SlabSlider wrote on 02/19/19 at 08:51:47:Thank you for the insight Dave! In the interest of changing one item at a time to determine overall effect, would you recommend going down to a 150 main, adjusting idle mix , and check ride before messing with the pilot jet and washers?
I hope you installed allen head screws in the float bowl...you can change jets more easily when you don't have to remove the carb.
The proper order for making changes to jetting....is get the main jet sorted out first, then the Pilot....then work on the needle setting.
For the main, get the bike in high gear about 35 mph on an open highway, and roll on full throttle and hang on until you get chicken and need to slow down. The bike should pull smoothly and strong. If it feels like the bike sounds smoother and begins to make more power as you roll off the throttle - that is supposed to be an indication the main jet is too big. If the bike feels unsteady/uneven at full throttle - that can be an indication the bike is too lean. It is a bit hard for me to hear/feel the minor changes, so I generally keep adding larger jets until I can hear the bike blubber under full throttle and notice the power loss, then I go down a couple of jets sizes and try again.
Then you select a pilot jet by setting the mixture screw - you want a pilot jet that results in the screw being 2 - 2.5 turns out for the smoothest idle.
Finally you start shimming the needle to allow smooth acceleration at low throttle settings.
When your bike is properly jetted - don't be concerned if the bike has a slow idle speed or uneven running when your first start the bike and the engine is not up to operating temperature...that is a good sign that your jetting is not too rich - it should run a bit erratic with a cold engine. You can leave the enrichment lever on while the bike is warming up and you begin your ride - but don't forget to turn it OFF after a few miles. I start my bike and wait about 30 seconds for the engine to get used to running, then I ride off slowly and never apply full throttle until the engine has a chance to warm up.