Lectron Carb?

[xxxbranham]

Mine showed up tonite too.   They're usually sent a little bit rich to be safe so I turned it 1/2 turn leaner to start with.   When I had the one off of my YZ dyno'd it showed that I was 1/2 turn lean from what the mx guys like to run - us off road guys tend to like them just that much leaner for a better idle and a bit more 'snap' that doesn't show up on the dyno.  So Lectron sent it just perfect for mx.   I went a click richer on the power jet from stock too which lost me 2hp at max rpm - but made me feel a little safer in long uphill sand washes.   When I got the carb back from him I split the difference on the needle and went 1/4 turn leaner than delivered and left the power jet ant max power setting.

 

The Motosportz section down in the sponsors section of CafeHusky has the BEST info on dialing the Lectron it.   I'm going to just bolt it on this time and let it run in for a few hours before any minor fiddling.   (it seems to take a few hours for the needle and jet to bed in together so you're chasing your tail if you try to dial it in too soon.)

 

I have a Scotts on my RM - haven't run a stabilizer on the last few bikes - kind of fun not getting that little shake or jolt.   Rode with my buddy on the KTM300 and the Lectron last Sunday - he's awesome to ride with - he follows, drops back, chases, and gives me feedback on what I'm doing.   He's impressed with the RM.

[AddictedToBling]

My floats were seized up in the float bowl from new as well. Engine builder wasted 2 hours on the Dyno trying to figure that out ? .

 

When you tune you want to start off with the bike rich. Then you lean it just enough until it runs clean. You should tune your bike to run as rich as possible without being too rich  ?.

People think leaning an engine creates more Power. WRONG! Only time you lean an engine is if It's running too rich.

 

2T engines like to run at cool temps. Fuel (Gas) is cold, more fuel = a cooler running engine which = more power  .

 

I.e. Ever watch Sprint Kart racing and notice the drivers reaching down to their carb? They are "richening" the high jet up. You do it a few times each race, as the engine temps rise, you add fuel to bring them back down. They'll also put their hand over the air box into some corners. That's so they flood the engine with fuel, cooling it down and helping the kart get off the corner.

 

Don't forget, sprint kart engines typically rev at 19K and have no gears. You'll never thrash a bike like you can a sprint Kart. If you can't tune a Kart, you're finishing Last. I used to run the Kart shop Dyno. I know how to tune.

Edited August 21, 2015 by AddictedToBling

[Kenpo1]

Good info. And I'll check out that cafehusky section. 

 

Looks like Lectron, or  probably Kelly at motosportz, is shipping the carb with the fix for float bowl warpage already installed. I'll have to ask Kelly if he added that as well. If so, nice touch. 

 

Edited August 21, 2015 by Kenpo1

[xxxbranham]

Got mine installed today (it came with the 3-2xl needle   and the bowl support  ?  )

Removed gas tank and pivoted the subframe up - the whole thing goes together pretty easily with both carb clamps loose.   Had to remove a 10cm spacer under the reed block to keep the throttle cable from hitting the frame and give the air cleaner boot a little room - it still touches the rear shock spring when it's on the stand but gives just a little clearance when I'm on the bike.    Right side choke is easier to get at than the stock one - fuel line has a couple of weird angles - gosh it's nice to have only 2 carb drain/vent lines.

Turned on the petcock, watched the bowl fill, pushed the kick start through twice then kicked, it started and settled into a nice idle.

Going to run it in a bit tomorrow 

 

Only funny thing I ran into was tightening the bolt into the handlebar on the throttle side hand guard - made my throttle sticky  ? so I had to locktite it kind of loose.   This new to me RM has a metal throttle tube on Pro Taper bars - I may have to go to shields instead of guards.

 

(Good thing I proof read - auto correct turned 'locktite' into 'lactate'  ) 

Edited August 22, 2015 by xxxbranham

[AddictedToBling]

Got mine installed today (it came with the 3-2xl needle   and the bowl support  ?  )

Removed gas tank and pivoted the subframe up - the whole thing goes together pretty easily with both carb clamps loose.   Had to remove a 10cm spacer under the reed block to keep the throttle cable from hitting the frame and give the air cleaner boot a little room - it still touches the rear shock spring when it's on the stand but gives just a little clearance when I'm on the bike.    Right side choke is easier to get at than the stock one - fuel line has a couple of weird angles - gosh it's nice to have only 2 carb drain/vent lines.

Turned on the petcock, watched the bowl fill, pushed the kick start through twice then kicked, it started and settled into a nice idle.

Going to run it in a bit tomorrow 

 

Only funny thing I ran into was tightening the bolt into the handlebar on the throttle side hand guard - made my throttle sticky  ? so I had to locktite it kind of loose.   This new to me RM has a metal throttle tube on Pro Taper bars - I may have to go to shields instead of guards.

 

(Good thing I proof read - auto correct turned 'locktite' into 'lactate'  ) 

 

Nice to see the fuel bowl Issue has been corrected.

 

I've had mine for around 2 yrs now. Other than the couple of small things I mentioned when it was new. It's been faultless.

[Kenpo1]

Nice to see the fuel bowl Issue has been corrected.

 

I've had mine for around 2 yrs now. Other than the couple of small things I mentioned when it was new. It's been faultless.

 

Indeed. 

 

What did you guys do with the wire coupling (TPS/Power Jet) now that it doesn't need to plug into the Carb? I'm guessing pull the TPS end off and tape the rest up and out of the way? 

 

I just finished getting the steering stabilizer on. Air filters are clean and Lectron is going on now. 

Edited August 22, 2015 by Kenpo1

[AddictedToBling]

Indeed. 

 

What did you guys do with the wire coupling (TPS/Power Jet) now that it doesn't need to plug into the Carb? I'm guessing pull the TPS end off and tape the rest up and out of the way? 

 

I just finished getting the steering stabilizer on. Air filters are clean and Lectron is going on now. 

 

Mine's on an 02 so different carby to the 04's etc. Taping them up was the plan on my 06 engines though.

 

JFYI. Got a mate who raced RM's for many yrs. Still has the last one he raced. They were big on testing. He put the 06 TPS carby and loom on his 90 something model. Said he couldn't notice an difference, then he put a manual switch on it and said he still couldn't notice anything.

I was going to put my 06 carby and CDI on my other 02 engine, he told me not to bother. Gimmick. Right up there with the YZ's "Injection boost bottle" ? .

 

Can't remember which model yours is. Did you have to weld the stabilizer post on the fame?

 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on both. Enjoy  ?

Edited August 22, 2015 by AddictedToBling

[xxxbranham]

My 05 has the stabilizer post welded to the frame - somebody did a clean job.  The bike came to me loaded with every "lightspeed" carbon fiber piece known to man - someone put a lot into this thing.

 

I disconnected the TPS from the YZ and taped it up = did the same thing with the RM = couldn't figure out how to unplug it so I just unscrewed the whole thing and taped it up along with the other 2 wire what-ever-it-is.

 

First ride today = started easy but the idle was low = warmed it up a little and raised the idle a little = not enough though as the bike stalled occasionally as I locked the rear and the Rekluse released.    I didn't change a thing on the carb when I installed it and think it's a 1/4 turn or 1/2 rich on the needle = but holy f++k does it run good now  ?.  I'm pretty sure the stock carb was tuned for 6000 ft and I ride at 3000 so it was a touch lean - it didn't run too well down low but ran pretty good on the main jet.   Now though = the bike takes throttle at a very low rpm and then builds smoothly until it starts hitting the mid where it really comes on (a noticeable hit but not uncontrollable) and then it gets another hit as it revs and just wails - the second hit felt like it was causing the clutch to slip but it may have been tire spin (I was too busy just holding on  ? )    My first impression was that the bike has a LOT more power and is very smooth from bottom to top - and that the motor now has 3 power ranges = at very low rpm it takes throttle and pulls like a 125 4 stroke (2500-4000rpm) = then it transitions into the mid which is very strong like a 300 2 stroke (4000-6000rpm) = then it just starts to wail with another hit like a built 250 2 stroke (6000+rpm).   (just guessing at the rpm)

 

Came back in and raised the idle a little = went back out and no more stalls = but I still need to tune it just a bit so that it works in coordination with the Rekluse.   I think 1/4 turn leaner on the needle will let me drop the idle down to the edge of Rekluse engagement = and it will idle just a bit better.   I know the Rekluse engagement is just a bit high too so I need to adjust it lower - I think the new found power is causing the clutch to slip.

Edited August 22, 2015 by xxxbranham

[Kenpo1]

Just got back. Did a mix of single track, sand washes and some fast quad track. 

 

I had to take a dremel and clean up the weld on the frame a little, and then remove the abrupt edge on the frame clamp. Dremel, try it, dremel, try it, eventual got it to sit on there nicely and cranked it down. Unfortunately while dremeling I vibrated one set screw out and never could find it. Don't know about your shops, but I can watch a bolt or nut hit the ground and then it disappears forever. 

 

i liked the steering damper. Unfortunately I've been off the bike for 4 weeks, and that always makes it hard to compare, and I need to play with damping settings, but I liked it. 

 

I started with 0 low speed damping, moderate  high speed damping and 0 return to center damping. I didn't notice much, so added a little more HS and purposefully blitzed a few rock gardens and the difference was noticeable in terms of less deflection off rocks. No real hard, unexpected hits though, so hard to say. HS circuit, turned up enough, did stabilize the front end a bit in fast sand whoops, and I screwed up my rhythm at one point and, dropped the front end in a little then swapped, and it did indeed feel like the damper contributed to keeping the bike from getting too out of wack. Happened so fast though I thought "did the damper just save me?" ?

 

I started increase LS damping and steering was heavier, but I only noticed when I got tired/lazy and started sitting more and steering with the front. When standing, and leaning the bike or using the rear to steer, it was hardly noticeable. With some LS speed damping and a little return to center damping I did notice it was easier to hold a line in an aggressive corner, but a weird feeling. 

 

Overall, I really noticed it a lot less than I thought I would. I guess it's true what they say... ride with it for a while then take it off and it will blow you away. Guess we'll see. 

 

Lectron carb. Idle was too low. Started second kick, idled ok but shut off as it warmed up. Half turn made for a nice idle, but stalled too easy (though I think it may be time for some new clutch plates and some adjusting, bike would kill one in a while when rear brake was locked up and clutch in.. )

 

It ran pretty close to how I had my stock carb jetted, (which was a touch rich) accept smoother power and roll on all the way through with more over rev. Felt maybe a little rich, with a slight hesitation on bottom when lugging it hard, but with a little more RPM's it pulled clean all the way through with great power. Fuel economy was definitely improved. 

 

Not sure I would say I felt a significant HP gain or if it was just that the power was overall smoother through all RPM's and a little broader....it revved out a little cleaner/further and fuel economy was indeed better. If it runs like that in varying altitude and tempts without having to mess with it, I'll be one happy camper. 

 

Need more testing though ? and will have to learn how to tune the Lectron to see what I think with minor changes, and the steering stabilizer will take some experimenting (open to hearing how any of you guys are running yours). Overall, I'd say with limited time/testing, both mods are an improvement. 

Edited August 22, 2015 by Kenpo1

[Kenpo1]

Mine is an 05 RM by the way. Full Hinson clutch, polished, ported, higher compression head and a 265 kit, which I totally didn't mention to kelly when he was setting up the carb for me, so may need a little more leaning out than the plug and play settings most people get from him. Feel like an idiot for not pointing that out to him. 

Edited August 23, 2015 by Kenpo1

[Kenpo1]

Adjusted metering rod 1/2 leaner. Really cleaned it up. Very smooth and runs fantastic. 

[xxxbranham]

Adjusted metering rod 1/2 leaner. Really cleaned it up. Very smooth and runs fantastic. 

HaHa - just logged in to report the same.   went 1/2 turn leaner on the rod and it feels pretty close to "right".   Idles well, revs well with no hanging rpm to indicate a lean idle, pulls just a bit cleaner and smoother at low rpm with a slightly smoother transition to the middle and still a bit of a second hit on top.   I went back to the mx tank to better judge the mileage - first guess around 30mpg.   Still takes the choke to start from cold which seems odd (overnight low about 80).   I remember thinking it's almost like a 4 stroke - you can just leave it in 3rd and lug it a bit out of a turn and rev the crap out of it to the next turn.   

[Kenpo1]

HaHa - just logged in to report the same.   went 1/2 turn leaner on the rod and it feels pretty close to "right".   Idles well, revs well with no hanging rpm to indicate a lean idle, pulls just a bit cleaner and smoother at low rpm with a slightly smoother transition to the middle and still a bit of a second hit on top.   I went back to the mx tank to better judge the mileage - first guess around 30mpg.   Still takes the choke to start from cold which seems odd (overnight low about 80).   I remember thinking it's almost like a 4 stroke - you can just leave it in 3rd and lug it a bit out of a turn and rev the crap out of it to the next turn.   

 

That's funny, I threw my stock tank on for the same reason. I'm pretty excited overall and curious what my range on the stock tank is now. Unfortunately my GPS didn't record the route at all so not sure of the mileage I did. Now I gotta figure out what's wrong with my GPS!

[Kenpo1]

Good ride this morning. Temp change and rode at a different elevation (up to 3200 from 1200) and bike just ran awesome. Smooth, strong off idle, still had the improved overev. 

 

Did a ride on the stock tank today that I couldn't complete before without the IMS tank. Close to 60 miles on my stocker!

 

Glad I picked up the Lectron! 

[xxxbranham]

Well ..... 6 weeks later ..... I've pretty much settled at 1 full turn leaner than it came but haven't touched the power jet.    It really runs well and saved my but in a tough rocky race in the pines near Prescott.     I didn't worry about the jetting since it was 3000' higher elevation and also a little cooler .... I went up just a smidgen on the idle speed because of the long, long rocky downhills .... and she ran like a 4 stroke grunting her way up some real nasty terrain and idling down.   I dropped the bike a couple of times but she just lay on her side and idled away (rekluse).    When ever there was a bit of a chance to open her up the top end was awesome.

 

But ..... I'm greedy and still looking for just a bit more.   The Lectron totally transformed every YZ250 that I put it on and I can't really say that the RM quite performs to that level.   I'm off just a bit somewhere  ..... the YZ's all started ridiculously easily - the RM isn't bad, especially once warm - but it's just not quite there.   The Z's all idled perfectly but the RM idles well for a minute then wants to drop off a bit (that's why I dialed in just a bit more idle for the race).    The YZ's all seem to get at least 30mpg and this rM seems to be in the high 20's - not bad but .....

 

The Lectron meters based upon engine demands and is very sensitive when the motor is not quite right so I'm inclined to think that I've got a little something that is up to snuff.   I'm going to check reeds first but I also suspect that the motor is a little tired so I'll be patient .... and report.    The bike is better than with the stock carb .... but I'm greedy and expect more  ?

[Kenpo1]

Well ..... 6 weeks later ..... I've pretty much settled at 1 full turn leaner than it came but haven't touched the power jet.    It really runs well and saved my but in a tough rocky race in the pines near Prescott.     I didn't worry about the jetting since it was 3000' higher elevation and also a little cooler .... I went up just a smidgen on the idle speed because of the long, long rocky downhills .... and she ran like a 4 stroke grunting her way up some real nasty terrain and idling down.   I dropped the bike a couple of times but she just lay on her side and idled away (rekluse).    When ever there was a bit of a chance to open her up the top end was awesome.

 

But ..... I'm greedy and still looking for just a bit more.   The Lectron totally transformed every YZ250 that I put it on and I can't really say that the RM quite performs to that level.   I'm off just a bit somewhere  ..... the YZ's all started ridiculously easily - the RM isn't bad, especially once warm - but it's just not quite there.   The Z's all idled perfectly but the RM idles well for a minute then wants to drop off a bit (that's why I dialed in just a bit more idle for the race).    The YZ's all seem to get at least 30mpg and this rM seems to be in the high 20's - not bad but .....

 

The Lectron meters based upon engine demands and is very sensitive when the motor is not quite right so I'm inclined to think that I've got a little something that is up to snuff.   I'm going to check reeds first but I also suspect that the motor is a little tired so I'll be patient .... and report.    The bike is better than with the stock carb .... but I'm greedy and expect more  ?

 

Very interesting report, and dead on to my experience. I adjust the idle up every ride once it warms as it does drop off, and am experience similar starting patterns as you described. I can get away with out doing it on faster, open desert rides, but not any ST out at Sycamore, Mesquite or, since you mentioned Prescott, 7 mile. 

 

As you pointed out though, I think it's the motor. I've had a set of rings sitting here that I meant to do at 30 hours. I'm coming up on 50 hours now on this top end, and the idle/starting problems has been in the last 10 -15 hours, so I'm guessing if I tested compression and did a leak down that I'd find it's time to re-ring at least, if not rebuild top end. 

 

I'll do that in the next week or two and am very curious to see if idle and starting don't smooth out. 

 

I'm still at a 1/2 turn leaner. I tried another 1/2 turn and bike ran clean but had a slight hanging idle. I'll revisit this when motor is fresh. 

 

I know I'm getting better MPG, as I'm completing rides on stock tank with plenty of gas left that I needed an oversized tank for in the past, but my GPS is still not working so I can't calculate actual mileage. 

 

Cool to read your reports and to see how similar our experience with the Lectron has been, given same bike and same riding area(s). 

[xxxbranham]

6 months later ...

Been riding the bike an hour or 2 a week and it runs pretty well and gets pretty good mileage ... just not that "magic" feeling.

A couple of weeks ago I crested a steep rutted climb and did a wheelie, turned right and dropped the bike in a tree.   The throttle "hung" and I quickly got to the kill switch.   Got things untangled and coasted back down to kick start and start fresh ... the throttle still hung partly open.   Took the carb top off 3 times to try to figure out what was going on to no avail.  Finally dawned on me to check throttle slack and sure enough there was no slack.   I took out all adjustment (about 1/2") which seemed strange and ended up with just the faintest slack.  Still haven't figured out where all that cable went ...

Now ... the bike rocks.   It starts quickly when cold and 1 kick when hot ... it comes "on" low in the rpm range and revs WAY out pulling smoothly the whole time.   Haven't changed anything other than idle screw setting and haven't checked gas mileage now ... but it FINALLY runs like I expected ;-)

[ohgood]

I just ordered one from Motosportz for my new to me 05 RM. Had one from Motosportz that I put on a YZ and it was everything that is claimed. I dropped the needle a bit before I bolted it on and then just rode. I sold the YZ and sold the Lectron to a friend a year ago who is an A level rider/ retired racer. He just got back from Colorado and said he adjusted the idle screw a little for the 10,000 ft elevation. The carb is set up for Tucson area and 2500 - 3500 we normally ride. Colorado was also a bit colder ;-) . He took off the oversize tank and went back to the stock MX 2 gallon tank - and has about a 70 mile range. He like the throttle control and smooth power which starts a few hundred RPM lower with the Lectron and over revs by a few hundred more RPM. I tried to buy the carb back from him and his said NO - it's the best mod he's ever done to a dirt bike. Kelly says his cost has gone up and is going up again - the carb with correct throttle cable is $425 delivered. (The inner throttle cable has to be longer to reach the slot in the slide - the slide won't close all the way with the stock cable.)

did you just say 35mpg ?

[ac717]

Yep. That's no joke. The fuel economy of the lectron is 10-30% better than a regular carb. I use to run little over 3 gallons in a 2hr harescrambles. I now burn 2 to 2.5 gallon. I took off my oversize tank and expanded the stock tank. So much nicer than the big tanks. Lectron carbs are the real deal.

[Kenpo1]

The fuel economy of the lectron is 10-30% better than a regular carb.  Lectron carbs are the real deal.

 

Silly that modern 2 strokes, especially the Euro bikes, don't come factory with a Lectron carb.