Blood, sweat, tears & beers . . .

great idea chucktx, got any pictures to share where that is done?

That never occurred to me. Can this really be done? I would have much better control over the bike, especially at stoplights and stops on hills. Here are pics of my brake setup as it is now. I think the master cylinder came off a 2000 FXST or thereabouts.

Yesterday I was tightening the bolt that holds the timing cam in place and it felt like it stripped. I removed the bolt and it looked okay under the magnifying glass. I took a tap and cleaned up the threads in the cam shaft hole. The problem seems to be that the bolt isn't quite long enough (2"). It screws in about 5 full turns when trying to tightnen it with the timing cam on. When I take the mechanical advance off, the bolt will go in 12 full turns. I'm thinking I need a longer bolt (perhaps 2 3/8" long), but all the bolts in the catalogs look to be the same length. At any rate, they do not say how long the bolt actually is. Does anyone know if a longer bolt is even available? Could I use a hardware store bolt w/washer, providing I can find one?

I'm having a hard time trying to picture this in my mind . . . could you supply a sketch? I would have thought the brake pedal would be bypassed, maybe even taken off and the brake cable somehow connected to the master cylinder. Just can't picture it either way. Has it been done before?

I found the problem. I had the timing cam on wrong - it was sticking out too far. Easy fix. Now the bolt has several more threads to grip with - it tightened up nicely. Did the static timing last night - I can do it in my sleep now. I just need to find a piece of 1/4" i.d. flexible hose so I can bleed the brake and I should be ready to go.
When I took the plugs out, they were black on the ends indicating gas fouling - too rich. So I turned the air/fuel needle in a 1/4 turn and will start it up with that setting.
Also installed the James head to pipe gaskets. They look like coarse steel wool and are fairly thick. I don't like how the bolt is flattening them more on one side. I don't know why Harley only has one bolt holding the exhaust pipes on. Should be two bolts.

Just a few minutes ago I cranked the Beast up. No leaks at the oil pump or at the crankshaft seal - so far. Let it run a few minutes. It runs a bit erratically, like it speeds up and then slows down; not sure why it does that. Air leak somewhere?
Then I noticed an oil leak coming out of the front intake pushrod cover. That's a new one. I think I may not have gotten it back on right when I removed the top section of it to observe the pushrod moving up and down. This was so I could do the timing. So I'm waiting for the motor to cool off and then I'll go back out and see what's what.
I got the brake fluid in and the rear brake works now and so does the brake light.
I've got to figure out why the motor speeds up and slows down (it's not a lot) before I take it out for the first ride. Anyone know what might be causing this?
I think this thread will be coming to an end as soon as I get the beast on the road.

You are getting close .... cool

Try speeding the idle up a little and see if it smooths out.

I did try that and it still ran a bit erratically when it settled down. I got some advice from Rob of Rob's Used Harley Parts, and he said to spray WD-40 on the intake seals and see if it smooths out temporarily. Could mean I might need new seals or just need to tighten up the ones I have.
On the intake pushrod tube leak, he says to move it around some and see if that works. If not, I'm going to remove the top section and inspect the seal to see if it's seated properly. Sometimes that works.
I'm getting closer, boys!

It's not the lope - wish it was. I couldn't detect any leaks at the intake (just went out and started it). It won't run without dying. The carb coughs out puffs of smoke. I have the idle set higher than normal to try and keep it running but it still conks out. The only way it will keep running is if I run it really fast and I don't want to do that for very long as the engine is not broken in yet. Also, it's hard to start. Something's not right . . . and I suspect it's my poor butterfly carb. Maybe I need to rejet as I am using straight pipes. But I would have no idea what to do.

have you tried pulling the choke out a little to see if that helps? If it does thatwould indicate that it is lean.
Would now be a good time to install the CV carb?

Been wondering the same thing, is it time to go to a CV carb?

Do not listen to HRK Josh, I do not have a CV available. I have thought for a little while now that you may want to upgrade your carb. I understand that you want to make this one work, but it seems like this carb is costing you valuable riding time?? JMO

There's not much riding time left anyway, maybe a week or two, unless it gets unseasonably warmer. And there might be a few days here and there later in the fall that may yield a ride or two. There are pieces missing on the CV I have - the whole enricher assembly is gone. So is the fuel inlet plus the flange adapter plus the air cleaner I have won't work with it.

I'm certain I can get this carb to work. It seems it's the low speed that's the problem. When I open it up there's no problem with middle to high speed throttle. It's possible the jet isn't set correctly - I didn't check the jets when I had it apart.
There's no one around here that knows anything about these butterfly carbs. I'm searching the net for information. I know that air cleaners, jetting & exhaust affect carb perfomance. It's really tough trying to sort it all out.

All I'm trying to do right now is to get it to idle like it should.

Just for giggles, go to fleabay and look at what the CV 40mm is going for and intake. I bet you will find a good deal...

Could be a clogged idle jet...did you give it a good cleaning??