Last year I picked up a '93 Ultra - beautiful shape, well cared for.
The carb apparently had some work done on it - power tube, drilled slide, etc etc
and it's sporting Sampson's - otherwise it "appears" pretty stock. But man is it
rich!

Right now I'm getting about 28-30 mpg on a regular cruise - 55 - 65 mph, 1 up,
not heavy handed... I suspect I should be in the 35+ mpg range (if not better)
but not having had a big scooter before this (My '82 Sporty gives me ~ 45mpg,
when I behave, that is - on rare occasions) I really don't know what to expect.
My bro-in-law's stock '07 Road King gives him ~ 45mpg whenwe ride together.

I've been able to "lean her out" a bit, (when I first got her, she loaded up so much
that you couldn't use the enrichener w/o immediately fouling the plugs, even when
stone cold) but with the "no name" power tube sporting who knows who's jets (I can't
seem to find one's that fit) it's been a challenge.

I got another CV carb off e-bay (back to a totally stock carb), and am about to swap
so as to at least have a starting pointto work from. As I understand the stock jetting
was a bit on the lean side,and with Sampsons providing a bit more flow, I'm expecting to
have to go up a bit in jet size .... but overall, I was looking to find out from you veteran
Ultra riders sporting carbs what the mileage expectation should be .... thoughts???

Thanks

 

Used to own an '86 Electra Glide Police Special (Now have a '99 Electra wreck/salvage/fixed) with the --- more or less --- same Evo engine as you have now. When stock and brand new with a Kehin butterfly carb, I COULD get 50 MPG riding at an even 55 MPH. Taking it up to 70 MPH brought it down to 42 MPG or so (that was how it was most of the time.... who can ride at 55 except Sammy Hagar?)

Changed all that in '89 to a Mikuni 40mm carb, SE cam, ported heads, racing clutch, hot ignition, etc., etc. Got low 40's at 55 MPH, high 30's at 75-80 MPH (70 MPH didn't cut it anymore).

Now I'm running an S&S Super E on the former wreck, and I can get 50 MPG at 60 MPH. Going up brings it down, but never below 40 no matter how I curse along. For my money, it's the best carb out there if you want a nice middle ground, and it's easy as hell to tune. Like the Mikuni, in most cases you can just bolt it right on, adjust the idle mixture and speed, and go. Also, you can get a nice looking air cleaner from J&P cycles (I hate the S&S teardrop one) for a fair price.

But to ACTUALLY answer your question; you should be in the 43 to 50 MPG range with the setup you have at those speeds. Check the air filter to make sure it's clean (or better yet, replace it with a K&N unit to match those fancy mufflers of yours----even things out, so to speak) and make sure your VOES is working and that you have no intake or exhaust leaks.

The Evo is probably the best all around motor that Harley ever made (my '86 -- which I bought new in June of that year -- had 100,000 miles on it when it was stolen in '95. I will miss her forever). It was (is) the easiest to work on and the most forgiving to repair and the bitch will get you home no matter what. The only thing the Twin Cam has over it (in my opinion) is the engine to tranny mount. Other than that, I don't see what the big deal is. If I still had my '86, the only real difference in my life would be owning 3 less bikes, but owning one I still loved after all this time (also with another 150,000 or so miles on her instead of half that amount split over three other bikes).

Good luck, hope this helps somehow,

Rob

 

Hey Rob ... thanks for the input ... I thought there should be better numbers than what I am experiencing ... stay tuned!

 

Post script .... swapped the carbs so I was back to the original jetting, slide, etc .... opened up the low speed jet a bit (from 42 to 44) to address the pipe changes, and am now averaging around 40 - 42 mpg at 65mph - no blubbering, no fouled out plugs anymore, and at $3.75 per gallon, savingdollars with no noticable drop in performance...