did some searching and can't find exactly what i'm looking for. with my old bike i had another forum that was a wealth of technical information. i haven't found its equivalent yet with my fatboy

i'm looking for a good AC that uses my stock cover, preferably with a new backing plate and i don't have to drill the stock one. i've heard SE and Arlen Ness. I tend to dislike everything arlen ness but maybe the AC is alright, i want the stock cover to remain on the bike though.

also any ideas on the carb rejet? sizes? full kits etc???? also any tips on how to tune the carb without a tach? i'll be honest i relied a lot on the tach to tune my carb.

with a softail i feel like i have to re-learn a lot of stuff.

i'm pretty much settled on the V&H Longshots, but I also want to do a full rejet on the carb and upgrade the AC. for now those are the only performance upgrades i'll be doing.

thanks for any information, even if it's a link to a site with more of a technical focus...

 

bueller??? bueller????

seriously 100 replies to bag inserts (damn man just let your bags get salty who gives a f***), tombstone tailights, floorboard extensions etc... do ANY softail riders actually do work on their bikes? or is all about BS bolt on chrome do-dads?

it feels like to me only the sporty riders actually get their hands dirty or have knowledge of their bikes. i can't find ANY good resources for softails and actually doing some work to it.

not my first post in here on a pretty simple carb rejet and AC question with no replies yet any question on superficial BS "look at me" upgrades gets 4 pages of replies.

maybe softail riders are a bunch of RUB's and posers... f*** maybe i'll go back to the sporty.

 

Maybe on a nice sunny Sunday everybody was out riding.

I've written the procedure for doing a lean drop adjustment a few times you can find it with a search.

In general you'll want to replace the backing plate. Both Ness and Screaming Eagle make good ones. I like the breather bolt arrangement on the Ness better. Both kits come with a washable filter.

Drill out the idle mixture plug. Carefully bottom the idle mixture screw. Turn out 1.5 turns. Your correct idle mixture will most likely be withing .5 turns lean or fat from here.

Either replace the needle with a 1989 1200 Sportster stock needle, or shim it with one or two 3mm washers. One will probably do it. The needle is $10 or so but will work a little better.

Leave the intermediate (slow) jet alone unless you have a HDI bike. In which case up it to the US spec. See if it runs better dropping the main jet one size.

 

maybe they are out riding but i posted at 7:30 EST.... but this is my second post in the softail section requiring a bit of simple technical info and it falls to page two with basically no replies. but post on which bolt on chrome do-dad looks better and it'll run for a month.

thanks daddyknuck now we're getting somewhere. mixture plug is no big deal i'm an old hat at that (i appreciate the turn recs though). i wanted to know which jets to use. so you don't replace the slow jet only the main? that's different than the sporty, with the sporty you replace the slow jet and typically don't have to touch the main.

i'm hoping i can get by with just putting in a better AC and just adjusting the idle mixture screw and not actually rejetting the carb. on my sporty i had to rejet but i wasn't sure with the fatboy.

 

was not out riding but was getting ready for Sturgis
the arlen ness big sucker comes with back plate and filter. your use your own cover. here is what i have on carbs
http://www.harley-performance.com/index.html
http://www.mummbrothers.com/SRF_Stuf...e/Air_Fuel.htm
http://www.sportster.org/tech/carb/r...ng-bussy.shtml

 

I would try the EVO section, realize most of the guys here dont have carbs. They are running that EFI computer stuff. The EVO section seems to get a bit more into the carbs and more technical overall...

 

Some shops still carry the SE parts you need for your a/c.I put the 1988 Sportster needle in mine,with chrome cover of course,pulled out the a/f plug turned the screw out three turns she runs great.Try that before you go changing lots of jets.

 

You can pick up new or good used SE Stage 1's pretty reasonable on Ebay. I've gotten a couple already of each for mine and some friends. You don't have to re-jet for that, the carbs ran pretty fat from the factory.

 

babalu, next time you're looking for a quick response to a technical problem, you should go to one of the technical forums instead of this softail forum which is a very general discussion about the model. The engine/fuel/intake/exhaust is a good technical forum here with plenty of knowledgeable riders willing to offer their expertise.

 

thanks for the replies

i went with the big sucker, V&H longshots, and a dynojet carb kit (figured i paid 10K for the bike why go cheap on the rejet?)

i'll take some pics and step by steps maybe it can help some folks out.