The '97 Softail I bought a few weeks back runs like a champ...well until this morning. It was 49 degrees outside, and in the summer my bikes live in the driveway with covers over them. Anyway, it started fine. I let it warm up for a minute or two and took off. It spit and sputtered so bad I had to pull into a Wendy's parking lot and let it run with full choke for a few more minutes before I got back out on the road. It sputtered a few more times but finally warmed up and settled in.

Is this not uncommon? My Sportster and Tour Glide don't seem to have the same issue.

 

What weight oil is in it?

 

Build a fire under first, the next time it's cool/cold.

 

Pretty common on completely stock bikes...going up a jet size or two will cure the problem. The EPA required the bikes to meet a certain pollution standard...the only way they could make it was to jet the bikes lean....and ethanol gas just makes it worse.

 

Make sure you don't have any leaks at the carburetor or intake. I was having similar problem a while back. I have a 95 Heritage with carburetor, so your setup may be different. I am not very familiar on how it's made on fuel injected bikes or if you have fuel injection or not.

 

My 99 was like that and would sputter off and on for about 2 or 3 miles till it warmed up a bit. I increased the pilot jet to a 45 and the main jet to 180 and it is fine now. I pull the enrichner to start for the first time in the morning, and as soon as it starts I push it all the way in and keep the bike idling with the throttle lock till it warms up a bit. The rest of the day I just give it a twist on the throttle and fire it up without the enrichner. It also runs much better and I still get 50 mpg. I do have drag pipes and a K&N air cleaner.

 

If the bike is stock, the idle mixture jet needs to be adjusted. The MoCo set the carb'd EVO to run uber lean at idle to meet EPA standards. They then 'sealed' the jet behind an aluminum cap so the average Joe wouldn't tinker with it. Probably a CYA move by The MoCo. Anyway, just about everyone I know popped the cap off and adjusted the jet richer than stock.

Again, if the bike is STOCK, you probably don't need to get inside the carb and start swapping jets. Adjust the idle mixture, use the enrichener (choke) to get it started. What you do after that is based upon your own superstitions and/or routine.

When it's below 60 degrees, I pull the enrichener out full, crank the engine, then push the enrichener in until the engine is idling at approximately 1000 rpm. (I don't have a throttle lock, as I've got electronic cruise installed, which eliminates that from the grip.) Give it a minute or so while putting on my gear, then take off riding slowly out of my subdivision with the enrichener pushed completely in (off). I take it easy for the first couple of miles, then ride it like I stole it.

 

Adjusting the idle mixture will help a little, but a stock CV carb with aftermarket pipes will need a jet change to really run right.

 

I know it has a stage 1 kit and it runs a V&H Pro 2 into 1.

 

Then you most likely need to get inside the carb and re-jet for the bike to run properly. You can either do this yourself, or find a shop that has both a dyno and a wrench, that knows how to use it, to tune a CV carb. Shouldn't even take an hour of dyno time to get it running better.

Personally, I would take this opportunity to install a better cam (and bearing) than what The MoCo had to put into the stock EVO. Get it all 'tuned', and you'll have a much better ride-ability factor.