I have read on your post and you are welcome to post this question, although i am no english major..
I will start with, i have a 2001 dyna wide glide (FXDWG). it wouldnt run at idle. I cleaned the carb, when i did, i thought that i opened the pilot jet, and by opened, i mean made the hole bigger than it should be, but now i am not sure. I did some reading on it, with our mods on the bike (pipes, ignition mod, k&N filter, and the bike was jetted with a 195 main jet and new slide, i see where most people reccommend using a larger pilot jet, stock is 45, recommended is 46, i purchase a 46 from the HD dealer. here is my problem. the bike will start but runs like crap at idle, its getting way to much gas. If i hold the slide open a little, it idles fine. I have made sure that all openings, canals and everything is spotless. I have the needle out at 2 turns to start, than ended up putting it all the way in, and it does a little better but still way too much gas. back to the jet one second, the needle was set at about 3 1/4 turns, thats why we decided to put the 46 in. after thinking we messed up the 45. anyway. i have taken this thing apart 3 times to make sure everything is cleaned and I am 99.9% sure it is.
A couple of things that i have noticed are that when its stumbling with too much gas going in, and black smoke pouring out, it appears that, as the slide goes up and down its sucking a bit of gas in through the needle valve, or main jet as you may say. it appears that it shouldnt be.
its not overflowing as if the float was stuck, when i was in there it moves freely up and down. any suggestions would be great. and i really like your site, it has been very helpful.
Thanks
Rhett
A handful of Harley questions have been floating in lately. Cool! :devil:
Definitely sounds like you have a jetting issue to me. Normally when adjusting jetting you want to start with the main jet and work your way down. It is very unusual that you would up the pilot jet without first (or at least simultaneously) upping the main jet.
I would recommend starting by making sure you main jet is appropriately sized. You should do this by performing a ‘plug chop’. Get the bike going out on the road, find a long gentle upwards slope. Get the bike up to speed in 4th or 5th gear. Then peg the throttle wide open and hold it wide open for as long as you’re able to (8+ seconds). Then immediately pull in the clutch, kill the engine, and coast to a stop. Inspect your plugs and compare them to the plug diagrams found in this forum.
Once you get your main jet set, then move on to the pilot.