Converting MM FI to Carb

Everyone told me that converting this old MM fuel injection to carburetor would be easy and only cost a few hundred dollars. This is one project I wish I never started but I'm at the point of no return.

The first of my problems was that there are no 1998 ignition wiring harnesses in the whole country. HD doesn't support 98 anymore. No problem, I was able to purchase all the connectors and pins. I haven't made the wiring harness yet, but it should only take a few hours.

I got the ignition module and carb off ebay but then had to add parts to the carb. I got other stuff like VOE switch and choke brackets from HD.

Then I had to convert the fuel tank to a Pingel valve. Pingel makes all the parts cept it was over one hundred bucks (I forget the total). I must have $500 in parts by now.

Gutting the fuel tank was a P.I.T.A! I had to remove the filter and pump. Drill out the feed line and remove the steel tube. Here are picks of the cutting I had to do with the dremel. The thing to notice is that there is a stand pipe of about 3/4 of and inch which means I'll probably loose close to a gallon of capacity unless I can cut it down some more with the dremel. Not an easy place to get into with my hands and Dremel, if you know what I mean.

Here's where I ended up for tonight. Later on I will dress it up a bit more but I think I'm good at this point for fuel flow, besides I keep over heating my Dremel.

The other part of this project I forgot to mention is the plug I am making to replace the crank pic up.

I also need to learn about what to us to reseal the bare metal inside the tank. Do you know what I should do? Is primer enough or is it something else?

I think as long as you keep the gas level above the bare metal it won't rust.
If you want to do some thing a tank sealer is what you should use. I don't think a paint would hold up.

Hey Tom, do you have one of the flexible shafts for your Dremel? That would make this go much easier. You have to watch though as it can get a bit of leverage if you hold it very far back on the handle. Keeps the dremel out of the tight area and low air. It will run much longer without heating up. I really like this project so please keep the updates and pics coming. Often wondered how much of a PITA this would be. Think I would have settled for buying another tank if it were me though.

I have often worndered if this could be done, keep us informed. What kind of carb are you putting on? What kind of carb parts do you need? I have some CV parts.

The thing about these early EVO FI is that they welded in these metal tubes and pump brackets inside the tank. This tank looks like a real nightmare for mass production. Eventually they stopped using the injector return line I guess with the Delphi injection systems, and started using plastic flex tubing inside for the supply line that pulls out easily.

I was looking for a later model tank for a while but lost the bids on 2 of them that would not have needed to be repainted. I'm kinda of glad I gave up on buying a tank, it would have set me back another $300 to $400.

I bought a CV 40 with a Arlen Ness big sucker from Ebay a while ago and then got one of Ken's jet and needle kits. I'm really looking forward to playing with this and since Ken doesn't live to far from me I hope to get him to ride it and help me fine tune it if necessary. I think I'm good with the carb parts for now.

Thanks,
More to come.

Another thing I think I have laying around is a stock ignition off a 96 softtail if you have trouble with the one you purchased off ebay.

i kno my tanks a little different,,,but i have put 5.50 gallons in it since i removed the pump and filters and hoses etc from inside,,, and i get,,,just got 46 mpg,,,,now with carb,,,mikuni,,,,got a conglomeration of junk on motor,,,,probably around 100 hp,,, i eat my partners 96 with the latest ,,,3800.00,,,injecters,,electronic crap,,,and he is getting so much fuel ,,,it ends up in oil,,,, after 2000 miles you can lite it with a flint rock,,,,get this,,,when he took it back because of oil,,,dealer told him it needed a head job,,,,by looking at outside of motor,,,best mech i ever saw,,,, after some words that just SHOCKED ME,,, we left,,,, seems he wont go back,,,,

As far as I can tell from digging through the Zippers website, they sell the same Pingel valve kit just like I got. You still have to gut the metal tube assembly inside the tank or you would never get any fuel cause it runs to the top of the tank to the other side. I wish I took a picture of this before I cut it out.

I am trying to keep all the FI parts in original shape to see how much it will get on ebay. But, that may change when I get into making the new harness. I want to use a VOEs too and that also has to be wired in.

When I get all this to work then maybe I can build a respectable motor like a 113 and not have to worry about remapping.

Finding the time has been difficult and then I had to entertain the wife over our 3 day weekend. I’m working on it a few hours a night.

I still have to touch up the inside of the tank with epoxy then clean it out real good. I’ve been seeing how the carb, Arlen Ness Big sucker, horn, other parts and new brackets fit and I am waiting on a few items that I’ve ordered such as left and right side gaskets, SE push rods and clutch disks (waiting on the brown truck too). I wish I had another 98 to look at. I was having trouble with the top stabilizer and new bracket. The stabilizer link is at a little more of an angle then it was with the old bracket.

What I want to finish by this weekend is to make the wiring harness (I’ll put up some pics) and finish the tank.

It would be nice to finish for the Reno Bike rally but I don’t think I’ll have time to iron everything out. We’ll see…..

Today I was able to finish sealing the gas tank and cleaning it out. I found a small tube of gas tank sealer/adhesive and painted it on some of the bare metal areas. Easy to use with a throw away paint brush.

The wiring is done too. Pictures of the parts I started with and the finished product. The picture from the manual shows all the stuff I threw away is on the bottom of the page and the harness I had to make is on the top of the page. Tedious work but not too hard. I used mostly 18 gage wire, but 16 gage for the coil wires.

Here's all the stuff I won't be using anymore. I'm going to keep it for a little while then try to sell it on ebay or here.

I forgot to say that when I ordered a bunch of gaskets from MandMcycle.com, I ordered a right side trans gasket and a cam cover gasket. They where $7.99 for each one. I forgot I ordered a pack of 10 of each gasket for that price. That's less than a buck for each gasket and they are gaskets with the silicone bead too. I certainly got some extras.