How Was My Bike Even Running?! Ironhead Sportster Intake Reseal

[@SaddleTrampTV]

Old bike's never get boring.

[@buttcrackcycles]

👍🏼👍🏼

[@FourIntoOne]

My 84 ironhead needs new intake boots every year without fail. Pretty much set your watch by it! I have to say I have had more success with the type of clamp that is one wide solid clamp rather than a split oem type, or 2 separate clamps. YMMV of course. Appreciate the effort you are putting into the channel 👍

[@buttcrackcycles]

Thank you! I might keep a spare set on the shelf

[@Gordies-World]

What brand of intake boots do you use?

[@earlallen-nk6ql]

I don’t have an iron head, yet. But, I do have a Shovelhead. And what I found that seems to work pretty well is a gas hose for older cars, that is for the gas tank filler neck. The hose can be bought as bulk hose and comes in different IDs. A foot of hose will last for years before you have to buy more.

[@buttcrackcycles]

Interesting, sounds like a decent solution

[@michaelhaddan1965]

As always, love your bikes, your presentation and your expertise. Thanks brotherman. (wondering what kind of chainsaw you were working on too...)

[@buttcrackcycles]

Little Jonesred CS2255. A farm I do a bunch of work for gave it to me a few months ago. My other saw is a Husky 455, so same thing. For the money I like them and they get a lot done. Thanks for watching

[@spiral3565]

1:22 Till that moment I was worry that my mate rooster finished up in the Sunday soup 😁👍🏼 Regards 👋🏼🇮🇪

[@buttcrackcycles]

Haha, nope, he's still around. We did have someone bring us 4 more roosters on Friday, they ended up in the freezer 😅

[@johnsb1550]

Harley intakes have always been a thorn in my side. I have an 02 WideGlide with HTCC heads and intake. Lining up those D-shaped ports and the intake plate to the head breather bolts can be a bitch.

[@buttcrackcycles]

Yeah they can be boogers

[@raybrensike42]

I bought a used '03 Sportster recently and yes it had the all too common intake leaks. I put a few pounds of air into the manifold and then soapy water to verify the leaks. This was after new intake gaskets and after the install, the manifold was sloppy loose and I knew it wouldn't seal. It was crazy loose and floppy. How could it possibly seal? I was right. It didn't seal. So I took some flex seal and a small artist's brush to the joints, several coats, and yes, it looks ugly. What a mess! However, it was quite successful. I believe there is a better product to use, if one decides on using this method of exterior sealing, but I don't know what it is. I'm not sure what flex seal is made of, but it seems like it might be a silicone product. It does seem to stand up to the heat, which is the major thing to look for if you decide to try to seal these manifolds after the fact. Yes, it's ugly, but hey, if it works then it may be for me. After sealing the deceleration popping was completely gone. When I hear decel popping, with mine, I know I have intake leaks. I'm jetted #48, #185, and have the '88 year Sportster needle jet. Maybe I got bad aftermarket intake gaskets, I don't know, but it just didn't work for me. The bike runs cool enough for me. On an 80-degree sunny day, the oil temp will be less than 180 degrees all day. Looking at your style of intake, I don't think sealing after the fact would work so well as on mine, but it might.

[@buttcrackcycles]

Interesting, never heard of that, glad it worked out for you. Yeah the 03 is a different style manifold

[@doncollins786]

I have, and have had, several Iron heads, I have two right now. I have tried everything to seal the intake, what a PITA. I have tried all the different clamps, including wide rubber boots topped with electrical tape, and ever loosening the cylinders, and re-clocking the cylinders for better alignment. I recently finished a crank-out Resto mod on my 77 XLCR Cafe Racer, and I would love to put some miles on it. I get about 20-30 miles on it, and the damn intake is leaking again. I have lots of older guys with lots of Ironhead experience and they tell me, "you just have to hold your mouth right when you install the intake, and keep fingers crossed" Edit, I am a retired Aircraft mechanic with 40 years of fixed wing and helicopter experience. I really tweaks me to not be able to make my Ironhead run properly!

[@buttcrackcycles]

I'll report back on this, so far so good, I rode it a few times this week. Like you, I don't like stuff to leak or be wrong!

[@stephengibbs4372]

I had a 85 iron head in the 90’s and had the same problem, I ended up using hydrolic hose with nylon fibre moulded through it and went slightly longer and used the full wrap round clamps then reassembled it then tweaked the support bracket to match where everything wanted to sit rather than tweaking the carb to match the bracket. Worked well.

[@PaulSouthey-z4d]

You have described perfectly the issue I have with a 74 iron-head. Runs great until I open the throttle wide then it stumbles. Intake seal time thanks Paul. Paul NZ.

[@buttcrackcycles]

@@PaulSouthey-z4d hope that fixes it! I bet it will

[@BachelorHarley]

I love shovelheads and ironheads but evos are funnier. The evo era was Harleys golden era. You can keep the expensive knuckleheads and panheads (unobtainium heads) the evo era had the coolest bikes… the Bad Boy, Daytona, moo-glide, FXR2, Heritage Springer, Sturgis, Grey Ghost, Liberty Editions, 95th Anniversary Editions, FXRDG, FXRD, Candy Glide, Night Train, Springer, Road King etc.

[@jd9308]

It ain't a, Ironhead, if you ain't wrenching on it for something. They can be perplexing at times, but I see fewer and fewer of them out and about. I'm glad you have the knowledge and passion for those old bikes. I hate to see so many things that were a part of my youth that are now gone and forgotten. Glad you got the iron back in good running order and going down the road cause she is a beautiful bike! Keep wrenching and riding and showing folks like me how to fix it the right way!

[@buttcrackcycles]

Thank you, really appreciate that comment. Yeah I love these old bikes, one day I hope my kid will be riding it and wrenching on it

[@scottdebbold9700]

I wonder if the ethanol in the fuel today had something to do with the boots going bad ?

[@buttcrackcycles]

Maybe? I don't really know

[@thomasobrien5976]

Great stuff as usual..I did notice you one touched your indicators do you have a indicator controller on there? If so which one I am looking to fitting one on my shovel

[@buttcrackcycles]

Yes they're self cancelling, I can't remember which model, I didn't put it on this bike. I'll check tomorrow when I'm in the shop

[@jerrybigrig]

😎👍😎

[@buttcrackcycles]

🤘🏼

[@benderbender1233]

✌

[@vernleroyson331]

Use cosmetic intake rubber ser, they are cheaper and last longer. J&P cycles.

[@vernleroyson331]

*cometic, F ing auto correct.

[@buttcrackcycles]

Haha the auto correct gets me too sometimes

[@theoneracer2716]

Never use silicone sealant on lntake system components...adjust mounting system of carb supports to elimante any pulling/torqueing on carb to manifold

[@simonellerton1412]

Heat and oil will destroy the rubber plus vibration ' try and find someone to experiment with making Nolathane . With the evo's line up everything before tightening i also use a tiny smear of rubber grease so not to tear a hole in the new rubbers ...

[@buttcrackcycles]

Yeah I usually do a dab of grease on em too!

[@simonellerton1412]

@@buttcrackcycles make sure it is the blue rubber grease ' normal Petroleum based will start eating the rubber the day it's applied 😉 i hope you get back to having a ride soon ' it sux having both bikes off the road ...

[@gabrielschultz89]

I've got a question. I have a 94 softail custom and I've noticed a "glup de glup" sound coming from maybe the pipes or the oil bag? I'm honestly not sure because the pipes are really loud. The best way I can explain it is that it sounds like bubbles. I can post a video but you've to to really pay attention to hear it. Have you ever heard of anything like that before?

[@davids.4135]

Do you have a support for your carburetor? Maybe it's bouncing too much.

[@buttcrackcycles]

It has one, yes, like you say the bounce kills em

[@theoneracer2716]

Hope you dont get base gsk leaks from adjusting intake manifold?

[@buttcrackcycles]

I didn't turn these, so should be good!

[@unbrkbl2473]

So I'm 6 months into owning my 1st ironhead and I'm learning lessons by the minute here. Is there a way to dial an ironhead? When i fix something, something else breaks. I only been on rides around the house because it's so unreliable...

[@buttcrackcycles]

Mine is pretty good, eventually they get to a point where you've knocked out the big issues and you can start putting some miles on it. You'll always have to work on em though!

[@benderbender1233]

keep @ it & u will getter! ir0nheads rule!! 🤘😎🤘

[@Robosan4000]

Do you run regular pump gas or seek out ethanol free? Ethanol free is hard to find where I live. Do you put in any stabilizer during the winter months?

[@buttcrackcycles]

Just regular pump fuel. There's ethanol free here but only near the lake for boats. I don't put any fuel stabilizer on over the winter, but I may also run a few tanks through a bike in the winter, we have fairly mild winters here.

[@doncollins786]

Test ride sounds good! Congrats. What will break now? haha

[@buttcrackcycles]

Hahaha, that's always the question isn't it?!

[@zachwitters3293]

Sometimes flipping the manifold over it lines up differently. Ill line it up to whichever side looks best and mark "top". My 1972 fit better on ine side

[@buttcrackcycles]

That's a good idea

[@arlinhackman5387]

This might be off the topic a little bit what is it as a question about carburetor. Stock EVO motor it idols real good one time. Then I come to another stop light and it will be idling high. It goes from idling good to idling high all through the ride. Other than that the bike is running great. Just curious on anybody's thoughts what could cause this. Thank you for all the time you put into these videos. It makes me feel like getting my old sporty running again, but I am 62 years old now and it is a 1967 Kick only. My knee hurts thinking about it. Got this bike when I was 17 years old and it was all chopped out now it is all original.

[@buttcrackcycles]

@@arlinhackman5387 I would check one of three things: intake boots just like in this video, fuel flow ie it could be starving for fuel intermittently (often they'll rev up when lean) and throttle cable pull. By which I mean make sure your throttle isn't getting pulled slightly open by a sticky cable or turning the bars. Good luck!

[@arlinhackman5387]

@@buttcrackcycles thank you for the speedy reply I noticed the throttle cable is a little loose I didn't think that would cause that but I will definitely check it out and read my manual and do proper adjustment on the cable thank you for everything you do.

[@benderbender1233]

0-ring style r far superi0r im0. 🤘😎🤘

[@jaynedoe1959]

So, lemme give ya a "prafessionel, tecknickel, eksplinashun" In the bizniss of watt we call wrench spinnin' we have what works, until later & it doesn`t, & we call that; BROKE! (HaHa) & one thing sure, if it`s an old Harley, if it ain' broke, IT WILL BE! So, I went to the beach, got off my bike & later when I`m walking up to my bike from behind I notice my tail light is hanging on, barely, by one screw. On closer examination I see that both screws are in the tail light, but that the mounting base has actually broken where the screw attaches the tail light cover to the base. I taped it together temporarily & intend to repair it with cotton & crazy glue (don`t laugh, it works...some Asian Boy showed me on KZbin, okay, laugh now) But I haven`t fixed it, because before I could, my speedo cable broke, yet again & my stator crapped out too. If it was a horse (or your rooster) I`d shoot it at this point, but if I keep waking up every day, eventually I`ll fix it. Hopefully before the next thing breaks! Ironhead Sally took a pretty bad spill & is laid up in a wheelchair after being in hospital for like a month. Pass it on!

[@buttcrackcycles]

You'll get it. Yeah I saw that she went down, never good