300ex idle and choking

[usdsk8er540]

hey yall. just came upon your board and needed to ask a question. i got my girlfriend a 2002 300ex and im having a little bit of a problem with it. i know hondas are notoriously cold-blooded (or so i have been told and experienced) and i have trouble starting her 300 sometimes and keeping it idling. i dont have much of a problem with the idle if i put the choke on the first setting, but if i ride it like that the throttle starts cutting out when i get on it and starts bogging down. my mechanic tells me that i probably have some calcification (or something like that) in my idle jet from the quad being stored with gas in the carb (oops!) and i need to have it cleaned and probably re-jetted. now of course, i dont want to mess with anything dealing with a carb because there are a lot of small pieces and that scares me! question is, would it hurt to run it on the choke until i can get it in the shop and have my mechanic clean it right (as well as check the jetting on the dyno to make sure it is sitting right), or should i avoid riding it (or having my girlfriend ride it) until i can get it looked at? we are going to st. joe state park near st. louis,mo on march 18th for spring break, so i need to get it done soon if it has to be done. thanks for any help you can give me. later

[rooster300ex]

300ex carbs are easy to take apart. all you have to do is take the bowl off to get to the pilot jet. just take it apart and clean it with carb cleaner and some compressed air to free up anything thats in there. make sure the air filter isn't really dirty or anything and that should fix your problem, and some fresh fuel.

[usdsk8er540]

hmmm...ive also heard its not good to use carb cleaner on these carbs. something about it might damage something? maybe im wrong and just tripping! ill probably just have my mechanic do it because im so busy with work and school i just wont have time to get out to my land to do it. so, running on choke is no good right? and the whole bogging down and throttle cutting out near the top end, would that be the choking or the rev limiter? i have a 03 warrior and i guess they dont have a rev limiter on them, so i have never really experienced anything like this on it, but then again, i dont have to choke the hell out of it to start it. ive had to do that a few times with the honda when it was really cold. damn, sometimes i just wanna kick the crap out of it, but i got it for $1500, so it was a really good deal (except the previous owner obviously didnt know how or when to change the oil in it!) well thanks and let me know about the whole choke thing. i dont want to screw it up or anything. thanks

[rooster300ex]

I don't know if riding with the choke would do any harm to it. i don't see why it would. did you get this bike in a different elevation then yours or same area.

[usdsk8er540]

same elevation. im probably going to just take it in. it wont be too much and it will be dyno tuned in the process, so my air/fuel should be good then.

[bwamos]

Originally posted by usdsk8er540
hmmm...ive also heard its not good to use carb cleaner on these carbs. something about it might damage something?

I've been using standard automotive carb cleaner on my 300ex carb for almost 8 years. Never had an issue.

I would agree with squirting some in there. I never even have to choke my 300ex. I've never used it since the day I bought it. I start it up, let it idle until it warms up for about 5 minutes (while I get my boots, gloves, helmet, etc on), then I hop on and go. Even with the 330cc 11:1. Sounds like your idle circuit is running a little lean (due to a dirty pilot), or your idle may just be a bit too slow.

[usdsk8er540]

okay, thanks. ill get that checked out. still dont want to mess with taking a carb apart or carb settings myself until i feel more comfortable with my mechanical knowledge of them. id rather have my mechanic do it because if he screws anything up, he has to fix it. if i screw something up, i have to fix it or have it fixed. well thanks for the info guys. i appreciate it.

[300ex mxracer]

i would get a repair manual and clean the carb yourself since dealers/mechanics seem to overcharge quite a bit.

[usdsk8er540]

nah, im friends with the guy at the shop so he gives me good deals on stuff. got the one way clutch on my warrior fixed there and he also built my motor. all for good price. now the warrior hauls like a mother (at least for a warrior). havent drag raced anyone yet, but i think i should be able to keep up with 400's and 450's. (maybe, like i said, i havent tried) i might be able to let it go for now, but if ive got the extra money this friday, im just going to take it into the shop. ive got a lot of stuff to do right now anyway, like reset the idle on my warrior since i got a new cam in it, so that might take me a while. well, thanks for the input guys. later

[rooster300ex]

Yea if you have doubts about taking it apart don't do it.

[usdsk8er540]

well folks, the verdict is in. just got the honda out of the shop last weekend and i was quite surprised what my mechanic told me. apparently, unknown to me, someone had tinkered around in the carb before i bought it (since my mechanic hadnt touched it until now) and screwed up the idle jet. apparently whomever this idiot was, first they cross-threaded the jet. then they apparently kept cranking on it and ended up breaking it, and then just left it in there! i dont know how the thing ever ran or idled to begin with, but it runs fine now. thanks for your input guys. i appreciate it.

[bwamos]

yea.. that would do it.. lol.