Pilot Adjust Help

[Danny]

Hey everyone. Project Valk is almost at the end and need this last bit of help.....untill I need help again LOL. So I rebuilt the carbs on my 2002 Std. Everything new and fixed. I upgraded my slow jets to 38s as recommended by some and left the mains alone. Got new skins to ride on so the last thing is the. Pilot adjustment and carb sync.  On re uild I set them across the board to 2.25 out. Is this correct? I live in Tucson, Az temps of hifh 110 to 113 and a low of below 32 debrees only a handfull of times a year. Just scared I am going to be too lean and burn something up.


Thx Danny

[9Ball]

Most running the 38s seem to prefer 1-3/4 turns out or something close to that.

[hubcapsc]

Hey everyone. Project Valk is almost at the end and need this last bit of help.....untill I need help again LOL. So I rebuilt the carbs on my 2002 Std. Everything new and fixed. I upgraded my slow jets to 38s as recommended by some and left the mains alone. Got new skins to ride on so the last thing is the. Pilot adjustment and carb sync.  On re uild I set them across the board to 2.25 out. Is this correct? I live in Tucson, Az temps of hifh 110 to 113 and a low of below 32 debrees only a handfull of times a year. Just scared I am going to be too lean and burn something up.


Thx Danny

There's a tedious procedure you could try to do to get them all "mathematically correct"...

People say that setting them all to 2.25 (some modulate the static setting based on jet size  ) is
functionally equivalent to the procedure, or even better than the procedure since the procedure probably
involves a learning curve for proficiency...

I've never messed with mine, my bike usually starts when I mash the button, and I don't
want to rock the boat  ...

-Mike "the procedure is on pg 5-22 in the manual"

[Patrick]

Its 2.25 turns for 35s and 1.5-1.75 turns for 38s..

[John U.]

I run 38s and have found that 1.75 turns is about right, after finding 1.5 turns to lean. At 1.75 the choke is still needed in cold weather. I live at sea level, if you are at much higher elevation 1.5 might be better.

[Ricky-D]

No need to worry about running lean with those #38 idle jets.

Your problem will now be just the opposite.

Too rich.

You will find the enrichment valves (choke) will not be needed anymore.

***

[NJF6Cowboy]

Recently cleaned and rebuilt my carbs due to 4 stuck pilot screws. replaced jets and pilots with new parts. 35 idle 100 mains. Adjusted pilots to 2.25 turns out. Synced carbs. Bike ran great several long rides to Rhode Island etc. Gas mileage about same as before rebuild. But bike was running real RICH. Turned pilots to 2 turns out. Still rich.

My son is into hodrods. He drives a Dodge Neon SRT turbo. Souped up with goodies. He took a aftermarket O2 sensor with digital readout from his car and inserted it into my pipes. He got readings in the low 11 ppms. He stated that race cars run in that range. We proceeded to adjust pilots, ended at 1.75 turns out. With readings at 14 ppm when we finished. 14 is the ideal #.

After adjusting, bike runs awesome. 6000 mile run to Black Hills, Yellowstone, Beartooth pulling a Bushtec Roadstar. Rpms are down slightly at highway speeds, Fuel mileage is better if I can keep it under 3500rpm. I think its the way to go as far as accuracy. I'm Happy!!!

[John U.]

No need to worry about running lean with those #38 idle jets.

Your problem will now be just the opposite.

Too rich.

You will find the enrichment valves (choke) will not be needed anymore.

***

I have two Valks running 38 slow jets, a standard running an IS ICM and springs and an Interstate, no carb needle or high speed jet mods but both are running the ECT mod with a potentiometer set to about half advance. Until recently both were running OEM exhaust systems. Ricky will have to enlighten us as to the details of his experience.

I initially set my pilot screws to 1.5 turns out from lightly seated. My gas mileage increased (by about 1 mpg) from what it had been with 35s at 2.25 turn (everything else the same) but I felt the bikes were running lean at low to mid range RPMs, they were both very cold blooded and a flat spot that had been bothering me was still there. I increased the setting to 1.75 turns out. The mileage decreased by a minor amount (1 mpg) but the bikes ran better. As I mentioned in my previous post, I still need the choke in cold weather (less than 45 to 50degrees). I get between 35 and 39 mpg depending on speed and fun. Best of all, I got rid of the flat spot between 2500 and when the main jets come in. Both bikes pull harder when I really crank the throttle. Of course in that case all mileage claims are off.

So no, changing to 38s will not necessarily result in poor gas mileage or a rich condition, it all
depends on the pilot screw setting, and the right wrist. 

I know there are others with actual experience with 38 slow jets, maybe they will weigh in.

[Danny]

After putting the 38 s in the carbs the choke is not needed sitting at 2.25 turns on the pilots. I think she is running rich but the only thing telling me so is my nose at idle. What do I look for to know if I am running rich and lean so I can start trying to get these things a bit more dialed in before I sync em. I wish I would have counted the turns on overhaul, chalk that up to a newb mistake. Other than the slow jets the rest of my bike is stock including exhaust , no fancy trigger wheels or anything either....yet Lol.

[salty1]

Hey Danny! IMO 1.75 turns across the board will work just fine. Be sure to synchronize your carbs for the finishing touch, you won't be sorry.

[JaysGone]

All seem to say you wil be rich.
Rather then making a change at this time.
In my jetting experiences with other bikes.
The plugs tell the tale.
Take a ride let the bike get warm and go for a few miles.
On your way home as your going up the drive way, just kill the bike and glide into your parking space and pull a plug or 2..
If its not wet or fouled or blackish.
Leave it be.
The plugs will tell you what you need to know.
They dont lie if you shut it down before your stopped.
Even idling fora few seconds and then shutting it down wont tell you anything.
Just ride normally and shut it down and glide into your parking space.
The plugz will let you know how its running in the last few seconds of being on.

Sometimes Ill pull a plug on the side of the road.
Say your going 40ish and its safe to shut it down and glide over to the side of the road do it that way.
It would be an even more accurate indication of how the bikes running a speed.

[Patrick]

Originally these carburetor pilots are usually set at 1.75 turns which tends to be a bit lean,, reason for re-adjusting them to 2.25..

[Ricky-D]

I feel with the #38 jets, the screws should be set at 1-3/4 turns.

Say why you changed the jets from #35.

Some said to do it?

***

[John U.]

As I mentioned, I changed to 38s to get rid of a flat spot at 2500rpms. It has worked very well though it took two tries at adjusting the pilot screws to arrive at the right setting, which as I have also mentioned is 1.75 turns out. 

[Danny]

Hey thanks to everyone for the help, going to take them down to 1.75 and see how she runs. I'm not sure if the question was asked to me or just in general but I swapped my slows to 38 during the rebuild to give me a better chance of preventing the smaller jets getting plugged. My bike had sat for three years and I was confident with the tank reseal and new fuel line and petcock replacement that I removed the built up crud but used the bigger jets as a fail safe hoping to prevent clogging. I usually am a stickler for OEM parts and specifications but this being my first bike to work on was a new experience for me, found myself unsure of things and made a judgement call on some research done on here along with some advise. Everything came out good, just nit picking some things and overall I am very happy and excited with this awesome machine. I can see there are some differences in opinion on the subject and hope I have not opened up "old wounds"...haha.

Thx
Danny

[John Schmidt]

I've done a number of changes from #35 to #38 for other riders. I remove the pilots one at a time, usually replacing the o-ring if the owner ordered them. Then using my Dremel with a cutting blade I cut a slot in the head from the flat spot across as shown in the following strikeout D. Upon replacing the pilot, I put a small dab of anit-seize on the threads. By cutting a slot in the head, it's easier to adjust them in the future using a flat blade screwdriver bit than the D shaped socket it calls for. In all cases, my ride included, I've set the pilots at two turns out. I still get mid-upper 30's mpg with that setting, depending on the wrist naturally. I've tried 1.75 and some cylinders seem to run a bit lean, the two turns gives me that happy medium. Following reinstallation of the carbs, I then sync them and so far all is well. I did this nearly five years ago and it has worked well for me.

I don't recall who posted originally about cutting the slot in the head, but it's sure a time saver. Adding the anti-seize is a no brainer and makes adjustment or removal easy in the future.