Josh, If you know you have spark, and you know that there's fuel getting to the carb it may just be a matter of technique to get it to start.

You need to be a lot more specific about the actions you're taking to cold kick start your Harley. There's no mention of choke use, no mention of throttle twisting to activate the accelerator pump to compensate for a cold start. So from that I can only conclude all that's being done is the key is being turned on and the kick start is being cranked over and over.

If I remember correctly there's a few more steps that it takes to cold start a kick start Harley.

I believe one method is to leave the key off, the choke on full, and give it a couple of cranks to get a good volume of fuel to the plugs. Then turn the key on and crank it. If it fires twist the throttle a few times to engage the accelerator pump to inject a start up volume of gas to keep it running. Choke may need to be backed off, or opened half way, once it does fire and the throttle may need to be used to hold the idle high at first start.

As an alternative attempt to start it, I would also set the choke, and give the throttle a couple of twists before kicking it.

I'm interested in hearing more points of view on this from others.

 

Your on the right track with the old stock carbs but the S&S E's are a bit different animal , mainly no choke . It's got a port system that basically dumps gas in so if you get on the throttle wicking away on it the bike floods out before it gets a chance to fire . Still have to kick my shovel with the "E" , she's 93" at just under 12-1 comp , you learn quick trust me .

 

after being around shovels and alike for some time you begin to understand how to get it to go

you will get it - and it will surprise you when it fires - sure one of the guys on the site could with out knowing the bike fire it in a few kicks, and you will get to know what its thing is, just take your time and dont give up on it - jz

 

Thanks guys, my method for kicking is pretty much what was said on here. gas on, enrich, kick through 1-2, key on and kick it again. Im going out today to try some other things out as well. I think I know where the hiccup is. Ill be back in a few hours with results. Thanks again everyone.

 

Once you go through your starting routine perhaps check the plugs and see what they are telling you. If they are dry you know to give it some more choke or a throttle crank. If saturated and flooded you'll know what you need to change.

Be careful adjusting too much before you get it running. You may be "whacking" it out of adjustment and making matters worse.

Have you ever heard the bike run? If it has run well once fired, then don't tweak everything and dig through the carb until you get it running again. Once running you can adjust anything else you feel needs it. Too often guys will go to extremes and whack everything out of order before they find out they have bad plugs, or no spark / gas, etc.

I'm rooting for you to get it fired before your leg and knee gets whacked out.

 

been following this pretty close. As I have a new 56 pan. A real bitch to start, altho it being cold here hasn't helped. Following all the advice I've gotten here and the guy I got it from in Texas and using techniques from my 72 xlch days, not much has helped. whole new learning curve. This is how I have been able to start my pan the the super E. Cold ; key off, three- four squirts, wide open throttle, kick thru four times, close throttle key on, barely crack butterfly and kick. sometimes she hits and sometimes have to repeat two or three times, and I might add, IF I so much as touch the enrichener she is flooded big time!!! like I said she is a labor of love and I wouldn't have her any other way!

 

in a shop like i have and seeing older bikes all the time The ones with S&S carbs we pull the enrichner up twist it once or twice turn the key on and kick and add 1/8 throttle

most of the time they fire off and the customer will always tell me it does not start that way -- jz

 

great news guys! I got it started! I toyed with the carb. Half a turn here, full turn there. I choked it full, two throttle twists, kicked it thru half ***, then gave it a full kick and it roared!..... for about 5 seconds. So I rolled it out of the garage and did the same process and it started right up but would slowly die if I didnt give it throttle. Then again and she came to life again and I was able to give it some throttle and keep her on but if I let go of the throttle she would idle and slowly die. So another kick just for good measure cause I want to hear this beast roar again and....... the Kick spring broke! hahaha Gotta wait til tomorrow to get one. But atleast I got to wake the neighbors up.

 

Glad you finally got it running. All you need to do now is adjust your idle screw. Turn the screw in about a half turn and start it. Assuming it will idle a little high, let it idle while you dial it in where you want. Only 1 of four Harley's I've owned over the years has had a starter and I only miss it after 10 kicks.

 

Josh, Good deal. I think you know what to do from here. Let us know how you finally get it smoothed out on an idle.

BTW be sure to let it warm up even if you have to twist the throttle a bit to get it to stay running. A carb is best adjusted when warm and running.

That Idle screw adjustment typically should be fully closed lightly, then open up it up 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 turns. (I'm not real certain of the S&S, but this is kinda SOP.)

Also you may need to reset the mechanical idle stop screw once you get it smoothed out. The screw doesn't adjust the carb settings, it's just a mechanical stop to set the final idle speed once you get the carb adjusted to the smoothest low speed (idle) setting.