The monsoon season is over here. I got out for a first ride with some buddies. The jetting is so rich, it runs like the air filter is totally plugged. They must have intended the jetting to be used at 20*F at sea level.
The stock settings: 6.5 slide, 42pilot, 175main, N1EF, 1T air screw. The bike idles (sort of) and the air screw has little effect. There is no "get up and go". I'm using Ipone Samurai at 50:1 and the riding is mostly singletrack. Elevation 1000 - 1200', temperatures 60-80*F.
The exhaust sound is dull on accel or decel. After about an hour of riding I notice a distinct knock from the engine on decel. Soon I get this knock on every gear change (when I close the throttle to shift). Time to head back to the parking lot. Keeping the throttle steady helps.
Burhan (EC300) tells me that the manual recommends changing the plug after the first hour of operation. I put in a new NGK (the plug in the bike is a Nippon Denso).
Head back out and everything is OK again. The engine runs marginally crisper (still a long way from crisp). After an hour, the knock is back. Soon it's getting dark and time to end the ride.
The next day I pull the NGK (left) to compare it to the Denso (right).
My exhaust tip is messy and the inside is very oily. I'm not worried about spooge, the angled outlet does a great job of keeping the rest of the bike clean.
Having a stock needle that is crazy rich with the clip already in the top groove is nuts. Not even one groove of adjustment is possible. Have any of you 2011 owners found a needle that runs well with the clip in the center groove?
I'd like to know what the cause of the "knock" is. It's just like a single "pre-ignition" detonation. I can only guess that fuel mixture builds up in the pipe and ignites.