Not as much fun.

[2012cliff]

I am getting desperate and tired of the Rocket 3 Touring running badly. I am hoping I can get some help.
Here is my problem. The bike will pull hard and really go when I get on the throttle. It idles fine , without a hiccup. But when I am just cruising along , I get a backfire threw the intake or by the air filters, it can do this cough 2 or 3 times in a row and run good for a bit and then cough again. It seems worse when it warms up or it is hot outside [air temperature].
The bike is an 2008 Touring and I dont believe it has the beaver tail relay.
Any and all help would be appreciated. Keep your head up and the rubber side down.

 

[VABird]

An expert? Not by a long shot, but had similar symptoms on a Legend TT. Turned out to be coils. First, check the leads to the spark plugs for corrosion, and test them and the coils with an ohm meter. Proper values should be in the shop manual.

 

[Fingers]

DAlso try recrimping the the coil leads this seems to be a maintenance thing.

 

[Jag]

Like above have said, lift tank remove low voltage leads one a a time clean crimp and reinstall. The front ones are hard to get to, long needle nose pliers will help.

If you still have an intake backfire after doing the coils, check the hose clamps on the air intake plumbing. Their are several of them.

 

[Boog]

@2012cliff I too had this problem on my 2014 R3T, (rolling off the throttle would cause severe backfires by my left leg), turns out the dealer had not re-installed the rubber boots on the throttle body when they had done some work. Air was being sucked directly into the cylinder from the outside. @Speedy helped me to find the issue at Mayberry Days two years ago and temporarily fixed it but the rubber boot was ruined by their goof up. I took it back to the dealer and they put on three new boots which corrected the backfires through the intake area.

Good luck

 

[Chip]

I am getting desperate and tired of the Rocket 3 Touring running badly. I am hoping I can get some help.
Here is my problem. The bike will pull hard and really go when I get on the throttle. It idles fine , without a hiccup. But when I am just cruising along , I get a backfire threw the intake or by the air filters, it can do this cough 2 or 3 times in a row and run good for a bit and then cough again. It seems worse when it warms up or it is hot outside [air temperature].
The bike is an 2008 Touring and I dont believe it has the beaver tail relay.
Any and all help would be appreciated. Keep your head up and the rubber side down.

I too ride an 08 Rocket 3T. Same problem your having. The Forum members gave me the same advice your receiving. I tried the recrimping and thought I had the fix. Lasted 5 miles.... So I threw money at it. Took it to the dealer. $500.00 later and 3 returns... One of the experts here gave me another idea.
Check the ignition wires. Mine were burned. I was lucky that a friend of mine used to have a cycle shop. He changed out the ignition switch. NEVER had the problem again! Your right, your issue is " not much fun". Good luck and let me know if this helps .

 

[Tripps]

I thought mine went away, too, but came back. I bought a DeCosse's keyless ignition, I hope that is the fix

 

[Rhino]

I am getting desperate and tired of the Rocket 3 Touring running badly. I am hoping I can get some help.
Here is my problem. The bike will pull hard and really go when I get on the throttle. It idles fine , without a hiccup. But when I am just cruising along , I get a backfire threw the intake or by the air filters, it can do this cough 2 or 3 times in a row and run good for a bit and then cough again. It seems worse when it warms up or it is hot outside [air temperature].
The bike is an 2008 Touring and I dont believe it has the beaver tail relay.
Any and all help would be appreciated. Keep your head up and the rubber side down.

Hello Cliff, you are not by chance running oxygenated fuel, such as shell, I once did and had similar results

 

[Chip]

I thought mine went away, too, but came back. I bought a DeCosse's keyless ignition, I hope that is the fix

I've heard that DeCosse's keyless system is the best idea also. My ignition change was done before I found out about keyless ignition. This improvement is on my wish list for the Rocket.

 

[2012cliff]

Well thanks guys. I appreciate your help. Went on a trip and just got back. Wasn't running great when I left but seems to have settled down now. Im sure it will start acting up again. So I'll check ignition switch. Won't use the Shell fuel again and also had a thought about the T P S.
On my ride I noticed there was a definite rpm at which there was worse backfire and misses. This led my thinkig to the T P S.