Dick's Racing Carb Mods

[Rick]

I spent last weekend hammering out some of the finest single track Nor.Cal has to offer. I meet a very nice young man on a 08 KTM 200. We hooked up for the entire weekend and I was most impressed with how clean his bike was jetted. Very little smoke, no spooge from the FMF Q, he was a bit heavier than me, which he was about 215 w/o gear. We were riding between 5000-6500ft elevation. One thing I really noticed was how much low to mid his bike had, his bike just seemed to be jetted so clean!

I seem to have a bit of a hick-up / sputter around 1/4 to half throttle and then after 1/2 way...the motor pulls really strong. I know that my 200 should pull better down low, and I suspect jetting is the problem???? As far as mods to my bike, the squish band has been corrected, a little bit of the header section of the pipe has been removed, I am running an LTR jet kit, right out of the box, w/ 13/51 gearing. I am running the thinest base gasket (OEM), which is what the bike had in it when the head mod was performed.


Mike mentioned that he had Dick's Racing (Sacramento, Ca) perform there carb mod and "dail-a-jet" kit installed. He stated that there was a complete night and day difference after the mod was performed.

Has anyone had this mod done to there carb?

If your thinking that the KTM flat out ran away fom me, no way, both Mike and I are solid "B" racers with him being 13 years younger than me. I did not ride his KTM, I did not need to, it just ran very clean and I was really impressed w/ how clean his bike ran at 5000ft.

http://www.dicksracing.com/motorcycl...mance/2-stroke

Thanks

[jeffd]

dial-a-jet isn't new - it kinda of came and went and is back again. I remember seeing them installed on bikes in the early 70s.

If I were to spend money to improve the carb - I think the money is better spent sending it to Ron at RB-Designs.

On your 1999 200 - you should have ron replace the nozzle in the carb - it wears into an oval and makes the carb difficult to jet. The nozzle isn't commercially available as a replacement part - he does very precision machining and makes a replacement.

He mentioned the possibility of the nozzle wearing more quickly on the gassers due to use of the boyeson rad-valve plus the insulator transferring engine vibs to the carb.

jeff

[Skidad]

Do a search on KTM Talk there are plenty of reviews and mostly positive but of course if you spend $350 for the mod (and most get the head done at the same time for more $$) you will probably like it.

I have to also think everything on that 2008 KTM is essentially new and in great condition. Piston, rings, crank seals, reeds, PV, clean silencer, carb that's not worn internally etc. that all helps in the bike running clean. Your 200 is a 99 that's probably got some real ware and tare. What oil was he running did you ask and what about you? Really to bad you didn't try his bike.

FWIW I have read that Dick has looked at the RB divider plate setup and disagrees with the theory behind it (he liked the workmanship though). Personally I like it and have it on my KTM and will use it again but I see no reason for the overbored carb (for me anyway).

I think if I had one of these little GG 200's I'd be really tempted to try a 36mm carb instead of the 38 and before a $350 dial a jet. Javier (Trail Tricks Suspension) has installed one on his personal 200 Gasser and picked up some low end power and I'll bet it might be easier to jet as well. That and the RB designs mods are the way I would go personally but I would like to try someones bike with the Dicks Racing setup I must admit.

[Rick]

Ski, the guy runs Redline @ 40/1 on pump gas. Don't get me wrong, I think my 200 has good low to mid for a small bore bike. I would like to clean up the hickup and as Jeff was saying my carb might be worn a bit. I use Motul @ 40/1 on pump gas.

One other thing.....why is the GasGas motors such a pain to jet correctly? It seems like this is one of the hot topic's on this board...

Thanks

[SideshowBob]

Originally Posted by Rick

Ski, the guy runs Redline @ 40/1 on pump gas. Don't get me wrong, I think my 200 has good low to mid for a small bore bike. I would like to clean up the hickup and as Jeff was saying my carb might be worn a bit. I use Motul @ 40/1 on pump gas.

One other thing.....why is the GasGas motors such a pain to jet correctly? It seems like this is one of the hot topic's on this board...

Thanks

I can't speak for other people, but following some of the info here my MC250 was easy to jet correctly.

[fabulous furry]

never been a problem on the EC 250 2003 .i am not an expert but can check the plug and stop when the engine start pinking downhill then a bit of fine tuning with the needle but all stock never a kit or any carb mods.may be a gnarly pipe will help a 200 down low.

[iajim]

I agree with jeffd, the dial a jet may not be the primary reason for the improved perfprmance. These kits were originally designed for snowmobiles where re-jetting meant changing two or three carbs in sub-freezing weather(usually bare handed!) The dial a jet kit requires that you re jet about three main jet sizes leaner then with the adjustment set in the middle of 6 positions you would be back to your original jetting. Adjusting it leaner reduces the effect of the dial a jet nozzle and you are running on the three sizes smaller main, adjust it richer and you have fuel flowing thru both the main jet( from the float bowl ) and more fuel coming thru the venturi. It's hard to make an "apples to apples " comparison when there is age and modification differences between the bikes. If you find someone on a '99 EXC 200 I'm sure your Gasser would feel at least equal if not superior( especially in the rear suspension).

[GMP]

Rick,

Get the carb nozzle rebuilt as Jeff advised. My friend Bucksnbikes has my old '00 XC250, and while the motor is still solid the carb is starting to give him some problems that it never did before, primarily unexplained richer running and increased fuel consumption. I recommended he do the same thing. Once your all back to a good baseline, try the JD needle. This works flawlessly in my '07 250.

[Rick]

Right now I have my bike stripped for the summer rebuild. I have NEVER messed with my jetting since I installed the LTR kit, which was right after I bought the bike from Roostafish. I ride / race from sealevel to 6000ft, and I have my bike set up for 3000-5000ft per the jetting guide in my manual. I am not one to mess with stuff "if it is not broke don't mess with it" Once I get this thing back together I am going to really take a hard look at my carb and tuning. Don't get me wrong, the bike runs great, pulls strong, has a nice mid snap, but just is not right at about 1/4 throttle. Plus I get too much spooge out the pipe. I run Motul @ 40/1 on 90 octane pump gas. I know, that alot of you guys don't like Motul, that it leaves too much spooge, but as for topend wear, I've never had any problems with the oil, and I"ve been using it since about 1993 when I had my WRA YZ250.

I guess I really need to take a few steps back, and look at my overall program. I read all the jetting tips and ideas that the guys on the site have used, but I really hate to tear into the carb and start over....or at least retune...I'm not lazy, just have been "ok" with what I was running.

Any info will be most helpful.

Thanks

[sierrarider]

Hi Rick,
I had Ron work over my carb and do the head mod. I'm very impressed with the jetting, very clean and no spooge. I wish he would have gone more aggressive on bumping up the compression with the head work. I was riding with Bob Piper and he not only got much better mileage on his 300, he wasn't overheating like I was on the slower climbs at high altitude. I know it could be a jetting issue, but I really don't think so. Oh yeah, my air filter was really loaded up if that contributed to the heat issue. I'm going to have to switch to the LTR impeller I've been hanging on to.