First of all I would like to thank everyone in this forum for the great info that got me through this project. The only drawback was the amount of searching required to find all the info. I wanted to try and consolidate as many of the tips as I could into one post to make it easier for anyone else who is doing Stage I for the first time. I just want to make it clear that 99% of this I found here from other people.

I bought my '04 XL1200C in Sept. of '05 and after my first weekend realized that I had to upgrade the exhaust to the SE II slip ons. I planned to get the SE A/C and have the local dealer rejet but I didn't want to pay them to do it. Eventually I saw the hyperchargers and thought I needed one but I lost that urge after a couple weeks. Then I saw the setup on honus402's bike and decided that was what I had to have.

I bought the Arlen Ness Big Sucker ($90 on ebay), the A/C cover for bt's from the skull collection ($39 from h-d), a chrome carb cover ($16 at h-d), Sorgy's jet kit (ebay $11) and some stainless steel M4 hex socket cap screws, flat and split washers as well as a couple thinner (.025") M4 brass washers to shim the needle.

Here's the lessons part:

1. Use a blanket or towel to protect the bike, catch loose parts and soak up extra fluids.

2. Once the air cleaner is removed the carb will come loose from the engine if you grab it on top and bottom and rock it up and down. It is held on to the intake manifold by a rubber gasket. When it comes off make sure to keep this gasket on the intake and not the carb. This will make it easier to put the carb back on later.

3. Replace the stock phillips head screws with hex socket head. It is too easy to damage the phillips head and some nice stainless will look better. The Sorgy's kit comes with 4 for the bottom and I bought 4 more for the top.

4. Replace the stock plastic cover with a chrome cover. This isn't really necessary but it looks great. The screws that come in the Sorgy's kit are a little too short for the right rear because it has to go through the throttle/idle cable bracket before the cover. All of the screws are M4 but I don't remember the lengths.

5. Remove the screw holding the throttle/idle cable bracket to the side of the carb. Once you have the cap off it will make it a lot easier to get the diaphragm seated correctly if the arm of the bracket is out of the way of the cover.

6. Very important!!! Make sure you are extremely careful with the rubber diaphragm in the top of the carb. If you are replacing the needle or just putting washers under it you have to first remove the slide assembly which includes the diaphragm. Don't pull on the rubber part, push the slide up from inside the air intake until you can grab it from the top. When you replace it make sure you don't pinch the rubber under the cap. If the cable bracket is out of the way you shouldn't have any problems. It costs about $43 to replace (don't ask how I know that) and cuts easily so take your time and wiggle the cap a bit to make sure you don't pinch it.

7. If you are using a Ness Big Sucker, wipe a little petroleum jelly on the four o-rings to help keep them in place. They fall off easily and get lost just as easily (again, don't ask). If you do lose one, go to an automotive parts dealer and get a bag. Some people have mentioned using a thicker ring but the stock ones are 1/16" wide, 5/8" inside diameter and 3/4" outer. The directions are also very vague about the o-rings placement. Two go on the back side around both of the large banjo bolt holes and two go on the front side.

8. The Ness directions talk about installing restrictor bushings. The newer kits have different banjo bolts so if your kit didn't come with them you don't need to install them. The hole is the right size already. The directions also talk about re-routing the breather hose. On my 04 the hose was already where they tell you to run it.


9. Replace the carb the same way it came off. Make sure you have the rubber gasket seated properly on the intake, press the back of the carb into the gasket and rock the carb up and down pushing into the bike. When you fit the air cleaner plate you can tell if you are close with the carb or if you need to push more.

10. Second most important tip, make sure you have and are using the proper tools.

11. Most important tip IMO, try to learn something. If you are doing the job yourself you might as well look around and see what is going on in there.

I hope this helps the other new wrenchers out there. A lot of other threads have more details and better directions so keep searching and good luck. In the end it is worth it to know that you did the work yourself even if it costs you an extra $43 cause you screwed up. I am not a mechanic and don't consider myself an expert so if anyone has any corrections or additions please feel free to add. I think that's the whole idea behind a forum anyway.

Great tips, with all the new people coming here daily I'm sure they'll be put to good use. I did mine myself too, and your right, it is a great feeling when you fire it up and everything is running smooth, and you know you did it yourself!:smoke

I forgot another one. When you reattach the throttle/idle bracket, make sure the cable pulley is clear of the stop screw. If you can't twist your throttle when you are done it probably got hung up here.

Very nice post.

As someone who never did this before, how long did it take you to actually do the work without the little "extra" steps? Just curious.

How is the setup working? Sorgys' jet kit is significantly cheaper than the MoCo's. I have a brand new 1200L that I need to "pay the taxes" on. I'm planning on getting the SE A/C and the SE Pro II slip-ons.

The weather is starting to warm up here on the east coast and it's time to ride.

It was a three day process including a trip to the local dealer to get a new slide assembly after I tore the diaphragm and a day driving around trying to get stainless hex socket screws. In wrench time it was probably less than two hours. I would strongly suggest against the SE A/C though and from the sounds of it around here the Cycle Shack slip ons are just as good as the SE's for a lot less if you are looking to save a few bucks although I have the SE's and have no complaints.

I have the Arlen Ness Big Sucker A/C and love it. I left it open with just a HD big twin insert over it and you can hear it suck air when you crack the throttle.

If you have any questions feel free to ask although I'm not a pro by any means, I've been there before and won't use big words when I answer.

Great post! You can add me to the torn diaphragm club...but, I was able
to complete the Stage 1 and my Sporty runs awesome.

yeah I feel bad for my buddy. His came Stage 1 from the dealer and he has been having problems with running rich and dumping gas since he got it. We are currently blaming the SE A/C and he is changing to a Big Sucker this week. Mine runs great. I'm not positive I have the idle mixture perfected yet but it isn't missing and definately has more power and any where in the throttle.

i thought sorgy's kit comes with the stainless screws?

do you need to get a new cover with the big sucker? i like the original look, but won't the oem cover have a smaller opening for the air flow?

sorry for all the questions, i'm just getting into all this.

I seem to remember other forum members talking about modifying a OEM or "ham can" cover to fit other A/C set ups so I think it is possible but it won't fit as is and is definately too restricting. The SE version is open all the way around but would still need some type of bracket to fit on the Big Sucker. The BS has a single tapped hole in the center just like a big twin so any stock big twin cover will fit over it without mod.

I would search the site for posts about ham cam mods if you want to go that route. My gallery has a pic of my A/C although the pic was to show my sissy bar so it doesn't show the cover very well.

Don't worry about the questions, that's what this place is all about.

The Sorgy's kit comes with 4 stainless screws for the bowl on the bottom but I wanted to match it with 4 more on the top with a new chrome cover (HD provides screws but they are phillips) also we were getting hex for my buddies bike that was done at the dealer.

I haven't replaced the screws for the top of my carb, but the bottom ones are using M4x16 hex cap-heads. The stock screws are around 14mm long, and the 16mm screws fit. While I am not using a washer and split-ring, they're a good idea, and would take up the extra 2mm quite nicely!

For anyone trying to tweak their Kiehin 40mm CV carbs, go get a set of M4x16 screws, washers, and split-rings!

Yeah, I didn't use washers on the bottom either but the top had them already so I used new ones there. With the exception of the inside front one cause my bolts weren't long enough with the throttle bracket for a washer.

Here's somethign similar:

http://webpages.charter.net/dougd/harley/carb.htm

since this is a compilation of many different people's ideas in one post why not make it a sticky so people will see this up with the jetting sticky's and make it easier for them.

I'll be doing my stage 1 here next month and one question I has was this..

Is it a bad idea to take the carb completely off the bike? I figure that taking the carb off would allow me to better see what I am doing while replacing the jets, etc.

However, I've heard that taking off the carb is a bad idea (not sure why). Does anyone have any insight on this?

Not really a bad idea, but you must be careful with the carb to intake seal. Make sure it is pliable and not cracked and on correctly when reinstalling the carb

Its just way more complicated to take it all the way off. Things to unfasten like the choke and throttle and all that. Its just easier to leave those on because you can tilt it over with them on and still see the bottom of the carb quite well with those things still attached. You got plenty of play once its pulled out of the Intake seal. Without having to take the rest off.

Fantastic post, Vegas. If I may, I have one more tip that helped me tremendously when I did my stage 1: Buy the service manual and use it. It may be expensive, but it's definitely worth it.

Very good point jtseipel. I got mine to late for the tax man but before I attempted a fluid change. Really has a lot of great info.

Its just way more complicated to take it all the way off. Things to unfasten like the choke and throttle and all that. Its just easier to leave those on because you can tilt it over with them on and still see the bottom of the carb quite well with those things still attached. You got plenty of play once its pulled out of the Intake seal. Without having to take the rest off.

cphilip, that brings it all into focus for me. I'm going to try your method first. Thanks

I see references to "Hex cap heads" and "Hex socket heads" when replacing the phillips screws. Does it matter which one a person uses? I went to two hardware stores yesterday, and couldn't find any Hex Cap heads in right size but believe they did have Hex Socket heads in correct size.

Thanks!

Everyone was talking about the same screw. You do want the hex socket cap screw. I the cap part means the top of the bolt is cylinder shape with the hex part inside. The alternative would be a button head that is rounded off on the sides and wouldn't be as solid of a socket.

Everyone was talking about the same screw. You do want the hex socket cap screw. I the cap part means the top of the bolt is cylinder shape with the hex part inside. The alternative would be a button head that is rounded off on the sides and wouldn't be as solid of a socket.

Picked up the hex socket cap screws (allen head). Now all I gotta do is muster up some cajones and take things apart. I may wait till my V&H Shortshots get here and pull off the c/s tapereds and do everything at once. I've got plenty of tools, might as well use them. I've copied down all the info you posted and many others.

Best of luck with the job. If it isn't too long I would wait for the pipes. It shouldn't change your tuning too much but you might as well get it all out of the way at once. You will love the difference.

Getting a lot of Paying taxes questions lately, just thought I would give an old thread a bump for the new members, especially those looking for SEII's that I have listed cheap in the classifieds. :D