I have an 04 883 Custom. Cycle Shack slip-ons, Twin Velocity A/C kit. I did the rejet this weekend. Had a few issues.
Changed the 42-45...no problems there.
Took out the plug and had a 170 ready to go in. For some reason there was a 175 in there?? From what the book said it should have been 160 stock? So i just left the 175 in.
My problem is with setting the mixture and idle. I did exactly what the instructions said. But dont think its right. The bike runs great! Very strong and pulls the whole way. Heres the problem:

VERY strong smell of gas while running
Spark plugs are BLACK and wet.
While the bike is at idle, it just sounds like it will stall and vibrates alot more.

Im just not sure i got the idle and mixtire set right. Im afraid even though the bike runs great, i might be causing some problems. Any one have any input i would greatly appreciate it. Im just a little frustrated and confused.

read my Jetting 101 thread...


The reason I took the time to write that is because there is NO blabket jet sizes that are right for EVERY bike and combination...

Jets are adjustable for a reason.....and that reason is to tune them to suit YOUR bike...NOT someone elses..

yours may not NEED a 45

Check to see what the stock jets were for your bike. I know my '04 1200R was different that the '03 1200. Not sure if they changed the 883 that year or not.

I have a 2004 XL and I also found a 175 main jet. I haven't ridden since I did the re-jet, so I can't comment on the performance yet - I'll keep you posted.
:tour

The main jet doesn't come into play until 3/4 throttle or higher. If your like most people, you rarely use the main. So black plugs are indicative of a rich pilot jet, idle mixture or needle.

An easy way to tune the idle mixture is to turn the screw out until it runs rough. Then turn it in until it runs rough. Then set the idle mix screw 1/2 way between the two.

Thanks all. I did everything the instructions said and i read the sticky about the jetting. Just was wondering about the black plugs and strong gas smell. I'll check the to make sure i have the screw two turns out.