This Sportster Has Me Beat

More aggravation than I can stand right now is my Sportster. Put on new carburetor and made initial settings adjustments over and over. Broke throttle cable and had to get a new one. Got home and had to cut off this little brass do-dad off before cable would fit through hole in throttle lever on new carburetor. When cutting the do-dad off somehow I frayed part of the cable at the end so it would not go through minuscule hole on carb. Thusley the cable began to unravel and a little solder on the end to stop it made it again to big to go through hole. I wanted to make sure I had this end on before attaching other end to handlebar throttle control. Big mistake, as the screw fitting was smaller than the screw hole on throttle grip housing. So I figure I'll have to use the old cable housing and elbow now, no biggie.

Take it all apart to begin again. So I have to put the old grip end elbow on the new cable sleeve. Another snag, to get the new wire cable out of the new sleeve, out of elbow and into old elbow and back in new sleeve I have to do what? Yep, get the solder off so it will slide through cable sleeve. Got that done but when trying to put it back in sleeve after going through old elbow it unravels and catches and won't go through carb end of cable sleeve. Getting just a little hacked off at this time. Can't exchange it because I'd already cut the little do-dad off. Twenty five down the drain. But wait, I get an idea to get some bicycle cable. Stop in this itty bitty bicycle shop and the old guy sells me a cable, with no sleeve, with different size cable balls on each end. Get home and do some filing to get the ball end I want to fit in throttle grip. Good, that fits well enough now to other end. Snap off that ball end nice and clean and try to put it in sleeve. To big! Not giving up yet I unwrap one wire strand part way and derned if it fits. Finish unwrapping the one strand and slide cable through elbow and sleeve all the way through. Shoot that worked out alright. My carb cable homemade bracket seems to work to.

Made all the settings to the book on the new carburetor. Nothing, won't start. Got gas? Yep; Got spark? Yep nice and blue; Timing? Points? Yep and yep. Maybe the gas is losing it's oomph, drain it all out and put in brand new fresh. Spits and sputters now and then but still won't start. Battery drained so hook it up to twelve volt truck battery. Engine turns and turns but nothing, not a thing. Go back and reset carburetor settings yet again, try again, nothing not one thing. Shoot in some ether, pops a couple times then still won't even try to start.

Alright class, I am one good and pissed off mother%^&*$# right now. Such is my life this weekend. I won't bore you with the other smelly garbage.