I'm thinking about riding my Knucklehead to the March of Dimes charity ride this Sunday in Tarrytown, NY. So I figured I should take the old girl out for a ride this evening just to make sure shes running ok. I had loaned this bike to apl to display in his Harley dealership for over a year, and the only riding I've done with it since then was about 150 miles a month ago. Other than that, she's been sitting looking good but neglected in the garage.
She fired up pretty easy but wouldn't idle properly. I assumed it was the bad gas sold in this area of Connecticut. So I took it out for a ride around town. Clutch sounded terrible and made a sound loud enough to almost make me jump off the saddle. Usually the bike sorts itself out within a few miles after sitting for a month or longer. Not this time.
The brakes (front and rear) didn't work too well - even for a 60 year old Knucklehead, the clutch eventually sorted itself out (I assume there might have been some rust that got knocked off) but it wouldn't idle right. Also I suspected the carb needed adjusting.
So when I got back home and the bike died rather then idle. I adjusted the foot clutch rod and both brakes. Then I pulled out a screwdriver and the owners manual. Working on the carb, I gently seated the slow speed and high speed jets and backed them out as specified in the manual. I kicked it over, and over, and over but the bike wouldn't start. It wasn't long before I started to worry that I'd done something dumb.
I started worrying that I'd screwed up the carb and wouldn't have the bike ready to ride on Sunday (today is Tuesday). But I redid the settings and got it to fire after too many kicks. I adjusted the slow sped jet pretty close and then set the idle screw and reset the slow speed. Idles nice now. Wish me luck as I plan on riding to work tomorrow to make sure iuts running right before the weekend ride.
Knuck Scare 
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