1998 Sportster problem

Hello all...I'm new to the forum..I have a 1998 sportster when I start her even if it is warm outside I have to use the choke and it has to stay on until the bike is warm or it bogs out...If I try and give it gas before it is warm it also bogs down...Once it is warm I can take the choke off but it idles at 1500..I pulled the main jet out and cleaned it still the same..I'm thinking the pilot jet is cloged or the mixture screw has to be adjusted..The seal is still on the screw..Also when I pulled the plug it was white..Not getting enough gas?..Any suggestions?Thanks in advance

Scott

Go to the tech tips section of this web page. There is very good info on tuning and jetting your carb. I did mine and it runs like a rocket.:rocket_bike:

1998

Sounds like you may have a intake air leak. Start the bike let it idle squirt carb cleaner or wd 40 on the intake at the heads and around the base of the carb at the intake if the motor speed changes good chance you have a leak. Dutch

Different problems now 1998 sportster 1200s

I took the carb apart and replaced the pilot jet and cleaned the main...then I adjusted the mixture screw...(as described on Harley pro)Put her back togeather put the choke on fired her up and she ran great...Took the choke off after 15-20 seconds let her warm up adjusteed the idle screw..Idled at around 700-900 rpm...I road her for about 2-3 hours and ran great...Then out of now where she just bogged down and died...Tryed to re-start and would not...It sat for about 5 minutes and tryed again and she started..This happened 3 more times as I was trying to get home..I figured it must be flooding out but why..ran great for 2-3 hours...I have the carb out again..trying to get the float pin out but having a hard time..Is there a trick to getting it out?...I'm thinking there might be something under the needle?

A little trick to get the float pin out is to use an automatic center punch, I cant take credit for this little trick, they taught us that at Arctic cat atv school, they also use a CV carb.

Pulled the carb out couldn't get float pin out so took diafram out and neddle and blew compressed air in carb to clear out the seat..Put her back togeather and still the same problem at about 2 miles she just dies...I let her sit for 5 min and she will go another few miles...I tried to play with fuel shut off going between on and off to see if I could help the gas flow but that didn't seem to work....I need help...

sounds like the petcock is plugged

Didja think to check the fuel filter??? Happened to me on my Jeep Wrangler. What a major PIA to replace... Drop the tank, etc.... Try it, sounds like it's that...

Still having problems

I cleaned the tank all out...Flushed it with water...Lots of paint came out...Why does Harley coat there tanks?...Anyway blew everything out with a compressor until nothing came out of the tank...Put it all back togeather..And the same thing..I go about a mile and she dies..I let her sit and she starts back up and goes another mile..I tried different positions of mixture screw no luck...My gas cap also does not seal that well could that be doing it?Or would an intake leak also cause this?...It's just weird starts and runs fine for a mile then nothing....Please Help

Is there a way to test this?

Help

Replaced the petcock...Still the same problem...Could it be electrical?..Maybe a relay?...Thanks

I beleive so...Is there a good way to check this?...

I'm not sure what the gas cap NOT sealing would do. However, if it IS sealing and not venting, that could be a problem. Is the cap not sealing because it is not the right cap? You should have a vented cap. If you have some other non vented cap that only fits good enough to not let the tank vent then that could cause an issue.

An easy way to check would be to run it without the cap, preferably without a lot of gas in there, and see if the problem goes away. Just be careful not to ride hard enough to splash gas out of the tank.

That may not be it but I have seen it happen, especially to lawnmowers and snow blowers. From my experience, it seems that the issue gets worse with less gas in the tank. More vapors that need to vent maybe.

Another thought, if it isn't the cap or fuel delivery, bring an extra spark plug along and take a test drive. When it bogs out and dies, remove the plug wire and attach the spare plug and look for spark.

I had an 89 and a 97 Sporty 1200 both have ignition modules go on them. They acted up intermittently similar to what you describe. It seemed it would get hot, die, cool down and run again.

An easier way to check it would be to borrow someone else's module and see if it goes away. That's what I did. In fact I still have an extra stock one I keep around to troubleshoot this very issue.