I have a 98 Springer Softail S&S carb V&H pipes...Been running fine for the short time I have owned it. The fuel line split so I replaced it with new line. Now it is hard to start. By this I mean it cranks and will not fire. It will crank for 20-30 seconds then start to fire as if I were out of fuel and was just getting primed. Common sense says look at the work I just did...the fuel line. I trimmed off any excess so I make a straight run from the petcock to the bung on the bottom of the filter without pinching the hose. Bike starts right up if I shut it off and restart in a few minutes. If its hours latre its hard to start again.
Everything else is fine whilst riding.

Any common problems with the bike or carb anyone want to share? Any retarded tricks to installing the fuel line? I've spent a good portion of my life wrenching on bikes and cars for a living...but Not harleys. I'd love for someone to give me the quick tips before I beat my head against the wall...Do the caps vent clog or is the tank vented another way?

Yes I searched...I read for quite a while about a lot of non related problems...

Thanks,

 

just my experiance but here are some things to check ...

check both ends of the fuel line for being clear . before and after the filter
clean the carb and adjust it .. something that I would do anyway if i bought a used carb'd bike.
check the filter that its not directional ... my boss bought a direction filter for his bike and installed it in the wrong way bike wouldnt start and run for S#$$ ...

thats a hard diag with out looking at it ... nice thing about carbs and what I tell all my friends that have carb'd bikes and cars ... air,fuel,and spark ... if its not running one of those 3 things are missing ... simple right ... good luck with your project hope some of this rant was helpfull ...

 

Be sure and check your vacuum line to your petcock. It may be leaking air, and not opening the petcock valve.

 

found it...when I removed the filter and filter adapter...I did not get the lever attached to the enrichment pull correctly. When I thought i had pulled it up only the lever was moving. Starts like a champ now...Thanks for the help though!

 

hey dude, just wondering if you were the same guy i tried to push start yesterday at lowes in mt home ar?