Am I running too rich?
 

Hey all,

You all know well that the Hawk if cold blooded and takes a bit to warm up. But here is what's been going on...I'll start here up cold with the choke full out. Usually doesn't stay cranked right off. On the second crank though, she'll backfire once then start warm up. Is that cause the fueling is too rich? Or is that normal. It doesn't of course do that on warm days after sitting in the sun for a bit.

Bike mods: Black round Jardine High mounts, jetted (don't know to what due to being done by a shop that the previous owner sent it to), stock air filter, 92 octane fuel. Usually only get around 100 miles before blinking red on the digital fuel gauge.

My gut tells me its running rich. What do you all think? Would a BMC or K&N help that?

Thanks in advance fellas.

Well, check your tailpipe and see if there is high carbon in it, It should have light build up, but if you swipe your finger in the hole and it comes out heavy black you are running rich. To me it sounds as if your getting some fuel build up, but this should happen on warm days as well as cold.

This is maybe a lackluster response but have you tried (on cold days) hitting the starter & THEN slowly pulling the choke out as it turned over? As retarded as this is I had similar symptoms & never did again after adopting this wacky routine. Of course all this could still be a rich problem so other answers are welcome.

Tailpipe is a good way to tell, pulling and looking at the spark plugs is another good one. But honestly if it's running good otherwise why mess with it. 100 miles is about right.

If you decide to mess with it the first thing I would do is try a K&N or BMC air filter. That should lean it out quite a bit.

I'll check the pipe build up later today. Plan on going for a ride nonetheless. If there is some build up...I'll order a BMC and see how that works. If that doesn't, I'll take it to my shop since there are other things I wanna get done anyway and see what he comes up with.

Your bike is most likely lean.

If it were rich, it would run good when it's cold, worse as it warms up. My hawk was very cold blooded (lean) before I jetted it. (had stock jetting running slip ons). After rejetting my bike richer it runs great cold on the choke and great when warmed up.
If your bike is in fact lean, a K&N or BMC filter will make it worse.

Get a good jet kit. I used Factory Pro and it worked great. Be willing to pull the carbs a few times until you get it dialed in but the results will be worth it.

I rechecked my settings as it looks like we both have '03 Hawks with Jardine round high mounts.

I went with the settings of: 175f / 178r, (stock mains)
needles in the 3rd (middle) position, #50 pilot jets, fuel screws 1.5 turns.

A few people tried to bust my balls for using the #50 pilot jets, but the fact of the matter is that they worked great on my bike. Factory Pro designed the kit and included the #50's for a reason.

Makes the bike run great, cold or warm.

...and Factory Pro is wrong on this one. I'm not saying that it's wrong on YOUR bike, jbaxx, just trying to prevent Scoutpilot from chasing his tail on this one.

The #50 pilots do NOT work for 95% of the VTRs out there. Generally speaking, you will need a full exhaust to take advantage of the #50s at low engine rpm, which is exactly where these carburete. They foul plugs and give uneven idle speed even with the mixture screws fully shut. I recommend #48 max. I run stock 45's and mixture screws 2.25 turns out. I also have the Jardines and a K&N. Bike carburetes perfect from sea level to about 2500ft. Above that it gets a little soft. Above 4000ft it has a hard time idling.

Personally, I think your mixture screws need adjustment and you should check your carb sync. This should improve your cold start problems.

Holy crap fellas. That's all greek to me. The bike is jetted but I don't know that the settings are. Is there an easy way to figure it out?

I did take the bike out today. Of course....didn't start on the first crank. Wasn't even that cold this morning. So, I tried SmokinJoe73s routine by cranking, then pulling the choke out after cranking and it didn't backfire at all. Worked great.

Also took 996SSVTR advice and checked the carbon build up in the pipes. The inside does have buildup but when I swipe my finger on it, there was only a small amount that came off...not heavy.

So...anyone got any clues to what my prob is?