Drilling out Idle Mixture Screw Plug

If you have a bike where idle mixture screw is capped with a metal plug, you will need to remove this plug in order to have access to the idle mixture screw. Having access to idle mixture screw is one of the first needs a new Sportster owner (assuming 2006 and older bike) will have. These bikes have been set to idle way too lean and one of the first adjustments most pleople make is idle mixture adjustment. You can see directions for adjusting your idle mixture here, but first you will need to remove that pesky plug that EPA mandates be there from the factory. So, without further ado, the removal of the idle mixture screw plug.

1. Remove the carburater. Actually, it is possible to do this without removing the carburetor. To do that you need to pop the carburetor off the intake manifold and tilt it up so the idle mixture screw plug is easy to reach. I did not disconnect the throttle or choke cables for this. I just popped the carburetor off the manifold and tilted it up so I could get to the bottom with a drill bit
2. CAREFULLY drill a small hole through the plug. The size of the hole should be such that a drywall screw would need to force its way into it with its threads. I suggest using a hand drill here or be very careful not to go through the plug too quickly. There is not much to the plug, it will yield easily, so take your time here and just slowly but surely make a hole through it without poking the drill bit much below where the actual idle mixture screw is.
3. Get a one inch or longer drywall screw and screw it into the hole you just made a few threads. Maybe just deep enough to gently touch the screw underneath and back out half a thread from there.
4. With a pair of pliers pull on the screw while holding the carburetor fast with your other hand. You may need to work the pliers back and forth a bit, but the plug will pretty quickly come out with the screw.
5. Discard the plug and screw.