask them to make things right in a timely manner. Bob is willing to talk to you. Jason gets it done. :2thumbs:
 
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G

Gas Man

Cool isn't cheap
Calendar Participant
rutro123 said:
don't get it. why is bd having so many probs. my harley is fuel injected and it runs fantastic.
Click to expand...
But did the first set of EFI harleys?

I was in the sportbike scene when the EFI started to take over. They had alot of problems too. Its the nature of progression.
 
Nomad2day

Nomad2day

Longhair Redneck Geek
Harley had 6 degree injectors in to start with and they would not atomize as they needed to causing coughing and for the bike to die. Ended up replacing them with 24 degree injectors to correct it. I could be wrong on the size but you get the picture. Did it as a bulletin on bikes having issues then made it standard on the next year bikes. This problem was prevalent in 06 anyway for Harley.
Big Dog said they had a lot of throttle bodies where the shafts in them were undersized allowing air to come in behind where it is being metered causing some very lean conditions on a very lean bike to start with. A intake leaking air will cause havoc. Most of the problems can be seen where hooked up to the bike and looking at readings, but as said before, the dealers are not proficient in troubleshooting these systems so they wait for tech support and you wait on them.
BDM should of started gene cloning of Jason when they went with the ehc and efi so they could field more tech support for the bikes.
I still think they should set their web site up where you can open a script on their site and hook up to your bike. Get some real time feedback on the health of your bike and they can lg the info they need to see what is really happening with the products they make. It would set a precedence not seen before in working hand to hand with the consumer of a high end product and becoming one with the technology world that is available to us.
Dang, we transmit to landers on mars and the moon and troubleshoot glitches with them. You cannot get a straight answer from a dealer be it a cut plug wire or where are your replacement mono black side covers that broke 2 months ago. How many of you at work order something for a machine and have it in a day or two.
Go figure,
Customer service rules in this business.......
 
rutro123

rutro123

Active Member
turns out that this might be the first time they used there computers on a new fuel injected one and that there computers from bd maybe broke and not my bike. don't know yet
 
HDLARRY

HDLARRY

Active Member
EFI is a wonderful thing when it works right but if you change just about anything relating to the air movement or valve timing it is a real pain in the ass.

It takes a masters degree in FI, a computer nerd, along with a dyno and gas analyzer to setup one of these things properly when any kind of changes are done. BD doesn't give you direct access to the FI mapping, I don't think they give there local shop techs access either.

I went through all this BS with my Harley EFI a few years ago. Ended up having to buy the HD Race Tuner Software package, an air fuel ratio test meter and spent many hours teaching myself how to use this stuff.

Give me a carberator anytime, especially if you plan to experiment with any kind of exhaust, cam, compression, or air cleaner changes.
 
Nomad2day

Nomad2day

Longhair Redneck Geek
Fatcat once said,
The EFI is good for a person who just wants to get on his bike and go and not do anything to it.
Who in the world has ever bought a Big Dog with that mentality???????
What were they thinking????
Perhaps they have some relief on the horizon as you were able to do with your Harley. EFI is they way to go when the sky is the limit.
 
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