Ah man, he just wants to slightly slow down the idle. Those are great instructions for tuning after you re-jet the carb, but just to slightly slow down the idle, I think that's overkill. If you're gonna be that precise, everytime you go for a ride you would need to adjust for ambient temp. humidity and altitude. Geeze a simple idle speed adjustments isn't rocket science. Can someone just get this guy a pic of the idle screw??


WOW...we haven't helped the dude with the EFI bike much at all. But I don't think there is an easy way for that adjustment.

 

Adjusting idle speed alone throws your carb out of tune...and as for EFI, it's best to either use a tuner, or take it to the dealer if it's still under warranty, it's that simple.

That's not just for re-jetting, it applies across the board for any alteration and is just basic tuning, it needs to be adjusted as weather changes as it is...it's a carb, it doesn't do it itself. That's my point. It's really not that much work and keeps your bike running it's best no matter what the circumstances are, I street tune mine once a month religiously. Usually with every oil change/filter recharge.

Bottom line, slowing down his idle will cause his mix to be off....even if it's just slightly out of whack, he'll need to adjust it accordingly. Yes, he CAN just adjust idle speed, but I guarantee it will affect throttle response. Then again, I'm a meticulous SOB when it comes to how my bike runs, so it could be overkill afterall.

 

wrong in some ways, but very helpful in others

to have a low idle, you have to have the mixture nearly PERFECT, if you want a low idle, you cant have long loping pauses or misfires that could disrupt the spinning and kill the engine.

the actual idle SPEED screw is easily reach from the top with a screwdriver. It is right on top of where the two throtle cables go in and wrap onto that spindle thing with the spring. youll notice the idle change when you turn it, it doesnt hurt the bike to kill it if you mess up, just turn it back and start her up.


having a low idle means more hassle on warmup, for 5-10 miles the bike probably wont idle on its own without a little boost at lights.

there are aftermarket carbs that mix the fuel very well and can support low idles and they tune well. i dont know how easy it is to do with the stock. you may be looking at different jets, but i cant tell you if they would be bigger or smaller.

my bike idles around 1000, but it lopes around becuase its pretty rich to stay cooler. the rest of the RPM range is nice, i had it tuned up at a good shop after a bad shop messed it up.

hope this helps

 

While you make some good points, I have to ask you what exactly is helpful about telling someone that the Idle Mixture screw is the Idle adjustment screw? The guy with the carbed sporty can effectively slow the idle slightly with a the idle adjustment screw located right above the throttle pulley on the side of the carb. Its a simple stop screw that keeps the throttle from closing completely. A small adjustment like the one user asked about will not throw off anything. Start the bike, let it warm up, ride it around a bit until it reverts to it's slow idle, take a phillips head screw driver and turn the screw counter-clockwise about 1/8th ofa turn or less. The sportster is not supposed to idle too slow so do not over-do-it. If you have a tach you can safely take it down to 11-1200 rpm with no idle mixture adjustments or ill effects to your throttle response. Proof is in the pudding because I have done it. Or, maybe I just have super special sportster that is unlike any other...

6o66er is right about having to adjust both if you are going for a major swing or are super **** retentive...both of which are fine but, it seems like all you are looking for is a little potato-potato instead of an odd idle lope.

 

You're right...but like I said...I'm the **** retentive type...lol.

I only have a bike though...so I have to make sure it's running in perfect order at all times. That and I got nothin better to do than sit around and tune, clean, and take stuff off just because I wanna put it back on again. [8D]

And you're also right about the idle...it's supposed to be higher for oiling purposes.

 

There must be some idle screw on there somewhere.

I am not positive but I have a feeling the factory may set the idle a bit high.

I have a feeling lugging/thumping a new engine isn't a good idea.

I know I had to lower my 2006 idle after the first 1000 ... But thats a carb.

 

On the EFI bikes the dealer can reprogram your idle speed, but on the Sportster EVO engines you don't want to lower the 'hot idle speed' below 975 or so RPM. If so you could have a problem with sufficient oil pressure and circulation, especially to the top end of the engine.

You WON'T be able to get an EVO to sound like the old Panheads (or even the Shovels) no matter how low you adjust the idle, and all you are doing is risking possible engine damage.

Also, with the carb'd engines, I don't believe in the "tuning by ear" that many do, especially if you want to optimize performance. Each bike responds differently to carb jetting and adjustment, and what works for one might not be ideal for another. The only way you can verify correct A/F mixture on your specific bike is to either have it dyno tuned, or at the least, hook up some gauges to get an accurate fuel mixture reading.

That being said, if your carb is adjusted correctly it's not going to hurt a thing by adjusting the idle (either slightly higher or lower). That's why there is a 'idle adjustment screw' on the carb.

We've done a lot of experimenting with the Sportster EVO engines, and the best performance seems to be with the 'hot idle speed' set between 975 and 1025 RPM.

On my 2005 1200C (once the carb was optimized for the correct A/F mixture throughout the operating range), the bike liked a hot idle speed of right at 975 RPM. Once we installed higher lift and performance Screamin' Eagle "E" cams the bike was happy at 1,025 RPM.

Here is a small audio/video of my Sportster at idle (1,025 RPM) with it running the SE "E" cams. The little internal mic on the Sony digital camera doesn't reflect the full tone, but it gives you an idea of how the bike sounds. It also gives you a better idea of how the bike actually looks with the color matched covers, 44* 8 inch over 41mm WD front end, etc....

Anyway, on a EFI bike you need the dealer to program in a new idle speed. This can be done yourself if you have installed a Race Tuner (SERT), but if you install a Race Tuner you might as well get the bike dyno tuned for best performance, and have the idle speed set where you want it at the same time.

Anyway, here is that little audio/video I was talking about.

http://dogsdoom.com/PI/2005-1200C.mpg

 

I know that it is a crappy cell phone pic, but... here goes.

In the pic you will see the black top cover of the carb on the left. The gold colored screw in the center of the pic is the idle adjustment screw. It is located on the linkage that connects the throttle and idle cables from the throttle to the carb. This will adjust your idle SPEED, not mixture. On my bike, it can be seen with the air cleaner on, but with a factory or other large AC you may have to remove the cover to see it.

I don't know for 100%, but the FI bikes *should* have a very similar set-up to adjust idle speed. The FI version *should* simply open/close the butterfly in the throttle body to change the speed. The fuel mix *should* be automatically compensated for by the FI system.


[IMG]local://upfiles/39638/7D7EACCFAD6D4E7DA13F45EBF0C76F8B.jpg[/IMG]

 

Not usless the EFI setup on the Sportster is completely different than that on the Big Twins....

Changing the idle speed on the BT EFI systems requires that you modify/remap the ECU program, which can be done using a scanalyzer tool, SERT, 'reflash', etc....

On the carb'd bike it's a simple matter of turning an adjustment screw.

 

ROFL.