HELP! Coversion complete but She just won't run!

[cchd]

I got my new 1200cc jugs on Christmas Eve! I was sooooo happy. Anyway I started working on it Friday the 28th. Finished it up Monday afternoon, but I cannot get it to run start :wall. I have fuel and compresion, but when I checked the spark it wasn't what it should be. However, I checked the coil and the Ignnition module and all tests indicate they are working fine. Soooo can anyone point me in the right direction now? I have a Clymer service manual and everything is torqued to the correct specs and I even called the local Harley dealer to make sure I have the Cams in and aligned correctly. It backfires through the exhaust sometimes and it even sounds like it wants to start, but no deal! So if anyone can help me with this I cannot tell you how much it would be appreciated. I have not been able to ride my beauty in over a month now and it is driving me nuts. So please anyone that knows what the problem is or might be HELP!
Happy New Years to all and Thanks for any help you might be able to provide!

Charlie

 

[biscuit]

Is the ignition timing correct?Is it firing the CORRECT cylinder at the correct no. of degrees BTDC?

If you have fuel and compression;and assuming they're in the correct proportions;and your camshaft timing is correct,then it sounds like an ignition issue.(As an aside,HAVE you checked your valve timing)Are the valves opening and closing exactly when they should?
I'm not sure about Harleys but can you incorrectly connect the front injection wires/or efi signal wires to the rear cylinder and vice versa?

GOOD LUCK.:dknow

 

[biscuit]

Is the ignition timing correct?Is it firing the CORRECT cylinder at the correct no. of degrees BTDC?

If you have fuel and compression;and assuming they're in the correct proportions;and your camshaft timing is correct,then it sounds like an ignition issue.(As an aside,HAVE you checked your valve timing)Are the valves opening and closing exactly when they should?
I'm not sure about Harleys but can you incorrectly connect the front injection wires/or efi signal wires to the rear cylinder and vice versa?

GOOD LUCK.:dknow

FORGET THE BIT ABOUT EFI.

 

[glider]

Did you reuse the stock pushrods or adjustables?

If adjustable ones did you allow time between the adjustment of one and the turning of the engine to the next???? They have to completely bleed down before turning the engine to the next one or damage will result to the valves.

If it's popping in the exhaust you more than likely have spark, check compression and see if it is low. You may have bent a valve.

 

[cchd]

Wow many great replies so I will just reply to all by saying thank you for the responses and I will try to cover all your replies together.
I have checked on the timing and I am absolutely sure it is correct! I fought that battle many times before finally calling the loca HD shop and asking how to do it the right way. I have only changed the jugs and pistons. Everything else is stock and I am not interested in all the high performance bells and whistles. This is my ride back and forth to work so I am more in it for the fuel economy, but don't get me wrong I absolutely Love my Sportster! Never ever dreamed I would own one, but now I just want to get it back on the road. Will look at the links and other helpful hints and would appreciate any other hellpful information you might like to pass on!

Thanks Again,
Charlie

 

[The Rook]

I will be the first to admit I know little about motors and even less about motorcycle motors but I bought a Clymer manual and they leave much to be desired. Having said that, the only thing I can recommend(because it happened to me) is to check your vacuum hoses. Clymer makes it seem like sportsters don't even HAVE vacuum hoses. Pathetic!

Hope this helps. I will pray for you to get it running, honest I will.



Ride hard, stay hard.

 

[cchd]

Will check them closely tomorrow! Thanks for the tip! I appreciate the prayers!

Thanks,
Charlie

 

[theklanchXL1200N]

Hey I hope this info isn't too late... I have wrenched on many motors (cars, bikes ATV's etc) and it sounds to me like your bike is out of time. I have a Honda 400EX quad that I have done extensive motor work to and the first time I put it together I had the cam in 180 degrees out of time. Meaning the spark was on the exhaust stroke instead of the compression. Had me in fits of rage ended up taking it to a mechanic (thief) and he ended up stripping a bunch of bolts in the motor. That bieng said, you are getting fuel and spark if you are getting a "backfire" but not at the right time.


Vacuum issues will not keep a motor from starting, it will run poorly, but it will start.

Are you getting spark to both cylinders?

I am picking my brain here to try to figure this out for you, but it is tough without actually seeing the bike.

I am interested to know what is wrong, let us know know what the problem was once you are up and running again.

Whatever you do don't spend your hard earned money at the HD Stealer. Every time I end up going to the dealer I feel like a prison (edit) when it is over.............

 

[cchd]

Re: HELP! Coversion complete but She just won't run! UPDATE!

Not sure this is where I should post this, but since it is where I got all of my assistance I thought I should.
Didn't want to do this because it is SO stupid what I found that it is extremely embarrassing! However, I think that if I was dumb enough to do it then there might be some other poor soul ou there that could do it too! So I am updating this post to say that after taking her to the Harley Doctor (ouch) I found out that I had forgotten to re-connect the wire to the module on the side of my battery box. The reason for this is because I got way to anxious and took it apart a month and a half before I got the parts and manuals I needed. I was thinking that if I took it apart then when I did get my parts in it wouldn't take me any time to get her back together and on the road again. So much for that idea. If you are going to do the conversion yourself (and I highly recommend that you do if you have any mecahnical skills at all it is that easy) make sure you have everything you need before starting. There is a great deel of info I am not putting in here as it would cause this to be a huge post. However, I thought I should post it as it might just help someone out. The mechanic told me other than that I did an excellant job of putting everything back together and it would have fired right up if not for that one small connection!
So I am back on the road again and I am absolutely thrilled with the conversion. I have noticed that I have seen many posts about the cylinders and pistons. I went to dumbassbikers.com and purchased their conversion kit as it stated that they are new V Twin Cylinders and pistons not the bored out 883 cylinders. etc. I paid $460.00 for them and most others were selling them for over $500.00 so if your thinking about it you might check them out. Excellant service and delivery and customer support was excellant as well.
Anyway I hope this might help someone along the way, but I did want to say thanks to all who tried to help me solve the problem. I got some really good advice and support from this site.

Thanks,
Charlie

 

[glider]

Charlie
The main thing is that you are back up and running again. The means of how it happened aren't that important. Next time take a pic of what you are doing for future reference.