2013 300xc running rich, help!

[supercoe]

Hello everyone, I'm the proud owner of a new 300xc today and just had my first ride.

The bike starts and idles great but seems to stutter like its rich on the bottom and mid range.

I live in northern MN and as far as I can tell I'm right in the stock jetting range (~1200ft).

The bike runs awesome over 50% throttle but it used a gallon of fuel in about 15miles.

I've read so far that these bikes seem to need the floats adjusted and I'm thinking that might be my problem.

If I tilt the bike at a 45deg angle gas pours out the overflow.

I noticed gas came out even when I simply shook the bike to make sure it was tight on the trailer.

I'm really hoping to get this solved as I have my first ride planned for tomorrow and my dealer is closed. ?

Any ideas would be appreciated!

[harryhandshake]

cant go running back to the dealer everytime you have alittle problem. cancel the ride and get the bike sorted out. make sure all bearings are greased and fasteners are correctly torqd then figure out the carb

[The 300 Guy]

What is the plug reading? That is an indication there for sure on rich or lean conditions. You could also adjust the float a bit to see if that helps you out some as well, but chances are you will need to adjust a few things on your carb. Is your stutter a bog or just the bike does not any get up until half throttle?

[Bretts Bike Shop]

It seems like all KTM 2-strokes are rich below 1/2 throttle, did your bike come with optional needles? Is there a bunch of spooge running down the silencer? Try the N2ZL needle. And check your float level.

[supercoe]

Working on the bike now, it's not a lean sounding big it definitely is sputtering bad until the rpm climbs.

I adjusted the floats a little bit and couldn't tell a difference.

Then I dropped the needle down one clip and it seemed a little better but not perfect.

Just checked the plug, it's dark but not wet. No brown/white.

Yes it came with the needle/jet kit.

Ill adjust the floats more now and see what happens.

Thanks for the help!

And yes a bit of sponge out the exhaust but she only has maybe 18 miles in her. ?

[supercoe]

I tried the 162 main jet, didn't help the bottom end sputter but made the top really crisp. Front wheel comes up now with less throttle on the top end.

Tried the n2zl needle in position 4, no change.

Those were easy things to try, letting the bike cool now then I'm going back to stock and adjusting the floats.

[byebye]

I agree with "don't go running back to the dealer..." sentiment to a point. However, if this bike is brand new than the dealer has an obligation to make sure the bike they send out the doors runs properly. If for nothing else there's a 30 day warranty on this thing and you spent good money on it. If fuel usage helps you any I went out Saturday on my 300XC and rode a 25.5 trail plus about 7 miles of additional trails and 2 laps on an outdoor MX track and I only used maybe 1/4 - 1/3 tank.

[supercoe]

I agree about the dealer, I'm not keen on them touching it but it didn't run right out the door.

Update!

Went back to stock settings and adjusted the floats a bit more.

Now it doesn't leak fuel when I tilt it at a 45 but will if I go farther, perfect.

Went for a rip, the very bottom end and high end was running smooth but I still had mad stutter in the mid.

So I adjusted the needle a clip up and it almost cleared it up perfect.

The bike is now great through the power band except for a light rich stutter at the high end of the mid range.

Thanks for everyone's help, I believe I cleared up my problem.

People weren't kidding when they said these things run rich out of the box!

Thanks again for all the help.

[edgyone]

Look into trying the Suzuki needles such as NEDH or NECH. There has been alot of discussion in these. Best mod for the 250 and 300. Cleans up the low end of the stock needles.

[supercoe]

Thanks for the tip, ill look into those needles.

I made a few more adjustments and now I think it's perfect.

Currently I have the bike at:

Air screw - 3/4 turn

Needle n2zk top clip (position 1)

Adjusted floats so bike won't puke fuel at 45 deg angle.

Main jet 162 (stock was 165)

Pilot jet - stock (35)

Plug is golden brown.

All of my stuttering is gone.

I can't believe how much faster this bike is than my tired yz250!

The grunt this thing has is great as I'm a huge dude (6'4" 280lbs)

Lovin the 6 speed.

Really digging the electric start even though I was skeptical at first.

Going for a longer ride now, I bet my gas consumption will be dramatically better.

[Bretts Bike Shop]

Going from #4 (stock) to #1 is a BIG change. Moving the clip position effects mostly the 1/3 - 1/2 throttle, swapping needles (N2ZJ, N2ZK, N2ZL) effects 1/8 - 1/4 throtle.

[Fat Tony]

I have a 13 300 xcw. When I got mine I had the exact same issue. I dropped the needle 2 positions and set the air screw to 1 1/4 turns and now it is PERFECT. I am running the N2ZK needle at position 2, 35 pilot, and the 165 main. I am running Amsoil Dominator at 50:1. I have zero spooge. I ride from 100ft to 3500ft and dont change anything and have had no problems. I ride everything from super tight single track to wide open go fast trails. I also use the end cap screen type spark arrestor from enduro engineering and so far the screen shows no signs of build up. I have about 15 hours/300 miles on it so far. Also, if you look under the stickies in this forum there is a 300 jetting topic. Lot of guys like the N3CH needle and a 38 pilot jet but as good as mine is running I dont see any reason to change.

[Cactus73]

IMO, the stock needles suck. Try the N3CH 3rd, 38 pilot, and 165 main...then put the red spring in the powervalve and adjust it to 1 1/2 to 2 turns out. ?

[harryhandshake]

the dealer has no obligation to fix a tuning issue. thats why ktm supplies extra parts so you can do it yourself. i think the 30 day warranty only applies to a mechanical issue, not a tuning problem. you should learn to tune the bike anyways and not have to rely on someone else. my bike ran like a bag of crap also but after alittle time i got it sorted. really the main problem was the needle

Edited June 24, 2013 by harryhandshake

[supercoe]

Thanks again for all the info everyone.

I'm not afraid of tuning and have plenty of experience in doing so, it just seems odd to me that according to the manual the stock settings should have been spot on for my elevation and temperature.

I agree that tuning is something we are responsible for but I am going to let my dealer know about it tomorrow.

Maybe if I'm lucky they'll throw in a couple free needles for me to try since it was so far off.

Anyways, just got back from my first real ride, I thought I could hear a bit of detonation in the mid range but otherwise she purred like a kitten. Really happy with the bike, more tuning to come. ?

[byebye]

While I agree that everyone should learn to tune their bike I just think a good dealer would take responsibility for the way the product leaves his shop. If you bought a brand new car in Denver that sputters when you're trying to merge onto the interstate I wouldn't accept the notion that if I took it down to LA it would run fine so I have to take it upon myself to get it to run right. Both my brand new 300XC and my brother's had the same rich issue off idle. We both fixed it by adjusting the screw but we called our dealer the day after we bought them and explained what we had done. He apologized profusely and told us to bring them back and he'll take a look at them and get them dialed in. He also gave us 15% off our next purchase of any merchandise.

[pdxhillbilly]

The guys in the shop at your dealer have most likely dealt with similar issues and know what changes to make for your local conditions. I really don't understand the attitude that you should never take the bike back to the dealer to fix problems under warranty. IMO you should get it into the dealer right away if there's a problem so that it is documented in case it recurs out of warranty. Otherwise, you fiddle with the bike until the warranty runs out, then as a last resort take it into the dealer to fix it out of warranty. I learned this the hard way.

[supercoe]

I talked to the service guys at my dealer today and he also thought it was odd that I needed to do what I did to get it going good.

He told me he'd call KTM and see what they had to say, still waiting a call back.

Once again, I agree that tuning is up to us to do, I just think it's odd that it would be that far off spec and so did the service guy.

[harryhandshake]

you cant compare a new car with computer controlled injection to a crude caveman carburetor. ktm installs the jets at the factory. all the dealer does is put on the front wheel basically. another thing is the dealer is not supposed to ride the bike and there for they have no way to tune it plus they might get a out of state customer that need a different setup. i bought mine out of state, they have no clue what the carb set would be. i dont want them monkeys touching my bike anyways. would probly just lose some of the screws and cross thread the rest