[Big Tom Callahan]

Hello all, I am super new here and new to riding in general. After visiting LA and watching tricked out choppers and viclas going down the boulevard, and finding some cool pics of my dad riding in the 70's, I went on a quest once I got back home and bought my first and only bike {7k miles 2006 Softail Deluxe, 2 into 1 Exhaust, and Thundermax ECM} This was back in Fall of 2021.


My first ride was a life changer. I never knew how much fun I was missing out on. However, I have been stricken by gremlins with the bike and have had little to no help from local dealerships on fixing it as they "do not work on bikes equipped with aftermarket tuners, OEM ECM modules are on backorder". I am trying to take things into my own hands and fix the bike up nice and this forum seems to be the place with helpful knowledge. So far I have only gotten to ride the bike ~6 times, and I have been left stranded on the side of the road 4 out of those 6 times.. Pitiful, I know LOL

SO! This riding season, I am on a mission from GOD to make this bike work. It is such a beauty and has such a nice engine sound, I really want to make it ride as good as it looks.
If anyone could point me in the right direction for where to find or post a thread on this tricky bike situation, I am up to describe in detail the weirdness going on and take in all the help I can get.
I just want to RIDE! LOL

Thanks for reading,
Brendan "Big Tom" Callahan

 

[Big Tom Callahan]

What forest of Oregon are you from?

Not much of a forest per say LOL, but yeah I do live by Salem the capital, near enough to Silver Falls and about an hour from Lincoln City, and the Oregon coast.

 

[Big Tom Callahan]

Welcome.

Judging by the winged bar and shield medallion on your tank, your Softail Deluxe is actually a FLSTNI Heritage Special Nostalgia model. If you look at the VIN on your frame, the 5th and 6th characters should be the letters JD. If they are something else, then you have some other model.

Ronnie's Harley-Davidson | MODEL INFO (onlinemicrofiche.com)

That is an online copy of the parts book for your bike. Practically the same thing the dealer uses in their parts dept. But these online copies have been known to show errors on occasion, so don't get in any arguments at the parts counter. If you plan on keeping this bike, you should hunt up an official Factory Service Manual. Especially if you want to do your own wrenching.

You say pipes and ECM have been changed, but do you know of anything else? A Thundermax system seems like way overkill for just a set of pipes. Since you say the stock ECM is on back order, I take that to mean you didn't get one with the purchase? If a set of pipes is the only modification, you might be better off with the stocker.

Did the prior owner have these problems you are experiencing? Did the bike sit for a long time before you got it? 7K miles spread over 17 years isn't even 10 miles a week. That isn't even enough to get the bike up to operating temperature.

You ought to be knee deep in studying the Thundermax system. Have you been to their website? They have lots of info scattered all around and they do provide some tech support.

5th and 6th letter on VIN are J and D, so does that make it a Deluxe? Hmm, understandable about the parts book and service manual, I can get right on those.

I bought this at my local motorsports dealer, they knew nothing of the previous owner or previous mods. It most likely sat in a garage somewhere for a long time, as it looks rather untouched and only a few cosmetic things. That being said, it came with the 2 into 1 pipe and thundermax already installed with no other parts aside from furnishings supplied, those are the only mods I believe it has. The first dealer I took it to said the ECM was fried after some trouble starting it up one day, and no other OEM ones are available at this time.

I actually sent the ECM to the manufacturer to replace the module and they said I should be good to go after I got it back weeks later. THAT SEEMED to do the trick and I was happy for a ride or two more. After that, randomly, there was sputtering, loss of power while holding acceleration, the engine dies thereafter making me end up rolling down the highway without power, starts up again and rides for a couple miles, then won't stay on for more than 5 seconds or so, slowly draining battery as I keep trying to keep it going. This example is from the last time I rode it a few months ago.

 

[Big Tom Callahan]

Welcome to this forum, Tom! Whereabouts are you from on the wet side of the Oregon Cascades? I'm from the same side of the Washington Cascades.

7k miles is pretty low for a 17-year-old motorcycle, so there should be many miles left in it. What kinds of problems did you run into that left you stranded by the side of the road? Regarding the lack of dealer support, some of the members here live in Oregon, and they might be able to suggest some reliable indy shops that could help you with the things you aren't able to tackle.

Thank you for the welcome! I am located by Salem Oregon. Juuust close enough to some really nice roads to ride, like Silver Falls area and the Oregon coast.
I just posted a lengthy description on this thread explaining what happened with the bike. I hope it can shed some light on what might be going on. It has a been a hell of a first bike experience LOL