| Author | Message | ||
     Medioxcore |
Hey guys. I'm new to this forum and Buells. I just bought a 2003 Blast. It has a lot of mileage, but I got it for $600. When I initially looked at it, the guy selling got it running for about 2 minutes and then it died. I talked him down from his asking price due to it not running properly. Once my buddy (who has two blasts) and I got it home, we changed das boot and added some vital fluids. Now, I can get it to start after a few tries, but unless I roll the throttle it stalls. It won't idle at all. I'm also getting backfires and black puffs of smoke from both the carb and exhaust. I should also mention that it has the Vance and Hines exhaust. We know it's running a bit rich, due to the spark plug being black. We just couldn't get to the fuel mixture screw. Does anyone here have any ideas? | ||
| Ecr223 |
Seafoam | ||
| Medioxcore |
Thanks. I'll give that a try. I need to change the oil, too. What oil filter should I use? I saw that EZblast had a post with all that info, but I can't find it now. Since Buell is no more, I don't imagine my local hd dealer carries parts. | ||
| Medioxcore |
oh, and the ignition module LED is blinking when i turn it over. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Very likely its a clogged slow jet. That's a common cause for what you describe, especially if it has sat for a long time. Avoid changing a bunch of things ( like idle mixture, etc. ) to get it running. Unless you're sure the previous owner mucked it all up, you're looking for a bad part, not a maladjusted one. Carbs and timing just don't go 'out of tune' on their own. It's due to bad parts or someone did that to it. Buy a #45 slow jet and replace it. It's cheap and a stock size on many Harley's. You don't say what "a lot of miles" is, but spark plugs are good for about 10,000 miles and they are done. Consider changing it. Did the owner have any problems with it? While he might be lying, did it "run okay yesterday"? Is there anything else that's been changed besides the exhaust? | ||
| Medioxcore |
It has 11,000miles on the click. When we picked it up, we threw another spark plug in and switched the carb. I went today to get oil change supplies and the auto parts store was out of the NPKs. Now I can't get it to start. And this is without changing any thing other than carb and plug. The guy I bought it from told me that he bought it in December, rode it home, and then it started having problems. (Message edited by medioxcore on January 18, 2014) | ||
| Medioxcore |
So I got up early this morning and changed the spark plug. She fired right up, but sputtered out almost immediately. I was able to get to the air/fuel mixture screw with a flathead attachment to a cordless screwdriver, so I adjusted accordingly. I will admit, I'm not sure how many turns out, but I screwed it all the way in when I started. I've gotten to were she'll idle for as long as I let her sit, but if I give any throttle it stalls. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Was the carb of a known running blast? I would steal the carb off your friends blast (that runs) and start from there. At that point the carb should need no adjusting (nor should you adjust it). Then you can rule out the carb. Your problem is typical of a clogged slow jet, but...... If you've got the option to swap the carb, do it. Blasts are not that touchy when it comes to carb tune or timing. You can pretty much swap carbs from any (but the most exotic) Blast and it will run fine as is. If you have to tune the carb, then you have another problem that's not the carb (unless the Bkast you stole the carb off had another problem). | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
How is the carb boot (since I don't see that addressed)? If you haven't taken it off to inspect it, then do so. | ||
| Medioxcore |
The boot was the first thing we changed. I do have another carb, but I'm not sure which one is on now. Things got kinda crazy one day. I can't find the right size Allen wrench to take of the carb, so that'll be later in the week. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Right size allen wrench to take off the carb? huh? Whats wrong with a screwdriver? If you're unbolting the manifold from the head to remove the carb, thats probably your problem. The sealing O-ring is very fragile and is probably faulty, broken, mis-installed or missing.The manifold is also easy to warp preventing a seal. Borrow one of your friends carbs. | ||
| Medioxcore |
The gasket between the carb and air box is gone. Would that be a potential problem? | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Some will say it is. I dont believe that, but I've never verified it. Gasket is a common HD part, so get one. All CV carbs use the same gasket. | ||
| Medioxcore |
This may seem like a silly question, but how easy is it to remove the air box and have the filter/intake run straight to the carb? Like EZblast has it set up? | ||
| Ezblast |
That is not how I do it, and my method is now un-copy-able. EZ | ||
| Medioxcore |
Thats just how it looks in the pics i've seen. I'm not mechanically inclined, so thats how it looks to me. my bad | ||
| Ezblast |
You would have to find a short stack with out a bell, a intake gasket, an Outerwears filter for a Blast with a stack, a 3 1/2" hose clamp to hold it on, and a superboot - the trick is finding the stack since my source stopped making them, however, any 2" straight stack would do - they are called torque stacks. EZ | ||
| Medioxcore |
Well, here's an update. I ordered the super boot, rejetted to 45/175, shimmed the needle, used a crapload of seafoam, and changed the plug. Still had the same problem. It fired right up, idled great, but died when I rolled on the throttle. After searching the interwebs, I saw a post from a guy with the exact problem. His end result was the silver sleeve that fits around the needle was upside down. My buddy recalled not even seeing a silver sleeve. We ran out, took apart the float bowl, removed the main jet, and low and behold, no sleeve. We got the one from the spare carb, popped it in (long side in) and put it back together. I fired it up, rolled on the throttle, and what do ya know...it didn't stall. I rode around the neighborhood, he rode around the neighborhood, and still runs great. I put about 5 miles on so far and haven't had any issues. I'd take it further, but it's uninsured and the safety sticker is expired. Hopefully by the weekend it'll be fully operational. Thanks for all of your help! | ||
| Blueblast |
That's great news! Sometimes the littlest things can kick our butt, but it makes for a great laugh later when we look back on it  | ||
| Medioxcore |
Truth! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
 Need I say more? Okay, I'll say more- a perfect example of taking a carb apart when it doesn't need to be and now there's a running problem. That's why I constantly ask over and over "what was done before the problem happened"! Dropping the needle guide out is extremely common and most people miss it when it happens- as in this case. Obviously the carb wasn't a "known working carb". Glad you got it running. | ||
| Medioxcore |
Yeah, you called it. To be fair, I didn't take apart the other carb. That was done before I even got the bike. But either way, I concur. Don't take apart the carb unless you KNOW there's an issue. | ||
| Vicenzajay |
I want a nickel for everytime Erik gets to beat his head against the wall about taking apart the carburetor....:-) | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Lol! If you did I'd split it with you and we can both buy new Blasts! | ||
| Titusand |
I have bought most every part at an HD-Buell dealer near me. One local one carries parts and will do service, the other one, HD only, will not service the bike but they will sell the parts. |
