Crank position sensor problems ??

[ricmachado]

I got a used 04 883 yesterday.
left the place and started to ride home, everytime I had to stop, the bike was really having a hard time to get going, checked fuel (simtoms looked like no fuel) but was ok.
got to interstate and bike was suffering to pass 60mph, about 15 miles later, I decided to stop and check what was, the bike started to run so crappy that I called the tow back home.

Bike has 25k miles, aftermarket exhaust and SE air kit.

Not sure about any other modification, I sprayed some carb cleaner but didn't work. at end of the day, even idle was hard.
Plugs are black so mixture is too rich.

could this be the sensor?

any ideas?
thanks

[BWP 5p]

Originally Posted by ricmachado

I got a used 04 883 yesterday.
left the place and started to ride home, everytime I had to stop, the bike was really having a hard time to get going, checked fuel (simtoms looked like no fuel)

could this be the sensor?

thanks

to THE FORUM
It's entirely likely it is the sensor. Mine was very hard to get off idle, but would run ok....until you slowed to idle again. You had to keep the revs up or it would die. The sensor is about $50 and very easy to change.

[ricmachado]

gotta love internet forums,
new sensor 50.00
10 munites = free

bike is running great, now to fix/upgrade suspension...

let the build begin...

[BWP 5p]

Originally Posted by ricmachado

gotta love internet forums,
new sensor 50.00
10 munites = free

bike is running great, now to fix/upgrade suspension...

let the build begin...

Yep......That's about where I went next.....shocks, forks, fork brace, etc!

[Bellropes]

Yep got the T-shirt and the shorts for this problem, based in the UK, spent a small fortune (for me anyway) and days of work, head scratching, back and forth to dealer for more carb / ignition parts, build, unbuild, rebuild and build again, until my son's car suffered a similar problem and we cleaned his crank sensor to fix his problem; so in desperation I fitted a new crank sensor to the '06 1200C and bingo she ran like a dream......only done 2K miles from new when problem occured....

[offshoreoildude]

I replaced mine today. I wish I'd done it before my local mechanic started messing with the carb - all that happens then is you end up with two possible problems.

The symptoms were not quite as bad as others have described - the carb farts when warm were what prompted me to replace it. I now need to go back on the rejetting.

[WhiteDumpTruck]

Is this an issue indicative of a major problem with a bike or more of an "oh well, deal with it maintenance problem"? Pretty lame if you have to replace these sensors all the time.

Looking at an 04 883, pretty much ready to buy but these problems scare me. I can check the codes but they are probably cleared. I don't think I'll be able to ride the bike long enough to see if it's an issue.

[Folkie]

Originally Posted by WhiteDumpTruck

Pretty lame if you have to replace these sensors all the time.

But you don't; I had a rubber mount Sportster for 7 years, and never had to replace one.

[Rico 05R]

I replaced one in the eight years I've had mine.

[WhiteDumpTruck]

Cool, thanks for the replies! Just trying to get a handle on some things.