1987 883 hugger

So i picked up this sportster two days ago. 87 883 4spd, Before i bought it the previous owner said the bike would "pop" under hard acceleration but if you eased the throttle on it was fine. So i rode it the 60 miles back home, and the popping occurred once. I was cursing at about 55 the bike started popping lost power, played with the throttle then regained power. Didn't do it to me the rest of the way back. Also the bike idles with the choke cable pulled out a little. I figured i need to adjust the idle screw and clean the carb. Is there something i should check when i do so? any other input is appreciated

Sounds to me like the carb needs some going through. If your losing power when opening the throttle fairly wide then the main jet might be clogged...

someone correct me if I'm wrong though

might want to check the rubber diaphragm in the top as well. mine has a slight tear in it, and it would bog down when i gave it juice. it was hard to keep alive at stoplights, but not at first. after time it got worse. i thought it was my jets, but then popped the carb top off and saw the tear.

I had a similar issue to bigdaddy's. The diaphragm was torn on my CV as well. Rebuild and clean the carb if you just bought it. You don't know how long it's gone without a good cleaning.

Check the accelerator pump jet. My 98 883 had a blocked gallery that lead from the bowl to the jet. Caused no end of drama trying to find that!

Yeah i would check the rubber diaphragm... If the diaphragm is torn I wouldnt bother replacing it and just try and find a newer style cv carb with an accelerator pump... those early cv's didn't have an accelerator pump and kind of suck to tune... I picked up a newer style cv at a swap for like $30... best $30 i have spent on my sporty