How do I tell what stage jet kit it is?

[dagus]

Just opened up one side of my carbs and took out the needle to see what jet kit I've got. Well, first off, it's not stock, because it does not look like this (thanks Kip, I'm hijacking your photo here):


I know mine is a factory kit, because it has the three ridges at the end (who posted that photo of different needles recently? I can't find it). But the question is, what stage factory kit? I need a stage 3.

How do I know? There is absolutely NOTHING stamped on the needle, it's all smooth, no numbers or anything.

H O R D? Anybody?

[bill-ns]

pretty sure that my factory stage 3 needles have 4 ridges on them. Also, you won't find any numbers on them... those are on the jets... have to digg deeper into the float bowls, and look for brass to see the numbers.

Bill
edit... just had a thought... it's possible that the needle did have 4 ridges... someone may have clipped one off so that it fit with the retainer... depends on what clip position you use. I cut the plastic nub under the little spring on the retainer, instead of cutting off the top ridge on the needle.

[kip]

man those stock needles look familiar .

So I in turn will rip off JR's pic with some various needles, Thx JR.

[Doc]

Yep, Doug, ya gotta look at your jets...

WAY to go, ripping into the carbs!

[dagus]

Thanks Doc!

Okay, they were definitely FactoryPro needles... I must've counted wrong in my mind, maybe it was three ridges after the little wire clip?

Question numbah one... I just kinda threw the needle back in there the way I found it. Isn't the whole "quarter turn, yadda yadda" thing all about the needles? I didn't see anything I could've adjusted... but was there more to it than that?

Question numbah two... okay, so I saw brass. It opened and closed when I worked the throttle (that was cool ). Were the #'s of the jets printed on there?

[DefTrap]

Thanks Doc!

Okay, they were definitely FactoryPro needles... I must've counted wrong in my mind, maybe it was three ridges after the little wire clip?

Question numbah one... I just kinda threw the needle back in there the way I found it. Isn't the whole "quarter turn, yadda yadda" thing all about the needles? I didn't see anything I could've adjusted... but was there more to it than that?

Question numbah two... okay, so I saw brass. It opened and closed when I worked the throttle (that was cool ). Were the #'s of the jets printed on there?

Hold on there Doug.

Both Factory1 and Factory3 needles have adjustment notches. The difference is in the profile. I don't think you'd be able to tell which was which unless you put both side-by-side. Looking at the jets may give you an idea as to which needles are in there. F3 ones will tend to be jetted higher, I guess.

Q1: The only thing you can adjust there is the needle height. The quarter turn bit is the fuel/air adjustment (a slotted screw on the side of the carbs - look in the manual for pics).

Q2: you're probably looking at the butterfly valves there. Nothing to adjust here. The jet #s will be printed on the jets themselves - you need to take the float bowls off. The manual has half-decent pictures, well worth a read.

[bill-ns]

the "quarter turn" in regards to needles only applies to the plastic retainer.
You can't mess that up!
Bill

[dagus]

OK, how do I get into the float bowls? :P

For that matter, how do i get the throttle cables off? Manual just says "remove," but not "how."

[brewsy]

Well I've got this for you Doug..

Assembly is the reverse of Disassembly....

To get the throttle cables off its a case of slackening off all the adjuster's by the carb bodies, unscrewing the plastic case on the handlebar and unhooking them from in there.
Then there should be enough slack to get them of the carb ends.

Fiddly but once youve done it once it becomes easy..

[bill-ns]

for the throttle cables, I found it much easier to just unscrew the two phillips screws holding the cables to the carb bodies. That way I didn't have to readjust anything.

Bill

[dagus]

Now I just need to know what float bowls look like...

[kip]

Chapter 4 in the manual has some pretty decent pics and instructions on this. The carb bowls are on the bottom of the carbs as they sit on the bike. Here is a pic from the manual. The manual calls them "float chambers"



just 4 screws for each one and they come off. Some gas will be in there . There is a rubber gasket that goes around the bowl. Depending on how old it is you may need to get new ones. JD has em. Here is a pic with the carbs and the bowls off. The top ellipse are the jets. the bottom is the bowl itself. When you first pull the bowl off the floats will be in there too. Manual explains how to get them out and all.

HTH

[Doc]

I hope he can figure this out now.

You go boy!!

[bill-ns]

x2 on the float bowl gaskets... sucks to get it all back together again, only to have it leak! Get two kits. The kit comes with a couple smaller o-rings, that you may or may not want to use... involves digging in a bit more. However, it's a good idea to replace the tiny plastic filters... they're located behind the brass fitting at the top of the bowl (the one that isn't circled).

When you do put the diaphrams back in, the manual says to hold them all the way in. I found it a bit easier to hold them all the way in, then release them just a bit. You'll know when they sort of suction to their sealing surface. You just want to be careful not to pinch the diaphrams with the cover plate.

Bill

[dagus]

I'm a very visual learner... so thanks for the illustrations!!!