Hi,

Just found this site. My wife has a 2001 that has always had a slight problem backfiring. Unfortunately now the probelm is severe and the bike runs poorly in general. I guess this is a carb problem? Can I rebuild a carb myself with any chance of success or should I just take it to a shop? I took it to one shop and all they did was turn the idle up.

Also the exhaust near the engine has turned purple/blue. Was told this was a sign of being too lean?

What he said... and the idle mixture screw on the right side of the carb (possibly under a brass cover with a dab of white paint on it).  Come to think of it, it's all explained in the threads on rejetting and the white spacer mod.  Caution: when using this site's search feature, set the number of days to look backward to something greater than the default of 7.  I use 500 most times.  Otherwise the search engine works pretty well.

Thanks for the responses.

What's teh best stuff to dip the carb in, or clean it in general?

Also:
They come from the factory very lean.  Look up the "white spacer mod" in the tech section.  Get a pipe and air.   Rejet.  Ride.

What does 'get a pipe and air' mean?

Also was mentioned that these bikes leak oil from the drain plug, which this one does a little. What's used to correct this?

Thanks,
Derek