What to look for in a carb

[satypos]

Newbie question: just bought first bikes for my son and I. His 2004 TT-R125 and my 2006 CRF250R both need some carb tweaking. My neighbor recommended buying a second carb so we always have one in the bike and the other cleaned and ready to go (and for troubleshooting). There are tons on eBay that are brand new for either bike for about $40. The rebuild kits cost more than that. What am I missing?

[Suzukirider7]

Honestly, i wouldn't. It doesn't take long to clean a carb and have it ready to ride. I would just buy a rebuild kit for each one and thats it. As of tweaking , what exactly needs tweaking? Im assuming you need to jet your bikes. Any symptoms ?

[William1]

If you take care of the bike, you'll never have to clean the carb.

 

Brand new 'off brand' carbs are junk

[satypos]

Thanks guys. I suspected those cheap carbs would be crap.

My sons bike is leaking a lot of fuel out the overflow. In going to buy a kit and rebuild it. Just a little nervous when I read the note on some of the K&L kits that it may not contain jets or the right size jets.

My bike just had a top end done but is really hard to keep running cold, choke or not. I met a guy on here and he said it sounds like it's sucking air when you give it throttle while it's cold. He recommended replacing lean jet and one of the other jets. But I think he meant switching sizes, which is way beyond my knowledge. So I'm not really sure what to buy/do with this one.

Edited August 14, 2014 by satypos

[FORMA MOTO]

You don't need jets, unless they are corroded

If they are, it will be most likely just the pilot jet

You can buy individual jets from Jetsrus.com or your dealer.

You need to clean the carb and passages of all corrosion, if you find any, and replace the float needle and seat, to stop the over flow

[satypos]

Thanks. Yeah, I need to buy a rebuild kit for the TTR. Any recommendations for a kit? It looks like K&L has a couple different ones and I don't really know what I'm looking for. The Moose Racing kit is a bit more expensive but seems all inclusive.

But for my CRF, I haven't opened the carb, but that's the one that is really hard to keep running when it's cold and a friend said it sounds like it's sucking air when you give it throttle, and recommended replacing the lean jet with a different size.

[FORMA MOTO]

Don't change jetting without a reason. Don't guess

 

The stock CRF250R jetting is fine.

You need to CONFIRM what main/pilot/needle/leak jet you have, to know.

You need to REFURBISH the carb back to stock, and then adjust it properly.

 

I would not buy a 'rebuild kit' until you know you need one.

Gaskets don't usually need to be replaced....just the float needle, seat, and pilot

Edited August 14, 2014 by Kah Ran Nee

[satypos]

I thought the kit just included all that stuff. My sons TTR125 has been poorly cared for (realized after I bought it), so I'm sure it needs to be done. Unfortunately, I don't know which kit to buy.

For the CRF, I'm more nervous about touching anything but it is very tough to start cold and warm up. Something is wrong and I don't know how to troubleshoot.

I want to learn but don't know where to start. I think I'll learn on the TTR because it seems more tolerant and then figure mine out.

[FORMA MOTO]

The CRF needs a valve adjustment, for sure.

Rebuild kits usually do NOT come with jets.......