Finally got My bike running... Mostly. Story to date:
First: Bike ran for crap since the day I got it, late April it developed an issue where it would after(or back, don't know for sure)fire FREAKING LOUD and die. Eventually left Me stranded on the side of the road awaiting a tow. Couldn't get to repairs quickly due to it raining nearly every day and other life-related fun.
What I did to it, round 1:
- New Raptor 660 petcock. Mounted perfect, no leaks. Capped off the vacuum line.
- Teardown and cleaning of carb. Carb was removed from bike, rubber bits removed, hosed with carb cleaner, reassembled.
- White spacer on needle removed and replaced with two #4 machine washers. Reassembled correctly, metal plate aligned with holes, dimple down, didn't forget any springs, clips, spacers or anything. Diaphragm, spring, and lid back on straight.
- Pilot jet left at stock 52.5, Main jet up'd to 150, pilot air jets at stock 67.5 #1, 230(2mm) #2.
- Fuel screw: Lost the original, replaced with one from a rebuild kit. Screw head appears longer, screw head is closer to the opening of the shaft it screws in to. Don't think the needle section that enters the carb and meters the fuel/air mix is any different.
- Tuning: Followed posted methods for tuning as best I could, there's conflicting methods.
Result round 1:
Bike ran like a raped ape, MY GOD THE POWER. No more dead spot in throttle just after You open it, smooth as silk, 0-to-25 range is actually ridable, not a bucking shuddering joke. Engine has wider range between gears, not as narrow and picky.
But it was rich as hell. Stank of burnt fuel, even though I only had the mixture screw out half a turn, any more than that rpm didn't seem to rise much audibly, but it reeked of gas. Could just about close the screw to 1/4 turn out before the engine started to choke. Not a single pop or afterfire except for one moderately loud pop decelerating gently (rolling off the throttle slowly) from 60 to 50.
Didn't want to run it rich to the point of stinking, as much as I loved the RAW FREAKING POWER, so I decided to rejet...
- Went down on the pilot jet, from stock 52.5 to 50.
Result round 2:
Bike is slightly tamer power wise, but still runs better than it used to. But now it pops loud when decelerating from 50 to 40, or from 40 to 30. It never used to do that in either it's crappy original state, or in the above 52.5 jetting. Mixture screw simply isn't giving the symphony of tones You guys state it should; Engine chokes at about 1/4 out, fastest audible idle is at only about 1 full turn out, maybe a bit more.
I've been out on a few test rides, and have tried the screw at 1, 1.5, and currently 2 full turns out, still get LOUD pop during decel in the 50-to-30 range.
To rule out vacuum leak, I'll re-snug bolts on the carb and hoses, was thinking of doing the old wd40 trick for a leak test.
I just want this pile of crap to run. The amount of trouble it seems to cause Me, along with how poorly designed it is, has convinced Me to get it in running shape (somehow), use it for the rest of the season, and sell the turd next year for something that wasn't engineered by screwheads.
But until that glorious day, You lot have any tips for getting it to run without doing shotgun impressions whenever I roll off the throttle in traffic? Being forced to clutch in and ride the brakes for a simple 5/10 mph speed adjustment and miss out on engine braking is silly.