In doing some reading about needles, jetting, etc., I came across something interesting. Check here:
http://www.gasgasrider.org/forum/sho...highlight=n3cj
Specifically, post #37. The poster says that he is seeing a noticeable power loss after the bike gets fully warmed up.
After thinking about it, this could actually be accurately describing my situation. It may not be the fresh spark plug that regained the power that I noticed had decreased, but instead could have been the fact that it was sitting in 30' F temps for over a half hour while we loaded all the other bikes up, and thus drastically cooled down. The head/plug was completely cool to the touch when I changed it. In addition, none of the previous riding I'd done on the bike prior to this weekend (test ride before buying, puttering around the farm a bit at Christmas) was really enough to get the bike nice and warmed up, so
that may be the reason it always ran so well.
The other poster points out that this could be the result of a lean condition, which actually makes sense. A few posts later, the OP swaps in a richer needle and a richer pilot jet, and seems very happy with the results.
I'm actually beginning to think this is what's going on with my bike. I think the pilot / air screw may be a touch rich, based on how easily it starts and idles cold. The main is probably pretty close, based on how well and cleanly it runs. And the needle/clip is on the lean side. As the motor gets hot, it gets leaner, and with the needle/clip a little lean, it shows as a loss of torque in the 1/4-3/4 throttle range (where I ride at 90% of the time).
Upon a closer inspection of the plug with a magnifying glass, I actually don't think it's rich at all. The top of the threads and the ground strap are black from the oil, but looking far down inside at the insulator, it's a fairly light tan color, indicating that it's somewhat lean.
I think I'm going to order an NEDW needle to put in, and actually tune the pilot / air screw / idle, and go from there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PEB
On my bike I wire it in the "sunshine setting and discard the switch.
|
Do you know for sure if the big button or little button is the sunshine? My switch doesn't seem to have any kind of markings.
Thanks!