ok, so i work with computers for a living, and for the life of me, haven't gotten a good search result yet that answers my question (so excuse me if I am being ignorant here).

Jet kit came in today, and the big question is, do i need to remove my tank to remove the carb to rejet, and is there a DIY pictoral somewhere (I did see the one on HMF sight, so maybe I just answered my own question, and that is yes)?

 

You'll have to pull the tank for sure. However, on my '06 I'm able to remove both throttle cables and a couple of other incidentals and just loosen the two boot clamps. I can then spin the carb a few degrees either way to the right side of the bike and access either the top or bottom...at least enough to remove jets or the slide. I agree with dan, change your pilot jet with your fuel screw being out that far.

 

this helped me
http://hmfracing.com/forums/showthre...?t=1617&page=2

 

Yup^!

 

Even mechanical people can fudge things up.


If the bike is dirty wash it no sense in clogging a clean carb with loose dirt.

Don't forget to unbolt the fuel shut off valve like I did. I got excited and ended up tearing a line, gas went everywhere.

If you can't get the diaphram back in (expanded) don't worry I got an easy solution. Put the carb back in without it get a shop vac and stuff it in the air box snorkle (leaky fit is better) you can also hold it near the snorkle. Turn the vac on it will suck the diaphram in and you can still move it around a bit. Took me 45min to figure that one out and 2 sec to fix it.

 

This is one reference I used. It's for an 06, but applies to an 09 if thats what you have.
https://www.kawasakiforums.com/forum...lx250s+exhaust
Good luck!

 

I've heard putting the diaphram in hot water will keep it from expanding. Also if it does.. place it on place on the carb with the carb attached to the air filter, put a shop vac hose on suction near the opening of the snorkel intake and that should let you pull it into place and put that cap on.

As far as it goes with mechanics. Often time's with mechanical work, the fastest way through the job is not the most direct route that removes the least amount of stuff, but rather the route that takes out the right pieces to speed the job up by making access better. For doing carb work on a bike, the bolts to remove the seat, tank, and fairings are so simple and easy it's not worth it (to me) to try working around trying to get at things without it. Much easier to just drain the carb, lay it on a nice clean rag on a bench, and not worry about losing a spring, or cross threading a jet, and having a bad angle on anything I'm doing, plus I get to check my float level, use carb cleaner on all my passageways and use my air compressor to really thoroughly clean and dry it, etc.

 

The first time I pulled my carb apart, I used the hot water method on the diaphragm. Everything went together fine. The next three or four times I pulled it, I did not use the hot water method and everything still went together fine. I'm not sure the hot water method really does anything but some people swear by it.

 

I always wondered - doesn't hot expand the diaphram? wouldn't you want to chill it to keep it from expanding.

Freeze brgs & heat up the hub before puttin them in...heat up the dist drive gear before going on the vw crank

 

I didn't use the water thing. Seeing that I had the clip on the new needle, The diaphram was only off for 15 or so seconds. Had no problem with it.