Sputter

:gah: hey fellas, wonder if any one can help . k, heres the symtoms and specs
1988flh, its got a 98 fatboy engine 80 c.i. hyper charger, thunderheader, new rings ,andrews ev27 cam. last sat ,nice and warm, seemed to run good and responsive. been cold lately say 5 degrees above 0. beensputterin when acceleration levels off, in all gears .went to a 180 jet , with crisp idle andthrottle chop. figered it wasnt getting enough fuel, went to a 185 ran good till 80 mph, roll slowly on throttle sorta fine. hit it at 80 and bad hesitation and slow pick up..checked plug ,llean.set clip on needle on 4th setting down ,tried adjusting air mix screw . clockwise it stumbled, back off to find stumble,no stumble, kept backing off and engine continuedto idle higher. hmm. went back to rich, figured go for a ride, check plug.got to alight sooty,.but rough starting out in 1st, strong bottom of 2nd 3rd.sputtery top end of2nd 3rd.at 60 mph in 4th run rough, then the cherries came on .lets get me home fast. didnt get a ticket . checked plug not sooty , kinda grey mabye.any ideas???? mabye try clip 1 up from center instead of 1 down from center setting. gonna ride in morning check plug again.

Did you check for intake leaks around the manifold at the heads and the carb mount??

I agree totally agree with what Lucifer said, check for intake leaks, Todd

yup!

funny thing what cold weather can do to the intake rubbers....

I got a leak that whistles when it's cold....stops when it warms up, but on cold days it keeps whistling. gotta find that leak one o these days.

so guys, i can check that at warmed up idle with a propane torch, un lit, or w d 40 or carb cleaner is that right? thanks guys. rob.

I use propane, way less messy, take a hose and put it on the end of your torch and turn the valve on, (dont light it of course) and run it around the connections on the carb and connections, wd 40 works too just makes more of a mess, I have used ether before too that at least dries and doesnt create an oily mess, Todd

should cause rev in idle right? and w d 40 isnt it good for a presoak for engine prior to a wash, thanks , rob

hey chuck, and administretors, is that spelled right? been checkin out this site since i bought my bike last year , i still got a lot to learn bout harleys, you guys rock, you must spend alot of time at helpin all us harley newbies. who for some reason or another ,do it them selves or have no acess to stealerships, or cant afford it, hats off to all, gonna check out possible intake tomorrow. thanx. props to any one who knows more than me, mabye someday i can help some one out too.

Yep, idle will pick up if you find a leak.I use the torch too, sometimes when using the WD40 around the carb mount a little over spray can get in the mouth of the carb, if you're a little heavy on the button giving you a false indication of a leak.
Good luck....let us know how you make out.:devil:

I never thought about propane. I got a propane gun for soldering copper water pipes. I'm gonna try and rig up a hose and try this.

Famous last words "hey watch this!"

Might sound scary chuck,but it's not...if by some minute circumstance it ignited you'd light the torch, what would happen if the spay can stream ignited??

:roflmao: Yeah Tom...Heard that phrase before...I laughed like Hell 'cause it wasn't me said it:roflmao:

all righty then .armed with a can of wd 40 tried intake, back of carb, and no increace of idle, that stuff is all put on new.put 180 jet back in still rich , gonnadrop that needle agan i think. went 4 a ride yesterday. on the hi way tuned sputter out . stopping to check plug .pulled nice acc. and bike would lift. got to a small town sputtered and fouled so bad wouldnt go over 2500 rpms till it burned off the black.once i got close to home killed a plug. black. gonna put needle back in orig setting. burned a tank of gas in an afternoon yesterday with the 185 ant needle on 4th setting down

how is your float? is it set correctly and not damaged? Todd

hey . yeah im thinkin it calls for 63 to a 69 we did it with a micromater, it was showin 71so we adjusted it . we will narrow it down.

no intake leaks eh,does it have a CV carb and manifold? whats your jetting in it now. Sounds like a dyno jet kit in it now, with the needle adjustments ya mention.try 45 slow, middle clip on the needle,and a 180 main. hows yer spark??sharp bright blue???
2 1/2 turns out on the air mix screw.