Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster.
I'm looking for some guidance as to how my sled is running. It's a 2000 SX700R. Not sure how many miles are on it. Speedometer wasn't working when I got it, and the hood was replaced in the past so the odometer says 1800 miles. It does have more than that though. Compression is 122-124-124.
I recently bought this sled and have put about 300 miles on it. I have been checking the plugs after every ride and the first few times I checked them they always had a nice chocolate color to them.
It does seem to have an occasional misfire that has a sharp cracking sound to it. At first I thought it was just exhaust noise because one of the exhaust manifold bolts had vibrated out. (I had this happen to my car over the summer and was surprised that just a loose bolt caused such a noise, but it was that simple to fix.) I put a new bolt in and the noise didn't change. It is occasional, random, and happens pretty much across the rpm range.
I just put new plugs in before a 100mile ride last week. It ran well, but I think I heard a slight backfire when letting off the throttle. The entire ride was pretty slow. I was with a slower rider, so there was very little high speed running. It was mainly 30-45 mph. I did a few wide open runs across a field, and then just waited for them to catch up at the next road crossing.
When I got back, this is what the plugs looked like. I think in person they looked a tiny bit lighter than the pictures show. They all seemed like the middle one looks in this picture. Does this look like I'm running a bit lean in the mid range? Do the needle jets need to be cleaned/adjusted?
I had the sled idling for a bit yesterday checking some other things out, and this is what the plugs look like today. I think the idle is pretty rich and smokes a lot.
What's your opinion on how the carbs are set up? Anything to be concerned about?
Thanks,
Mike
I'm looking for some guidance as to how my sled is running. It's a 2000 SX700R. Not sure how many miles are on it. Speedometer wasn't working when I got it, and the hood was replaced in the past so the odometer says 1800 miles. It does have more than that though. Compression is 122-124-124.
I recently bought this sled and have put about 300 miles on it. I have been checking the plugs after every ride and the first few times I checked them they always had a nice chocolate color to them.
It does seem to have an occasional misfire that has a sharp cracking sound to it. At first I thought it was just exhaust noise because one of the exhaust manifold bolts had vibrated out. (I had this happen to my car over the summer and was surprised that just a loose bolt caused such a noise, but it was that simple to fix.) I put a new bolt in and the noise didn't change. It is occasional, random, and happens pretty much across the rpm range.
I just put new plugs in before a 100mile ride last week. It ran well, but I think I heard a slight backfire when letting off the throttle. The entire ride was pretty slow. I was with a slower rider, so there was very little high speed running. It was mainly 30-45 mph. I did a few wide open runs across a field, and then just waited for them to catch up at the next road crossing.
When I got back, this is what the plugs looked like. I think in person they looked a tiny bit lighter than the pictures show. They all seemed like the middle one looks in this picture. Does this look like I'm running a bit lean in the mid range? Do the needle jets need to be cleaned/adjusted?
I had the sled idling for a bit yesterday checking some other things out, and this is what the plugs look like today. I think the idle is pretty rich and smokes a lot.
What's your opinion on how the carbs are set up? Anything to be concerned about?
Thanks,
Mike
Clean the carbs and check that the jetting matches up with the stock specs in the tech section and you should be good to go. Your first pictures look a little lean to me...Red Heads are very forgiving.
Devilin AblueDress!
New member
X2 on Bobs post. Just want to add a couple things. By just normally shuting engine of and pulling plugs your only checking the idle cicuit. Try some half throttle, hit kill switch, 3/4 throttle, hit kill switch plug checks. Good at idle could be rich/lean other rpm ranges. The other thing is speedo not working is usually a sign of bad drive shaft bearings. If you havent looked into that I would.
Thanks for the replies.
When doing the 1/2 or 3/4 kill switch checks, how long should I run at those rpms? Where I live the trails are now closed and my yard isn't big enough to do any riding. Is running with the track lifted for a certain amount of time good enough? I'm going up to northern WI on Wed for a couple days of riding yet this season so I want to make sure everything is good before I head up there.
The bearing seemed to be tight. I had to replace the shear key on my SRV in December because the cable froze up. When I pulled the metal core out of the cable, it was all rusty. So I cleaned up the core, coated it with oil, and put oil in the cable before I pulled the core back in. Now water can't get in and freeze.
When doing the 1/2 or 3/4 kill switch checks, how long should I run at those rpms? Where I live the trails are now closed and my yard isn't big enough to do any riding. Is running with the track lifted for a certain amount of time good enough? I'm going up to northern WI on Wed for a couple days of riding yet this season so I want to make sure everything is good before I head up there.
The bearing seemed to be tight. I had to replace the shear key on my SRV in December because the cable froze up. When I pulled the metal core out of the cable, it was all rusty. So I cleaned up the core, coated it with oil, and put oil in the cable before I pulled the core back in. Now water can't get in and freeze.
Devilin AblueDress!
New member
Check out the "tech" section. LOTS of good info, carb cleaning, a few write ups about reading your plugs/piston wash. As far as the how far question theres a write up"jetting....hammer style" That covers it in pretty good detail. Dont think the running it on a stand will work. You would need to replicate the load on engine for acurate readings. If nothing else you could check while riding it up north.
Yeah, I figured it would need a load on the engine to be truly indicative. I was reading though those posts in the tech forum earlier today. They were very informative so I feel I have a good guideline on how to proceed. I have never disassembled and cleaned carbs before - any tips or things to look out for? I just don't want to get them out and apart tomorrow and run into a problem, or get them back together and have it running worse and not have the sled available for the trip.
You said I could just check them while riding up north. Do you think I'm just a little bit on the lean side and that it would be safe to ride? Or am I starting to get into a danger zone.
The pictures I posted were from riding in 28°-31°F weather. The temps where I'm going this week (either Mercer or Crivitz) will be 30°F during the day, and 10-15° at night.
From what I can see looking down into the cylinder through the plug holes, the tops of the pistons look in very good condition. They are a very even charcoal color. I couldn't quite see the edges of the pistons this afternoon because it was too light outside. I was going to check tonight once it got dark out with the piston down and a small bulb dropped in the cylinder, but I'm working 3rd shift tonight and didn't have time before going in.
Mike
You said I could just check them while riding up north. Do you think I'm just a little bit on the lean side and that it would be safe to ride? Or am I starting to get into a danger zone.
The pictures I posted were from riding in 28°-31°F weather. The temps where I'm going this week (either Mercer or Crivitz) will be 30°F during the day, and 10-15° at night.
From what I can see looking down into the cylinder through the plug holes, the tops of the pistons look in very good condition. They are a very even charcoal color. I couldn't quite see the edges of the pistons this afternoon because it was too light outside. I was going to check tonight once it got dark out with the piston down and a small bulb dropped in the cylinder, but I'm working 3rd shift tonight and didn't have time before going in.
Mike
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Devilin AblueDress!
New member
Like Bob said they are very forgiving. Probably fine. May run a test or two prior to ripping into the trails when you get up north. If you dont have the auto-matic punch I HIGHLY recomend you pick one up. I have ben using pliers and just bought the punch at lowes this year ($12) WAY easier to remove float needle pivot pin. Pay attention as your tearing them apart. PTO should have a differant main jet. The rest of the parts should all be the same but your better off putting them back in the carb they came from.