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Wow! My Harley is in pieces already, that didn't take long.

OldTLSDoug

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I got into the restart of the Softail today, cleaning carb parts right now. I took the tank off and washed it out, nice to have an aluminum tank, not as nice that it has expensive paint! Got the petcock off and she is toast, the screen rotted out, I ordered a Pingel because it has a SS screen and we won't have this happen again.

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The battery was down somewhat, 0.393 VDC so it was on the tender for 8 hours and got up to 0.703 VDC, good thing I ordered a new one. Ed really put in some nice stuff, flexible battery cables, Deutsch connectors and he routed everything very nicely. I have been slowly cleaning too, stripped a thread on a handle bar clamp, so I guess I will be getting a Helicoil until my new parts arrive.

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Then we got to Mr. Carb. The bottom of Mr. Carb made the stuff that came out of the tank look insignificant. Still have stuff on the first go-round in the Berryman's can. Needle was stuck in seat with varnish, main jet is pink with no hole, pilot has started to open up. Almost all the rubber was jacked up. I have a master kit coming to rebuild it so it will be brand new again.

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You seem like the kind of guy that enjoys wrenching on these machines, you are at home. đź‘Ť
 
One nice thing about working on Harleys is the parts availabilty nearly regardless of how old or new the model is.

Aftermarket, yeah* ... dealership, not so much anymore.

* Unless you need parts for a really small-run model, like a 2005-7 Street Rod, then you're pretty much SOL.
 
So far I can order OEM parts and they have them still. Made carb progress, now waiting on parts.


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The primary, the frame, swingarm. Tins are painted, has gas shocks, springer is stock. So basically the frame. Wiring is all upgraded very nicely. Of course it has some inner tube insulators on it as well, to keep the tank from touching on the frame. Tank is aftermarket aluminum, ignition switch is moved, IST ignition, PM brakes front and rear, I could go on, but it makes me tired. I wish we could ship parts faster. I am going to try to install a helicoil on the handlebar clamp while I wait for my parts to arrive, should be fun.
 
Yow, that was one ugly carb! Yes, parts are not hard to find, just stay away from dealers to avoid criminal wallet thrashings.
J&P Cycle is your goldmine. I'm lucky here to have an old shop with a genius owner that left HD decades ago called Hog Haus.
 
My Harley is always fun to work on. They must have different teams sourcing parts for the same bike. I have metric, SAE, torx, allen head scattered throughout the bike. That's without even considering the specialty tools needed for some jobs. I don't think they really want the owners to work on them. Not really unique to Harley though.

Good news though...I don't think there is a mechanical task that you can't find a You Tube video on. I've fixed a few things where You Tube was invaluable.
 
But those are so effective working on S&S carbs!

Absolutely, but I actually have standard tools, just not quite the variety I do in Metric. I had to restock my loctite and I am thinking about what to seal the petcock with, I think I will use Gasoila it has worked well in the past for me.
 
By the way, that S&S Super E carb is pretty slick. Easy to work on, and it goes from Pilot to main without a needle, very slick. Has an air bleeder jet for the main and the main jet can be swapped out the bottom with no disassembly. Very nice set up. Can't wait to play with it.
 
So, got the carb parts, minus one rubber boot today. Put it all together, installed the carb and intake and the ignition switch mount. Also changed my daughter's oil. She usually does it (there are 2, this is my redheaded one) but we wanted to use her car, so I threw in the oil change for the loan. It is really easy, Ford Edge, 3.5 L V6, very easy. I got the petcock in as well, but I haven't gotten my sealant and I only want to put the tank on one time. So I may run it on an Aux tank I have. Also, it is, how they say, "Wet Sumped" meaning the oil in the dry sump tank migrated to the bottom of the motor, so the tank is empty and the motor is full, at least on the bottom. So, luckily, Mr. S&S company decided their EVO motors would have a crankcase drain so you could solve it without blowing oil everywhere via your breather. So I think tomorrow or Wednesday, I will drain and restore the oil level in the motor and the sump. I also got the new dipstick that actually seals the oil tank, so I am close. The battery should be here soon. Of course, what would a Doug post be without pics? So here we go.

Got her on the lift that came with her, the thing is a Handy B.O.B. lift and it has the Trike attachments as well. He ran an oiler on it and wow does it work nicely. I plan to add one to it and the other lift. Got a nice 'Merica shot as well.

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So carb parts, I bought a Fast Eddy Co (Love the name, huh?) bowl drain so I can drain the bowl if I am not riding everyday. Very nicely made, seals with 2O-rings.

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Also got the S&S Super E&G Master Rebuild kit, and put it all in.

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So here is the two halves of the carb...

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Then Carb on, ignition switch back on and a pic of the crankcase drain for EVO owners that don't have one, I know I am sad for you too.

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Got to get that frazzled piece of oil line sleeve off and either replace it or clean it all!

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And, last but not least, I got my Pee Paw's Scooter Shop decals today, so I may give some away, some time....

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How long did this bike sit for the carb to get that crusty?
 
We think 3 or 4 years. Simply draining the carb would have stopped it all. Of course, the petcock needed to be changed, but otherwise it would have been fine. Apparently sitting an EVO motor for a couple of weeks or months could cause wet sumping, so that is pretty much unavoidable. Honestly, if you can't work on it, you can't fix it, so he just couldn't do it. I am glad I am able to fix it up. Will probably have Ed over to do the start-up when we get to it later this week. I am pretty sure I will get some video. Ed is a great guy, Harley in his blood, his wife Connie is there with him step for step. They are great people, this is a labor of love for sure. Just trying to keep from messing it up. Loving the work.

On a side note, the Bassani stepped headers only have a little expanded metal in them to "muffle" the thing, so it should be, as I recall pretty spectacular when she starts up.

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On a side note, the Bassani stepped headers only have a little expanded metal in them to "muffle" the thing, so it should be, as I recall pretty spectacular when she starts up.

Yup, the old Sportster has drag pipes with similar baffles in it. Just takes the sharp edge off the note and it likes a little back pressure.

I don't always listen to my Sportster run, but when I do..... so do the neighbors!
 
We think 3 or 4 years. Simply draining the carb would have stopped it all. Of course, the petcock needed to be changed, but otherwise it would have been fine. Apparently sitting an EVO motor for a couple of weeks or months could cause wet sumping, so that is pretty much unavoidable. Honestly, if you can't work on it, you can't fix it, so he just couldn't do it. I am glad I am able to fix it up. Will probably have Ed over to do the start-up when we get to it later this week. I am pretty sure I will get some video. Ed is a great guy, Harley in his blood, his wife Connie is there with him step for step. They are great people, this is a labor of love for sure. Just trying to keep from messing it up. Loving the work.

On a side note, the Bassani stepped headers only have a little expanded metal in them to "muffle" the thing, so it should be, as I recall pretty spectacular when she starts up.

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I think I see a wren nest 🤔
 
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