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Reduce  Engine Surging
Improve Throttle Response
Reduce Engine Ping

 

HD 2007/2008 Engines

High Heat on 2007/08 HD engines

HD 2007/08 Performance Recommendations

Cool your exhaust temperature with the Wide Band O2 upgrade for 2007/08 HD

Harley Camshaft Specification Tables

HD Twin Cam Engine Builds
TC 128 HP 95 CID
TC 100HP Street Engine

The basics of Fuel Injection explained

DEWEY'S CUSTOM
Rammer Performance Air Cleaners
TC Performance Heads 100+HP

Pro Tuning on a Shade Tree Budget

   

Carburetor and Fuel System
Troubleshooting Guide

This guide covers problems and solutions routinely encountered on stock and mildly modified motorcycle engines. As the horsepower goes up, so does the number of potential situations that impact performance or create problems. When the carburetor is acting up on a performance engine, these basic problems must be eliminated as a source of the problem before going on to performance tuning the carburetor.

Click if you have:
Fuel Overflow
Poor Idling
Poor Fuel Economy
Poor Acceleration
Hard Starting
Poor Road Performance
Poor High Speed Performance

Condition Check For This Problem Fix the problem by:
OVERFLOW 1. Restricted fuel tank vent system.

2. Loose float bowl screws.

3. Damaged float bowl O-ring.

4. Damaged or leaking float assembly.

5. Particle contamination in fuel inlet fitting cavity.

6. Worn or dirty inlet valve or seat.

7. Improper fuel level in float bowl.

1. Correct restricted hose. Replace vapor vent valve.

2. Tighten screws.

3. Replace O-ring.

4. Replace float assembly.

5. Clean and clear cavity and fuel supply tract.

6. Clean or replace valve and clean seat.

7. Adjust float tab for correct fuel level.

POOR IDLING 1. Idle speed improperly adjusted.

2. Inlet system air leak (faster idling).

3. Loose low speed jet.

4. Contaminated or plugged low speed system.

5. Enrichener valve not seated or leaking.

6. Leaking accelerator pump.

1. Adjust operating idle speed.

2. Correct as required.

3. Tighten jet.

4. Clean, clear and correct as required.

5. Adjust, clean or replace.

6. Repair.

POOR FUEL ECONOMY 1. Excessive use of enrichener system.

2. Enrichener valve not seated or leaking.

3. Dirty air cleaner filter element.

4. Restricted fuel tank vent system.

5. High speed riding style.

6. Idle speed improperly adjusted.

7. Loose jets.

8. Fuel level too high.

9. Plugged or restricted bowl vent.

10. Worn or damaged needle or needle jet.

11. Vacuum piston assembly malfunction.

12. Plugged air jets or passages.

13. Excessive accelerator pump output.

14. Idle mixture screw adjusted to far out

1. Limit system use.

2. Adjust, clean or replace.

3. Clean or replace as required.

4. Correct restricted hose. Replace vapor vent valve.

5. Modify riding habits.

6. Adjust operating idle speed.

7. Tighten jets.

8. Adjust float tab for correct fuel level.

9. Clean and clear passages.

10. Replace needle or needle jet.

11.Check Vacuum Piston Assembly. See troubleshooting chart.

12. Clean, clear and correct as required.

13. Check and clean accelerator pump bypass orifice.

14. Set idle mixture screw to 2 to 3 turns out.

POOR ACCELERATION 1. Throttle cables misaligned.

2. Inlet system air leak.

3. Restricted fuel tank vent system.

4. Restricted fuel supply passages.

5. Plugged bowl vent or overflow.

6. Enrichener valve not seated or leaking.

7. Worn or damaged needle or needle jet.

8. Vacuum piston malfunction.

9. Plugged jets or passages.

10. Fuel level too low.

11. Accelerator pump leaking or no output.

1. Adjust throttle cables.

2. Correct as required.

3. Correct restricted hose. Replace vapor vent valve.

4. Correct and clear restriction.

5. Clean and clear passages.

6. Adjust, clean or replace.

7. Replace assembly.

8. Check Vacuum Piston Assembly. See troubleshooting chart.

9. Clean and clear as required.

10. Adjust float tab for correct fuel level.

11. Repair as necessary

HARD STARTING 1. Choke (Enrichener system) plugged, not properly functioning or improperly operated.

2. Inlet system air leak.

3. Restricted fuel supply. No fuel in float bowl.

4. Fuel overflow.

5. Plugged slow jet or passages

6. On high compression (over 10:1) engines, excessive voltage drop to the ignition coil can cause hard starting. A clear indication that this is the problem is that the engine wants to start after releasing the starter button

1. Clean, adjust or replace; or read Owner’s Manual.

2. VOES vacuum hose not connected. Correct as required.

3. Correct fuel supply or passages.

4. Float level wrong. Fuel needle and seat need replacement. Fuel petcock left on while bike not running.

5. Clean, clear and correct as required.

6. Wire the coil directly to the battery using an air conditioning relay.

More HARD STARTING - COLD 1. Throttle plate not closed 1. Adjust throttle cables.
More HARD STARTING - HOT 1. Idle mixture screw adjusted to far out. 1. Set idle mixture screw between 2 and 3 turns out.
POOR PERFORMANCE ON ROAD 1. Idle speed improperly adjusted.

2. Inlet system air leak.

3. Restricted fuel tank vent system.

4. Dirty or damaged air cleaner element.

5. Enrichener valve not seated or leaking.

6. Restricted fuel supply tract.

7. Plugged bowl vent or overflow.

8. Loose or plugged fuel and air jets or passages.

9. Worn or damaged needle or needle jet.

10. Vacuum piston assembly malfunction.

11. Accelerator pump inoperative.

1. Adjust operating idle speed.

2. Correct as required.

3. Correct restricted hose. Replace vapor vent valve.

4. Clean or replace.

5. Adjust, clean or replace.

6. Correct and clear restriction.

7. Clean and clear passages.

8. Clean, clear and correct as required.

9. Replace assembly.

10. Check Vacuum Piston Assembly. See troubleshooting chart.

11. Repair as required.

POOR HIGH-SPEED PERFORMANCE 1. Inlet system air leak.

2. Enrichener valve not seated or leaking.

3. Restricted fuel tank vent system.

4. Restricted fuel supply tract.

5. Dirty or damaged air cleaner element.

6. Plugged bowl, vent or overflow.

7. Worn or damaged needle or needle jet.

8. Vacuum piston assembly malfunction.

9. Loose or plugged main jets or passages.

10. Improper fuel level.

11. Accelerator pump inoperative.

12. Restrictive exhaust flow.

1. Eliminate air leak.

2. Adjust, clean or replace.

3. Correct restricted hose. Replace vapor vent valve.

4. Correct and clean restriction.

5. Clean or replace.

6. Clean and clear passages.

7. Replace assembly.

8. Check Vacuum Piston Assembly. See troubleshooting chart.

9. Clean, clear and correct as required.

10. Adjust float level.

11. Repair as required.

12. Loud pipes do not mean better flowing pipes. Exhaust gasket interfering with exhaust flow.

 

Vacuum Piston Assembly Troubleshooting
for Keihin CV carburetors
Condition Check For This Problem Fix the problem by:
PISTON DOES NOT RISE PROPERLY

 

 

 

1. Piston atmosphere vent blocked.

2. Diaphragm cap loose, damaged or leaking.

3. Spring binding.

4. Diaphragm pinched at lip groove.

5. Torn diaphragm.

6. Piston binding.

7. Piston vacuum passage plugged.

1. Clear vent.

2. Tighten or replace cap.

3. Correct or replace spring.

4. Reposition diaphragm lip.

5. Replace piston diaphragm assembly.

6. Clean piston slides and body or replace piston.

7. Clean and clear passage.

PISTON DOES NOT CLOSE PROPERLY 1. Spring damaged.

2. Piston binding.

3. Piston diaphragm ring dirty or damaged.

1. Replace spring.

2. Clean piston slides and body or replace piston.

3. Clean or replace piston.

 

Home
Table of Contents
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Modification, Installation, Maintenance and Tuning Index  will help you find most of the information you want on one page.

How to get Professional Tuning Results at home
Testing the Innovate Motorsport LM-1 portable air fuel meter

Profession Tuning on a Shade Tree Budget

Veypor VR2 Data Logger and Instrument Panel
Video Installation and Demo
Purchase VR2


Engine Performance
How to Build a
TC96 2007 Engines
TC88 70HP Stage1  
TC95 128HP Stage 3
TC95 100HP Street
 
TC96 2007 Stage 1/2
EVO 64 HP Stage 1
EVO 74 HP Stage 2
EVO 82 HP Stage 3
EVO 95 HP Stage 3
883 to 1200 Upgrade
Shovelhead Modifications

New EFI for EVO and TC

Performance Gallery
Horsepower Gallery
Evolution 80
Shovelhead
Sportster
Twin Cam 88/95
Evolution Unlimited
Sportster Unlimited
Drag Strip Gallery
Land Speed Racing Gallery
CV Carburetor
Modifying the CV carb
Tuning a CV carb
Camshafts
Selecting a cam
Install a TC 88/95 cam
Install a Big Twin cam
Install Sportster cams

Camshaft Specifications
Twin Cam
EVO
Shovel
XL


Exhaust Systems
EVO Exhaust Testing
TC Exhaust Testing
Khrome Werks AR100 test
Making Drag Pipes Work

SHOP TALK
Shop Manual
Carburetor
Carburetor Troubleshooting
Exhaust
Ignition
Finding Manifold Leaks
Camshafts
Cylinder Heads
Pistons and Cylinders
Clutch
Belt Drive
Shop Manual Appendix
$20 Bike Lift
Plug Wires
Spark Plugs
Engine Tuning
Nitrous Oxide
Motor Oil
Stutter Box
General Information
WEB Links
Buy Books and Manuals
Miscellaneous
Performance Calculations
Estimate Horsepower
Estimate 1/4 Mile Time
Estimate Top Speed

Engine Displacement
Exhaust Length
Gear Ratios
MPH at RPM
Air Density

The Nightrider Diaries
The ramblings of a genius a, a madman and something in between.

Where is Sifton Cams?

Autocom Active-7 tested

Harley-Davidson EFI
-EFI basics explained
-EFI modifications explained

183 HP, 2 carbs, 2680cc

Copyright 1997-2006  Stephen Mullen, Oldsmar, FL -+-