Idle/mix Screw Plug

ALL THIS CARB TALK HAS ME ON A MISSION TO CORRECT A LONG OVER DUE CARB FIX'N, HERE IS SOME PIC'S OF THE CARB, WANT TO MAKE SURE THIS IS THE PLUG I NEED TO REMOVE FOR MY ADJUSTMENT SCREW. DON'T YOU JUST LOVE HOW I ALWAYS GIVE YOU PLENTY OF PIC'S SO YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT:roflmao: ONE IS A CLOSE UP OF THE SPOT I THINK IS THE PLUG, THE OTHER PIC IS A FULL VIEW OF THE BOTTOM, AT THE TOP IS THE ROUND PLUG PIECE, WHICH IF LOOKING AT UNDER THE CARB WOULD BE THE BACK BOTTOM.

yeah sportsterboy, that's the one. drill that plug out and the starting reference point is usually to turn it in until it seats, then back it out 2 and a half turns. Depending on what else you have done may need more or less but only turn about an eighth of a turn at a time. Doesn't take much to change.

You've already gotten good responses, Sportsterboy, but if you don't have the factory service manual for your bike, get one.

And part way down the page is a pretty good diagram of the CV carb: CV Carburetor Modifications #9 is the idle mixture screw. Factory manual has some good diagrams too.

So For Some Basic Results, I Can Stick With The Stock Jets, And Just Go After The Screw For Now. I Plan On Changing The Air Cleaner And Pipes Agian, So I Don't Want To Go Off Changing To Much Until I Get These Parts, Not To Much Worried About High Performence Just Want To Make It Run Right. So If I Have To Change Out The Jets To Achieve This I Will, But If It's Not Really Needed I Just Assume To Skip This Step. Other Thing That I'm Prob. Over Thinking Is, If I'm Running Lean, Why Does It Smell Like I'm Running Rich, With The Open Pipes And Freeflow Ac. I Have Noticed That Last Year I Put Electrical Tape Going Around The Ac To Restrict Air, This Seemed To Have Worked Some What, Now That I Have Removed The Tape, I Get More Caughing Out Of The Carb. It Seems To Also Be The Back Jug That Is Off With The Farts, The Front Runs Hotter And Steady With The Top Of The Pipe Discoloring. Thanks For All The Input, I Plan To Pull The Carb This Weekend And Get The Plug Out.

Funny, the young HD mechanic who helped me get back on the road after my Derby cover oil spill said that I might be running a little lean and that could be part of what's causing the pops and affecting the MPG. After re-jetting/Stage one, I never get hesitation and only get some farts in the first 5-10 minutes after starting up.

I occasionally get smells like I'm running rich too.. hmmm....

Good luck with the carbs this weekend Sportsterboy.

As a general rule, you want to go up one size on the main jet from what the bike came with, but leave the slow jet alone.

Idle mixture screw set wrong, needle needs to be changed (yours does) & from what you also describe, intake leak(s). Perhaps exhaust leak(s) too.

Well, Don't Try This At Home! Unless You Are Real Handy With Your Tools. So Tonight I Keep Looking At The Carb Try'n To Figure Out How It Comes Off The Intake, Still Don't Know, So I Thunked About How I Could Get To That Plug Without Pulling The Carb. I Took A 90 Deg Angle Grinder And Made A Shaft To Put On A 1/4" Drive Socket On To Hold The Sheet Metal Screw. Center Punched The Plug With A Deck Screw. Got Up In There A Started Drilling With The Sheet Metal Screw, And It Worked, Drilled Till I Could See That I Made It Past The Plug And Stoped, Too Much Drill Head Left On The Screw And I Didn't Know How Much Play I Had. So Then I Inserted A Deck Screw Till It Caught Some Bite, Took Some Vice Grips And Wa-la Out Came The Plug. Turned In The Adjustment Screw And Amazingly It Was Only Out 1 1/8 Turns, So I Turned It Out To 2 1/2, Can't Believe How Crappy My Bike Was Really Running. Got Rid Of The Caughing And Back Fires Through The Carb. When Cold I Have To Pull The Choke Out For A Few Seconds, Then Push It In And It Idles Steady Instead Of Irraticly, First Thing I Did Notice Was That The Front Jug Was Staying At A Even Heat As The Back, Then Cracking Back The Throtal No Backfire Sputter. When I Rode The Thing I Noticed Was No Hesitation In The Throtal, And Once Agian No Caugh Or Backfire In Accelerating. Today I'll Pull The Plugs And Clean Them Up, So I Can See How They Look After Ride'n A Couple Day's At This Setting, Doesn't Smell Gassy, And It's Ride'n Alot Smoother Than Before, So I'll Keep You Updated.

Once you've got the air-cleaner assembly off, including the backing plate & "head-breather" hollow bolts, the carb just pulls off. But you got the idle mixture screw plug off & the screw set anyway - even if it was a "bull in a china shop" method :roflmao: It was very creative though & I like that !!

Glad to hear the bike's running so much better !! Once the engine's fully warmed up, you may want to tweak a little bit, but as I've said, 2.5 turns out is the baseline, you should not have to go more than 1/4 turn either way to hit that "sweet spot" & you may very well already be there.

SPORTSTERBOY, you is a mad man :roflmao: A talented mad man, but a mad man none the less .

Glad you got your problem worked out. Hope it all goes smoother now.

Damn Sportsterboy, that's cool! Even after HD did the Stage 1 upgrade, I sometimes get a few pops and backfires in the first 10 minutes or so until it warms up. I could leave the choke 1/2 - 3/4 of the way out a little longer I suppose.

I went on my first semi-long ride yesterday ( 100 miles one way) and it was an eye opener. The bike handled it perfectly, but I can't say the same for myself. I left impulsively and forgot to change from my Mustang seat to my touring seat, and worse, forgot to pop on my windshield. I thought where I was heading was about 50-55 mile away! There were 20-30 mile an hour winds, and now I know why those bigger bikes are preferred by some guys. It was really hairy with the huge trucks on one side and the wind rocking me back and forth.

I use the oil-temp dipstick/cap to tell me when the bike's ready to go - when the oil temp hits 150, that's enough. (Don't get the digital one - they're always off). I pull the "enrichener" all the way out to start, then gradually ease it back in a bit @ a time & blip the throttle as I'm putting jacket, gloves, helmet on & usually by the time I'm ready to go it's all the way in. Riding with it out can foul plugs.

As to the bike getting moved around by wind & truck traffic, 1st thing that comes to mind is check your tire pressure. And the manual is just plain wrong there - the listed pressures are too low, especially for the front. The book calls for 30 psi front on my bikes, but they "wallow" with that & I run 38. Guys with the 21" laced front Custom models run 40. I run 36 rear, but that will vary a good bit depending on bike, rider size, passenger or not, etc.

Now I do run Metzeler tires, not those gawd-awful stock Rocklops & the proper pressure will vary from one manufacturer to another, but getting the air pressure up where it ought to be will really change how the bike handles & especially in situations such as you described.

I'm a back-road country boy, but I have been from north of Charlotte, North Carolina down to Columbia, South Carolina & back to the starting point on the interstate - about 125 miles each way. Had the H-D "Sport" windshield on (but I never take it off) & the 1st thing I did before heading out was check my tire pressures - I keep a guage in the fork bag @ all times. I checked 'em again when stopping for fuel - they should not rise more than 4 psi as the tires heat up & mine don't change more than 2 psi. If they go up more than 4 psi, the pressure was too low to start with.

Had lots of semis to deal with on that trip, but my "little" Sportster didn't get blown around. But I don't stay next to semis or follow close behind either - pass as quickly as possible & get away. I drove semis for several years & the drivers do not want you close by - believe me. Ever seen what happens when a re-tread comes off a drive or trailer tire? Take you off a bike in a "New York Second".

Motorcycle tires are so thick that you can't tell by looking @ them if the pressure is right or not - heck, my '00 bike sat long enough for the pressure to go to -0-, but looking @ the bike parked, they still looked fully inflated. Check your tires today & at least once/week. I do it every day on the bike I'm going to be riding.

Art, thanks once again for the sage advice. I will definitely begin checking tire pressure now.

I have the standard height Quick Release windshield, and it's a little too low for my 6'5" height. I should have gotten the "Sport" windshield. I believe the "Sport" model is about 1 1/2 " higher and might make a difference. Otherwise I need a custom windshield and I don't want one that stays on the bike, since I mainly ride in the city within 5 miles of home.

As for the tires, please tell me a bit more about the differences between the Metzeler's and the Dunlop's. I have the standard HD Dunlop's on there now in very good condition. It might be me, but I wouldn't mind a little more grip when cornering.

With respect to the windshield, if the angle on yours can be adjusted, play with that. You're a lot taller than I am (5'10") so maybe what you have is too short (not familiar with that model), but changing the angle really does change how well it works.

When I bought the '95, the "Sport" shield was already on & the previous owner is about 5'4". The top of the 'shield was about nose-level for me, which is good because I want to see over it, but the buffeting behind the 'shield @ highway speeds wanted to take the sun-visor off my helmet.

That 'shield has bars that run from it to clamps on the handlebar & you can loosen the clamps to move those bars in or out, to change the angle of the 'shield. So I stuck a couple 9/16 box-end wrenches in my back pocket & went for a ride, stopping periodically to try it tilted in a little more, then tilted out a little more, to find the angle that worked best for me. Took a while, but I finally got it.

With respect to the tires, you wouldn't believe the difference. I call the stock Dunlops "Rocklops" for a reason - they do last a very long time - but it's because they're so hard. And raising the pressure to where it ought to be makes them harder still - but will make the bike MUCH more responsive & safer to ride.

When I bought the '95, I had always considered Metzeler the best motorcyle tire for the type of riding I do. I've run Avons too & they're very good, but also softer & wear faster. But since I hadn't owned a bike in several years & technology moves forward so quickly, I looked to see what other riders were using & asked around - yep, local indy shop only sold Metzelers, had 'em on his own bikes, see 'em everywhere, OK.

I went to the extreme the 1st time, with the softest compound offered for Sportsters & the exact same tires the AMA 883 Race Series ran. That's when I found out about axle spacers too - my rear wheel was off a bit & come to find out that's a common problem. Wow !!! Felt like I just got a new bike !! Found myself going 10 mph faster thru corners & that wasn't intentional - the bike just handled that much better.

But the rear tire wore out in about 3500 miles, so I changed to the ME 880 "Marathon" & those are great. I still run the softer ME 33 "Lasertec" up front because I like the tread design & I still get about 12,000 miles from those, but the matched set of ME 880's front/rear is the most popular.

If you switch to those, I'll bet you that you'll never even think about going back to Rocklops - you couldn't pay me to run 'em again. Others like Avon Venoms & the "canyon carver" guys like the Bridgestone "BattleAx", but although they stick like glue, they don't last very long & Metzeler is the best combination of performance & mileage I've ever seen.

ME880 front and rear on mine now Hellboy. My Dunlops had done lopped and I had no choice but change them. I rode the Dunlops for a while even though they truly needed replaced when I got the bike (dryrot not wear). Admittedly I was more scared of the tire do to it's condition rather than performance. After putting the ME880s on I wouldn't go back either. They handle great, shed water like a duck's back, don't give in to the steering aids as much, and the ride is 100Xs smoother. A buddy put an ME880 front on his springer prior to me getting my new tires, his testimony on them sold me. Since that time three of us have done tire changes and everyone of us has gone to ME880s.

Pulled The Plugs Yesterday And They Were Both White, To Lean Who Would Have Thought, Cleaned Them And Re-did The Gap, For Some Reason They Seemed To Gaped For Me. So I'll Run Them For The Week And Check Them Out Next Weekend, So What Am I Looking For As In A Good Color Of The Plug.

wvak47 mentioned steering input on the Metzeler tires which reminds me of a key point - Rocklops follow road imperfections, rain grooves, metal bridge grating, etc. - but Metzelers don't - the bike goes where you point it.

A light tan on the insulator & no deposits on the metal parts. Harder to read plugs with today's unleaded gasolines, as they have detergent additives which keep the plugs cleaner if the engine's tuned right. This site may help: How to read Plugs

Thanks Art. Thanks for keeping us up to date with your progress Sportsterboy. It's really helpful to hear about other's Sportster experiences. Now I'm curious about my plugs, hmm...

Thanks Art Nj, Those Are Some Good Pictures To Get Me In The Right Direction.