Ok, say you had two machines. One was bone stock. And it was actually jetted correctly. You touched nothing else, just simply enlarged the main jet to make it burn right, thats it.

You then take this machine, run it around in all kind of conditions. City, highway, trails, run on a dyno, etc. Then you put the pumper carb on it, just the carb. Jet it correctly and go do all the same exact things. What kind of a difference does this make? I'm sure HP would increase, but is it by alot? Or is it one of those deals where overall HP isn't all that significant, but just the restructuring of the powerband is much more efficient and powerful it makes it run like a whole new machine? Also, stock 33mm vs bored out 34mm pump. Alot of difference?


Then machine 2. Drilled the crank vent, 13t sprocket, remove backfire cage, lid removed on airbox, aftermarket air filter, either full DJ jet kit or N1TC needle with larger Keihn jets, aftermarket pipe (full system) (one of the bigger better brands like Two Bros, Big Gun, FMF, etc) (no big bore kit). The stock carb is fully rejetted and dialed in perfectly. Do all your running around and testing.

Then take the stock carb off and leave everything else alone. Now, put the pumper carb on. Does the pumper carb enhance the rest of these mods? Or is it the same whether the bike is stock or not? Also, on machine 2, say you later added a big bore kit. Would that take more advantage of the carb 33 or 34mm.

I'm asking, because like others... I only have 4-6 weeks of riding left if I'm lucky, unless we get goofy weather like we had a little while ago where it was like 55 degrees for 2 months during the winter and I have to get winter projects lined up and I have to decide what... if anything will be done to this bike. Since stuff is so freaking expensive I'm not going to just drop $1500 and buy everything because thats a ridiculous amount of money...and who knows. Someone might come out with a new model and size or a DR400 might pop up in the dealer and the KLX might get traded. So I don't want to sink too much time, money, work, and frustration into it all at one time, espeically when its over the winter and I can't ride it.

Comments....
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Weed Vaporizer

 

1. The pumper carb adds zing more than raw HP. I suspect that peak HP between a well tuned stock CVK and the Mikuni pumper wouldn't be that great. 33 or 34? Don't know. Bought the 34 from Bill and backed his judgement. It was, along with suspension tuning, the mod that most improved this bike from a pure enjoyment perspective.

2. I have poured much more than $1500 into my KLX but it's still doesn't go as well as a DRZ400E. It hurts to say it but a bone stock DRZe has more power and handles better. I did it bit by bit over a long period of time but if I felt comfortable with the hight of the DRZ, I would have gone that way.

3. That said, the KLX is easier in the really tight stuff. And now I have customised it to suite me as best I can, I am very happy with the result, and will be sticking with it.

4. I have had a heap of fun modding the KLX and I get a sense of achievement after each mod. Thanks to the wise men on this forum, the bike is far better than stock, and like I said, I'm sticking with it.

5. When i go riding I am just about always on the least capable bike. So when I go OK I get a real sense of satisfaction. Nothing better than passing a Katoom or WR half way up a slippery hill. Not that it happens very often but still, it is an amasing little bike that punches above it's weight.

In summing up, IMHO you don't get value for money with mods. You could tip that money into the pot and probably go and buy what you want. The KLX is an older design and It's unreasonable to expect it to match the latest and greatest. But that hasn't stopped me trying and having fun on the way.

The man to ask is probably NoBrakes.
He, and others, were guiding lights for me in the early days and eventually he opted for a 450 Katoom. And it would be wrong to say I am not just a little envious.

 

Thanks

What if you went all out and got a big bore kit 331-340, cammed it up, 34 pumper, pipe, opened airbox.... the DRZ400 would still hammer it?
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Toys butterfly

 

I've got it all but the cams. DRZ probably still has more oomph. But it doesn't matter, those machines handle like crap and carry the weight up high.

Do yourself a favor and go straight to 331 or 340. Then get the pumper later for faster response, but not necessarily more ponies... It'll feel like more ponies though because it comes on quicker.

 

I should add that I'm quite happy with my bike now. The difference from bone stock is huge. If I dropped to 13 teeth up front, it would be a wheelie machine, but with 14/42 it still takes some body engrish.

 

personally i dont like pumpers..... and think they are a waste of that much money, id go bigger cc's first...... i have ridden a klx with 250cc, and a pumper, i have ridden another with just the 300cc kit, and ridden one with 340 kit and a pumper.... id just go 340/331... thats just me.

 

i have a pumper and agree with Eric. i haven't ridden any other klx than my own but given the chance at a do over i would go straight to a big bore kit.

 

IMO. Yes.
Remember, when I talk DRZ I mean the e model not the s.

I fully blown KLX may get close to the power of a DRZ and certainly with all my mods I have closed the gap.
But they still leap away when they want to.
It is true that the DRZ does carry it's weight quite high.
And there are some tight trails where the KLX is IMO better.
But, the stock suspension on the stock DRZe is much better at soaking up the bumps and rocks IMO.
I makes light work of trails that can be an arm wrestle on the KLX.
On fast sweepers the DRZ blitzes the KLX.
In the sand, the added low down grunt and better front end make the DRZ much easier and enjoyable.
Really tight twisty single tracks through the trees, give me the KLX.

I'm not just guessing here.
I ride both regularly as 2 of my regular riding buddies have them.
If we swap bikes for a while, always at my request, they can't wait to give me back my KLX, where as I wouldn't mind a few more miles on their DRZ.
The power and the handling in most situations is more fun.

But if it was dirt riding ability that was my main concern, I would probably skip the DRZ and go straight for a KTM or the new Berg.
ooo love that new Berg.
For regular street use, the DRZ is a good option.

And I'm only comparing a stock DRZ400e with a fairly well modded KLX.
If I went about modding the DRZ along the lines of weight reduction etc, the end result would no doubt be better again.

What most of us here have done is bought a sweet looking, well priced, street legal bike and then thought, I need more power.
Then bit by bit modded it to try and get more power.
Then some of us have gone, I need better suspension.
So I threw another $1k at it.

The question is, knowing what we know now, would it be better to just buy a bike with the power and handling we want and go from there?

As much as I really, really enjoy my KLX, knowing what I know now, and after spending a reasonable amount of time on both, I would investigate more the lowering and lightening of an e model DRZ. At the time the DRZ seemed way too tall for me so I didn't investigate it as far as I could.

Same with the KTM.
I needed to have it lowered more than could reasonably be done so even the dealer agreed that it wasn't the bike for me.

But I have gone too far with the KLX now so I will just enjoy it for what it is.

And another thing, maybe we all get a bit caught up with performance etc.
I am rarely happier than when I'm tackling some tough hills and trails with my mates. Out there just riding.
And if all I had to ride was an my old TM125 from the 70's, I would head off with a huge smile saying, "wouldn't be dead for quid's"

It's easy to lose sight of the end game.

 

Good words

 

Agreed. One thing he didn't mention was:

No matter how much HP we have, we still want more -- no matter what -- we still want more.