Bike was running rough, stalling & backfiring, The carb has been cleaned and rebuilt, including the main diaphragm and accelerator pump boot & diaphragm. Coil, plugs and wires were replaced. Now it won't even start. Yes, the gas is on and getting to the carb. Yes, the wires are on the correct cylinder.

I'm new to this area (S. Tucson) and don't know a reputable shop. I hate going to a dealership. Any suggestions you can give will be greatly appreciated.

 

After trying to start the bike take the plugs out and inspect. Are they wet?

Do you get a spark?

I don't know the 2004 or any carb'ed bikes for that matter. Is whatever does the engine timing set correctly?

Do you have a manual?

 

Is the RUN/STOP switch in the RUN position?
When using the enrichener, make sure you do not twist the throttle when trying to start.
That can add additional fuel from the accelerator pump.

If the plugs are wet try this:
If the engine does not start after a few turns or if one cylinder fires weakly but engine does not start, it is usually because of an over-rich (flooded) condition.
If the engine is flooded, push enrichener **** in all the way, turn ignition on and operate starter with throttle wide open.
Do NOT pump the throttle while turning the engine over

 

You don't set the timing on an 04 . It has a Crank Position Sensor that either works or it doesn't .

 

You say that you have fuel to the carb but is the bowl fully filled . When my bike has not run for some time I prime the carb by attaching a silicon tube to the fuel tap vacuum hose and giving it a suck before quickly folding the tube to keep the vacuum . This gets round the tap having no Prime facility .

 

Well that might be a reason then for the engine not running; the sensor is faulty or the connection has gone bad over a time period.

 

I'm not trying to take away from the seriousness of the problem but if this vacuum switch is the cause of the problem, he/she may want to replace the stock vacuum petcock with a manual one that does not have the vacuum diaphragm or hose. This automatic closing feature will eventually fail anyway, requiring a replacement petcock. Trusting it to protect the engine from being gravity fed wihout closing the petcock is not a good idea (see the owner's manual regarding closing the petcock when not riding) because it can allow gasoline getting into the engine oil. The one and only negative feature (for some people, not for those of us who use one) of the manual petcock is that you MUST turn it off when not riding it -- which you should do anyway. Golan and Pingel are good options. My Golan has a lifetime warranty and has never let me down.

 

Very true words as anyone , myself included , who also owns a Kawasaki ER5 ( Twister ) will testify . Lovely little bikes but notorious for filling their crankcases with fuel overnight . At least the Sportster has an OFF position though which is sadly lacking on the Kawasaki .

 

Same symptoms on my brothers 04 883.

Assuming your getting fire to the plugs.
here's the fix.
There are two jets in the carb. Remove the fuel bowl first. There is a main jet in the center, might have to lay down to see it. But you can remove it with a screw driver. Once you get it out you have make sure it's clear. Use a wire and carb spray to clear it. The other jet is a off to the side ( still looking at the carb from the bottom. This jet has a very small hole in it. You should be able to hold it to a light and see through it. If not a little E string from a guitar is about the right size. The one I used was .009 of an inch. It might take some determination to get thru but it will go. It's stopped up with old dried fuel. When you put the Jets back in turn them lightly till they stop and then turn about 5 mins more (like a clock face) to tighten them. Put the fuel bowl back the same way. I think you can get to it by removing the breather cover and filter only. Took me and my brother about 1 hour because we missed the little jet the first time and had to take the bowl of twice. It's really an easy fix if you have a small enough wire.
Hope this helps.

 

It takes fuel, air, compression, and spark to make a bike run.

You say you are getting fuel to the carb, but is it getting from the carb to the cylinder?

First thing I would do is check for spark, If you got spark, then try a shot of starting fluid. If the bike fires up on that then you know you have a fuel delivery problem.