Carb Guru needed 1979 XL 250

[John M]

Hey there,

My friend in Abbotsford is having issues with the carb on his 1979 Xl 250 S. He's had it off the bike and cleaned it a couple times but the bike won't idle. He's at the end of his skill range.

Can someone reccomend a shop, or local guy with a gift for these things who might be able to sort it out?

Thanks in advance!

John

 

[joker650]

I have an 80 XR200 that sounds like a sewing machine . When I first got it a bunch of years ago,it had sat for about 10 yeaRs with gas in it. All I did was drain the old fuel out and start it up. It would not idle but ran fine otherwise. After about 2 years it would start and idle with the first kick.
One of the passages must have gad some dried up fuel in it and cleaned up over the 2 years.
Your results may vary

The bike was only used to putt around out camping so I never worried about how bad it ran.

 

[old trials guy]

Take it to Don at Cascade in Mission. He is great with older Hondas and runs an honest shop. Just moved down near lordco I think. Manual cleaning is often not enough to get inside the carb body. Proper tank cleaning likely will help.

otg

 

[John M]

I will pass on the info about Don at Cascade, thanks OTG.

Thanks too, Joker. The bike ran ok last fall, so I think it gummed up thoroughly. We're planning an overnight up Harrison West next weekend so the bike needs to be reliable. I don't want to tow him 125 km out to the road....

Cheers!

John

 

[Shuswap]

Pilot jets are the main culprit when it displays poor idle.
Not everyone cleans them properly, they must be 100% spotless. So it's often recommended to just put a new pilot jet in, they typically cost less than $5.
Any decent carb guy can sort this out quickly

Our current fuel blends seem to be the worst for this.

 

[John M]

Good to know. Thanks Shuswap. J.