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99 Sporty will not stay running

warsoc

warsoc

Member
My wife was riding her 99 Sportster 883 on the highway the other day and when she exited and came to her first stop the bike died. She could not get it to start back up. When I got to it I changed the plugs, it started but would not stay that way. I got it home and now I am starting to take a look at it. I can get it to start and only on high revs will it stay started for a short period of time.

The bike is carbureted, it has only 4500 miles on it. We just recently bought it from a guy who said that it has been sitting in his garage for the past couple of years. He didn’t know the last time it was tuned up.

I know about cars and understand mechanics but have no knowledge of motorcycles. I been digging into the service manual but it doesn’t seem to be much help. Any ideas would be great.

Warsoc
 
After sitting a few years and the way you describe the problem, it sounds like you have some sediment/rust in the float bowl either keeping the float open (needle and seat) or blocking the low speed jet. It should be dropped (float bowl) and cleaned out as well as the carb jets and tank too otherwise the problem will return again.

Take a look here for some info on the CV carb.

Fuel and Carb Related Issues - Harley Davidson Community
 
I have been charging the battery for a couple of hours, I check the carb and it seems to be spraying fuel down the heads just fine. I tried the spark test and that seems to be my problem. I think the next thing I should do is check the regulator and coil next.
 
The fuel spraying could be referring to the accelerator pump and has nothing to do with fuel delivery through the low speed jet.

If you have less than 9 volts in the battery, the ICM may not fire the plugs so get a full charge first before proceeding.
 
Is it possible to drop the float bowl without removing the carb or should i just take it all off and try to clean that way. I don't have much experience with carbs. What would be the best direction to go?
 
so last night I dropped the bowl on my carb and cleaned it out. It was a little dirty and a little bit of rust was in it. I also made sure the battery had a full charge. I tried to start it and it would not start. I have not cleaned out the tank or lines yet, I was just trying to see if I could get it to kick over.
 
Can you see if it is getting fuel by looking into the carb throat and opening the throttle sharply? It should squirt the accelerator pump down the throat of the carb. if there's fuel in the bowl. Otherwise check the petcock. There's a screen inside the tank and the tank must be drained to remove the petcock. Pull the hose off the petcock and open it up to see if it has flow. Also, do you have a vacuum petcock, can't remember what years had them. Look on the back of the petcock to see if there's a vacuum line there. This could be the problem too.
 
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