adjusting slide needles

[Anonymous]

As some of you know I have been having overheating problems (lean condition)with my bike. I have gotten this mostly under control with raising the fuel level and adjusting the needles.

Well on my stock carbs the needles aren't actually adjustable. I took the spacer from on top of the needle and put it under the clip. Thus raising the needles approximately 2/16". Well the plugs have gone from very light grey or mostly white to black with some dark brown.

So I feel my next step will be to lower the needles somewhere in the middle with the washers many people seem to have used. I would rather have found another solution, but since I cannot find an air leak or other cause for my lean condition after repeated attempts this will have to do.

So can someone point me in the direction of a decent source for these precision washers? Also, does my logic seem correct that decreasing this 2/16" change slightly will have the desired effect?

Also, when I add the washers should I put the spacer back on top or leave it off?

Thanks,
Billy Miles

[Mobetter]

If your needles are like mine,
putting a spacer underneath the clip does absolutely nothing
but put more tension on the spring beneath it!

Putting a spacer above the clip does lower it though.

To raise the needle you must remove the nylon spacer on top
and replace it with shims that total thickness will be thinner than
the nylon washer.
Mo

[Mobetter]

If your needles are like mine,
putting a spacer underneath the clip does absolutely nothing
but put more tension on the spring beneath it!

Putting a spacer above the clip does lower it though.

To raise the needle you must remove the nylon spacer on top
and replace it with shims that total thickness will be thinner than
the nylon washer.
The differece is how much you've raised the needle



Mo

[Anonymous]

I went to Radio Shack and picked up their assortment of small washers. One of the sizes in there is perfect for needle shims, and are exactly 1/2 MM thick. It was only a couple bucks for the whole bag.

You'll want to LEAVE that plastic spacer underneath (as a nice place to store it so it won't get lost if you need it in the future) and add these washers on top of the e-clip. I'd start with 2 and go from there. Remove washers to make it richer, add them to make it leaner.

[Anonymous]

Actually as I said in the first post, I did try putting the nylon spacer on bottom of the e-clip as opposed to the top and it richened the mixture quite a bit.

My basic question about whether or not to remove the spacer completely, is due to my belief that with the spacer installed (in its proper location) it doesn't seem likely to be possible to raise the needles. The spacer would stop upward movement of the needle, and putting any amount of wahers under the e-clip would just compress the spring more and not raise or lower the needle. However, since having the spacer under the e-clip raises the needle 2/16" which makes it much richer I believe I should now use the wahers to shim the needle down (putting them on top of the e-clip) leaving the spacer in the lower position.

Any comments,
Billy Miles

[Anonymous]

Billy, that is correct. The spacer installed on top prevents you from changing the needles at all. When you move it to the bottom, you go to the other extreme. So, instead, make a "half spacer" from the aforementioned washers and put them in the original place of the plastic spacer.

You've got the idea.

[Anonymous]

thanks that is a great help and great description of what I need to do
Thanks,
Billy Miles