Hi just got a 81 ironhead was running rough took carb apart to clean it.Has stock jets accel pump not spraying a steady stream when twist the throttle. put mixture screw 1 and a half turn out. bike will start with full choke idle very hight once you turn choke more then half way off bike will idle for a few seconds and die. feels like carb is full throttle or idle so low it will die like there is no control. used carb clean around intake idle didn't jump up. Just wanted to see if anyone had tips the carb is a keihin butterfly carb.

 

The acc pump should put out a quick stream, more of a squirt than a stream. The fuel passage for the pump runs across the bottom of the bowl on the inside. It would be useful to force some carb cleaner thru that passage, both directions. In a difficult case you can remove the jet - it is a press fit and can be twisted out as tho it were actually threaded. If you are going to do this ask again and i'll look up what tool i used.

The high idle etc that you described sounds like an intake leak. You can use any of a variety of fluids, but propane or WD-40 are the best. Propane leaves no mess and has the finest particles. WD-40 has finer particles than the other choices like carb cleaner etc.

You have to spray a lot to discover small leaks.

Note that the idle will decrease not increase. To test this spray some directly into the A/C or carb.

 

Hi thanks ill put the carb back on the bike and try the wd40 the rubber intake boots seem soft and not dry rotted I put the carb on a few times is it possible I'm doing it wrong the boot looks like its all the way around the manifold. how tight should clamps be?

 

When one wants to run only when the choke is partially on, it means that either it's getting too much air from somewhere or not enough gas. Full choke also ramps up the idle speed, which is normal, so that may not be part of the problem. Intake clamps need to be pretty tight, and you get a better seal if the clamps aren't too narrow. The carb (or air cleaner) needs a support bracket to keep it all tight, too.