SEII slip-ons, SE a/c (newer 29044-04B design), and rejet kit. Dealer did all the install & rejet.

Now there is less power up until almost full throttle, and now the engine will sometimes keep running a few seconds after I shut it off. Also, after it warms up, when I come to a red light/stop sign, it will idle too fast for 30-seconds to a minute, then will settle down to normal idle speed.

So I called the dealer and scheduled an appointment. He agreed it didn't sound right and wanted to take a look at it.

Are there any pointers I should keep in mind? Should I take the rest of the rejet kit with me when I drop it off?

sounds like it needs the carb adjusted properly. Dynojet to the rescue. Jets are good but the kit addresses more than just idle and main jet. When it is right you will know it.

Dealer fubared your stage 1 take it back and make them fix it right the 2nd time, free of charge for you.

just cause they are a H-D tech don't mean they have a clue what they are doing.:doh :laugh

Should I take the rest of the rejet kit with me when I drop it off?

Yes...

Since the dealer did the work, he'll fix it.. :)

I think it's a universal truth that a stage 1 done right definitely noticeably improves the performance. If not, something got done wrong...

Is it HD of Greenville?

If so, grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Make 'em make it right. Sorry, but I haven't heard anything good about them....

Yeah, it's the H-D of Greenville... about 1 mi from my house!

Wow, that :censor s. I have SEII's, A/C, and rejet.... it was an excellent improvement! There is something seriously wrong here.... :(

Is there some way I can look at the spare pieces left from the jet kit, and tell what jets they have put into my Sportster?

Is there some way I can look at the spare pieces left from the jet kit, and tell what jets they have put into my Sportster?

If your "kit" is a DynoJet kit, then yes, you should be able to tell, at least for the main jet. The kit comes with a 160, 170, 180, and 190 main. See which one is missing.

The DynoJet kit doesn't come with a pilot jet, because you don't necessarily need a larger one with their needle.

The "real" information you need to find out is which slot they put the clip on the needle jet. You have to remove the slide to see where the needle is set. I'll bet a buck they just slapped it on wherever... probably way too rich judging from your description of the problem. When I took mine off after I bought the bike, the needle was set too rich. I took my friends off (Wide-Glide) a few months ago and his was set too lean. The DynoJet instructions are VERY specific about where to set the needle.

In my tinkering, I've learned that the needle has a much bigger impact on the overall picture than either the main or the pilot jets.

If it were me, I'd buy a manual and learn to do it yourself, even though the dealer owes it to you to get it right. The fact is, they may NEVER get it right.

If you can follow written instructions, have a little patience, and can operate a screwdriver, then you can successfully tune a CV carburetor. For some reason, there are a few Harley Certified Mechanics that can't pull this off.

Thanks Trout! I'll give them one more chance at it Thursday morning, and go from there. I'm pretty sure I could do it myself, and will certainly try if they mess it up again...

The jet kit that I bought was just under $100... does that sound l ike the DynoJet kit you are referring to?

What manual are you referring to, the service manual?

Sounds like you have an intake leak. I bet they folded over the seal from the carb to the manifold when they stuck the carb back on the manifold.

Thanks Trout! I'll give them one more chance at it Thursday morning, and go from there. I'm pretty sure I could do it myself, and will certainly try if they mess it up again...

The jet kit that I bought was just under $100... does that sound l ike the DynoJet kit you are referring to?

What manual are you referring to, the service manual?

By all means, get the service manual if you don't have it!

:rtfm

It has EVERYTHING you need, except the experience....

That's where the forum comes in....we're always here to help with PROBLEMS....but most things are covered IN THE MANUAL :)

Now for MY OPINION:

Dynojet kits suck for the average rider.

After you get a freer flowing exhaust and A/C, go up a step on your pilot jet....put 2 shims on your needle if your midrange seems a tad sluggish...

Other than that, for normal street riding, you're pretty good to go.....

I won't get into mixtures, because that's where your "feel" and observations will come in....

Your set-up could be MUCH DIFFERENT, but this is a great place to start....

Any serious issues at this point are probably more in line with other problems, such as an intake leak...

Beware the stupid sheat that catches you by surprise...keep it simple, and have a manual on hand......

Interesting... Is there a way for me to check for this just by looking at it?

Sounds like you have an intake leak. I bet they folded over the seal from the carb to the manifold when they stuck the carb back on the manifold.

Interesting... Is there a way for me to check for this just by looking at it?

You can look closely at where the carb meets the intake...that would show it...but not necessarily so, as well.......its worth a look, but that ain't the "be all, end all..."

You can look closely at where the carb meets the intake...that would show it...but not necessarily so, as well.......its worth a look, but that ain't the "be all, end all..."

Thanks... to tell you how much I know about this stuff -- I think the carb is behind the air cleaner, right? :o

Well I dropped it off at H-D 1st thing this morning. Just called them and they couldn't find any physical problems -- so they guessed the problem with was "bad gas" and so they drained the tank, and put some 93 octane in it, and said it was running great now.

So I told them, I had actually gone through several tanks of gas already with the symptoms being the same for each tank, and so then they decided they wanted another day with it, to make sure the problems are actually gone.

If the 'running after shutoff' and 'high idle at stop lights' problems are actually fixed after this (maybe it was bad gas afterall?), maybe I need to find another '05 883 stage 1 owner, who can ride my bike and tell me if it's performance is proper for a stage 1 883?

After another day with it, they can't find anything wrong with it... so I'll pick it up this afternoon and see how it runs this weekend with "good" gas.

Hi VisualFeast,

go to the Jetting 101 thread it will tell you just about everything you could possibly need to know. There's another one, something like lessons learned doing stage 1. It's pretty good too. You should really drop the $45 or so for a shop manual, grab some wrenches and do it yourself. If you decide to do it, follow Cantolina's dyno jet kit advice (another thread somewhere) and just use stock HD jets. Sell the DynoKet kit to someone else. In the end it is probably easier to tune. All that said, you would need the stock emulsion tube and needle and whatever else they took out of your carb. You really only need a new slow jet and maybe a shim for your stock needle.

Good luck! Search around because there is plenty of info here for you to do it and learn about your bike. Next time you will be able to hold onto more of your hard earned CASH.

Well, after picking it up from them Friday night, I can't believe all they did was drain the gas & fill with 93 octane. It's like a new machine! The idle always returns back to normal at stops... it doesn't keep running after turning it off... and the throttle response is crisper w/ more uumph at the lower RPMs.

I've been testing it for over 150 miles now, and will stick with Spinx 93 as they suggested. I swear they did something else to it, but they swear all they did was drain the tank and put new gas in. :tour

I swear they did something else to it, but they swear all they did was drain the tank and put new gas in. :tour

That's really not much of a stretch....

Like was mentioned above. I'll bet the mechanic had the carb seal in cocked. I did it myself a couple weeks ago and had very similar problems. I installed a constant taper needle, fired it up and it was idling high. Went up the road and back and it ran alot worse. So I figured I'd take out the needle and put back the stock needle. When I pulled the carb I found I had the seal forked up. Put it all back together right and it ran great. The mechanic probably pulled the carb and put it back right when he re-installed it. He may not of even realized it or he may have blamed it on bad gas to save himself an a$$ reaming. I'll bet it would run just as good on 87 octane now too! The 883 engine is a low compression engine designed to run on 87 octane. In all actuallity, running 93 octane will make it run worse due to a slower burn in the cylinder. 93 needs a higher compression to get any advantage out of it. Carb settings should have little if no effect on this.

...The mechanic probably pulled the carb and put it back right when he re-installed it. He may not of even realized it or he may have blamed it on bad gas to save himself an a$$ reaming. I'll bet it would run just as good on 87 octane now too! The 883 engine is a low compression engine designed to run on 87 octane. In all actuallity, running 93 octane will make it run worse due to a slower burn in the cylinder. 93 needs a higher compression to get any advantage out of it. Carb settings should have little if no effect on this.

That's what I was thinking... that they fixed something else, but either didn't want to tell me, or the mech didn't tell his boss the truth. Good point about the gas -- I'll be sure to try the next tank with 87 (almost time for another fill, I rode a bunch tonight too).

I think what Vince is implying is that its possible the mechanic never realized he fixed it. He probably took the carb off to verify that everything was properly placed before he did anything else. And then he ran it. And it ran fine. So he, at a loss to find anything (because he didn't notice the carb was not in the gasket right) decided to change out the Gas. And then of course it ran fine too. They looked around again after your first conversation, still didn't find anything and so they buttoned it up. Fact was... they accidently fixed it by first removing the carb and placing it back in properly, this time. And will never know it. You can probably go down to 91 Octane even.

Very well could be, cphillip. But when I dropped it off, I did tell them specifically: "I was told it sounded like I had an intake leak, like the carb seal was folded over or something." ...and I saw him writing lots of notes, but I'm not sure exactly what he wrote down.

Either way, other than some minor carb farts here and there, it's still running very well... much better than before, and I've switched to 89 octane gas, and it hasn't ran any worse (or better.) :) 4camSam has an interesting write-up on octane in this thread (http://www.xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showpost.php?p=348500&postcount=149).

Btw, I told them the manual says to use 87 octane, and their jaws dropped -- they couldn't believe it. They said they always use 93, and I should too...