I didn't listen and now it wont run right. :) UPDATED!!!

[4g63mightymax]

As of yesterday, my hawk was running better than it ever has, (that doesn't mean much, because it was still far slower than my friend's hawk).
Anywho...I decide to treat my bike to a uni-pod air filter setup. Today I installed the pods and the crankcase breather, and as you can guess, it no longer runs well. The smart thing to do would be to buy the jet kit (I know). Unfortunately I don't have the money at the moment. So.....after spending about 3 hours messing with the carbs, does anybody have any magical ways of making pods work with stock jets and a hollowed out factory exhaust? I am confident that the carbs are synched properly, and I adjusted the carbs by the book. From 3500 rpm+ it accelerates amazing, but from 1200-3500 it bogs down badly. Any ideas? Thoughts? Opinions?
Thank you much!
-Jeremy

[drinmotoracer]

Hey Jeremy,
I was actually looking into this myself. Assuming you already did a forum search for old threads ... I don't think there is an easy answer to your problem. Not installing a jet kit w/ increased air flow means you leaned the bike out. If you were tinkering around with the carbs via "poor man's jetting", with a modified stock exhaust, your guess is probably as good as anyone's in terms of getting the jetting right. I think it might have to be trial and error on this until you get things dialed in right. I had a hell of a time with my old bandit 400 and tinkering around with the carbs, and still never solved a flat spot I had until the day I sold the bike. I ended up losing probably 40 hours of riding b/c I was working on the carbs, trying different settings, then test riding, trying different settings, then test riding... my suggestion is to get a jet kit.
Even though it might cost anywhere from $50 (ebay)-$80 (hordpower.com), I think it will be worth it in the long run and the saves the amount of time you lose riding a bike that doesn't run well (less enjoyment). Hope this helps! Otherwise, I know some of these other guys might offer some carb setting advice.

p.s. check out the factory pro website for some great carb tuning tips... I believe they even tell you what you need to adjust on the carb for different rpm ranges (like your flat spot)

[Doc]

No magic short of making your jets bigger. Sorry.

[Copytech]

Take your old main jets down to your local shop and buy some bigger ones. Most shops will have a variety of jets in stock.

[SkinnE]

+1 on Copytech's advice.

Jets themselves are not very expensive, best get a few jets in a range bigger than yours. You don't have to go nuts, just up to size 152 I'd say. Also, if you haven't read, shimming the needles with a washer under each (M2 I think) should help the low rpm range. Also check the float level and adjust the air mixture screws as per the instructions in a sticky on here. IIRC, the manual instructs you to set the screws as per factory settings, not necessarily ideal.

E

[4g63mightymax]

Well, as of today, I still can't seem to lose the dead spot between idle and 3500 rpm. I am definitely going to consider the bigger jets. Believe it or not, my bike came with some kind of aftermarket (probably bigger) jets in it. I was having similar problems getting it to run right, and ended up buying stock jets, which basically fixed my problem. Now I am going in the opposite direction I wonder where I put those big jets......
I will look around my toolbox and keep you guys posted on my progress. I WILL get the bike to run like it should. I have never lost a fight against an engine, and I assure you the hawk won't be my first!
Thank you for all the good advice so far, feel free to keep it coming!
-Jeremy

[4g63mightymax]

After some searching through my toolbox, I found some jets. I assume that they are not stock, but I really have no idea. This is what I can tell you.
-The short fat ones with the 10mm? hex head say 2.4 on the top of them.
-The tall skinny ones say 42 on them
-Before each number there is a weird symbol that sort of looks like a mis-shapen star.
-This also got me wondering what needles I have in my carbs...hmmm
Does anybody know what the heck these are and if they will give me more fuel?
Thanks in advance!!!!
-Jeremy

[hawkLer]

mightymax,
the one that says 2.4 is just the jet for where the fuel enters the carburetor from the lines. the action of the float opens and closes this, allowing fuel to enter or not as needed in the bowls. when you do go back into your carbs, take off your floats and their needles and unscrew the 2.4's. there is a little filter under there that is crucial. not clean and you won't have any fuel to burn. you should have a regular in-line fuel filter between the tank and carbs so that this little filter isn't resposible for trying to block everything and still let fuel in.
hope this helps...
oh and the other "skinny" ones marked 42 are your pilot/idle/slow jets. the star thing you are describing is the keihin logo if i'm not mistaken.

[4g63mightymax]

After some internet searching I realized the same thing you just told me about the valve seat with the 2.4 on it. So......I can tell you that I replaced those on my bike with new ones, along with the filters underneath. So....I guess the next logical question is what size jets are the two slow jets that I have? is 42 stock? or is that bigger than stock? Could that be my issue? Maybe I should shim my needles a bit?
Gosh, carbs are just so much fun!
Any guess?
-Jeremy

[Hordpower]

The 42's are stock pilot jets. Those will work fine. Your stock needles, however, will not work fine with pod filters, even if you shim them. The taper on Factory and Dynojet needles are quite different than stock, this is so you can get both WOT and part-throttle fueling set correctly. You can try, but...

[PaullyBoy]

Hate to say it but I think its time to just buck up and buy the jet kit from hord. I got a set and installed them myself. It was the first time I tore apart a set of carbs, but with the info from the kit and the info from here I had it right in a day. The kit is worth it, or you can spend alot of time trying to rig something to work.

[4g63mightymax]

Well, I have good news and bad news.

The Good:
I added a washer to each of my stock needles (to my surprise, there was already one there) and the dead spot between 1200-3500 rpm is almost completely gone. It is very smooth acceleration all the way to redline. The uni-pod filters really make the bike sound awesome.

The Bad:
I think I am making about 10 horsepower total, nah, probably less. The smooth acceleration is soooooo gutless, it is almost laughable. So, although my acceleration is very smooth, the bike is the slowest it has been since it was running on 1 cylinder.

Moral of the story: Listen to advice that other people tell you, because even if You think you can make it work, sometimes you just can't.

So Hord.....about those jets......how soon can you ship them out if I order them right now You will see my order shortly.

-Jeremy (the guy that always has to learn the hard way)

[Doc]

and the long way too. Jeesh!

[4g63mightymax]

Well, I ordered the jets. It wasn't easy, but if I can ride my bike safely again with more than 10 horsepower, I think it will be worth it.
It is amazing that all I wanted was a new air filter.... and ugh now my bike is a POS again.
Thanks for everything guys. I will update this when my jets arrive and feel free to continue giving feedback.

-Jeremy

[Doc]