OK, so I bought this 745-mile completely stock bike about a year ago and enjoyed the first couple of rides even though it was obviously under-powered, under-sized, and under-sprung for my 6'3" 225# fat ****. When I went for what should have been a beautiful ride up Ash Canyon in Carson City, NV, USA I was so completely underwhelmed by the motorcycle that I only rode it two more times for the rest of the season. I had all but convinced myself to just get rid of the damn thing and buy a "real" bike.

Then I started researching the possibilities to try and turn this anchor into something usable. Hence I found you all. I've been reading endlessly and am now in a state of information overload so I'm going to ask the same questions that every other jamoca has asked before me. In short, what do I do with this lump to make it more enjoyable???

I already put a 13T up front. It helped but not enough.
I just added Rox-Risers and CR High-Bend bars - a HUGE help!!!

My immediate plan is:
KDX220 snorkle - will be ordered next week
PC4 slip on - ordered & on the way, should be here in 8 days
DJ 2152 jet kit - ordered and received, hopefully this is the right kit for an '06, it's listed for '09 up
MCM cam mod - no parts needed have read and bookmarked walk throughs

Questions:
Is the DJ2152 the right kit?
I live at 4800' ASL and ride typically down to 4000' and pretty regularly go up to 8400'. I'd love to get some jetting starting points from which to work as I have no jetting experience. If I need jets not included in the DJ kit I'd like to get them ordered and on the way.
Can this be jetted to run both with and without the lid/snorkle or are they too far apart? I most often ride in the desert, but my trail rides up towards Lake Tahoe will most definitely include some water crossings so I'd like to be able to have a snorkle for those rides and lidless for the everyday dessert rides.
Are there any good walk throughs on checking valve clearance? I haven't even looked. I'm at 1500 miles now.
Should I put a manual cam chain tensioner on it now (at 1500 miles) or am I good to go for a while? Good source?
Am I forgetting anything?

Down the road I may do a 330 kit, but that will depend on how well this setup goes. I'll be looking at suspension mods as soon as the immediate power mods are complete. At my size, I can nearly bottom her out at a walking pace, let alone hitting a 4' deep woop at speed (a regular occurrence).

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

If you are going to run a KDX snorkel, just follow DJ's instuctions and advice - you'll be calling them for which jet to use for your elevation. KDX snorkels flow more than the stock one, but less than just leaving it off as per DJ stage II..

Lidless requires a whole different carb setup - but with an "eye-popping" increase in performance.. Your bike, at sea level, lidless would need a DJ140 main jet. With a snorkel, a DJ128 or DJ132 would be "right".. So, no, you can't have both - you choose one or the other..

If you mostly ride below 7k rpm, you do the MCM. If you don't, then the MCM may be considered optional. Best possible all around power is MCM+full exhaust system+lidless.

 

So the main danger with running lidless is water infiltration during a "deep" water crossing? I mean if I submarine the sum-bitch it's drinking it all in anyway, right?

How deep is too deep? I can measure to the top of the air box, but I won't be doing any 3' deep crossings.

Is there any concern running lidless in the dry dusty desert?
I'm all for more power, but not at the risk of lunching essentially a brand new motor with sand and dust.

 

My position has always been that after anyone studies the area in question, they'll probably reach the same conclusion as I - that running lidless is no more or less "dangerous" than running a snorkel. Turn your bike over in water and water gets in - period. And the "shielding" around the top of the box keeps errant spray well controlled..

I, however, do not blast through deep water - doing that gets water in places you don't want it - E.G. bearings and bushings..

 

That's true. So, I'll jet it lidless and see if it's too loud for my Harley sensitized ears. If it is I can always strip it back down and rejet for the snorkle.

Any thoughts on a good starting point given my elevation and riding habits?

 

Buschog, that altitude variance is too extreme for a single CVK setup. You'll need to choose an alt. A setup will handle (up to) approx 2k ft change pretty well. Going higher than jetted for is not the biggest concern. Going much lower than jetted for is. The CVK design can compensate somewhat for higher alts but cannot for "lower-than-jetted-for" alts - it'll go lean quickly..

 

On the manual tensioner, you see I make them. Unless it is rattling at 4000-6000 rpm I wouldn't get too shook up. When it does start to rattle you have plenty of time to get the tensioner and do the install. The failure is progressive and not instant catastrophe. So no noise, no problem. When there is, fix it then.

As for lid/snorkel versus lidless I figure any water splash that goes in the snorkel will run down below/behind it where the snorkel ends. Where splash with no lid will have water on the filter. As for submarining, if it is a quick shot the snorkel will offer the best opportunity to not get flooded. Throwing the bike down in water for a bath is another story.

Things to take into account, how likely is the splashing or deep water for your use. If you are mainly street obviously none, if you are in a relatively dry area or absolutely stay away from any sort of deeper water crossing no problem going lidless. If I ran a supermoto version and didn't plan any sort of more woodsy possibly watery riding I'd run lidless, if for no other reason than it is free. Snorkels cost money. But in my case I plan the risk of possible higher water and splashing, so snorkelized I am.

It takes an educated decision versus an impulse decision. Currently from what I've read no one has really done a flow test to know if the snorkel actually is restrictive for the actual intake volume requirement of the 250 and having done the measurement and calculation I know the snorkel cross section is virtually the same as the air box to carb tube. Clearly a bigger opening will allow more flow, but no one has actually answered how much does the engine actually need at 10,000 rpm? There is a limit to what an engine needs or can suck through the carb. Anything beyond means nothing. It's like having a gallon of water to fill a 12 oz glass, it only takes 12 oz.

I did one other modification because I am around 1000 ft elevation, but may get upwards of 4000 feet in the mountains of WV. I've used a Dial-A-Jet fuel adder to good effect on my 650 and my 250. Jetted a bit lean for the lower altitude on the brass, the DAJ will add fuel/air mix to richen the mix when needed. I've never jetted the notoriously lean 650 and it has good spark plug color (don't have the money for all the trick fuel/air ratio stuff, have to go old school) and when I jetted the stupid lean 250 I stayed a bit lean and added the DAJ. Been using it for 20+ years now. Just a thought.

 

I'll give Thunder Products a call today. I, theoretically, like the simplicity. Given the regular, and massive, altitude changes that I experience I think it may be a great way to go.

I too would love to see some data on lidless vs snorkle. It's a particularly wet year here so the realistic chances of splashy, and/or deep water crossings is relatively high. Guess I'll ponder for another day or two on that one before I make a decision.

 

The ATV and snowmobile markets are big on the DAJ. They're newer markets and seem to be more open to the different device, which is much like the Mikuni powerjet. Bikes are fairly old school so the guys tend toward brass.

 

I finally got around to running some mods into my bike.

lidless, stock header with PC4 slip-on, cam mod, DJ 2152 kit.

I called DJ, told them what I was doing, that I'm at 4800' ASL, and they said to run:
128 main
Clip 3rd from top (i put the two washers on top of the clip, hope that was right)
3 turns out on the screw
I'm going to try the dial-a-jet soon, but I need to get jetted right first for a baseline.

It runs tons better with much better power at 5000-7500 as advertised. It's not a wheelie machine like I've read about but I was able to torque up a hill at very low rpm in 2nd. Used to be it'd fall on it's face and stall if I did that. So I'm super happy about that.

So here's the questions:
#1 - I have a miss between 2k and 2.5k rpm at WOT from idle (1500rpm). Not what I'd call a flat spot or a bog, a straight up miss = no fire.
#2 - For as long as I've had this bike, when I bog it way WAAY down, but pull in the clutch before it stalls, it still stalls. Thoughts? Maybe I'm just an idiot, but it seems like it should be able to recover.

Hopefully youse guys can get me hooked up the rest of the way. Based on what I felt in my 10 minute ride, I no longer feel pressed to get rid of the bike.