Okay, I installed the performance kit on my 08 Aero and did not destroy the carb or the bike! She even starts and runs. Here's where I started at:
145 - Main Jet
50 - Pilot Jet
1 shim on the needle
Air/fuel is at about 2.5 turns
Just had her out for a run and the idle sounded SWEET when I fired her up. Was some black smoke out of pipes but that cleared quickly. She got up and going and up to about 1/4 turned seemed fine. things started bogging down much over 1/4 turn up to almost WOT. WOT seemed smooth but she tops out at about 65 MPH so something isn't quite right there, either. To make matters worse, I rode for about 8 miles to fill up my tank and as I got to the gas station, she stalled and from then on would not run without at least a little throttle turn.
So based on the little I know, I THINK she's running rich. I'm doing my best to use TJ's tune-up guide to deal with that. So if she is running rich, which way do I go with the jets, air/fuel and shims? Also, any ideas why idle seemed fine when I started but she wouldn't run at idle after a few miles? Thanks for any and all input.
Okay, seems like something slipped on my idle adjustment (no, I didn't play with it while going down the road) as I just put my RPM indicator on and it took a few twists to get it back up to around 1200, which was were I had it earlier. Anyone come across this before? Extra vibes from performance kit causing it to slip maybe? Time for a new one?
Again, appreciative of any insight/advice anyone can give to get me headed in right direction.
@TJ Thanks! I've been using the similar breakout that's in the guide but still struggling with determining whether I'm rich or lean. To be honest, a lot of the symptoms seem the same or at least pretty close between the two. I think I figured it out, though, so I'm hoping you can help. I went from about 2.5 turns on my fuel/air mixture to 4 and she's not great but running noticeably better. So I'm lean, right? If so, should I add the second shim to my needle before I start increasing my jet size or do I leave the jet at one shim and just work the jets for now?
@Rick Orris Get a box of spark plugs and read them as the old timers did when tuning anything from bikes to big block v8s, the color is not gonna be ambiguous
@Rick Orris the diagram will tell you what you need to adjust. needle doesnt come into play till after 1/4 throttle but is most necessary during half throttle
Okay, so here's where I'm at (more than a little confused).... I was definitely rich earlier as my plugs were black (was due new ones anyway so I changed them out).
Good news... I have my idle running pretty smoothly now. After she warms up, she runs fairly smooth and hiccup-free. I apply the throttle and when I release she settle back quickly to idle without any problems.
Bad news.... I have her about as lean as I possibly can, including having the smallest pilot jet on and the fuel mixture actually closed. If I have it open at all then I run rich with black smoke coming out my exhaust and idle goes to crap. I close it and she actually seems happy.
So any idea of what's going on and why I'm running pretty rich when I should be very lean? Hoping that someone with more experience than I have has come across this and knows exactly what the problem is. I'm just not seeing it.
Thanks for any help.
Choke is closed but what are chances it's hosed and letting gas in anyway? How do I tell?
Inspected choke and everything looks good there. Reconnected everything, closed fuel mixture screw and she's puffing a trace of black smoke when I fire her up. Gets worse when I open the screw a little. Seems completely bass-ackwards.
I'm curious if it's a float issue. So I noticed that the new float needle is muuuuch heavier than the oem. Would this possible cause more fuel to fill the float bowl? Leading to a richer mixture? Not 100% but a shot in the dark since I may be having a similar issue with my rebuild kit.
How do bumblebees fly when aerodynamically they shouldn't be able to? How are birds able to migrate each year and find themselves where they need to be at both ends of the trip? Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways? I don't know the answer to any of those questions nor do I understand how my bike is running at all, let around running near perfectly with the fuel mixture screw closed? Frankly, I don't care. All I know is that I just took her out for a nice little trip and she idles smoothly, runs through the entire throttle like butter and returns to idle like a champ. So how or why she's able to do that, I'm done looking. I'm just going to enjoy the roar and the power that the kit's providing and do fun shit!
@James Everette Could be but my understanding is that the needle doesn't come into play until after about 1/4 turn and I'm rich at idle without the screw closed. Someone smarter at this than I am would have to confirm that, though
