I've been using the starting point of 1.5 turns out as a beginning.  I believe I've found the middle of the two 'highs' but I have a question.

As the bike warms and the engine gets hot, the idle creeps up.  When cold, I have to turn the idle up (so it's not loping) and later during the ride I find I need to turn it down as it's idling too high.  Is this a symptom of too lean or rich?
Also between shifts, when rolling off the throttle, the revs are very slow to drop.  Is this related?  Or could that be something else?  No backfires, runs well otherwise.

Idle mixture is best set with a hot engine
Idle is best set with a hot engine , kinda high is best 1400-1500 rpm
If its loping oil pressure is too low , bad for cam
Anything else is jetting or bad petcock or plugged filter(s)

Ok thanks for the replies...

I still can't get the revs to drop reasonably after throttle roll-off.  They fall very slowly between shifts, I have to just let the clutch out to slow the engine.  And I can't get the idle to stop creeping up.  It happens whenever I stop at a light after having ridden for a while.

Throttle cable is not sticking, the carb has been taken apart and cleaned, no sticking butterfly plate, 155 main, 47.5 pilot, I'm basically at sea level (500-1000ft).

Any other ideas?  Perhaps I will look at getting a mini tach to help me out here.

I'm not going to try to give a full diagnosis here as many factors can be at play, but one thing I learned to better understand while working on my Ninja 250 is what is called a 'lean surge'.  It seems contradictory that less fuel would cause a surge, but read up a little on it.

My point being that a 'surge' or simply a delay of the bike to go from 'speed' to 'idle' quickly and smoothly can sometimes be caused by a lean condition in one of the circuits or the idle mix.  I tinkered with this on my Ninja and sure enough as I backed out the idle air/mix and kept blipping the throttle, I eventually turned it out and and enriched the mixture to the sweet spot where it didn't hang and the response was near perfect.

But...as you have, make sure that everything on/in your carb is clean, not clogged, and not sticking before you start chasing the carburetor gremlins.

This is the guide per the Ninja forum, just as a reference. SOme of our senior members may say this is or is not similar on the Savage so take it with a grain of salt...
If the throttle hangs - The idle circuit is still too lean. Loosen the screw down a little more

If the throttle drops below idle and takes a moment to return - The idle circuit is too rich. Tighten the screw a little bit.

verslagen1 wrote on 08/03/20 at 11:51:25:


Are you insinuating that there is ANOTHER petcock option besides stock?  Never heard of such blasphemy!

"Stock Petcock's Matter"

I have to just let the clutch out to slow the engine.

You should be doing that anyway, it's called engine braking, FFIW I rarely use the brakes unless I have to, mostly I use engine braking. I keep an eye out if there are any cars behind me because they won't see any brake lights. I'll often cruise to a stop light and come to almost a complete standstill without using the brakes.

When cold, you should need to run the choke in the halfway position for a few miles to warm it up.  Don't mess with your idle to do this and don't let the bike sit there and warm up.  Ride it.  That is the best way to warm up an engine.

A 155 main jet is a little rich for most conditions (IMO) but shouldn't cause any major issues.  

Tocsik wrote on 08/03/20 at 11:33:20:
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This.  Start with this.

If you or anyone else took the needle out to do the white spacer mod and didn't put the retainer plate in correctly it could be part of the problem.  There are two small holes in the plate that need to line up with the holes in the slide.  If they don't your throttle will respond very sluggish.  Also make sure the return spring and diaphragm are properly seated when you put it back together.

You mentioned that you have some "graphite" rubbing off.  If your slide is worn, you should consider replacing it.  Mine was sticking and I messed around with jetting for a few weeks like a dumbass.  When it got a little worse, I couldn't go more than 20 mph so I replaced the slide.  It was the best $125 I spent on the bike since I've owned it.

If all of that checks out, then start looking at the possible lean surge.