Hi guys, i just rebuilt my old butterfly carb on my 89 flhs and had to drill out the mixture screw as it was seized so i have no idea how it was set. I changed it for an EZ adjust and gave it one full turn.

My question is: Is one turn a good starting point? I have a Hypercharger on it, i know, not the most popular choice, and will be putting back the legal pipes for startup.... for legal reasons.

From what i can tell, the motor is stock, apart from some chrome.

Any input will be appreciated!

 

give it another 1 /2 turn then take it if it idles fine if not turn the idle up a bit - drive it for 15 min then idle it down to 750 / 800 RPMs

at that point start adjusting the mix screw till you get the beast sounding idle usually at the highest RPM when turning it in and out - re set the base idle 7 to 9 hundred what ever you decide sounds best to you - put a spot of clear silicone on the mix screw top and forget it

 

You can do as john said or just take off the butterfly carb and install an S&S Super E and call it good.

 

+1, but if you aren't worried about performance a butterfly will run. With an aftermarket air cleaner on it if the pilot jet hasn't been changed a good starting point would probably be 2.5 turns, and more than likely you will have it turned out past 3 to get it to stop coughing.

 

It is completely cleaned out, rebuilt and installed.... I don't think, at this point that a swap is my intention. I just want to know where to start adjusting it.

I'm guessing the Super E carb probably requires some adjutment too so even if I did a swap, the question would still be there.

 

There are some minor adjustments but you end up with a much better carb.
I hope you get yours figured out.

 

I know very little about carbs. I can tell you that I bought an S&S Super E and followed the instructions that came with it. Then watched the S&S youtube vid on it, and had it running great in no time.

The best price I could find on the whole package was on ebay from American Classic Motors

 

You just missed it, but THC just gifted a CV carb away. S&S E are great, but pricey and not really necessary for mostly stock bikes. I'm sure you will get the adjustment down on your Keihin butterfly carb, because you've already put some work into it.

I recommend you keep your eyes open for a Keihin CV carb. They are much better than the butterfly carbs. Because of the vacuum slide, they adjust well during elevation changes, and with the right main and pilot jets, you'd be good to go. I have an 89 FLHTC, and changing out the carb was the first thing I did. I highly recommend this one single upgrade for a start. :-)

dave

 

+1 Updating to a CV was the very first mod to my 89 as well.

 

Thanks for all the input! I'm just waiting for the temps to get warm enough to start it up and see what I get with the clean carb.

I will be on the lookout for a CV as suggested by many, but factoring in the exchange rate and shipping to get one here (Quebec), it is a rather pricey upgrade, plus from what I read, getting the correct brackets, cables and hardware seems pretty hit or miss. Not sure I feel like messing with all that right now.

It ran fine until fall of last year when it began dripping from the bowl overflow, occasional cough and noticeably harder to start when cold. That was the reason I pulled the carb and saw that the thing was nasty. Apparently, the PO wasn't too keen on carb maintenance, it was gunked up real bad.

Crossing my fingers and hoping it will run as well or better than before!