Motorcycle Repair: 2002 indian spirit s&s motor hard starting, indian spirit, smell of gas

Question
QUESTION: i have a 2002 indian that starts and runs fine as long as you run it on a regular basis, but if  i let it set for a couple of weeks it cranks smooth as long as the choke is not pulled but as soon as i pull the choke out it start thumping almost like the starter is going to kick out from flywheels and then it will kick out or stop turning the motor over , i feel that the compression is causing the problem but once it does start after pushing it off it will start back with no problem with the choke pulled or not , i have had to do this everytime i leave it for a few weeks, the noise is as though it has a thrashing in primary as soon as i pull choke all the way or even half way out but i can take it off choke and it will crank smooth as long as the battery will hold up but it will not start until i push it off, i have a very strong battery, and i have kept my petcock off . i first thought it was loading up cylinder with gas until it smoothed out with choke off , if it were loaded up and hydrualicly locking up cylinder i would expect it to do it even with choke off, i have no smell of gas in oil and my plugs are damp with gas and when i change to new plugs it does the same, hope i have given enough info for you to help me , the motor is an 88 cubic inch s&s just as it came on the bike, i am the original owner and the bike only has 1400 miles on it and i am needing some help if you can , thanks joe.


ANSWER: Has it always done this or is this somthing new? A couple of things to try for me. Let it sit like you always do and then try to start it with just the choke about 1/4 to 1/2 open. Doesn it still do it? Remove the air cleaner. Put your hand over the front of the carb, so you have a seal, and then turn it over for a sec. You should see gas in the carb. Now turn it over witht he choke off and then on. Does it still do it?
Mike

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: mike, i went out and checked it and it cranked fine at about 1/4 choke but locked at half and full choke. i pulled air cleaner and choked by hand and it has gas in carb, next i tried with choke off and it cranked fine and with choke on it locked again, but i returned it to 1/4 choke and it fired up , i shut it down and put air cleaner back on and it fired right up again at 1/4 choke and after it warmed up i could shut it off and it starts right up without choke just as before, thanks again if you could give me your ideas on why it does this , joe.

Answer
It sounds like to carb is overloading on gas when you turn the choke on full. The idea of the choke is just to give it a little more fuel when the motor is cold. There is nothing that says you have to turn it on all the way. Just enough to get the bike started and keep it running.
Good luck and happy riding
Mike