Shovel Trouble

[Titus]

1983 fxsb  starts & runs fine, after riding for 10 minutes or so and she has warmed up I twist the wick & she just bogs down, spits and sputters. I checked for air leaks at intake seems fine. I adjusted accelerator pump screw from lightly seated backing out 1/4-1/2 turns or so to all the way out and made absolutely NO difference just kept sputtering when twisting throttle.   Whats wrong with my Sweet Shovel???

Ride Easy   Titus

[fbn ent]

Try new plugs.

[Hossamania]

Check for vacuum leaks.
Does the motor rev when not under load?
Is timing retarding somehow?

[Fugawee]

Gas Cap Vented?  Or Cap Vent Clogged?  Vapor Lock?
Try running it for a while without the Vented (?) Gas Cap on.
Internal Fuel Strainer in the Tank Clogged?  If You have one.
External Fuel Filter Dirty or Clogged?  If You have one.
Other than that...Your Carb may need a Good Bath.

Many years ago I had a 1976 FXE.
I bought a Set of New Gas Caps for the Fat Bob Tanks that I had put on there.
The New Caps had Harley Wings on them that needed to be lined up correctly so that the Wings would look right while on the Tank.
There was a small Bolt on the inside of each Cap that You would loosen to line up the Wings, and the "Tangs" that sealed onto the Tanks.
On the Right-Side Cap, which should have been the Vented One...I tightened the Bolt too much which caused the Cap not to vent.
It caused a similar problem with the sputtering and stalling out.  Vapor Lock.
Finally figured that out, loosened up the Bolt a little for it to vent, and no more problem.

[fleetmechanic]

Does the 1983 have an ignition module?  We had several 1984 and 1985 early Evo FXRPs that had failures with the module.

[Ohio HD]

More than likely the pickup sensor under the nose cone. These have a limited life and are usually effected by heat from the motor. Look at it and you may see some epoxy leaking from the sensor.

[fleetmechanic]

Our Evo police bikes melted quite a few of those also. Definitely a place to start.

[Fugawee]

A little Humor, speaking of Pickup Sensors...back in the mid 90's a Buddy of Mine had an 89' FXSTS.  Sweet Bike.

A bunch of Us are going for a nice ride on Sunday.
He calls Me up on Saturday and says His battery is dead, dead, dead.  All due to His negligence of leaving His Ignition on all night long when He got Home on Friday night, a little on the "tipsy" side shall We say...and a bit "anxious' to go and say "Hello" to His Woman at an un-godly hour of the morning.
Says He's gonna' put a Battery Charger on it.  And that He did.  Removed the Seat and hooked up one of those huge Schumacher Chargers on wheels.  Charges it all day Saturday, and the Bike doesn't do a thing.  No Lights, No Clicks, No Nothing.  Now He's pissed.
Off He goes and gets a New Battery.
Puts it in, and the same thing...No Nothing.  Now He's more pissed.
Early Saturday evening, Myself and another Guy take a ride over there to see what's going on and offer Our Moral Support, as well as a little possible Technical Advice.
And to drink His Beer.
We figure that He's gonna' owe Us.
As soon as We walk into His Garage, We both smell something strange.  Something Stinks, and it wasn't any of Us or His Woman.
What the hell is that stench?  We are All wondering...WTF is that?
We check out the Bike, and it's the Same Story...Nothing.
I take off the Timing Cover, and His Pickup Sensor is a sight.
Not to mention a little more aroma is now tickling Our nostrils.  His apparently were a little stuffed up or clogged.
The Sensor was just a gooey, black, brown, silver mess.  Disgusting.
That Charger just sizzled that thing down to a liquid.
It looked like a Hershey Bar that You left on Your Vehicles Dashboard in 100-degree heat with the windows closed.
Sure wish that Cellphones had Cameras on them then for future reference as a friendly reminder for Him.
I had a take-off Unit at Home, got it, and replaced it that night.
We all got to go riding the next day, and to this day that subject still pops up on occasion.
That'll teach Him to go Home with a Buzz on looking for Love.
He's now Major Fan of a Trickle Charger.  Those are the Best He says.  Ask Him Why.

[RTMike]

Most likely the pick up censor,fire up the bike on the stand and put your heat gun on it,if bad it will start crapping out shortly.