I picked up a 2001 FXDXT a few months back. It runs great, but farts and burps a bit on decel, and occasionally misfires on acceleration after having the clutch pulled in for a little while (7+ sec).
It's got a SE heavy breather and VH propipes. So my guess is that it was either rejetted but now dirty, or never rejetted at all. Either way, might as well throw new ones in and retune. What would you guys say are the optimal sizes?

 

Also, it idles at 900-1000 rpm when just warmed up from cold, but quickly increases to 1200-1500 rpm after actually riding and heating up. First gear pulls away fine, but doesn't really start pulling like a champ until 2nd gear. This could suggest too rich an idle mixture to me as well...

 

Im not sure what stock is for that bike but if you have a service manual it will tell you what stock sizes are and you can compare to see if its been re jetted, otherwise i would probably start with one size bigger on the pilot and the main and have the mixture screw 3-3.5 turns out. I would also verify that your accelerator pump is working. After its good and hot adjust the idle back down. I can look in one of the service manuals when i get to work this morning and tell you what stock jetting is if you would like, if if someone else doesnt have it either

 

Thanks, I'll check my clymer manual when I get home. Although for $100 I could also just pick up the cv performance carb kit and v-ductor.

Does 1500 sound like a normal idle speed for a bike that's fully heated up?

 

No, i would set it around 1000 probably, your manual probably says something like 950-1050

 

just had my 2000 fxstb rejetted after i put on big radius pipes with baffles removed. put in a 190 jet and my bike runs like a smashed cat. the 130 jet did alot of the same things yours does.

 

Pull the carb off and clean everything. Make sure float is free and bowl is clean . I'm running a 190 main in mine. I got the kit from cvp so I put a new needle and spring also both jets. Not sure what I have my mixture scew at. Runs great though. Carb will fart every now and a again. But is is a CV after all. Also check your plugs see what they look like.

 

Usual stage-1 jets are 45 pilot and 185 main, with the idle screw about 2.5 turns out from seated.

I'd only choose other than those for a very good reason and only after I'd stripped the carb and made sure its spotless and that there is absolutely no sign of damage to the diaphragm on top of the slider.

 

When I got my '04 FXDP, it had the stock 45 slow/190 main, and ran like crap with stock AC/Exh. After some experimentation, I had to go to 48 slow/190 main to get it to run decent & not pop/backfire. And that was after replacing the manifold/carb gaskets to eliminate possibility of intake leak. When I did nothing more than add a DK Customs 587 AC, I had to go to 50 slow/195 main to get it to run decent. No other mods from stock.

Every bike is different. Experiment. You don't have to spend $100 on a kit to find out what you need. Jets are $6-$10 each, and #5 brass washers (I used two to raise stock needle 0.041" to improve mid-range response) are $3.50 for 15 of them! You don't even have to remove the carb to re-jet only. Just remove the AC, loosen or remove hoses, tilt the bottom out & remove bowl. Easy. Do one thing at a time (like up the slow one notch) & see what happens. It takes some time, but persistence pays off (& is cheaper).