Just bought my first Harley. It's 16 years old and actually in pretty darn good shape for anything 16 years old. $7000 for verified 12300 miles. No wobbles, starts right up, runs like a top when you're in the right spot in the throttle. She passed inspection and I replaced all the fluids so all the oil is good and I regularly check the levels etc. My problem is the carb (I think). At about 1/8 throttle right where the power should start I get a bog or sputter and small backfire type sound and it bucks during takeoff. I ran out all the old gas, ran two tanks of new through. one tank with water remover and one with fuel system cleaner. I always run highest octane I can get. It's been 93 octane so far. I changed the plugs and wires and air cleaner and shot a half a can of carb cleaner through the carb. Cheapo fixes for sure but I gotta start somewhere. This seemed to cure the startup bogs and low throttle bucking but after a days ride I started her up the next day and it was business as usual. Now I don't ride like it's a race so when I finally felt the need for some above average acceleration I gave the throttle a good twist and the bike bogged and lost power. Maybe at a quarter throttle she runs like a champ but higher and I get a bog-down like it's floodin, but I wouldn't know. I noticed the smell of gas when I park until a wise bearded man suggest that I turn off the fuel petcock when I'm not riding. Keep that in mind if you should offer tech tips. Tis bog accurs in third fourth and fifth. I don't know about 1st and 2nd because I shift out of then before that much throttle is needed. Now the wife and I are hefty and the bike hauls us around with NO problems. Lotsa power except for the throttle positions I mentioned. Everything seems stock. A mechanic off duty look at it and said it looks stock I should say. Any Ideas? Thanks fro reading my first novel by the way.
New Guy, Old Bike. Need info please.
- Thread starter Beers2you
- Start date
It could be anything from improper jetting to a carb or tank that needs a good cleaning. Try dropping the carb float bowl and clean things up in there with some carb cleaner. Maybe check the jets for blockage and don't forget the piston diaphragm in the top of the carb. Has the carb had any modifications to it that you know of? Probably just needs a good cleaning and set up properly.
No carb mods I know of. My hunch is that the fuel system is full of (EDIT). 12300 miles in 16 years it probably sat a lot. Correction, it definitely sat a lot. So, how do I drain my float bowl? It's a 1340 evo BTW.
Beautiful road king man.
Language is not permitted on this forum.
Please read and understand the info in this link...
Last edited by a moderator:
Okay. Dumb question after looking at the link you gave me. Now that screw will be on the horn side. That indicates the interioside of the bike or the left side of the card relative to riding position. Is the screw difficult to get to or will I need to remove anything to get to it? My tools and skills are limited.
Best bet would be to get the factory manual if you are going to do anything on the bike. The float bowl has 4 screws on the underside to remove it but I would suggest getting the manual first.
The bowl is shown here with the screws removed. I would also clean out the tank too. it probably has its share of crud in it too.
The bowl is shown here with the screws removed. I would also clean out the tank too. it probably has its share of crud in it too.
This may be way way off base but have you looked at your plugs and wires? I had a similar problem and when I checked my wires I found that the chrome coil cover had actually cut into one of my wires. When I got on the throttle the voltage actually cause them to arc and make the engine buck a bit. I got new wires and plugs and shaved down the coil cover and the problem is completly fixed.
Yeah. Looked at them good when I changed them last week. I didn't see any of that kind of wear at all. I got much better insulated wires as well. I'm thinking my fuel system is just full of junk. Might be a kitten in there too. I will take them off again and look at the inside of the cover. Couldn't hurt right?