I bought a 2005 XL 883 its been customized by the previous owner, it has a two into one exhaust, screamin eagle air cleaner, its always had a cough, it had a 200 mianjet, 42 low, what jets should it have?

SOURCE: 2005 XL 1200 C Sportster Custom: have just bought a 2005 XL 883. can pop up the oil...

yes it will unscrew after it pops up give it a twist to the left and it will come out then.

raj somaiya

• 2272 Answers
• Posted on Jul 01, 2010

SOURCE: Hi, I have a 2004

The service manual says to "remove the carb" for this job. But yes you can remove the main jet out without removing the carb out. You can rotate the carb and slide it off the intake, but watch how much slack you have in the cables, remove the bottom plug that adjusts the fuel mixture.Take the seat/tank off and loosen both the 3mm bolt and philips mounting screw so you could turn the carb to were you could remove the big bottom 17mm bolt . When you look up into the bolt hole with a light you can see two access holes for both the main and the pilot jets.the pilot can be changed by tilting the carb bottom to the left and removing the big bolt on the bottom. It's accessible without removing the float bowl. To get the needle out, you need to pull the seat and tank, remove the carb top cover (3mm allen bolts), remove the 4mm allen bolt on top of the slide, being careful not to lose the spring and other parts (3 pieces total). Pull the needle out with a needle nose and you're set. The main jet is replacable from the 17mm cap on the bottom. Your needle tube/jet may come out with the main jet but is no biggy. You can drain the float bowl before doing it if you loosen the little 3mm bolt on the bottom of the bowl. Just be sure to readjust the throttle cables after you move the carb back. Tilting the carb pulls all the slack out of the cables and the bind a bit if you dont pull them back. You can remove the main jet with a main jet tool or a 1/4 inch socket. If the needle tube jet (long skinny tube that the main jet threads into) comes out with the main jet, simply unscrew it from the main jet with an 8mm wrench and the tool you used to take out the main jet.You can put the new main jet back in the tube first and then replace the tube back into the carb. The needle will be hanging out of the bottom of the carb where the tube goes. Because you have the carb at an angle the needle will be hanging at an angle, so you need to "thread" the needle into the tube to get it to go back in.Be sure not to over tighten the main jet because you can break it off. Also when you turn the carb, the front boot can turn if it is not tight (this is common on this bike). Be sure to line up the notch on the bottom front intake boot and tighten the front clamp. It is hidden under the crankcase vent hose that runs over the top of the boot. Thanks. Keep updated for any more query. You can rate this solution and show your appreciation.

David Belcher

• 1978 Answers
• Posted on May 10, 2011

SOURCE: I bought a 2005 883

You may want to consider changing the jet to a smaller size that will help adjust the richness. If there were multiple jets in the jet kit the mechanic may have just put in the largest jet instead of one of the middle sizes provided in the kit. Remember it is always better to have a RICH mixture as compared to a LEAN mixture. To stop or cut back on the backfiring replace the exhaust gaskets where the pipes go into the head. When the head exhaust o-rings/gaskets leak air into the exhaust that usually is the cause of the popping or backfiring. If your cycle uses crush o-rings consider matching up your old crush washer to a Honda copper crush washer. When I worked behind the parts counter at a Honda dealership I sold quite a few 1971 CB450 exhaust o-ring style copper crush washers to Harley owners with similar backfiring issues.