I have problem with my 2000 sportster 1200 (stock enginge, SE air cleaner kit, SE exhaust pipe) wherein the spark plugs get busted very quickly, after about 300km ride that i have to have spare plugs in anticipation of the problem. From the thick black carbon deposit of the plug, strong smell of gasoline and thin smoke coming out of the exhaust, it seems like the fuel mixture is too rich. A mechanic in local HD shop suggested to replace the stock air filter with SE kit to allow the engine breath better, so i did but the problem persists.

I took the bike to HD dealer (Qatar has only one dealer) twice. The first time, they checked ignition system and said nothing's wrong and it happened again. And last week, they did carburetor overhaul, replaced the diaphragm and said everything should be OK now. When i insisted that there's still strong smell of petrol, they said it's normal since the bike has SE exhaust pipes???

I'm not sure if it's really the case for i can feel the same problem is about to happen again (popping/shooting from the exhaust and sometimes it seems from the carb/air filter area when i blow through before eventually it loses power)...please advise what's wrong with my bike. I want it to run just right, so i can ride confidently and safely.

andre-Doha

 

Sounds to me like the A/F mixture is still too rich. What size jets are installed?

 

if the jets are the right size then your float is way out of alignment. you have to take the float bowl off and adjust the float height a little leaner, keep going by tiny tny bends in the tab until it runs right.

you also want to make sure your fuel line and petcock and carb are not leaking or weeping fuel, that could cuase the gas smell and its not related to the pipes or AC

 

If you just started noticing the smell of gas since the A/C install, that's mostly like the source. Most open element filter trap a lot of blow by and it smells kinda like gas.

 

Thanks for the input..in this case i'm pretty sure that it is the thin smoke coming out of the exhaust pipes that smells. Alright so i need to work with the carb setting. What's would be the correct jet size for my bike?

 

I'm really starting to wonder about some of the Harley dealer mechanics....

After they rebuilt the carb didn't they bother to do something as basic and necessary as hook up some equipment to check and verify the air/fuel mixture?

From what you stated it sounds pretty obvious that the bike is running very rich, and it shouldn't be 'rocket science' for a qualified dealer to realize, and correct the problem.

If it were me I wouldn't bother with screwing around with the carb and hope for the best. I would find another dealer that knew what they were doing, or an independent shop that knows something about carb's.

Sorry about the rant, but performing a test to verify a bike (or car/truck) A/F mixture is a very simple procedure, and if the mechanics in a shop don't have the knowledge to do that correctly I wouldn't trust them to do any work.

It's just a shame when you pay good money to a 'professional' to have a problem corrected only to find out that the problem still exists.

 

i work at a shop that specializes in restomoded cars and bikes and if we preform any service at all we test it and make appropriate adjustments so the customer is happy and so the vehicle operates as close to perfect as we can possibly get it.to me it sounds like most Harley stealership wrenches just don't care at all...plain and simple as that...which is sad.

 

i work at a shop that specializes in restomoded cars and bikes and if we preform any service at all we test it and make appropriate adjustments so the customer is happy and so the vehicle operates as close to perfect as we can possibly get it.to me it sounds like most Harley stealership wrenches just don't care at all...plain and simple as that...which is sad.

 

Presume you pushed the choke all the way in before taking off? If so, go to someone else to get the fuel-air mixture correct.

 

When you say the plugs get busted, do you mean they are getting broke? If that's the case, dude, you got some major problems. if you are talking about carbon fouling, that's a different story. Do you lug the motor alot? Sportsters don't like to be lugged. Run the rpm's up when you ride it. Is the choked ( enrichener ) pushed all the way in while you ride? the choke should only be used to start the motor, then use the star wheel below the right grip to hold the throttle open enough to keep it running while it warms up.