Just did it again. Turned the pilot screw all the way in, and then 1.5 out as a starter point.
Set the idle on high. Then I slowly turned the pilot screw 1/4 at a time, and waited 10 seconds between. I did this till I could turn no more, stopped at 5 total turns (including the 1.5 starter turn) No difference at all, no slowing no speeding. Then I decided to see what going in all the way would do. Did it slow, and 1/2 turn at a time till I hit 1.5 where I started. Then I continued in till I could turn no more (1.5 turns total). The only thing I noticed that when I was all the way turn in, was a slight clanking sound.
So.... ye think my screw is messed up?
I'll let the engine cool down a bit, and take the float bowl of to see what I can see. Maybe needle is clogged.

Done all that!
What's wrong is that my bike idles fine, but won't run without having the choke pulled out. It stutters when I drive without the choke pulled out.

I don't have carb cleaner, can I use brake cleaner?

Demin wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:09:

bought it like that, the previous owner said it always ran cold.
Like it's freezing here in Hawaii!

Is it loud ,or louder than a stock bike?If you can put a pic of it on so I can see it.It sounds like it needs jetted though.Putting choke on makes it run richer.If it is a different muffler it will let more exhaust out.The theory behind this is more air in more air out.So if you raise the out you must raise the in.confused yet?

Howdy Wahine,

AloooooooooooooooooHA!

With the symptoms you have described to this point, especially the LACK of response when you have turned the pilot air adjusting screw from up to 5 turns out to all the way back in to virtual closed, and yet there is no change that you can hear or see, then there is only one thing left to do at this point..........take the little thing apart, every piece, and clean every passageway inside the carb body, making sure every part (especially the jets and needle) are in good condition.  If there is any doubt about any part then replace it.  Get new gaskets and make sure the rubber diaphram is still pliable and there are no holes,cracks or splits in it.  Review the manual and carb diagrams to make sure that you have all the little parts ... something could be missing that is causing this "no response" situation.

Most of the time, with a carb that is not responding, like yours is doing, the problem is clogged passageways.  Usually, taking the carb apart and cleaning it will solve the problem.

The process is not a difficult one, even if you have never done it before.  Take your time, lay out the parts in the order they came out, clean everything and then put it back together.  Then do the tuning process again and this time it should respond properly.

With a little practice, a carb can be dissasembled, cleaned, and put back together in less than an hour.

Thanks Max!
especially for your help with the fork seal change.
I put a pic in the "done but never again post".
I took a pic of the muffler, I think it's an original muffler:



So I don't think that's the problem.
I wasn't in the mood today to empty the tank, take the seat and risers off, then the tank, and then the carb.
So what I did was take the float bowl off just to take a peak inside. I did take the main jet out, but it looks nice and clean.
then i looked at the pilot jet (with a little mirror looking up) and saw that the thread on it (flathead slot) looked pretty shredded. I tried to loosen it but couldn't so I left it as is.
I did stick a tiny wire up in there to see if it was clogged, and sprayed some cleaner in there.
Next thing I did is bent the floats down just a tad (the manual said that if they float higher (and pushing the pin in I guess) that it runs richer. So I thought might as well try it.
The bottom of the float has a bunch of mud looking gunk in it though, so I cleaned it out. I also cleaned the small little hole in that copper pin think that hung down.
After I reassemble it I put the petcork on PRI and opened the drain valve in case some more gunk might come out.
I do think I need to replace a few parts, there were slivers of metal coming out.
The bike started right back up and then died right away.
After a couple of starts it kept running however. I messed a little with the pilot screw again and I did notice just a tad of difference this time. But now what happened is that the screw can only turn 2 turns to the right or two turns to the left to be totally stuck ???
I took it for a spin and it actually didn't die without the choke out, wonder over wonder. It did die at an intersection, I think I had the idle too low.
I messed around a little more and took it for a second spin, and I think it runs better!!
I'll find out tomorrow when I need to go for a longer drive to my class.

You can do it, just take your time and keep things in order.  Be prepared by having a fresh can of carb cleaner and some tiny brushes (I like some of the ones my wife uses for makeup), pipe cleaners, some very thin wire, q-tips and such for getting into the tiny passageways.  Be careful to not damage the parts ... it's not like they are so fragile that they will fall apart, just take care not to force anything too hard or gouge with a screwdriver, etc.
You mentioned the pilot jet looked like it was torn up some.  They can be a bit of a headache sometimes if they have not been out for a long time and/or someone installed it with toooooo much of a heavy handed screwdriver.  So be sure the screwdriver you use fits very well and be FIRM with your removal technique.  I have had to use an "easy-out" a couple of times on a pilot jet ... now that was fun to be sure.

Keep us posted of your progress, and remember that we are all photo freaks, so take some pic's for us poor souls if you think of it.  A good clear closeup pic of parts will be helpful if you need advice regarding parts that may have questionable damage or such.