Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original
Jetting!!! Again and again and again!
dennis:
Ok, seems theres a few of us that have the same problem. My kx is jetted very lean and it stilll runs rich. the main is a 160, the pilot is a 45 and the needle is a 89. I'm in arizona and the altitude is about 1300 feet. I bought the bike new in 2003 and it ran really rich then. as far as power goes its great, it walks right past my buddies crf450 and my other buds cr500. power isn't a problem. You guys think maybe Keihn made the needle seat too large or something? I replaced the ignition coil, rewound the stator. I haven't changed the cdi but since the bike starts well and runs strong I don't see the point. I get about 50 miles on a plug, even the hotter 7.
KXcam22:
Dennis,
Check your needle, the N82M is stock. It might be a typo but I don't think the 89 is correct (unless they changed it in later years). Also the 45 pilot sound too lean (possibly to compensate for a rich needle?). Does your bike idle? Asside from that I feel that the stock KX needle has a too small diameter on the straight part. We compensate by running it all the way down (like mine) but that doesn't help the 1/4 throttle area as much as it could. I can't offer a tested solution yet. I plan to test a bunch of leaner needles this spring but am waiting (and waiting) for an LCL/ACL tear to heal (or surgery - should know next week) so can't ride yet to test (heck I can't even kick the bike over). As a start, setting your jetting to the chart is very close. Then tune from there. 50 miles on a plug isn't so good. I get a whole season on an BP8ES. If your jettting is close the 7 should show a white too-lean burn and the 8 might show a dark-brown slightly too-rich burn. Also when the surges show up you are getting close. What oil & ratio do you run? It affects jetting a bit. Hope this helps. Cam.
dennis:
Hello group.
Seems jetting is an ongoing problem with the big kaw. I haven't sorted mine out yet. I'm running a stock bike, fmf pipe, 160 main, 55 pilot, 2nd notch on the needle which is an 82m, the orig. I run rich. the altitude here in casa grande is about 1200 feet. Its getting warm outside so I guess the rich thing will just get worse as the air thins.
I'm thinking of going to a K&N filter, has anyone tried one? None are listed in the Dennis Kirk cat or the Rocky Mountain. Does anyone think the V-Force reed would help any, or a reed spacer?
Could all this be a problem with Keihn carborators. maybe their quality control isn't very good.
Oh by the way, this bike has run rich since I got it brand new in 03. Power wise it spanks my buddies crf450 and my other buddies cr500, power isn't and issue.
Dennis in Arizona
hughes:
I know I get throwing this out there but have checked the float height? A three year old bike could still need alittle adjusting.
gowen:
Dennis, the big KX comes out of the box a disaster. Hughes is right, check the float height. But, the jetting is going to need some attention. What is your altitude? Check the jetting chart, it will give you a starting point. It wasn't close for me, but I am sea level and had a few modifications.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version