Good aftermarket carburetor

[kawasig]

Hello there

I'm having a problem finding a quality carburetor for a 1993 Suzuki Quad Runner lt-f 250 2x4. I find a lot that have 3-4 star ratings. And all so far don't have the right throttle Cable inlet at the top. The last one I got 4 star on Amazon has a threaded cable sheath rest that could be partially drilled to work. I would prefer to get one I don't have to modify. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

[Mech]

The model you want are out there, but no after market carb is set up as well as the original was, for your bike, for your fuel. They nearly always need working on and re tuning to get them to run as well as the original.

It's better to repair your old carb unless the body where the slide runs is badly worn. Everything else is repairable.

What's wrong with your old carb ?

[kawasig]

That was actually My plan. I was going to order a rebuild kit for the original Makuni. I have tried every bit I can find for the screws on the float bowl. It's between a 2.5 &3 mm. I tried all My fractional ones too. 

 

[Mech]

You are trying to get the screws out, the ones that hold the float bowl on ?

Get an impact driver bit, it's called a No2, and tap it with a small hammer before you try turning it, that seats the driver and loosens the threads, then use the impact driver if you have one, or use a spanner on the bit while you push the bit down hard. If all else fails use channel lock pliers and get them out or cut a slot and use a conventional screwdriver.

The screws are just a common metric thread. I'm pretty sure they will be four mill. An engineering supply or auto supply shop should have a plastic box with a range of metric bolts that will do the job, they sell them individually, or a bike shop will have some laying around probably.

Four mill is the outside diameter, and what they get described as..

Edited February 13, 2024 by Mech

[Gwbarm]

I second rebuilding your original carb, i usually buy the all balls kit it comes with new screws, of course you can buy OEM jets and parts individually at a greater expense. The screws sometimes get very tight usually from dried varnish around the threads i would spray them good with carb cleaner let them set for a while and then spray them down with PB Blaster. I have had to get many out with pliers, i usually use the smallest needle nose vice grips but channel lock work just fine. I have never tried impact driver im sure it works, i was just always afraid it might break the carb, that pot metal does get a tad brittle with age. 

[Mech]

Yeah you're right there Gw.. You do need to get the carb onto a nice flat surface.. Do be careful if you're using the impact driver Kawasig. It's easy to hold the carb and the impact bit in one hand though, and tap the bit to seat the bit in the screw.. that's safe.

[kawasig]

Thanks Gentlemen! I will give those ideas a try! I definitely prefer the stock Makuni over the Chinese aftermarket. I read that Niche carbs are decent. However finding one for this application appears to be difficult. 

[Mech]

Both styles of throttle cable are availiable aftermarket, but when they say it fits your bike, or even if they say it's for your bike, it is never set up right. For a given size venturi we can calculate the air volumes and fit jets, but if the fuel or compression or cam or exhaust is different on different bikes, just to name a few factors, then they really need different jets to suit the particular combinations the bike and market has. These aftermarket carbs are just set up with some combination of jets and needles that will give a fuel mixture that's ok and will burn, but they seldom accelerate well. They sell the same carb for commuter and sport bikes and quads. They say it fits them all. I doubt it runs well on any of them.

If you do find an exact copy of your original you can sometimes swap all the jets and slide needle and the new carb will run fairly well, but it's never guaranteed that the old jets will fit into the new carb. Different carb manufacturers use different threads for their jets, and some of the aftermarket use threads of their very own.

[kawasig]

I have seen a lot of YouTube videos that demonstrate what Your saying. A lot of carbs and rebuild kits seem to be somewhat compatible but not fully. That's why My preference is the original Makuni.

I Love the knowledge sharing in this site! And I appreciate the info!

[Mech]

Yeah all forums are great for getting the low-down. I'm, well was, a self employed mech in the rural and before the internet it was a nightmare trying to get even basic information like a read of the service manual. Now you can just go to a model specific forum and ask what's the common fault and often they will point you straight to the stupid obscure fault, or you can download the manual. That common fault information is the sort of knowledge that once only service managers at dealerships accumulated.. And manuals used to be dealer only once, till the japs figured out that was counter productive and deterred people buying their cars. The internet certainly is a huge boon for all of us.

[WeeBee]

I was having the same problems with Aftermarket carbs so I had my original Mikuni  totally rebuilt at an ATV Shop for $ 75 including the Complete rebuild Kit! It works great now !!

 

[Gwbarm]

👍

[kenikas]

I'd agree with what's been said about using the original carb when it's possible, but I've had a few that I haven't been able to find a good kit for. Most of the Chinese knockoffs are pretty hit and miss, but I've had fairly good luck with the ones from Caltric. As has been said they usually need a bit of set up, but for the most part seem to be a little better than most.

[Gwbarm]

I have had good luck with Caltric parts as well, but i havent used one of their carbs.

[vlxerdon]

I put a carb from Caltric on my bear tracker and have not had any problems with it.

[jashadams]

I'll always pick makuni or a rebuild kit for one

[Gwbarm]

I agree completely and have more than expressed my opinion on OEM carbs, but i also have been very impressed with the quality of the chinese carbs, i dont agree with the application data that they fit numerous bikes for numerous years but they do work. Example: I bought my Mikuni from a mikuni dealer on Ebay the carb i got was only produced for 1 years for my bike, but it was the first year of the run and was changed for the next year slightly, i would not have know this had i not talked to the dealer. I was very impressed with the service provided by this company.

 I have aa test carb on a bike right now that is running good now, i am running it for a year and see how it holds up compared to Mikuni or Kei Hin. So far it is doing well maybe running a little leaner than it should, but i can adjust that out on this carb. I also have had many that could not be adjusted out.

[vlxerdon]

10 hours ago, jashadams said:

I'll always pick makuni or a rebuild kit for one

When I got my quad there was no carb on it. Perhaps I got lucky. The only thing I had to do was adjust the AF mixture.. The search for a stock carb is ongoing. So far no luck. Don't know why but I don't seem to be able to find one. You would think a 2000 Yamaha bear tracker carb would be pretty common.

[puskinelis]

Use manufacturer catalog and find your carb OEM parts number and then search for non OEM version by this same number, and compare photos of your OEM one and non-OEM. New carb prices are insane which no one want to spend. I also like to use non OEM Carb rebuild kits they are really proper made

[vlxerdon]

I should have rephrased that it's more the price than being able to find a stock carb.

[jojo12]

lectron makes good carbs that are auto adjusting so you dont have you use jets and they atomize the fuel alot better than a standard carb

[kawasig]

I have never heard of a carb like that Jojo. I will have to check that out!

 

[kawasig]

I did get them out with the impact driver. The pilot jet is plugged solid. I put a Chinese card on in the mean time. Then the coil went. I ordered one Amazon. That was bad. I have been through three coils trying to get the right one. I also at the same time replaceed the throttle cable because the one on it was to long. No that I can get full throttle out of it , it's stumbling at full throttle and fouling the spark plug. So now I'm trying to decide if it's jetted to rich or the $30 Amazon coil isn't putting out a hot enough spark. I bought this thing in pieces. So it's trial and error till I get all the bugs out of it. It's come a long way though! 

I most certainly Appreciate the knowledge Sharing Gentlemen!

[Gwbarm]

What was the problem with the coils, no spark or weak spark, if you have a good blue spark your coils should be Ok you may have to look at it at night to check that out. I would then try adjusting the mixture on the carb they arent always perfect.

[Mrdale907]

It's always best to clean or rebuild the OEM carburetor if at all possible there's no comparison between the quality of OEM and other brands are out there

[Gwbarm]

Agreed!

[Mrdale907]

You can never go wrong with Mikuni or Keihin.

[LCP92]

Another vote for rebuilding the OEM Mikuni.  Use a Japanese JIS screwdriver instead of a #2 Phillips and you'll have a lot better chance of not stripping out the screw head.  The bowl screws should be metric M4 screws.  You can get the JIS screwdrivers and M4 screws on the jungle website.  Sometimes I'll buy a Niche carb for the parts (other than the jets) if I need them.