I just got my first sportster and it has been sitting for three years. It is a 1997 1200 with screamin eagle stage 1 air cleaner and screamin eagle mufflers. I have disassembled the carb and soaked it along with the jets. I put it back together with new accel. Pump, float needle and bowl gasket. The petcock was leaking so I replaced it along with the fuel and vacuum line to it. My issue is the bike wont start unless you give it a little gas and you have to keep slight throttle pressure to meep it running. The jets that are in the carb are a 180 main and 45 slow. I also replaced intake seals while i was at it. Anyone have ideas? My mixture screw is 2 turns out. Thanks in advace, i want to ride this thing.

 

It sounds like you just need to turn your idle screw a bit,it's at the top of the carb where the throttle cables hook on.
If you have a tach keep the rpm's up above a thousand they don't pump enough oil below that.

 

Enrichener cable working properly? With it pulled out it should start and idle well from a cold start.

 

I have got the bike idling on its own, but only once it is warm. I have to give partial throttle to start and to keep it running when cold. It will NOT start or run with the enrichener pulled out at all. And when giving it slight throttle while cold you get an occasional pop in the carb. I changed the pilot to a 44 thinking it was running rich. It seemed to help a little but not cure the problem. Any ideas?

 

Standard starting is full choke, three twists on the throttle and it will fire off, at least for mine on a cold start. Might need to adjust the idle screw to 2 & 1/2 turns or so.

 

When I had my carb rebuilt, we turned the idle screw 2 1/2 to 3 turns I believe. She idles just a hair above 1000rpms. When the weather's cold ( below 40 ) I pull the choke out all the way and she'll fire right up.

 

It will not start or run with the choke(enricher) pulled out at all. To me it really seems like it is not getting enough air. Where does the carb draw air in at idle?

 

First off, kudos to the OP for at least attempting DIY. With just a little more work, you will get it running correctly.

If the enrichener system doesn't work, you will have to take it apart again and clean some more. Apparently, you missed the passage(s) for that circuit. The enrichener pulls raw fuel directly from the fuel bowl, and blends it with air drawn through the venturi. Actually, it sounds like it is too LEAN when cold.

Next, the discussion about the idle mixture screw. It is a MYTH about the screw needing to be out a certain number of turns. That, my friend, is just a starting point. You should adjust that screw (engine fully warmed) to the best idle quality, either by the rich drop method, or by "ear". What works well for my machine does not always work for yours, due do the differences in many things such as engine wear, valve sealing qualities, carburetor jetting or clogging, etc.

You, sir, are very close to "right" with what you have accomplished to this point. Just keep up the good work and it will come.

 

Any idea the route/passage it draws the fuel from with the enricher out? I thought I cleaned everything pretty well but I am willing to pull it apart again. I just don't know which passage is which on the carb. Do you think it could be something wrong with the enricher itself? Also, are carb backfires a sign of running lean or running rich?

 

When you disassembled the carb, you must have removed the enrichener mechanism/cable assembly, correct? That's part of where you want to clear out. Maybe just clear it from that opening if possible. Other than that, it seems like it will idle fine when warm, how does it drive?

Good luck, it's something simple.

John