ThunderJet Tuning II : What have I gotten myself into?

[Wolfman Dan]

So I will admit. I am a novice. I've just bought my first bike just four months ago, and I've been rebuilding some of the worn out parts. I bought a 1973 HD ElectraGlide FLH with a 1200ci engine. The bike has an S&S Super "B" carburetor with a single throttle cable. I read that this was not very safe and decided to upgrade to a dual throttle cable system and put on an S&S super "E" carb. And after spending weeks drooling over parts, I finally decided on getting one already modified with the ThunderJet Modification. I guess I didn't really understand what I was getting myself into. After receiving the parts, and reading the instructions for tuning, I realized that this modification is far more difficult to setup. I really have no interest in racing this old hog, and probably should not have gone with this mod. I could send it back and get an unmodified carb, but before I do I wanted to ask for others' (more experienced builders') opinion on it. Is it worth it? What do I gain from it? And am I going to have to take this bike to a professional to put on a Dyno and tune properly? Or can it be done without the trip to the dyno? Also my bike has a Kuryakyn super charger air intake. Are there any issues with this type of air cleaner?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[pknowles]

I thought they changed to the 2 Cables in 70. Anyway one of the Harley guys will show up shortly. In the mean time, did you try the HD forum. You might get a quicker response.

 

[Rottweiler]

I do not know much about the ThunderJet Mod. The S&S Super E is a racing carb right from S&S. I have one on my 1985 1340 EVO works great. Not sure if you have stock cams, if so a stock Super E carb is plenty enough carb.

 

[Wolfman Dan]

I thought they changed to the 2 Cables in 70. Anyway one of the Harley guys will show up shortly. In the mean time, did you try the HD forum. You might get a quicker response.

Yeah I realize this forum is for BIg Dog Cycles. But there was already a thread about someone having issues tuning on in 2008-2009. There is a lot of good info on that one. I was hoping that guy is still active on here so I could ask him a few questions, but it doesn't look like he is. Was hoping someone else might have tried this mod. Does it really matter if the carb is on a Big Dog Cycle or a HD? I imagine that the experiences with tuning will be similar.

Oh and 1980 is when the govt mandated that all bikes use two cable system.

 

[Rottweiler]

Here is some info.

 

[Slick117]

I thought they changed to the 2 Cables in 70. Anyway one of the Harley guys will show up shortly. In the mean time, did you try the HD forum. You might get a quicker response.

 

[Wolfman Dan]

Thanks for the tuning guide Todd. From what I've read on the original ThunderJet Tuning thread, those instructions can't be followed when tuning a carb with a Thunderjet. I'm thinking maybe I should send this thing back and get an unmodified one. There doesn't seem like there is too much upside to having one if you're not planning on racing it, and the downside is hours and hours of tuning. I was hoping some one on here has one and could tell me if it was worth the extra work involved for just daily riding.