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Suzuki DRZ 400 SM - carb problems - can you help an overlander make it home? Suzuki DRZ 400 SM - carb problems - can you help an overlander make it home?
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  #1  
Old 25 May 2013
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Thanks for the advice - will try fiddling with it again.

The technique for adjusting it on the XT sounds good, however the pilot screw is very tricky to turn whilst the carb is on the bike - my fat fingers and long screw driver don't help - I might need to bodge together a small tool to try that method out.

I just want to make sure - do these symptoms sound only like the pilot screw is in the wrong position or could something else be causing the problem? Perhaps an air leak in the ducts the carb is attached to, or something else?

Cheers,

David
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  #2  
Old 25 May 2013
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Originally Posted by o_0oo View Post
Thanks for the advice - will try fiddling with it again.

The technique for adjusting it on the XT sounds good, however the pilot screw is very tricky to turn whilst the carb is on the bike - my fat fingers and long screw driver don't help - I might need to bodge together a small tool to try that method out.

I just want to make sure - do these symptoms sound only like the pilot screw is in the wrong position or could something else be causing the problem? Perhaps an air leak in the ducts the carb is attached to, or something else?

Cheers,

David
Like the XT thread, it never seems to be easy to get at these adjustments - I used a small right angled screw driver IIRC which helps with the burning sensation in the finger tips from the hot engine. It's awkward but not impossible.
You need to have the carb in good adjustment before considering more aspects.
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Old 26 May 2013
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If your problem occurs at high RPM (and I'm assuming also high load) then adjustments to the pilot screw will have almost zero effect on the problem. In this situation it is the main jet which dictates how much fuel the engine gets.

I would also be hesitant to assume your current problem is related to your previous problem. Could it be something else altogether?
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Old 27 May 2013
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Originally Posted by Henn View Post
If your problem occurs at high RPM (and I'm assuming also high load) then adjustments to the pilot screw will have almost zero effect on the problem. In this situation it is the main jet which dictates how much fuel the engine gets.

I would also be hesitant to assume your current problem is related to your previous problem. Could it be something else altogether?
Totally agree, but 6.5 turns out for the pilot screw still sounds too much.
To understand more about your carb and its settings, assuming that this one is fitted to your bike:-
Mikuni carburetor operation and tuning
To have the carb "in good adjustment" is explained in there.

As per Henns' post:-
What has changed recently?

"until a related problem developed" - is this fact, or assumption?
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Old 28 May 2013
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I know nothing about the carb in your bike, but every carb I've had my hands on has the standard pilot air/fuel screw setting of between 1 and 2 turns from gently seated to bottom.
The way I set it is to get the bike running at a slow steady idle on the idle adjuster, then adjust the pilot screw until the point where you get maximum idle speed. Re-adjust the idle to a slow steady setting, and re-adjust the pilot to the point where the motor runs fastest. Do this one more time and you should be right.

What the pilot air jet does is introduce some air into the fuel in the needle jet (you should see a few small holes around the side of needle jet tube) which turns the fuel in that tube into an air/fuel foam. This foam is much easier to atomise as it comes up the venturi and hits the airstream in the carb throat.

I think you need to strip and clean your carb again, and see if you can find an in-line fuel filter to fit. A larger filter is less restrictive to the flow. Small ones can let too little fuel through when the level in the tank gets low.

Cheers

Nigel in NZ
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