I raised my float height!

I did set it to 15mm since the manual suggested 17mm +/- 2mm.

No side effect that I'm aware of.

Last year I drilled the starter jet and installed a DJ kit (stage 2), but that did not seemed to help that much.

 

That's one reason you check the actual fuel level with a piece of clear plastic tube instead of just the static height of the float. Things ranging from an unusual needle/seat interface, a stiff float pin interface, abnormal buoyancy in the float, etc. can all give a different "real" fuel level while you can still get the correct listed static float height. It's not common, but it happens. Glad you got it to respond to your satisfaction.

 

I did the same thing over the weekend. It is starting great all the time now. I had done the same things you listed and was very frustrated, always been hard to start initially and hard to restart. This forum is a great source of information.

 

(Er......the invoice for that information should be in your mailbox today. We accept Paypal.)

 

Hey TNC When you are checking the float level with a clear tube. Do you do it with the carb on the bike? The float bowl isn't level otherwise. I'm not sure what my datum point to measure against is?

 

I would line it up with the main jet, you would have to mark on the outside of the carb front to back where that is before you do it. And they way the carb is mounted, on the engine.

You snooze, you loose!

Also, I think the correct terminology should be... "Hey, I raise the fuel level with the float." I don't think you can raise the float, it is going to float at float level no matter what.

Kinda picky too!

 

No, I only check fuel level with the carb off the bike. I insure it's level by setting the carb in my large bench vise where I can be positive it's level. I think it could be done in the bike with a floor or bottle jack and insuring the carb is level with a pair of those small bubble levels that you can get at a hardware store. And if you mean by your datum point, the place where the fuel should be, it's +or- 1mm at the line where the float bowl and carb body meet.

 

Thanks all
Looks like carbs out again then.. Getting good at this. Still if it cures my cold start problem it will be time well spent. How did we ever manage without forums!!!

 

On your comment about these motorcycle forums, it's very true how valuable they are. I'm a decent mechanic and have a reasonable gear-head understanding of most things mechanical. Still, being able to glean the benefit of many others who've gone before with the pros, cons, and fixes to different motorcycles is an amazing resource.

I recently rode a Suzuki V-Strom 1000 on a test ride. It had a subtle but annoying shudder at around 3500 rpm in an otherwise impressive, responsive engine. I went to a V-Strom forum and found out in about 5 minutes what the cause was and how to fix it. People don't have to stumble around in the dark anymore if they have a little perception about what they're reading on many of these forums. It's nice not to have to reinvent the wheel every time you get a new bike or such. Internet forums are not perfect...and yes...you can't believe everything you read on the internet. But knowledge is awesome even if you have to sift through it a bit to get real solutions.

 

My 2009 KLXs usually starts easy, but my son's 2007 is a little more stubborn sometimes. When his bike doesn't want to start he often uses the trick, I read in this forum somewhere, of tipping the bike over on it's side and standing it up again, then it usually starts right up. It would make sense that his bike's float level is set too low too, and the tipping the bike over is allowing some extra gas to get into the float bowl.