One black...one white???
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3rd Gear
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
One black...one white???
So I'm the proud new owner of a 2006 1200c (3300 miles) and new member of the site. Just picked the thing up on Monday. I've been riding for years but this is the first HD I've owned and I'm pretty happy about it.
Except I have a couple of questions...I've noticed that this bike seemingly hesitates off the line and runs kinda rough at idle but does run smoothly in the mid to upper range. It has a strong gas smell at idle and even following behind it.
Tonight I was out for about 20 minutes and it started popping but not sure if that was a carb pop or backfire. On a whim i pulled the plugs and see that the back cylinder's plug is black and dirty while the front it a nice white or cream and clean.
What the heck is this problem????
Except I have a couple of questions...I've noticed that this bike seemingly hesitates off the line and runs kinda rough at idle but does run smoothly in the mid to upper range. It has a strong gas smell at idle and even following behind it.
Tonight I was out for about 20 minutes and it started popping but not sure if that was a carb pop or backfire. On a whim i pulled the plugs and see that the back cylinder's plug is black and dirty while the front it a nice white or cream and clean.
What the heck is this problem????
Last edited by bombaman; Jun 3, 2009 at 11:14 PM.
Banned
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,647
Likes: 2
From: Fairmont, Wv
Sounds like the back plug is running rich for some reason. Run a compression test on it. Check the intake gasket for leaks. I dont know why one would be running dif than the other, other than a leak in the head or rings, or oil getting into the cylinder. Is there any oil on the plug? What does the exhaust look/ smell like? burnt oil? wipe the inside of the exhaust with a finger and see if there is any oil
Thread Starter
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3rd Gear
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
I will dig into this more and check the pipes but the quick look I gave it the color\condition was more a black and wet with gas...not oily. It smells strongly of gas when running. I could swap out the plugs just to see what happens but I'm sure it will just go back to this state.
Road Warrior
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,387
Likes: 1
From: Saint George, Utah
If it smells of gas it sounds like you're running rich. Is it EFI, I can never remember when they switched all sporty's to EFI?
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Banned
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,647
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From: Fairmont, Wv
ok well that is only half the problem. Now you know that one plug was not firing at all. Now you need to find out why that plug was not firing. May it be that the plug just wet bad? or did something cause it to go bad? More info on the first post would have helped alot, like the smell of gas when you pulled it.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: na
I agree...since you have ridden for a while it is important to know that the "choke" is actually an enricher and not a choke. Turn it off as soon as you can and let the bike warm up without it on as soon as possible.
I learned the hard way after switching from a bike with a choke to my Sportster.