Sportsters tend to be tempermental about running cold; they just don't like it, and it can take 10-15 miles to get a Sportster engine warm enough to go through the gears tapping the rev limiter. I remember the rule not to ask her to scream until her throat is warm.

The popping on acceleration with a fully warmed engine is usually called "carb farts". (Cold popping doesn't count.) From the factory, Sportsters are running on the lean edge to pass emissions requirements. There are ways to get rid of the carb farts. Usually just setting the Idle Mixture Screw 2.5 turns out will do it. (If it hasn't already been done, you'll need to remove the seal over the idle mixture screw.)

The way my wife and I start our bikes is to start with full choke and immediately push in the choke part way and use the throttle to hold a slightly high idle. (Using full choke for several minutes will eventually foul out the plugs.) After 30 seconds to a minute, we feel the cylinder fins for warmth. If they're beginning to warm we ride off, going through the gears gently cause that choke is still part way on, though we may be easing it in. About four blocks from the house, we can push the choke completely off, but we still ride fairly gently for about 5 miles. This method has avoided fouled plugs, and it has resulted in two Sportsters that don't burn any oil between oil changes. I run mine pretty hard, and I don't hesitate to tap the rev limiter in 2nd and 3rd. Both our engines run clean, and neither one of them puke oil into the air cleaners. One has 12,000 miles and the other has 32,000 miles.

Don't use automotive oil filters. Their bypass sometimes doesn't open until 14 psi or higher. Motorcycle specific oil filters have bypasses that open at about 9 psi. If for some reason the oil filter gets clogged and the bypass doesn't open, the engine can be starved of oil. Harleys use low pressure oiling, and 7-12 psi at idle is normal. Use only motorcycle specific oil filters. Don't ever overfill the oil tank. (Don't use any kind of oil additives.) We run ours about 1/4" down from the top mark on the dip stick. (Check the oil level with the engine warm.)

Stock Harley air filters are washable in warm water with mild detergent. They're not made of "paper". Don't bang on them. You can use low pressure (like a vacuum cleaner reversed) to blow the water from the inside out.

You definitely want to get both the owner's manual and the Factory Manual for that particular year. Harley's are particular about critical bolt torques.

Word of warning. 2004 and 2005 rear master cylinders are prone to requiring a rebuild kit. What usually happens is that someone replaces rear pads and compresses the caliper pistons, and then tries to pump up pedal pressure, and can't. Bleeding doesn't help. Removing the MC cover reveals some strange orange-colored blobs floating in the rear master cylinder brake fluid. Yours is a 2005. I'd pick up a MC rebuild kit and put it on the shelf along with a can of DOT 5 brake fluid. I'd also pick up a spare accelerator pump diaphram and a diaphram for the vacuum operated petcock. (Gasahol tends to eat them up in a few years.) They're cheap.

The Factory Manual is must though. If you're going to work on your bike, you have to have it to avoid making expensive mistakes.

Congrats on the Sportster, and motor safe.

 

The popping thing is found on alot of carbed Sportsters. Mine coughed until I rejetted. I changed to a free flow air cleaner and slip ons. No more cough and more power. I have an 06 1200c with 40k + miles. She hasn't coughed in 30k. These bikes are cold natured and do need to warm up. Even in the summer I choke mine to crank and then use the throttle to warm up. On oil and stuff, I have been using Mobil 1 and K&N filters. I ride in Texas and the temp has been about 100 lately. My motor runs 190 to 200 degrees max at 75mph. The gearbox noise is normal. The Mobil 1 quiets it a little. Don't worry until you feel slack in the primary chain. You will know when you run in 4th and let on and off, you will feel the slack. Otherwise, ride the crap out of it. Sportsters like to go fast.

 

Thanks for all the great info i took the bike out last night for my first real ride just kicked around locallly for 2 hours and the bike ran great poped a few times when it was warming up and once when i revved it at a red light,as long as its not gonna hurt the bike it really dont bother me just wanted to be sure.


whats the rev limit on the 883?

 

sajackson was correct - you do not need to rejet when changing pipes/mufflers. You will need to rejet if you install a high flow air cleaner.

 

The Rev Limiter on the 883 kicks in at 6000 and retards the spark to TDC. Sometimes it seems to spoil the fun, but for the most part I'm glad it was there.

 

Yeah about the shifting, @ 12 seconds you can hear me shift into first, and the camera was about 25 feet away or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMuWaxiYISk&fmt=18

 

so if i remove the baffles from the screaming eagleII pipes i dont have to rejet either?

will it affect the power of the bike with no baffles?

 

Removing the baffles might allow the engine to develop more hp at the very top end. Running open pipes will also usually put a significant dip in the torque at lower rpms, somewhere between 2500 and 3500 rpm depending on how short your exhaust pipes are. The torque dip is only the symptom. The more open the exhaust, the more likely you are to encounter exhaust reversion. It might seem like a "small" problem or annoyance you can "live with", but severe reversion over a period of time can lead to all kinds of problems. Just think about the results of pulling the choke all the way on and then cruising through town on a warm day with a hot engine. Doing this even once is enough to severely wash down the cylinders and cause blow-by, plug fouling, accelerated ring wear, increased oil consumption and increased engine bearing wear caused by running oil contaminated by gas.

Most new Harley owners have to learn the lesson of the drawbacks and the real expense of open pipes for themselves. Sometimes they don't associate the problems of blow-by and oil dripping from the air cleaner with the open pipes they're running.

 

I went to a local harley dealer today and had a mechanic come out and look at the bike he said the poping is cause the bikes jetted rich for the pipes and the pops unburnt fuel he suggested removing the baffles in the screaming eagle II pipes to make the pop go away.

He said its not hurting anything either way leaving it as is or removing the baffles.

 

I'd find another mechanic to talk with.

If the popping is from being "jetted too rich", then you should deal with the jetting rather than trying to deal with a symptom.

When mine started popping I found that one of the exhaust headpipe flange nuts was working loose. I tightened it up and the popping went away.

If the headpipe flanges are straight and snug, then you might try leaning out your idle mixture slightly. You'll need to see if the seal on your idle mixture screw has been removed or drilled out. You'll probably have to have someone point it out to you. If it has been drilled out, then you can turn in your mixture screw (about 1/8th of a turn) to see if that cures the popping.

If you want to check the idle screw seal yourself, you'll have to remove the air cleaner backing plate so you have an unobstructed view of the carb. You have to be careful removing the backing plate to avoid damaging it. You're going to have two big hollow Allen head breather bolts to remove, and then three small Allens screws to loosen, and they each have to be loosened a little at a time until the the backing plate can be lifted off.

Once you get the backing plate off, you'll readily see where the mixture screw is. It is up inside a little tubular protrusion on the bottom of the carb, to the left hand side of the opening. If the seal is still there, you'll need to remove the carb to get it out without damaging the carb. If it has been removed, then you can use a skinny straight tipped screwdriver to adjust it if you want to. (Once you know where the adjustment screw is, you won't need to remove the air cleaner in the future to get to it.)

Word of caution. If the small screws or other hardware that attach the AC backing plate to the carb come loose they can be injested by the engine doing untold damage to pistons, heads and valves. Those screws need to be installed with "Blue" Loctite 242. (Don't use the Red stuff as it is permanent.)

It sounds like you need to get ahold of a Factory Manual pretty quick.

Ask around for a knowledgeable indy mechanic too. That guy you talked too wasn't doing you any favors.