Dra O

I'm guessing he'll get a few more decades of use out of it after you've cleared it for use. Bravo, Frank.

I likely just kissed $200 goodbye buying a Honda 250 this AM from Craiglist. We'll see. - VIN number is off the front frame; one VIN site calls it a 2008 Honda 250 TRX - this baby ain't a 2008; other VIN sites list the VIN as invalid; might be that the owner (a shady dude from a shadier side of my home town) put a 2008 front end on it? No idea. - a HUGE hint (hint #1) would've been that there's no key to start the machine - gotta use a screwdriver. I'll likely be visited by police sometime in the near future. - owner acquired from another man - owner showed me video of him riding it this summer on a major interstate while very drunk (hint #2) - the machine sounded good in the video - no front headlight; owner said machine has new carb - looks Chinese - he didn't have original carb; air intake box is wide open - no long plastic connection sleeve leading into air box like on my 99 king quad; no visible oil leaks; oil is dark; air filter clean; decent plastic; no front right brake apparatus; left brake handle very loose and rear brake doesn't work - battery at this point is good; manipulate the ignition switch w/ screw driver and the green neutral light shines (this has since stopped working) - it's a kick start machine: when I kicked it down (hint #3), the compression sounded normal, almost "tight" but at the end of the cycle, there was some awful grinding noise coming from what sounded like either inside the engine or the starter area; I let it settle, kicked it again, same noise heard at the end of cycle; owner said it likely needs a new starter - I only hope it's this simple pictures attached - the throttle cable / zip tie pic is my favorite - but it works! it was CRAZY dirty prior to pressure washing - and the water in air box is likely secondary to the power wash - no water was in it when purchased gotta few things to complete on the king quad - will be changing motor/gear oil in honda and getting new oil filter over time - talk soon - hope y'all had a great Christmas

Haaa! I hope she does! Will post video if youngest child can get video from phone to laptop. And I may have another "project" soon (I officially have "the bug"... scary thought, I know). A patient of mine has what he thinks is an older arctic cat - maybe early 2000 model - it's outside his home - not ridden in years - gotta inspect, get specs and see what parts are available first. This whole process was very thorough - someone else can see exactly what we've done, step by step - try this, don't try that - and it's recorded here with pictures - it's BOUND to help someone having similar issues. Thank you all again - you guys ROCK!

yes, fantastic news - and a great Christmas present from all who pitched in. great community here. I just wish there was a place to donate cash - and I mean that - experts should be PAID for their input. this group has likely saved me at LEAST $1000 - time, labor, diagnosing, parts, etc. - I am thankful. and i'll likely be back for more in the future.

the red button is the "off/run" switch - the switch my finger is pointing to is the choke. I think the issue has been solved, ladies - I got it to yard and started it up - it did bog down a bit but I fiddled w/ the choke and whatever happened, happened. but that's what scares me a bit - all I did was move the choke up and down - it's in exactly the same place - maybe the carb end of the choke cable had been stuck? trying to screw that outer plastic piece in was (verbal lubrication x10). Frank, I removed air filter and plugged the air hole w/ 2-3 fingers while running - it shut down - couldn't breathe. No bogging down, idles decently well - drove it through 3rd gear w/out issues. let it set for 20 min, started it, let it warm up, no bogging down. air/fuel pin is back to almost 2 5/8 (factory). still hesitant to put her clothes back on but her dress was washed - she'll look pretty soon. pic #1: underside of rear muffler - smokes a good bit here, too - does this piece having holes affect on the performance? oughta be fun cutting through that rust pic #2: choke switch: arrow points downward - if pulling it downward, it's going to advance the mechanism inside carb - the rod within the spring will advance into the "hole" in carb and plug this up, i'm assuming creating some type of seal; pushing the choke switch forward will retract the rod within the spring and open some important area w/in carb pic #3: muffler pipe - this area was smoking a good bit after the brief ride - haven't removed shroud - wouldn't surprise me if it has a hole

are you talking about the lever in the 1st pic? i'd no idea there was a choke on this machine - I've never touched that lever - this could be the entire issue, no? and pic #2 is the method you're talking about once it's all nestled back down in and hoses/lines hooked up? now that this idiot knows about the choke switch, i'm thinking of going back to 2 5/8 on the air/gas screw *** plan is this: put it back in once again, hook everything back up, start it, ADJUST FREAKIN CHOKE SWITCH and see if doesn't bog down if it bogs down, remove rear boot, cover air intake side of carb w/ fingers, rev it up and see if bogs down

No holes plugged - and it came out fairly easily - wouldn't have known about the status of the holes until it was inspected - very positive. I cleaned it with carb cleaner, ran small wires through the holes, blew through top / bottom while holding opposite end, then cleaned it again, dried with compressed air and re-inserted regarding frank's idea about the air restriction method: 1) "Put the choke at half way after its warmed up" - you mean the screw-in apparatus that's external to the carb - turn it one way, engine revs, turn it other way, engine slows down? I tried this before - turned it way up so that it idled high - then pressed throttle but it still bogged. i also turned I down but this didn't work either. i'll try it again. 2) "OR try and cover of the intake on the carburetor halfway with your hand and see how it throttles up. If it revs with a little restriction of air then its obvious that there is a fuel shortage happening someplace within. By creating an air restriction allows for a better fuel mix and that allows the engine to rev" - do you mean leaving the plastic boot piece off between the air box and carb, then partially covering that side of the carb while starting the machine? nothing's gonna jump out and bite or burn my fingers? I mean, I aint' a wuss or anything, I just like having all of my digits :-]

check this out - https://youtu.be/AOJlHIUUBk0 power mods - mikuni carb series #2 - disassembly/cleaning - at 2:10 looking at removing needle jet - this might work

you are correct. but i'm unsure how to remove the thing w/out shattering something! I've no experience working on ATVs but trust the expert's advice.... I was looking down through the main jet - i saw the holes but, obviously, couldn't tell if they were plugged. I'm pretty certain it didn't bog down when i got it. the only thing I've done is add a fuel filter - now, DO NOT LAUGH if the thing is on incorrectly - it may not matter - but i attached a pic. yes, the hose is too long but i had it on there just to get things going - i can shorten the lighter colored hose at any time. but it's got tight seals on both sides - even at fuel pump - no leaking of gas in these areas. but is it faced the right direction? would this even matter? it took a few cranks to fill up with gas when i put it on after rebuilding fuel pump but has remained full since. AND - after the first carb rebuild, there was a FEW drops of gas from the petcock - this has not returned after subsequent carb rebuilds and starts. the petcock turn switch is TIGHT as can be but i'm able to go from prime to run to reserve.

I can press as light as a feather or as slow as molasses on the throttle and after about 1/4 of the way in it still bogs down. Unsure if this is indicative of anything: when I start the machine (cold engine), it turns over and idles and I can push the throttle all the way and it doesn't bog. once the engine runs for about a minute, the bogging begins. is there something metal expanding after the engine warms up that might be affixed to an internal carb piece (ie valve) that might cause the issue? the 89mb video won't upload

I told myself not to get back online but I had to. I am weak. Got carb back on - runs great - video unable to upload (and it was < 90mb) - still stalling when pressing in throttle. back to work next three days.

will do. y'all go help some other folks - you've spent waaaaay too much time w/ me today. I was off today and am off tomorrow. i'll get carb back on soon and try to shoot short video of it running. 24k gold carb man

unsure if these pics help the tab wasn't this low when I got it, I do remember this - but the air stops once float reaches second line you mentioned 3/4 - the body of the floats themselves (black plastic pieces) are hitting the float bowl and won't advance further

yessir, the air cuts off when float reaches second line...

raise it up a hair more?

second float tab adjustment - a bit lower on the line

I am CONFIDENT that extra little push sets everything back in alignment - it HAS to be. going with between 2 and 2 1/4 for now - trying to fashion a tool to let me adjust air/fuel screw while carb is mounted here's a pic of float - at rest see the top line - blowing into fuel pipe it only comes up to the second mark - looks like i'm way off will adjust and repost pic in a few

here we go: I put the main screw back in and tightened it down to SNUG - then put a bit more bite on screwing it in and it moved an extra 16th of an inch, likely seating it back into the original position w/out any gaps. I can't see this happen but can feel it. As I take the screw back out, it "gives" a bit and then loosens out without issues. I'm SURE that's it - it seats once fully in.

yessir - post w/ pics from 22 hours ago show it in the same position - I tapped it LIGHTLY once, fearing i'd break the housing - and haven't tapped it since - and it was tapped straight down, not at an angle as to rotate the piece - it always had that little gap as far as I can remember - looks like it needs to be rotated just a hair but i'm not doing it - it's not moving around any i'm letting it stay the way it is

I've not removed anything at this point - afraid i'll damage things w/out the right tool(s) "When you say "downward from float" I assume you mean with the carb turned upside down" -- I mean away from the float bowl toward the center of the carb i'm not so sure about taking that piece out - the idling had improved per adjusting the air fuel screw - although I can see where the need would be to clean out the holes

but does it punch down or up? I'd think downward from float. but that's what i'd THINK - i'm no mechanic. both ends sit flush - I have oil soaking them now - if punch toward float it might break / chip the plastic housing

"The tube that's threaded for the main jet can be removed, it needs to be pushed upward and may require a small punch to loosen it. There are small holes in it that I believe davefrombc referred to." -- I tried to lightly tap that main jet sheath out (downward) but it didn't budge - I COULD squirt some lubricant down beside it and put a slot head screw driver on the sides (see pic) and try to knock it out but, with my luck, the carb would snap in half - or i'd scratch something up real bad ---- but if there are holes in that area (in the jet sheath), it does need to come out, huh? pics below of main jet: looks like there'd be a tool that "unscrews" this piece - see needle pointing to area in question the weird thing is that I've not had any small holes in ANY of the pieces to unplug w/ a wire... almost all of the videos I watch on carb rebuilds show them unplugging holes. my pieces have holes straight through them - see pieces on cardboard paper - the ONLY piece that is too tiny to clean w/ wire I have is #5 - but I can blow through it - and i can blow through the old #5 piece "I didn't see any pictures of the needle & seat (aka float valve) that is retained by the phillips screw - did you replace the o-ring on it already?" -- yessir, it was replaced - the o-ring was REALLY flat on the old one - the new one is nice and plump and fits perfectly (an entirely new float was included w/ carb rebuild kit) Frank, the float bowl gasket DOES fit back in the groove - gotta press it down evenly from all sides - i'd have been up a creek had I cut the thing gold jets - haaa! that's how I roll, brothers! I've no idea why they're gold - if they'd been green or pink i'd not have known the difference

i'll make it work. thanks. going to try the float bowl stuff likely tomorrow.

All internal pieces checked and cleaned. Float bowl gasket: unsure what happened here - it wasn't stretched prior to putting it in - it fit like a glove initially. will likely cut it at the screwdriver mark and permaseal the joint Assuming the attached pictures upload in order, picture #6 - it lies atop picture #7, under diaphragm - it is shiny - this is gas - is this to be expected? it sits directly under the diaphragm picture #8: center of carb - it's open - didn't want to try to remove the internal threaded piece - it looks fixed picture #9: can see light going through main jet in center - the screw/jet under this has a VERY small hole - I couldn't get one wire of a clean pipe cleaner wire through it but was able to blow through it w/ my breath - that hole is SMALL. picture #12 (last one): that hole at the bottom - does it have a function?

hilarious - i may take a pic of the pieces this time - it's not bogging as bad w/ air fuel screw not out as far. so let me make sense of this... they WHY behind it - and i likely will be thinking of this backward, but here it goes: -the air fuel screw mixes air and gas --- if it's too far in (3 turns), meaning that i can see or almost see the tip of it in the cylinder wall, not enough AIR? is able to mix with the gas and create the explosion? thus, backing it out to 2 turns, i cannot see the tip, this opens up the hole for more air to mix with the gas at a better ratio conducive to creating an explosion - this process is fine-tuned until there's not any bogging down (ie the best ratio has been reached for max performance). ??