pumper carbs??

[JR650]

who all is making pumper carbs for the 650R? edelbrock, mikuni and keihin right? anyone have info on the other 2 or is edelbrock the only one really worth consideration? i have decided its time for a pumper i just dont know which one, in the future i will be going bigger, like 680 and camming it so i need something big enough to support some more engine. Thanks in advance, JR

[qadsan]

Edelbrock, Mikuni & Keihin are all worth considering. They all have their benefits and some more than others. I went through the same process of trying to fiture out what I wanted and looked at all the carbs very closely. The FCR is a great carb, but fitment is an issue and you'll also spend a good deal of time fiddeling with it if you change altitudes a lot. It's the hardest of all the carbs to tune, but once its optimally tuned its a real performer. Sometimes I ride at sea level and sometimes I'm at 7,000 ft, so I didn't want to be messing with jetting my carb when I changed my riding locations and the Edelbrock's patented dual vent design has worked out well for me. I don't have to rejet when I change my riding locations and it just plain works.

The Mikuni TM40 is a good choice, but the FCR & Edelbrock produced a bit more power on the dyno charts I saw. The Edelbrock also had an internal fuel cell to prevent fuel from sloshing around and it works just awesome. You can lay the bike down sideways and twist the throttle as quick as you want without any hickups where as the stock carb dies out and spills fuel out the vent tubes. If your XR650R has ever gone down, you'll know what its like to get it running again, especially if time is of the essence. If you go down with the Edelbrock carb even if your bike is upside down on a hill, it's just a matter of picking your bike up and kicking it over once or twice and you're running again and usually on the first kick. The Edelbrock also features an innovative precision back-cut needle unlike the other carbs and there's no jets to mess with. Tuning is accomplished by turning a knob on top of the carb that raises or lowers its precision back-cut needle. The accelerator pump is also easily externally adjustable with a screw unlike other carbs. Also, the Edelbrock accelerator pump only squirts fuel when you twist the throttle quickly, otherwise it returns the fuel from the pump circuit to the fuel bowl if you twist slowly for improved economy unlike the other carbs which have their pumps circuit squirt every single time you twist the throttle whether fast or slow.

There's plenty of good reports about the Edelbrock pumper carbs from XR250, XR400, XR600 & XR650R owners if you search around and some guys have tried all three brands of carbs and ended up keeping the Edelbrock as their choice. The Edlebrock also comes as a complete bolt in kit with a new throttle tube, cables, carb, etc. Also, Rob Barnum of Barnums Pro Products is a ThumperTalk business partner and is also the ThumperTalk engine/intake expert. He also sells these carbs at good prices through his business, but he also provides the best support to his customers and has a good reputation here on ThumperTalk and other places, especially among the racing community. He's also done R&D for Edelbrock among other things and built the ThumperTalk Motard racer which also features an Edelbrock carb. Rob also races XR650R's professionally and was at XR's Only from the beginning and for many years when Al Baker was alive. Just to the ThumperTalk home page and click on his picture under ThumperTalk racing for more info about him and he can get you pricing if you choose the Edelbrock or Mikuni as they sell both, but he personally runs an Edelbrock as his choice and I'm quite happy with mine.

[bigtom17]

I can only say what I know of the Edelbrock. I just found a part failed on mine this weekend and I called the guys at Edlebrock. I explained what part failed and they said they would send out a new one asap. I bought it through Barnums over a year ago. He says its under warranty. He said it has faild before and the new one is slightly modified to fix it. I swear by the Edelbrock and would buy a new one if I needed to. Love this product.

[Dutch]

I have two seasons on the TM40 and am very satisfied with it. All the benefits the Edelbrock crowd claims I have found true with the TM, (starts after crash, not sensitive to elevation changes, etc.). One nice thing about the TM is you keep the stock Honda throttle, the throttle pull is if anything easier than stock, and it cost me $295.00 otd. One thing about all these carbs - the pumper is well worth the investment ?

[irondude]

After using the Edelbrock pumper carb for the last 2 Baja 1000's, 2 Baja 500's, 2 Baja 300's and the entire BITD series I have NEVER had any issue while racing with this product.

I CANT say that for Excell, IMS, Acerbis, Ohlins, Scotts, DID, Big Gun, or Dunlop products--all of which have failed at some point while racing....

I've never tried the Mikuni--i am sure its a big improvement over the Keihin, but for me the made in USA Edelbrock is my favorite after-market product on the BRP. It has proven itself to me over and over and over again.

-Mike

[Dutch]

I can understand how a carb with one big needle would work in a flat out desert style race.

[JR650]

well, i have been building or working on streetrods for years, and i have NEVER had a problem with an edelbrock product that was not my fault. Seems like the quiksilver is the way to go. Anyone know where i can get one in Canada? i pay double for anything i get out of the US, its a [@#$%&!]. So if i can find a distributor here that would be great. Thanks in advance, JR.

[loufish]

Now that we have a good discussion group, I've rumors that the Edelbrock has a much higher return spring rate, which can get old quick. I'd like to from some guys running the Edelbrock.

Thanks...

[tom00013]

Now that we have a good discussion group, I've rumors that the Edelbrock has a much higher return spring rate, which can get old quick. I'd like to from some guys running the Edelbrock.

Thanks...

I didn't notice a change with the throttle when I switched mine over. I do feel that I lost a little power though. It starts fine with 1-2 quick twists of the throttle. I may need to do some adjustments to get the full potential of the carb but my time is limited. I usually just want to jump on and ride. I switched to the quicksilver because I almost roasted the BRP when it was just over 1 hour old. I was in a hare scrambles and dropped it in a small leaf covered ditch. When I picked it up gas was flowing out the aircleaner drain valve. After kicking it a bunch of times I remembered someone saying kick it with the throttle wide open and the comp release pulled in a few times. I did this but forgot to press the engine kill switch at the same time. The thing backfired and started the leaves/swingarm and aircleaner on fire. I wish someone had a camera on me, I was too tired to hold the bike up and too tired to jump off ?. I finally got the fire out and the bike started but decided I needed either fire insurance or a carb that won't puke fuel everytime you lay it over.

Tom

[qadsan]

I've rumors that the Edelbrock has a much higher return spring rate, which can get old quick.

Here's the deal on this rumor. Way back in late 2001 / early 2002, there was a group of 25+ XR650R riders including me who bought the Edelbrock pumper carb for our bikes and nobody had any issues with a stiff return spring and we were' all quite happy. I used to keep in contact with some of these guys and some of their friends ended up buying this carb as did some of my friends and their friends, etc, and almost everyone had excellent results. Then maybe a half year later or more some guy by the name of Jay Peters here on TT complained of a stiff return spring. Then a few others complained of this same issue during the next few months, but only a few. It was obviously an issue and it was obvious that Edelbrock made some kind of change. Jay made it sound like he had analyzed the whole situation and was going to have to engineer a new throttle cam, etc. In fact, here's the thread that started all this...

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB9&Number=104160&Forum=All_Forums&Words=1193&Match=Username&Searchpage=1&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=104160&Search=true#Post104160

Appearantly Edelbrock changed the position where the return spring was attached so that it had more preload so the throttle felt stiffer to some folks. In the end, its an easy adjustment to make. You simply move the throttle return spring over one notch on the pully to reduce its preload. If look carefully at the circular pulley type cable guide on the carb, there's a little allen screw right underneath where the cable rides in its groove and loosening it will allow you to remove it and adjust the spring for more or less tension. It's just not as big of deal as some made it out to be.

I've since bought another Edelbrock pumper carb for my sons XR250 and it felt just fine. My brother-in-law bought an Edelbrock pumper for his XR and it too felt fine in terms of throttle return tension. I'm 'guessing' Edelbrock has since changed the return spring setting for a softer tension, but I don't know that for sure. If you don't like it, you can always adjust it.

[JohnnyAirtime]

I just found a part failed on mine this weekend and I called the guys at Edlebrock. I explained what part failed and they said they would send out a new one asap.

Did it happen to be the actual "plunger"??

Mine bent over on me. And didn't allow but minimal throttle. I was in the desert (Plaster City) and called Rob (Branums)... he told me it's a warrantiable part, and how to circumvent the 'pump' action of the carb. Ultimately turning my carb into something I could ride with for the next couple days. I sent the bent one in to Eddy... and they sent me a new one within a few days.

Excellent Service from both businesses.