Stock Sportster Carburetor Jet Sizes

If you’re wondering what the Stock Sportster Carburetor Jet Sizes are, you’ve found the answer! This page will cover the Sportster’s stock jet sizes for both main and pilot jets for the Keihin CV carb, AKA the CV40.

Harley CV Carb History

Introduced in 1988 on Sportster models to replace the Keihin “butterfly” carburetor, the CV also from Keihin introduced a vacuum actuated slide and needle to regulate fuel delivery. As engine loads change the slide moves up or down allowing the suspended needle to meter fuel passing around it from a nozzle (needle jet). This innovative fuel metering system not only handles the air/fuel mixture throughout the mid range, but also provides a constantly changing venturi or throat size, hence the name CV or constant velocity.

The original CV carburetor in 1988 lacked an accelerator pump commonly used on most carburetors. To compensate for the lack of an accelerator pump and to eliminate lean flat spots, the factory produced the N65C needle whose length, diameter, and taper positions were designed to alleviate the off idle hesitation.

In 1989 an accelerator pump was added to the CV carburetor as all other models began to adopt the new carburetor, and the CV carb remained virtually unchanged until retired in 2006.

Stock Sportster Carburetor Jet Sizes

–

Main Jet:

Year	Engine	Jet Size	CA Models
1988	883	170	165
1988	1200	200	180
1989 – 1991	883	175	155
1989 – 1991	1200	175	160
1992 – 1994	883	160	160
1992 – 1994	1200	170	170
1995 – 2004	883	160	170
1995 – 2004	1200	170	185
1998 – 1999	1200S	195	195
2005 – 2006	883	175	180
2005 – 2006	1200	180	185

–

Pilot Jet:

Year	Engine	Jet Size	CA Models
1988	883	35	35
1988	1200	35	35
1989 – 1991	883	45	42
1989 – 1991	1200	45	42
1992 – 1995	883	40	40
1992 – 1995	1200	40	40
1996 – 2006	883	42	42
1996 – 2006	1200	42	42

Interested in more Harley CV Carb Tuning information? Check out some of our other articles!