I have a 2003 twin cam 88, stock, and the rear cylinder is running very hot,so hot that the heat burned my wifes leg. please help

If you have a stock engine that should be relatively easy. Also if you have a stock 2005 FLSTC you would have a Twin cam 88 with a displacement of 88 cubic in. or 1450 cc

are you fitting the correct pluge some twins run differant plugs in cylinders, have the carbs stripped and cleaned and balanced, clean out the petrol tank and fill with fresh fuel.

Since the Evolution motors, with the aluminum cylinder instead of the cast iron ones, and into the Twin Cam motors, there is a perception of the motor running hot.
This is due to the aluminum cylinder being a better conductor of heat, allowing the heat to transfer through the cylinder to the outside better than being more contained by a cast iron cylinder.

Also, the Twin cam runs hotter than any prior Harley motor.
In fact, though originally scheduled to be released for the 1997 model year, it took them until a couple of years later to get the heat within an acceptable range.
In fact, there was talk about installing an oil cooler from the factory, but that fell by the wayside.

Also, yes, due to EPA emission requirements, they tend to be set to run lean, which doesn't help.

I have a 2008 FLHRC, and at a long stop light, the rear split pipe cooks the inside of my right thigh.

1. You can purchase a gear set that eliminates the cam chains and shoes. Harley-Davidson should, in my opinion, make this a standard fix and not an after the fact option. If you can't afford to install the gear system, then you need to disassemble and inspect the inner and outer shoes every 15,000 miles or risk total engine failure. The shoe material can also clog the oil pump totally destroying the engine. There are plenty of motorcycle magazines explaining how to fix this nagging problem.

2. Overheating: Harley-Davidson engines run hot. The 88 cubic inch engine ran hot and at the high limits and the 96 cubic inch engine runs hotter yet which is not good for the engine. The 110 cubic inch engines run exceedingly hotter and so much so a class-action law suit was filed against Harley-Davidson from riders being burned from the engine heat (mostly from the rear cylinder near the rider's thighs). Heat burns to the skin is not the only problem as heat is an engine killer and the hotter these big air-cooled V-twins run reliability falls drastically. Don't expect engine longevity with a 103 or 110 cubic inch air-cooled V-twin such as the Harley-Davidson design. Clean synthetic engine oil and a large external engine oil cooler is a must have accessory, but it only helps engine cooling not cure these serious excessive heat problems that self-destructs the engine.
Thanks

Since the introduction of the Twin Cam engine, heat has been a real problem. Go here and look at this site. http://www.nightrider.com/ I do not know if this works or not but the reason your engine runs so hot is because of the extremely lean fuel air mixture. The factory has to set the mixture this way in order to meet the EPA emission standards.

Good Luck
Steve

This has been a problem since the introduction of the Twin Cam. The reason in my opinion is the lean mixture they run in an attempt to meet EPA emissions requirements. Check this site out. http://www.nightrider.com/ But, if your bike is still under warranty you may want to take it back to the dealer and talk to them about it.

Good Luck
Steve

Regrettfully, yes it is normal. The heat became a factor with the introduction of the Twin Cam engine. They seem to run much hotter than the earlier Evolution engine. I would suspect that the mixture is much leaner on the bikes to get them to meet EPA standards. Visit this site and take a look at this contraption. I can't say that I know it works but it's been on that site for a long time.

http://www.nightrider.com/

Good Luck
Steve

Since I haven't ever heard of an FLHR-Y, I can only guess at the size of the carb. If the engine is the standard twin cam 88" engine, the carb should be a 40mm version. But, if the engine is one of the "factory hopped up jobs" such as a 103" or somthing else, I have no idea of the size of the carb.

First of all, you need to install a temp gauge as, even if your motor is running within the red-line (below 300degF, preferably lower than 280) the exhaust can still be several hundred degrees. Even if you add most cooling units that claim to lower engine temperatures, lowering your engine temp as much as 20-40 degrees may lower the exhaust as much as 100 degrees or possibly a little more however, lowering exhaust pipe temps from 5-600 degrees down to 4-500 degrees is going to help your engine but, it is still going to produce a lot of heat radiating to the human body.
Have you tried the heat diverter panels that fit on both sides of the upper frame. they are made to divert heat away from your legs. Also, most of the Harley drill teams use a heat blanket that does the same thing. It works a little better but, it doesn't look quite as nice.
I have a new cooling system that actually does work well and is designed specifically for the conditions you described and it has worked wonderfully. It keeps the engine cool enough that the rear cylinder cut-out never even actuates. It completely eliminated the engine overheating issues. None the less, it is still hot on me even though I never hit the red line anymore. If your interested, I can give you the product name. I'll check this site occasionally to see if you respond.
Heat is one of those negatives that are going to occur when riding on an air-cooled bike with a V-twin as the pipes have to be mounted high under the rider. There are a couple companies that claim to produce internal ceramic pipes that supposedly removes nearly all heat down the pipe and out the rear yet, they will be very costly and I haven't heard any actual feedback from anyone using them so, it would be an expensive investment that may or may not remedy your issue.
Wish there was better news. If I had actual oil and/or engine temps to go on, I could possibly give you a better answer. Good luck..................Erik