How is my piston?

[GLantern]

I'll check my plug later but my fuel is 91-93 octane and 10% ethanol. Maybe it is from the previous owner then.


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[motopsycho87]

Nothing that loose would be from the previous owner, and the fact it is dry raises concerns to me. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I love 2 stroke and have ape t a fair amount of time reading up on them and working on them, that looks hot to me, and I'd imagine any sustained full throttle bursts could cause severe damage. Do some plug chops and get it perfect imho

[GLantern]

K I will, I'm going to get the jetting sorted out over the next couple of weeks. Excuse my ignorance, what's a plug chop?


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[barossi73]

throw a pic of your current plug up first,it might tell us more.a plug chop is used to check the jetting at certain throttle positions.eg.you go flat out for a few hundred yards,kill the engine and coast to a stop,pull the plug to see how your jetting is.can be done at different throttle settings.BUT if your too lean I wouldn't be doin full throttle plug chops just yet.the plug you have in should tell us something as is,so start there.personally I find it difficult to read new plugs with only a few minutes running,i wait until I have a few hours on plug avoiding long wide open throttle,then check plug,then when youre pretty sure its close,do a wide open plug chop,with a new or slightly used plug.different parts of the plug can tell you different things about the mixture at idle,part,and wide open throttle.google 2 stroke spark plug reading and compare your plug,or post a pic.plenty of helpful people on this forum will give you pointers for your jetting.however I personally have no exp with ethanol fuels and their effect on jetting so hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in with information more specific to you.include the altitude you ride at,and the temperature range,along with your fuel blend and oil ratio to get more specific jetting info.or scroll through the jetting database and see if you can find an equivalent setup to yours

[motopsycho87]

1 - remove your spark plug, take a picture and post it here, it will tell us a lot.

2 - fit a new plug, warm the bike up normally, ride it until hot, then gas through all the gears at full throttle on a nice straight bit of land, try and maintain full throttle as long as possible then hit the kill switch, pull the clutch in and let it die.

Remove the plug, take a picture and post it here. The plug should be a nice medium light chocolate / tan colour.

3 - do the same as above but at half throttle to 3/4, this will tell you how your needle is jetted.

4 - do the same again, but warm it up, then just let it idle for a minute and remove the plug.

If you are anything like most of us, you spend most of your riding on the needle (mid throttle) with few full throttle bursts.

If at any time you find a light, burnt, yellow / red / light brown colour, it almost always indicates a lean condition, just as the darker the colour, the more rich (safer)


Just to add, this isn't a gas gas only problem, all bikes are given a "general" jetting and it is up to the owner to tune it in. It is far more obvious on 2 strokes as 1 jet can make a huge difference, the equivalent change in a 4 stroke can be up to 3 jets!

[memphis2857]

That thing has been HOT! Given that you are running 50:1 and your jetting is too lean you have a ticking time bomb. You need more fuel!!!! The brown/red stuff you are seeing is soot from your oil being burnt at a really high temp. Pull your plug out as it sits and let us have a look at it.


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[GLantern]

Here is my plug

I think it looks pretty good? It has that chocolate tan color, maybe I wasn't lean. Let me know your feedback.

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[motopsycho87]

Dark outer ring indicates lean idle which is good. Centre electrode looks like its been a bit hot to me. You need to find out if its the main jet or needle (or both) that's running lean. I would def go up 2 sizes on the main before doing a proper plug chop as a precaution.

It still gets me that your piston looks so dry also, consider running more oil in your mix (then rejet).

[GLantern]

Thanks Moto I'll do that. So I'll switch to a bit more oil in my mix, 45:1 or 40:1, what do you suggest? Then go up 2 sizes on the main and see how it all looks, I'm glad I got that kit for Christmas! Then plug chop!

Might be a little bit as I have the bike in pieces right now but I'll be sure to follow up as soon as I do.


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[memphis2857]

Remember more oil means less fuel which will create an even more lean situation.


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