Why is my air cleaner damp?

[mskitties]

I have searched thru the posts for a similiar problem but can only find ones oil related. My air cleaner is damp and smells of fuel. I know some oil comes out of the breather tubes but where is the fuel coming from? Any ideas?

All stock 2000 883H - 2200 miles - is this normal?

Thanks!!

[Doug]

Vacuum from the intake port at the carb pulls a little raw fuel up into the Aircleaner... Not all that uncommon. Even if you twist the throttle without the engine running, built up pressure will "squirt" a stream of fuel into the port. The unburnt fuel will be absorbed into the aircleaner..

[mskitties]

How do you fix that? Or can you fix it?

[Stefan]

Different carborator will fix it.

[Boba_Fett]

Originally posted by Doug
Even if you twist the throttle without the engine running, built up pressure will "squirt" a stream of fuel into the port. The unburnt fuel will be absorbed into the aircleaner..

That would be the accelerator pump, and that's what it's supposed to do, as you twist the throttle it adds extra fuel to eliminate fuel starvation as more air is let in thru the butterfly.
Fuel being pushed back into the air filter is not normal.

[Ehrgeiz]

Hey,
I have had that same problem with my bike - 2002 883 xl... before the 1200 conversion. Dont have enough miles on the conversion to see if it still does it or not. Hoping that the increased vacuum will help some. I have an S&S Style teardrop air cleaner on my bike, so it blew all over the side of the bike after it filled up the filter... Fire Hazard. At least with the HD "Ham Can" it doesnt spray all over the side of your bike .
I have heard that a thunderslide kit may help, but I havent tried it personally. Also, I have read on Sportster.org that there is a vacuum vent hole you can drill out to a specific size to cause the Slide to react faster. Read a littke in this month's American Iron about that too. The vacuum operated slide sometimes doesnt react fast enough. and the gas doesnt get sucked in, causing gas in the filter... If that makes any sense - its a little late at night/early in the morning for me here...