Help: need carb (needle) for DR650SE

**Beddhist** · 24th November 2009, 18:16

Hi,

That was fast! I already have two offers of help. Thanks heaps to everybody. Here is what happened:

Everything was going just fine until yesterday when my old bike almost stopped. Today I found that the carb slide had worn to the point that the needle had sheared off. I can now only ride at max. 40km/h or full throttle.

The plastic part inside the carb that is worn is not available as a spare part, so the carb is a write-off in the long run.

Now, to get mobile again and complete our trip around NZ I need either a complete carb or at least a needle. Suzuki has no carb parts in stock at all.

Bike Force, the shop here in Rotorua has been extremely helpful and has phoned around the remaining wreckers, but no luck.

So, if anybody could help me find either part I would be most grateful.

The bike is a model SP46, so a carb from any DR650SE from 1996 onwards should fit.

Thanks heaps folks

Peter.

**clint640** · 25th November 2009, 09:05

I just called Peter, I have some used parts that should get him going & will drop them off to him this afternoon - my KTM has the same carb & I gave it a rebuild a few months back, luckily I kept the old bits.

Cheers
Clint

**NordieBoy** · 14th January 2010, 16:49

So Peter, did you get it all going properly?

**Beddhist** · 14th January 2010, 17:18

Clint's needle turned out to be different and made the bike run too rich, but his old slide guide was good. Mine had worn through to the metal. Fran posted his s/hand original needle, which improved things, but now the bike was running too rich at the top end. Couldn't even overtake a truck uphill. When we visited Fran in Nelson he generously gave me a needle jet, but strangely, now it runs too lean just off idle. I raised the float level and the needle is in the top position. It's sort of OK, just tricky stuff becomes a little more tricky. Making the idle as rich as possible has also helped. I'm wondering whether I re-assembled something incorrectly, as everything is now back the way it was supposed to be, but it sure doesn't work like it did for the previous 180,000 km. I think I'm not going to fiddle with it any further - don't touch a running system.

Thanks to you both and also to Michael Ruegg in Katikati, who provided advice, tools and hospitality in an attempt to sort it out.

Kind regards,
Peter & Su.

**NordieBoy** · 14th January 2010, 17:59

Is the clip on the top of the needle or 4th slot down from the top?

**Beddhist** · 14th January 2010, 18:18

If the needle is up then the clip is down.

**NordieBoy** · 14th January 2010, 18:26

Mixture screw set ok?
Carb vacuum line ok?

**Beddhist** · 14th January 2010, 18:35

As I said, I richened the idle mix as far as practical and this has helped. The vacuum port on the carb is plugged. I suspect that the cracked intake manifold has cracked further and is letting some air in. When I find some time I'll apply a bit of silicone to the outside and see whether this makes any difference. Right now the weather is so bad I'm not going near the bike!