Dirt Squirt
New Member
Hello all,
I'm new here. On a whim I bought a sportster a few weeks ago because they just looked like so much fun and I've always wanted one. I found a super clean 96 that had been adult owned and by all appearances very well cared for.
Once I got it in the water and fired up, I had a little bit of a problem maintaining anything above 3/4 throttle. It ran great and planed out fine at lower speeds, but just had no top end. The guy I bought it from claimed both carbs had been rebuilt - presumably by someone that knew what they were doing - so I had that going for me, but still had the problem.
First thing I did was take the airbox off just to see what everything looked like in there, and right off the bat saw that the pulse line hose was missing the clamp that holds it on to the carbs, and it was sitting there loose. I replaced the clamp and buttoned everything back up again thinking that must have cured it. Well, kinda. It was better but still missing a bit.
I had checked the plugs earlier and they were a nice tan color- maybe a touch on the lean side, but not bad. I figured I should put some new ones in anyway. That's when I noticed all the black, sooty build up on the top of the plugs and in the plug caps. I took some electrical cleaner and modified a brass brush out of my gun cleaning kit (.30 cal) to clean up the inside of the cap. Once everything was cleaned up I put some dielectric grease on the top of the plug before I put the cap back on. That made a HUGE difference! It smoothed it right out and cured the missing entirely, but it was still kinda slow.
Next I took the airbox off again and checked the high-speed adjustment. (should have done that the first time) There is only 1/2 a turn or so available, so I cranked them all the way counter-clockwise as far as they would go to get some more fuel into it at higher speeds.
That did it! She is running like a top now! No problems what so ever. Which leads me to my question. I GPS'd the top speed at 35MPH. Is that about right? I've owned snowmobiles my whole life and I'm very familiar with two stroke motors. Obviously there is no Tach to look at on that model, but it sure 'sounds' like it's in the sweet spot while it's running. Should I be going faster? Or is that about the right top speed?
Thank you all for this great forum!
I'm new here. On a whim I bought a sportster a few weeks ago because they just looked like so much fun and I've always wanted one. I found a super clean 96 that had been adult owned and by all appearances very well cared for.
Once I got it in the water and fired up, I had a little bit of a problem maintaining anything above 3/4 throttle. It ran great and planed out fine at lower speeds, but just had no top end. The guy I bought it from claimed both carbs had been rebuilt - presumably by someone that knew what they were doing - so I had that going for me, but still had the problem.
First thing I did was take the airbox off just to see what everything looked like in there, and right off the bat saw that the pulse line hose was missing the clamp that holds it on to the carbs, and it was sitting there loose. I replaced the clamp and buttoned everything back up again thinking that must have cured it. Well, kinda. It was better but still missing a bit.
I had checked the plugs earlier and they were a nice tan color- maybe a touch on the lean side, but not bad. I figured I should put some new ones in anyway. That's when I noticed all the black, sooty build up on the top of the plugs and in the plug caps. I took some electrical cleaner and modified a brass brush out of my gun cleaning kit (.30 cal) to clean up the inside of the cap. Once everything was cleaned up I put some dielectric grease on the top of the plug before I put the cap back on. That made a HUGE difference! It smoothed it right out and cured the missing entirely, but it was still kinda slow.
Next I took the airbox off again and checked the high-speed adjustment. (should have done that the first time) There is only 1/2 a turn or so available, so I cranked them all the way counter-clockwise as far as they would go to get some more fuel into it at higher speeds.
That did it! She is running like a top now! No problems what so ever. Which leads me to my question. I GPS'd the top speed at 35MPH. Is that about right? I've owned snowmobiles my whole life and I'm very familiar with two stroke motors. Obviously there is no Tach to look at on that model, but it sure 'sounds' like it's in the sweet spot while it's running. Should I be going faster? Or is that about the right top speed?
Thank you all for this great forum!
