I posted a message here a number of days ago wondering if my Sportster was in first gear because it was running so poorly. I found out that even at 50 mph it was running so bad I had to downshift to get up a small hill. I had bought this 97 1200 Sportster with 3500 miles used.

I took the bike to a dealer for service. I asked them to do whatever was needed to make it "new." It turned out the engine was carbon fouled. Apparently the previous owner was not warming it up properly. He may have also been using regular gas and I'll bet that gas was old too. After fixing the bike, the service manager took me out to show me the proper warmup procedure:

Key to on position
Choke (enricher) to full out
Engine switch on
Twist the throttle one time and one time only
Start the engine
Maintain 2000 prm
As the engine warms and speeds up, ease the choke in to maintain 2000 rpm
After a minute or so, ease the choke in and maintain 2000 rpm with the throttle
GO NOWHERE until the heads are hot to touch, not just warm.

He said this was the proper warmup procedure for a carbed aircooled engine. I figure he knows a lot more than me so I'll use this method. He also said I should only put high-test gas in the tank.

My bike runs great now and I can use the slow-speed procedures described in ridelikeapro.com without my engine knocking or quiting. I'm looking forward to getting my maintenance books which must be on back-order because they won't be shipped till the end of the month. Dealer service was very expensive but I have a new bike, at least compared to what I started out with. He saws I can get even more performance with hop-up performance mods but that's another day.

By the way, if someone tells you on ebay that a bike runs like new, don't believe them! At least I got what I believe was a very good deal.

 

Thanks for the post. I'm wondering what some of the better wrenches around here (Skip, HDwrench) would have to add to this post. So much for pulling out the choke and going and pushing it in after 3 miles.

 

yea, i find that very interesting too. i would like to know what some of the wrenches here think..TC, others have any thoughts??? glad to hear you have your problems solved so enjoy it now and stay safe.

 

Actually from what you described, I'd say the bike had been run for an extended time with the enricher all the way out which would cause the plugs to foul. I have to believe that the warm up deal using the enricher isn't that big an issue as long as you remember to push it back in after a mile or so, but I'm not a motorhead like some of the guys here.