Extreme Lean

**GSexpress** · 01-10-2011, 03:13 AM

Originally posted by Ranger

Before anyone says anything you all should know by now that yes I take care of my bike and do everything recommended.

Today I decided before going to dinner I was going to do major work on my bike since I start school soon and will be riding its 140 miles each day 4 days a week. I pulled one of my plugs that I had cross threaded a while back to chase the threads which worked and what did I find...

A plug that looked like the bottom of a charcoal grill... so I pulled the rest and 1 after the other they're way too lean. I have a second set of EMGO pods I put on after my K&N's on the outside were being crushed and I have been running these for about 3 weeks now. I raised the needles with 2 washers (half of the original) and all that crap. Float heights are correct. Seems to run alright, 45 mpg.

Stock mains 122.5, someone here recommended 135's which I put on and it was extremely rich so I paid $25 for them and have no use. Any other ways to richen it so I don't get holes in my pistons? I'm kind of on a time crunch here as well as money being tight.

One thought I had was putting the 135's back in and putting the needle back to the stock setting.

What do you mean by "the bottom of a charcoal grill". I would assume that to mean black. That's not lean that's rich.

Also a plug check is meaningless if it's not done under the right circumestances. You have to get the bike up to opperating temps. Then ride the bike for a mile or 2 at the throttle setting you want to check. Then hit the kill switch and coast to a stop. Then check the color of the plugs. Quarter throttle for low speed circuit, half for midrange, and full throttle for main jets. Obviously it takes a wide open running area and a good place to pull over for the check. Idling invalidates any plug check.

**Ranger** · 01-10-2011, 03:17 AM

I meant bottom of a grill because usually (in my experience) the hottest coals become an ashy white. And yeah when I rode with El Giablo we pulled a plug after a hard ride and it was white then as well. I had rode it around the block within range for the mains to be used yesterday and killed the engine to coast for quite a ways. Given how white they are I doubt there would be much change for short periods of time between different rpms

**GSexpress** · 01-10-2011, 03:31 AM

The idle circuit works through all the rpms time to some extent you could richen the idle screws and rais the needles a little more. You'll probably loose some gas mileage. Also alcohol added fuel will make a plug read lighter than tipical plug charts colors. It also make the fuel burn colder. so you may not actually have a problem.

**tejasmud** · 01-10-2011, 01:48 PM

I know you don't want to hear that the Dynojet kit is what you need.

It would make it easier, but you say money is tight.

Anyway.

I would bet the leaness you are seeing is the low and mid-range circuits of the carburetor if the spark plug reading was not done at WOT. Larger main jets and shimming the needles alone will not cure the lean condition in the low circuit with pod filters.

Stock air box and 4 into 1 exhaust you might be able get away with shimming the needles and going to #125-#127.5 mains depending on the filter type. K&N airbox replacement or EOM filter.

Now with pod filters, really need adjustable needles with a larger taper, possibly one size larger on the pilot jets and larger main jets depending on the exhaust.

Stock exhaust I would say the #135 mains would be too rich.

I would not put the needles back in the stock setting with pod filters with the #135s. The fuel would still be metered lean in the mid-range. There is some overlap of the fuel circuts, but at cruise the carburetors will be more dependent on the needles and pilot jets.

This gets into the Dynojet kit area again though.

E

**BassCliff** · 01-10-2011, 02:03 PM

Hi,

The cheap EMGO pods will be problematic no matter what. With pods, the rule of thumb is to go up 3 or 4 sizes on the mains (132.5 is four sizes up), maybe up 1 size on the pilot, shim the needles as necessary. The Dynojet kit makes it a lot easier, especially if you are using some good K&N or APE pod filters. The EMGO pods have a less than stellar reputation around here. There are articles on my website that explain "plug chops" and carb tuning methods. Have fun wrenching. Good luck.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

**Ranger** · 01-10-2011, 02:17 PM

I'm planning on modding my exhaust pretty soon, probably a 4 into 1 anyways that I found dirt cheap.

**spyug** · 01-10-2011, 02:57 PM

I'll second what Cliff says. The Emgo type are crap its like running with no filter. There is no point in trying to figure out what jets you need until you have good filters to match them to. I believe you also mention in another post that your down pipes are crap ( at least one broken flange if I remember). This too will cause issues and is going to make dialling in things damn near impossible.

With the Emgos you can make them more restrictive which will help a lot. At Home Depot or the like you should check the "outdoor" section for filter material for lawn tractors and mowers. There are many different types and sizes ( all usually in foam) but you need enough to cover the inner surface of the filter. You'll need to experiment with this and find a method of keeping it in place ( I used stainless steel wire).

the preferred solution would , of course, be to pick up better filters or go back to the stock set-up.

With tuning, you can drive yourself nuts and you can only get it to work right if everything is in good condition to start with. Upgrade the filters and fix the exhaust then start into tuning.

Good luck with it.

Cheers,
Spyug

Extreme Lean

Extreme Lean

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