Problem with S & S Super E "Shorty" Carburetor on '67 FLH

[jamesgraulty]

I've owned this bike for a year and put 2,100 trouble free miles on it. A couple weeks ago while riding on a country road it started missing, sputtering, blubbering when giving it throttle. First I thought it was a plug wire off or something causing a bad miss. When I got pulled over found nothing wrong with plug wires. It would start and idle, but stumble and cough and spit as soon as you gave it throttle. I finally discovered gas dripping out of the air cleaner cover. Took the air cleaner off and found no external leaks, no float bowl overflow. But looking down the throat could see gas spurting out of the main jet discharge tube as soon as I twisted the throttle. Obviously way too rich to run right and excess would drip out the backplate. With no real experience on carburetors I studied the S & S book, did some on line research, and talked to S & S technical support. They thought doing a rebuild kit should solve whatever the problem was. So I took it apart, did a Berryman Chem Dip cleaning routine, and installed every new part from an S & S Master Rebuild kit. Coming apart there did not appear to be anything out of line, and everything went back together very smoothly. Also put in new spark plugs in case the old were fouled. Back on the bike, it's doing the exact same thing. It has a .070 main jet and .0295 intermediate jet, which are appropriate for the 74" motor. I called S & S technical again and they were baffled. And so am I...any insights as to what to do would be greatly appreciated.

[exeric]

I had that problem due to a bad condenser.

[exeric]

It's funny that no one on these forums ever says, "it turned out to be the condenser". I think I must be the only person that ever had that problem

[RichO]

No your not Eric. I don't no why one would tie a bad condenser to a problem with the carb but I always carry a couple of spare condensers with me in my tool kits on all my bikes that use them. Maybe because it's not firing properly the carb can't use the fuel? Is that what your saying? I've had a few friends with generator Shovels that have ate condensers but my '67 hasn't had that problem. I've lost one on my EL though. It would start but not take throttle.

[jamesgraulty]

Thanks Eric. I began to think it was something other than carburetor, but with my limited mechanical knowledge I had no idea where to start. I'll change the condenser and let you know.

[Peter Cooke]

Isn't there an expression that goes "99% of carb problems are ignition" or something similar?

[jamesgraulty]

That's as logical an explanation as any at this point. Especially since I feel as though the carb has to be perfect after the rebuild. Thanks for the input.

[T. Cotten]

Isn't there an expression that goes "99% of carb problems are ignition" or something similar?

Close, Peter!

It should be "99% of carb problems are vacuum leaks."

Carbs are forgiving.

Manifolds are evil.

....Cotten

[duffeycycles]

turning the throttle causes the accellerator pump to squirt..not the main nozzle.I'm sorry but you just ran in a circle for no reason.

[duffeycycles]

29.5 slow jet is too large for most 74" motors & 70 is too large for the main on a shovel unless stroked..try 28 & 68....but that is not your current problem.This could be,condenser,points,advance mechanism,overcharging.....put a timing light on it a rev it while watching the light flash to see if the miss matches the firing

[Grumpa]

It's funny that no one on these forums ever says, "it turned out to be the condenser". I think I must be the only person that ever had that problem

Okay time for a story; I had a '71 Triumph Bonneville (nicknamed "Christine" btw) and it was running like crap one day: Missing, popping, stumble, and spitting. Took it over to my buddy Raymond Bohegian who is a factory trained mech. He rode it and it was just fine, I got back on it and it ran like crap. He got on and it rode fine. Turned out the seat pan was grounding out the condenser when I was on it (I'm tall, Ray is short and sat on the seat further forward).

[jamesgraulty]

The accelerator pump appears to be ok and squirts gas through the ejector nozzle as it always has. And I thought the jets were ok because they're in the range recommended in the S & S jetting chart and the bike performed nicely until this occurrence. The more I think about it, and with the help of the input here, the more I think it's ignition related. I did a new condenser and nothing changed. I've been considering converting to electronic ignition. A buddy recommends the QuickStart 2000 (advertised in our magazine). Maybe this would be a good time to do that?? Or maybe just a whole new distributor, incase it's more than just points and condenser?? Any way I'm learning as I go and the input here helps in the process. Thanks for your replies... I appreciate it.

[T. Cotten]

The accelerator pump appears to be ok and squirts gas through the ejector nozzle as it always has. And I thought the jets were ok because they're in the range recommended in the S & S jetting chart and the bike performed nicely until this occurrence. The more I think about it, and with the help of the input here, the more I think it's ignition related. I did a new condenser and nothing changed. I've been considering converting to electronic ignition. A buddy recommends the QuickStart 2000 (advertised in our magazine). Maybe this would be a good time to do that?? Or maybe just a whole new distributor, incase it's more than just points and condenser?? Any way I'm learning as I go and the input here helps in the process. Thanks for your replies... I appreciate it.

Good idea, James!

Just throw money at it.

....Cotten

[jamesgraulty]

So if it's ignition related, as I now fully suspect, it could be anything from the distributor, any individual component thereof, and all the way back to and including the coil right? Since this is a high mileage (80,000 mi) bike, which I've only owned for a year, I don't mind replacing entire components so I know where they stand. I just want it to be a dependable rider. So I'm thinking maybe a whole new distributor (J&P Cycles has for $187), coil ($53), and plug wires. Any thoughts?

[duffeycycles]

That timer is junk,yours might be fine