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Engine Coughing

stackan

New Member
My 98 softtail custom sat for about 4 months. Started up good, but coughs and sputters when riding at a steady pace. Problem disappears when accelerating....kind of acts like it just needs to warm up, but problem persists even after riding a while. Some small backfiring, but not too much. Any ideas?
 
What Glider said, plus FRESH fuel. Pretty much the same thing happened to my "92 Dyna Saturday. Hadn't been ridden in 3 months, started ok, but spit & stalled. I drained the carb and it had a bubble of water in the drain plug, and the gas smelled AWFUL! I drained most of it and headed to the gas station. It ran ok under acceleration, but spit'n sneezin at light throttle. About 3 miles after filling with fresh gas it was running right again. I put Stabil in it before I parked it this time.
 
I have been told by a wise independent mechanic...with todays gas a carb cycle can set 4 to 6 weeks and the carbs can get messed up....Hence put in stabile...or keep the machine running to avoid carb issues.
 
Welcome to the forum, I agree with all post's, sounds like old fuel and some gunk or water in the line, put some stabil in next time it sits long.
 
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