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.

Bleeding brakes the old fashioned way

1. Make sure there is enough brake fluid in the master cylinder
2. press brake lever
3. open the bleeding screw while keeping brake lever depressed
4. allow brake fluid and air bubbles to escape into the catch pan
5. close the bleeding screw
6. release the brake lever
7. go to step 1 unless no bubbles came out in step 3
8. Top off the master cylinder and close it up

Rear Turn Signal Relocation Kit for Dyna

I bought this kit because it was: 1) cheaper than the corresponding kit for the Sportster and 2) it included the laydown license plate bracket, which the Sportster item did not. There was only one caveat. The turn signal cans on the Dyna have different pitch of thread on them than do Sportsters'. Who knows why? Usually HD is pretty good about keeping parts the same as much as possible. Dyna and Sportster turn signals look the same and act the same, but have different thread pitch on the can to stalk interface. It is not a big problem if you know how to re-thread the stalks with a die. I bought the corresponding die at Sears and re-threaded the stalk in the relocation kit and the Sportster cans fit on there perfectly. The rest of the relocation was according to instructions and turned out very well. I needed to relocate the rear turn signals to use saddlebags with Easy Brackets. Here is the picture of the relocated rear turn signals.

Easy Brackets for Saddlebags

I used cheap throw over saddle bags for months before I decided that I hated how the throw overs kept slipping and sliding all over the place. I really needed some support brackets. I was not crazy about the permanent support brackets that remain on the bike when the bags are removed. I wanted a clean look when the bags were off. I found Easy Brackets to be a very good solution. Easy Brackets are support brackets that mount to the bike using posts in the rear fender strut. There is a keyed locking mechanism to prevent the brackets being removed from the bike without a key. A set of bags can be bolted to the brackets and then be removable using the bracket key. Once removed, the only thing that remains on the bike are the posts that are made of polished stainless steel and can serve as bungee posts. I ended up using the same cheap throw over bags I had to bolt to the brackets and it has worked out great. have a look in my gallery to see what they look like on the bike. Rear turn signal relocation is required. I used a turn signal relocation kit for a Dyna that incorporates a laydown license plate bracket.

Progressive Suspension Fork Springs

Suffice it to say that this along with the rear shocks is THE best upgrade you can make to your Sportster if you like to drive it sport bike style (as opposed to bar hopping).

Progressive Suspension Shocks

Suffice it to say that this along with the fork springs is THE best upgrade you can make to your Sportster if you like to drive it sport bike style (as opposed to bar hopping).

Arlen Ness Big Sucker air cleaner

 
I really like this air cleaner and I have been running it for about two years now. It replaces the "ham can" and is round in shape, so those who want to keep the stock look will not find it acceptable. Performance is great and the quality is top notch. The price is lower than Screaming Eagle air cleaner and it is on a whole other plane of quality, durability and performance. Screaming Eagle air cleaner for the rubber mounted Sportsters is utter junk. It does not breathe very well (at least compared to the Big Sucker), the filter develops holes within a few months, the backing plate is plastic (vs. cast aluminum in the Big Sucker) and HD does not stand behind the unit (90 day warranty and then you are SOL when the filter has holes in it). I had an issue with my Big Sucker filter that I was partially responsible for (some fuel spill into the filter) and Arlen Ness sent me a free replacement filter ASAP with no fuss whatsoever. Oh, and the filter itself on the Big Sucker is an oiled K&N type filter, the SE filter is some sort of dry medium that obviously does not hold up to normal use and does not breathe all that well. So, stay away from the SE air cleaner. Consider Arlen Ness and also Nallin Hurricane, which is a bit more expensive, but from all accounts a superb piece of gear. See the Hurricane description on NRHS (Nallin Racing Head Service) here.

You can find a review I wrote on this product here