1996 xl1200c harley

[FLEA]

ok iv done what i said i would never do .. bought a harley ,was so cheap couldnt help myself ,only 34000kls but was in rainforest country so the chrome is fairly stuffed but the rest of the bikes in good order with new tyres and 11 months rego , just passed a safety inspection (rwc) 500 kls ago , never had anything to do with harleys before except the occasional ride so in need of the brains trust for advice , hard to start and idle after starting but then runs ok on the rd but seems to give a little gasp every now and then on the rd , when got it home and turned it off did slight pre ign like took one last hit of fuel , spent a lot of yrs fairly well just sitting untill 500kls ago when the bloke i bought it off got it , has fresh fuel and ran it 120-140kph for the 40-50 kls home , dont have a manual yet so some advice would be great ...still original carb and exhaust .... havnt given up my xs650 , still in the midst of putting the yam r6 front end on it

 

[arcticXS]

Sounds like ut may be running lean, so a carb disassembly and cleaning may help.
At least the carb is easy to access on a Harley

 

[FLEA]

thanks , are they a cv carb

 

[arcticXS]

Stock carb should be a 40mm Keihin CV.
Should be a ton of info on these on the internet. Harley owners tend to swap exhausts and air filters, and fiddle with carb settings

 

[FLEA]

mmm... possibility of diapham may be holed or perished then

 

[kshansen]

While thinking on the idea of being running a little lean keep in mind there are three rubber seals on the intake manifold. One between the carb and manifold and one at each cylinder head. Anyone of them could be dried out and leaking a little air.

 

[hovel]

Now you have something, or something else to ride, a real plus. I seem to remember that the low speed adjustment screw is hiding behind a little plug or cover that has to be removed - and thrown away. 1200 Sportys are nice. I had an 883 a long time ago and it was a slug. It could smell a hill. My TX650 could run circles around it.

 

[FLEA]

While thinking on the idea of being running a little lean keep in mind there are three rubber seals on the intake manifold. One between the carb and manifold and one at each cylinder head. Anyone of them could be dried out and leaking a little air.

if its a seal , is there a easy fix or have to replace the seal ,prefer easy fix to check if its the prob ,, then replace ,, what were the seals for ... is the carb preset from the factory so you cant adjust it .. opps just found a a vid and see what you mean about the seals , was thinking about for vac gauges but now think you mean on the ends of the manifold , sounds very possible as according to the vid easy to not get a proper seal if taken off , also possibility of drying out .. thanks its a big help as a starting point

 

[kshansen]

opps just found a a vid and see what you mean about the seals , was thinking about for vac gauges but now think you mean on the ends of the manifold , sounds very possible as according to the vid easy to not get a proper seal if taken off , also possibility of drying out .. thanks its a big help as a starting point

Yes those are the ones I was thinking about. If they are the originals the heat from the head could very well have them hard and cracked. Only worked on two Sportsters 1988 and 1992, they share the garage with a 1978 and 1982 XS650, but I'm pretty sure the 1996 is still pretty much the same animal.

 

[FLEA]

yep the little bit of research done sounds like very much the same , the reading iv now done suggest most likely the problem as the symptoms are the same as leaky manifold seals ... damm i like this forum , first thought was old fuel varnish , so was going to start there but better idea now .. order/replace seals as well as a new cv diaphram (most probably getting close to needing one by now) and a good sonic clean and hopefully will solve the prob ..... now what are you all like on the r6 front end conversion ... lol just joking .. thats a cash flow prob especially now just bought the sporty