81 and 82 carbs

[hardleydavidson]

so when cleaning my carbs the post that holds the float that the pin gos through broke. I ordered a set of carbs for an 82 (thats what they had though mines an 81) from a junkyard. I cleaned em up put em on and have had major problems dialing them in. (erratic idle, rpms hanging up, etc.) I pulled them and compared them to the 81 and noticed that there where definatly subtle differences. (jetting, threading for the air jets in the carb throat, air fuel mixture screw style and sizes) Ive swapped the main jets back and forth, pulled the plugs and messed with the air fuel screw settings. played with float height. I guess my question is is there any way to make a set of 82s work or am I screwed till I find a proper set of 81s?

 

[xschris]

81-82 Carbs should be the same stile. Sounds like you might have a pre 80 set. Post some pics of what you have.

 

[hardleydavidson]

heres some pics

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f322/muttblbc/81carbs1.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f322/muttblbc/81carbs2.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f322/muttblbc/82carbs1.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f322/muttblbc/82carbs2.jpg
Thanks

 

[xschris]

The first two pics are the 77-79 carbs and the others are the later 80-82's. Have the idle mix screws been opened or uncapped yet? A lot of the parts are not the same between the two.

 

[hardleydavidson]

yeah, I unplugged the 81/82 caps on fuel mixture screws and tried to dial them in to no avail. I bought this thing as a project bike offa craigslist so I dont know much about the history of it. The vin tag on the neck says 81 though the title says 82. and now I guess its running 78/79 carbs.....any advice?

 

[xschris]

If you are running the 79 carbs make sure the mix screws are not broken off in the carbs by looking in the holes to see if they are clear.

 

[jmd_forest]

Not knowing exactly what you may or may not have rebuilt/replaced on the replacement carbs, I'd suspect the throttle shaft seals are leaking air.