EFI Sportster 48 to Carb Conversion Pros and Cons?

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  • Danoh
    Member
    • Jan 2011
    • 30

    #31
    Originally posted by Trippster48
    Get a set of stock headers, grab some prebent tubing (biltwell/speedway) and tac some crazy shit together

    By the way, what was your method of plugging the sensor on the intake?
    I dont remember what size I tapped it out to, but I just used a tap and die kit and used a plug bolt.

    Comment

    • Trippster48
      Member
      • Dec 2012
      • 84

      #32
      Originally posted by Danoh
      I dont remember what size I tapped it out to, but I just used a tap and die kit and used a plug bolt.
      That works too, I figured Play-doh would be a good option but yeah, I guess I could try that haha.

      Comment

      • daroberts3
        Senior Member
        • Dec 2012
        • 1621

        #33
        That Thunder Heart Ignition states that is for TC88, not XL's. Have you done any research to see if it will work? Does your flywheel have the same teeth as a TC88?
        I know for a fact that the Carbureted TC88. and XL ICM style ignitions are interchangeable.
        I just installed a Daytona Twin Tec ignition on an '04 XL, the instructions state that it will work for TC88 as well.
        Are you removing the EFI because it runs poorly?

        Comment

        • Danoh
          Member
          • Jan 2011
          • 30

          #34
          Originally posted by daroberts3
          That Thunder Heart Ignition states that is for TC88, not XL's. Have you done any research to see if it will work? Does your flywheel have the same teeth as a TC88?
          I know for a fact that the Carbureted TC88. and XL ICM style ignitions are interchangeable.
          I just installed a Daytona Twin Tec ignition on an '04 XL, the instructions state that it will work for TC88 as well.
          Are you removing the EFI because it runs poorly?
          The Thunderheart works just fine. The EFI was nice and I simplified the wiring harness as much as I could to where it would still run, but just got tired of all the wiring. I got a hell of a deal on the thunderheart throught work...

          Comment

          • Trippster48
            Member
            • Dec 2012
            • 84

            #35
            Originally posted by Danoh
            The Thunderheart works just fine. The EFI was nice and I simplified the wiring harness as much as I could to where it would still run, but just got tired of all the wiring. I got a hell of a deal on the thunderheart throught work...
            For me, It seems that the cheaper route is to return my bike to stock and sell it, and return to a 93-03 Sportster for a build. Im gunna hope to get about 6500 for the 48 and I got 1k off my cafe so I should be sitting nice for a project here in about a month (hopefully)

            EFI is flipping great but it just comes down to the idea of a motorcycle for me. My definition requires just a motor, two wheels, something to steer, and a place to sit. I don't like the idea of a brain running my bike, Id rather have a beating heart running the thing. haha
            Last edited by Trippster48; 02-18-2013, 11:29 AM.

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            • MIKEOD
              Junior Member
              • Mar 2012
              • 10

              #36
              I agree sell it and get a 03 and down sporty. I have a 07 sportster converted to carb if I could go back in time that's what I would have done.

              Comment

              • farmall
                Senior Member
                • Apr 2013
                • 9976

                #37
                A motorcycle is a pile of money. One way to modify them is to turn the money into something else.

                6500 for the 48 and I got 1k off my cafe
                Bang. Instant Big Twin cash with money to spare, or a Sporty with more money to spare.

                Comment

                • treebeard
                  Junior Member
                  • Jan 2015
                  • 12

                  #38
                  i know this is an old thread but have been looking into doing this to my 2010 48 lately. was wondering what manifold I will need to run with the conversion? I am thinking of running either a super e or an hsr 42. are there carb manifolds available for the efi sportsters or are there any previous years I could scrap one off?

                  Comment

                  • farmall
                    Senior Member
                    • Apr 2013
                    • 9976

                    #39
                    Search function and/or Google takes only seconds:

                    alot of people interested in doing this and a few months ago i was one of them. after you get to a certain point on an efi, no matter what you do you still have a ton of wires etc that are just ugly. no way around it. i had my harness as bare as it gets and was just not happy with it. There is the option of the s&s carb kit

                    Comment

                    • Eastcoastfabworks
                      Junior Member
                      • Apr 2016
                      • 10

                      #40
                      My personal opinion I wouldnt switch it im in the middle of finishing up a hardtail 2010 nightster and there is alot of wiring but I have made a cool box to put all the electronics in. You.can also split the harness that runs down the front and run half of it.up under the front of the bike to clean it up. [IMG][/IMG]

                      Comment

                      • Eastcoastfabworks
                        Junior Member
                        • Apr 2016
                        • 10

                        #41
                        Here is the box. My shop is east coast fabworks look it up on instagram!![IMG][/IMG]

                        Comment

                        • woz
                          Senior Member
                          • Mar 2012
                          • 241

                          #42
                          Originally posted by treebeard
                          i know this is an old thread but have been looking into doing this to my 2010 48 lately. was wondering what manifold I will need to run with the conversion? I am thinking of running either a super e or an hsr 42. are there carb manifolds available for the efi sportsters or are there any previous years I could scrap one off?
                          using the 04-06 manifolds is doable but they don't fit perfect, hammer performance makes a manifold that does fit perfect.

                          I will say I noticed ZERO performance loss when i ditched the efi and went to a CV with a CV performance kit in it, and for me it made me feel way more comfortable on long trips, lots can go wrong on an efi bike that can not be fixed on the side of the road, that list is pretty small with a carb'd bike
                          Last edited by TridentCycleSupply; 07-25-2016, 10:25 AM.

                          Comment

                          • thrash89
                            Member
                            • Apr 2013
                            • 49

                            #43
                            I’m gonna chime in here with some new info. I have a 2010 sporty 48 with an S&S super E. From my research I couldn’t find a carb support bracket that for my year since all the ones I’ve seen only go up to 2006. Gas Box makes one for different years so I called them up to see if one of them actually do fit my bike and it turns out that the 1991-2006 bracket WILL fit a sporty 48. So if you need one, they have it. I just found this out today. I’ve been riding with a dangly carb forever! Hasn’t been an issue though but wouldn’t hurt to get one.

                            Comment

                            • farmall
                              Senior Member
                              • Apr 2013
                              • 9976

                              #44
                              Good job appending your experience to this thread because it all helps others!

                              Add a pic when you install your new bracket.

                              Comment

                              • Sugarcubes
                                • Mar 2024

                                #45
                                a long time ago i had a 1200 efi sporty that i was looking to put into a led sled roller. I was in my 20s and knew nothing about bikes. A guy at the local chop shop told me I should "bin all the EFI crap" and go carb. I couldn't understand why as I thought the bike ran fine as it was, I just wanted it to 'look' better. It didn't occur to me that all the wiring and ECU crap etc would have needed to be sorted or hidden which would have been a major headache when trying to put together a good looking chop, i sold the unfinished project and bought a 79 ironhead to fulfill my 'cool old bike' fantasies.

                                Having now owned and rebuilt / rewired a 79 Ironhead and a 95 evo softail, I appreciate the simplicity of a carb motor with a very basic wiring loom. Far easier to troubleshoot when a problem occurs and if you spend the time and money on a good carb, you can fine tune the carb to perform close to EFI. The carb bike will have more "character" and you will have the odd moment where you curse it because of an intake manifold gasket leak or a clogged jet etc. It might be more hesitant to start on occasion but hey, that's all in the fun of modifying bikes.

                                Comment

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