Plug Read

Backwoods M Max

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Mar 31, 2011
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New England
Can you guys take a quick look at these plugs pics? Came out of my 2002 mtn max. The light one is mag side and darker one is center. PTO looked fine so no comparison plus it's jetted differently. Stock Jetting for 0-3000', vforce reeds and a can. Riding temp was high 40's. First time riding the sled since it was put away in 2 years. It went into storage with dry carbs and an empty gas tank. When I first went to start it up the carb rack was sticky. It wouldn't close fast when you would snap the throttle. Once it got some gas in it that was fine. The problem with not riding it in 2 years is I can't remember what the plugs use to look like. They always were black to some degree, it never had a tan/smoke ring colored plug. The ones that were in it when I started it up had fogging oil on them so they were useless to read.

Thinking something dried in the mag carb and gunk'd it up

IMG_3750.jpgIMG_3749.jpg
 

I pulled the rack. I'm getting faster at doing it although they come off in the spring normally only to clean them before the summer. I didn't find anything suspicious but I pulled the main, idle and air pilot. They all got a wire stuck down them and some carb cleaner. The circuits of this carb got BLASTED with 140 psi compressed air so anything is there is now gone. I also pulled the other 2 air pilots and idle jets and checked them. I didn't find anything but they got the wire too. Put it all back together. It was too late to go ride it (my neighbors wouldn't be happy) but I got it up to operating temp on the track stand. At 97 degrees coolant temp on a temp gun i was seeing 129 mag 112 center 120 pto spark plug temps. The mag plug is now slightly wet again at idle (as well as 6000 doing a plug kill test) and a freshly sand blasted plug in the mag cylinder was burned in to where it should be on the electrode. It all comes down to a test ride tomorrow but I think I'm in the clear.


I forgot to mention before it was idle hanging. I would hang at 4000 rpm but a shot of choke would bring it down. It was idling closer to 2000 when it was doing that so I backed the idle speed down 1/4 turn and it was idling at 1600 at full riding temp so that put my fears aside of a leak. It was idle hanging at the house after driving around the yard but I wasn't at full temp yet, at full temp the hang was a little longer. I did a full spray over with starting fluid and couldn't even get a hint of increase of rpm.
 
Set idle at 12-1300. That helped on mine some. I still have to blip the choke sometimes though. Just part of owning an srx
 
I'm just waiting to get out for a test ride. Carbs have been cleaned and I've got 91 without ethanol that comes from a station with high turnover.
 
Got it

I got out to do a test run with the mag side carb cleaned. No more idle hang issues and it's running great now. I tried to read a used sandblasted plug but it would have taken a lot of miles to get some good burn in. Threw in a new plug and it's got a nice burn in and a very prominent smoke ring. Now to ride!IMG_3795.jpgIMG_3793.jpg
 
Off topic I know, but what do you have for clutching in that sled now? I have Heelclickers and they work awesome.
 
I ended up running heelclickers with a bolt, 3 washers and a lock washer in the shoulder and the heel & tip empty on a red spring. Running a green secondary on the stock 43 angle but it's a slippery billet helix. Pulls hard at 8500 with the 20/39 gearing then will climb after full shift.
 
You should probably put at least 4,1 grams (3,3 gram bolt +lock washer) on the tip to minimize overrev.
 
It's been spot on with the setup from heelclickers. I asked him about weights in the arms and he said for a mountain setup without pipes on the red spring this is what I wanted. It's over geared for sea level altitude by a lot but I like the easy drive away and it never feels like it over revs the pipe and ends up on its face. Very happy with it.
 


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