Hey all
I have a 1983 Shovelhead that I took the stock carb off of and is sitting in a box in my garage. There is nothing wrong with it, I just got a real good deal on an S&S for my Shovel, so the stocker is on the shelf. I was thinking of putting the Shovel's stock carb on the Ironhead since the one on it now (stock) totally sucks. It runs like it has a rev limiter on it when I put her under heavy throttle....so annoying.
Any opinions regarding my master plan?

 

It will work ok with jet changes. Is your carb a non-cv or cv? I put a stock non-cv Keihin carb from an 88 c.i. shovelhead on one of my Ironheads and it ran real rich untill I changed the jetting. After I got that all figured out the bike ran way better through the midrange rpms.
Nice thing is that it's a bolt on performance mod with the larger venturi.

 

mojo2go...
I will check on the cv issue....just out of curiosity, what jets did you have to go to on yours to make her run better? I do have 1 3/4" drags on mine, too.

 

'83 wasn't a CV, but a butterfly Keihin. I forget what year Ironhead you have. Depending on the engine/intake/exhaust mods, you may or may not have to do any jet changes. Worst would be it runs rich, like mojo said.

 

Depends to on what size non-CV Keihin you are talking about. Sporsters ran a 38mm Keihin stock in the late 1970s and then back to a 34mm in the 1980s for more torque and less emissions etc.
The measurement is down inside the carb throat at the smallest point.
Shovels I think ran 40mm Keihins and then 38s in the later years.

My 1977 Sporty runs good with a 38mm Keihin with a 180 mainjet and a .88 slow speed jet, idle screw one turn out. Float level set to 14mm.

Keihin CVs did not come along until after Ironheads were gone and I dont know what jets they use on Ironheads, but I hear they work good from all Ironheaders who run them.

HTH.

 

I have runned 38mm Keihin with 170 main and 70 intermedia/slow jetting opened original airbox and good flowing mufflers.

 

I am going to check the jets (clean the carb) before installing it on the Ironhead. It seems as though the concensus is that the Shovel's carb would do fine on the Ironhead....I'll keep you all posted and thanks for the input thus far.

 

I have a 40mm keihen on my 76 from what i have been told is of a big block shovel,i found that a 170 main and a 72 slow seem to be working really well at the moment, i also have 1 3/4 drag pipes.

 

I have a 1977 XLCH Sportster. It has a 38mm Kehin carburetor P/N 27153-77. It was modified back in 1983 and put into storage until now, some 26 years ago. It has a set of drag pipes and aftermarket air cleaner. Where can I purchase jets for this carburetor ?

 

The jets are very commonly available. J&P Cycles for example, or any catalog; or any shop can order them from a supplier. Probably about $5.00 each.

What jets are in it now? I know a guy with the same carb and bike and i can check what he is using.