So, I picked up a project xl1200r, needs a little attention to make it a nice bike. The bike runs like dog crap, will not idle when warm, spits, carb farts and stumbles at higher rpm's. the bike has Screaming eagle 2 pipes and stage 1 SE air cleaner.

I'm in the carb right now and things are not jiving from all the material I can find on the carb jets and needle. So what I have found is:

Slow jet 42
Main jet 160
Needle has 5 clip positions and a set of shims under the clip.
Air/fuel mixture screw 4 1/8 turns.

The needle seems wrong, I assume it uses an N65 needle with no clip or shims.
Slow jet seems too small
Main jet seems too small
A/F adjustment is way out.
The carb model is L28A DRH4, is this carb correct for an 2004 xl1200r?

What I need to find out is
Is this the correct carb for this year bike?
Anyone running a 45 slow jet and 190 main jet combo?

I have cleaned the carb and checked for vacuume leaks. I can run it down the road yet, waiting on new tires.
Any input would be appreciated.

 

Yes, the needle is not factory. Does the emulsion tube have multiple holes in it or just a couple holes? Stock emulsion tube has many holes and that is what you want. Check those holes to make sure they are clean and clear.

I agree, go to a stock needle for now and yes 4 turns out is to much. Make sure you have all the components in the proper places on the idle mix screw. screw, spring, washer, O-ring.

Try a 45 slow jet and a 170 to 175 main jet. Make sure the carb is clean...I mean go thru everything. Make sure all ports are clean and clear.

Check out Ronnies online parts finder. They have diagrams for your bike with part numbers:

http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche.....asp?make=hdmc

That will tell you what carb your bike should have. Your slow jetting might take a little tweaking but about 2 1/2 turns out is about right when you find the right jet (along with no more coughs and spits). YD

 

Thanks for the info,
I picked up a 45 slow and 180 main, the emulsion tube has two holes near the base, not original. I'm going to need a new needle and emulsion tube, they did drill the air hole in the slide to .157 inch, hope that won't mess things up. Seems someone put a dynajet kit in there at some point.

 

Yes, the two holes in the emulsion tube is probably dynojet, and the needle probably is also. Probably a rounded tip on the needle instead of a pointed tip? Anyways, get rid of that. I have had good service with CVP stuff, and I noticed the owner of CVP has been posting here recently.

I had good luck with cleaning the old oversized drilled hole in the slide, then filling it with JB weld. Then you can either drill a new hole near the old one (pay attention to location of the new hole location so it's not blocked when putting things back together), or you can drill the filled hole using a 7/64 bit.

When I used the JB weld, I "mushroomed" or tapered the head of the hole slightly larger (like a tapered bolt head) so if it did break loose it would not get sucked into the carb/intake. At least in theory! It's been a couple of years with no issues.

I imagine one could drill out the old hole so a piece of aluminum rod could be pressed in or even better tap and threaded aluminum, then redrill the hole, but I think the JB weld will be fine for at least a temp fix to get you riding till you replaced the slide completely.

I think rejetting, fixing the slide, and the emulsion tube with new needle will get your issues resolved. Check the slide diaphragm for leaks by holding it up to the light. YD

 

Sounds like a good plan, there is only one hole in the slide for air the other for the needle, is the original size a 7/64ths? I like the JB weld idea. Time to get the parts together. Thanks again.

 

No I think it is smaller than 7/64 for the stock bleed hole size but I don't know what that stock size is. It seems 7/64 is the new recommended "largest" size. YD

 

I have not had much luck with the CV parts that came in my CV-40 when I bought my SG. After many attempts to tune, I finally went to my local dealer and bought OEM parts to replace the CV parts...I even bought and tried the CV thumb screw style idle needle and that didn't work either.

I have a stock 88 with Stage 1 with open SE Pro II 16 gauge pipes and SE air cleaner. I have tried several different combinations with mixed results, and right now I am running a 185 main jet, 48 idle jet, and the N65C "Sporty" needle jet, and polished the slide, and it is running very well.

I have been over this so much that I changed over to stainless allen head screws so I can rejet without removing the carb...and they look so much cleaner!