Hello, Have a 05, 883 sportster, has a little weez back in intake on part throttle? Trying to find if it has a mixture screw or fixed jet? Seems like running lean ? any one else have this problem? has 1600 miles on it Thanks

 

Most people call them carb farts, where it coughs or spits when you're pulling away from a stop, if that's what you mean.

If you're talking about sort of a gargling or gagging sound at part throttle, like in second gear at a mid-range speed, that's something else.

The carbs do have a mixture screw; if it hasn't been done already, you'll need to remove the carb from the engine and extract the lead plug that is used to seal the idle mixture screw opening.

Most people say to gently seat the screw, counting the number of turns out it was just so you know where you started, and then start with 2.5 turns out. Be gentle turning that screw in because it has a delicate aluminum seat. I've found that a half turn out from wherever it was from the factory is a pretty good starting place. Then you get the engine good and warm and start turning the screw in 1/8 turn at a time until it starts the carb farting again when you accelerate from a stop, at which point you back it out an 1/8 turn and run it that way a while. A spit once in a while is no biggy. If you try to run with no spits ever, you'll be running too rich.

Carb adjustments need to be done on an engine in good working order, meaning fresh plugs, clean oil, a clean air filter and no intake or exhaust leaks. If you have a stock air filter, they are washable in warm water with a mild detergent.

 

If your bike has only 1600 miles on it, did you pay your Harley tax? The bikes are set up (per the EPA) to run really lean which will give you exactly what you're describing. Adjusting the idle mixture might help a little but usually you'll still be annoyed with a lean running bike that farts way to much for your own satisfaction.

The Harley tax involves spending money on a carb rejet kit, a less restrictive air cleaner and a set of better breathing pipes. Once you get the new air cleaner and pipes, you can dial in the carb by rejetting and adjusting the idle mixture.

Of course you can do this in stages, but if you change only the pipes or cleaner, you have to reject the carb, then when you change the other, you'll need to rejet again as each of them will make the bike run leaner than it already is.

 

Your bike isn't even fully broken in yet. And you don't need to pay any heavy "taxes" on extensive modifications to have a sweet running bike. My wife has a basically stock 92 883. It is fast. I know it is fast because my bike hits 110 or 115 while passing way faster than I'd imagined it would. When she hammers hers, she pulls away from me up to about 80. (Weight difference there too.) But my point is that you don't have to hang inefficient and expensive fat pipes on an 883 that thrives instead on high exhaust gas velocity. An 883 doesn't need a "Deep Gasper" air filter unless you're going to be regularly tapping the rev limiter in 3rd and 4th. Just keeping the air filter washed and clean makes a big difference.

If you want you bike to be faster when passing, then yes, you will have to have less restrictive mufflers. But stay away from those Fat Albert pipes. The 883 hates fat pipes. (Take one look at the size of the pipes on any 750 Flat Track race bike. They're not fat because fat is inefficient.)

Nothing really special was done to her bike. It is a clean runner, does not spit or puke oil, and does not consume any oil between oil changes. We put in 3 quarts and 3,500 miles later we change it. It may drop a quarter of an inch. We have never had to add any oil to that engine between oil changes.

Her carb had the idle mixture screw backed out less than about a half turn to cure the farts, the accelerator pump was "massaged" a little, and other than a few 1/4" holes in the mufflers baffle plugs for a little added sound for fun, nothing special has been done to it except to keep it in top tune.

If you later want to improve "performance", you can do it in an informed, educated manner. Noise isn't performance, unless that's what you want. Chrome isn't performance, unless you're after bling. But a sweet running, fast depandable bike? You only have to make some minor adjustments to the carb to cure the carb farts, and you're set for many thousands of enjoyable and trouble-free miles.

 

This place will help you tune your carb. It also has a thumb screw for your A/F mixture.

 

The flaw in your opinion is that your 92 wasn't EPA restricted like an 05.

Yea, if you want the 05 to run well, you'll want to do the A/C, exhaust & re-jet.

 

Nice one, good link!

lol, thats why it pays to be a lurker sometimes!!

 

I agree with that statement 100%

My girlfriend and her sister both have '04 883's. Her sister's is unmodified and doesn't run well at all (compared to hers). My girlfriend, before we got together, took her bike into the stealership many times complaining about the way it ran. They adjusted the carb each time with no noticeable difference according to her. Then she took it to a local bike builder who rejeted the carb but left everything else stock. At that point, it ran much better, but still not as well as she would have liked it.

When I got my hands on the bike, I performed a stage I upgrade of a hypercharger air cleaner, straight pipes and carb mods and rejetting. Now the bike is actually quicker than a lot of the V-Twins in our group even though the open pipes actually hurt performance.

Best of all though is that my girlfriend is really satisfied with the way it runs whereas before she thought it was junk and was ready to dump it for something else.

 

If she took it to the dealer to have it "adjusted" I doubt they did anything to the carb, except maybe rejet it. I doubt that there is any HD dealer that will mess with mixture, or even drill out and pop the plug. EPA frowns on that big time and the dealer has to answer both to them and HD.

 

Here are a couple of good articles on carb tuning and jetting. Step by step, and pretty good pictures.

Carb tuning:

http://www.harley-performance.com/ha...arburetor.html

Carb Jetting:

http://www.harley-performance.com/ha...r-jetting.html