225dx No Power...

[Six Stroke]

Not sure if it'll help your situation, but my DX was popping and powerless after I resurrected it from a derelict state. It didn't have any power after it came off the pilot jet, so I ran the slide needle both ways - richer, then leaner - and it ran a little better when richened. Took the airbox off and it ran great. So, I put the box back on (it had a new Uni filter) and ran it with the back cover off...it still ran great. Put the cover back on, and it was back to the lean popping. I ended up removing the airbox-to-frame boot and I still run it that way, because something up in the frame tube was restricting airflow.

[El Camexican]

Aside from checking that your brakes and bearings are not hanging up as Veil Monkey mentioned I’d suggest the following:
- Check the compression as discussed.
- Pull the fuel line and see how fast it drains into a gas can. It won’t spray out, but it should almost fill a coffee cup in no more than 2 minutes. If it doesn’t, drain the tank and toss that fuel into a car. Then blow back into the fuel line in the ON position and again in the RES position. Add a gallon of fresh fuel and see if it flows any faster after that. If there is a big change you will want to remove the petcock and clean it and the tank at some point.
- Clear an area on a table and place an old white towel on it. Remove the carb (don’t be scared) and drain the fuel out of it and remove the float bowl screws. Take the float pin out and remove the floats and the needle.
- In the center of the bottom of the carb is the main jet. Using a 6 sided socket remove it. There should be a tube that it screws into. That tube should have a bunch of little holes in it. Use a sewing needle point to break any crud out of them and clean it with carb cleaner. Put it back in.
- In front of the main jet there should be a hole or tube cast into the carb body. Inside there is your pilot jet. Using as large a flat head screw driver as you can fit in there try to remove the jet. I’m not going to blow smoke up your azz, these can and do break and if that happens you may end up buying a new carb ($300 for OEM), but if it is plugged up your trike will never run right anyway, so no risk, no gain. Make sure you use a perfect condition screwdriver for this and any other carb work and that they are well seated into the screw heads before you apply preassure. This jet will have about 4 to 8 holes in it. They must be clean. When you are done put the jet back in and put the float back on the same way it came off as well as any little strainer screen that might be covering the main jet or the needle jet. Make sure it is clean too.
- Now you need to set your float height. Too much typing for me, so get on the internet and look it up, there are many videos and such out there.
- Set the needle clip back to the middle slot.
- Bolt it back on, turn the fuel on, count to 10 and fire it up.

If any of the holes were plugged you should see a night and day difference in the way the trike runs. Let us know what you find.

[Scootertrash]

I'll chime in my .02 on straight pipes for the new guy:
I was once told by mechanic when I knew much less than I do now that the "drag pipes" (it's a straight pipe with no baffle) that guys put on Harley's are called "drag pipes" for a reason. They're for drag racing. They don't develop enough back pressure until you are at wide open full throttle. Your engine needs back pressure to run properly. I won't go into all the technical crap that goes along with it, you'll just have to accept that us old guys know what we are talking about.

Besides the fact that running a straight pipe sounds like crap and irritates the hell out of the other riders and public, who then make complaints and cause further restrictions on our riding. Bassani, SuperTrapp, DG and cobra pipes are loud enough and give you the back pressure you need for your engine to perform properly. Learn it. Live it. Love it.

[ColtonGG33]

I am running a dg silencer on it. It's weird my whole life everyone said that a straight pipe will give it more power because it flows better? My dad who's been into cars and trikes and atvs always said that same thing, same as my brother who's a mechanic? But you guys know what's going on. But why do I feel like there is so much more power? Sorry for interrupting your post splangeland

[El Camexican]

I am running a dg silencer on it. It's weird my whole life everyone said that a straight pipe will give it more power because it flows better? My dad who's been into cars and trikes and atvs always said that same thing, same as my brother who's a mechanic? But you guys know what's going on. But why do I feel like there is so much more power? Sorry for interrupting your post splangeland

Who is "Everyone?" and exactly what are their life/modified engine experiences?

Restriction in an exhaust system in RELATION to the intake flow capability is not good for high RPM power, but to have an exhaust system that outflows the rest of your set-up simply allows un-burnt fuel to slip past the exhaust valves during the overlap cycle of the cam(s) and out the pipe where it burns up and comes out as a wasteful obnoxious noise to anyone who has an ear for a well-tuned engine. BTW the guy sitting in the driver’s seat has far less of an idea of how an engine sounds than the guy standing on the side of the track. Let you buddy rip past you on your trike a couple times and see if it still sounds good to you. Being “over-piped” and “over-carbed” are likely the two most common errors made when building up a vehicle. I’m guilty of doing it many times myself.

Look, I really like that young guys like you come on this site and have an interest in the nuts and bolts stuff as I am sure others do as well, so don't get put off, but PLEASE get a little education on the subject before you start stating absolutes about an open pipe making more power and such. Yes they can be of benefit and maybe that is what your sources were meaning, but it would likley require a blower, some nitro methane and a few aftermarket part$$$$ to be factual. In the case of this guy’s trike it simply isn’t true.

[Dave8338]

I'll give you this kid, you ain’t shy about opening yourself up to ridicule, but hey, what better way to learn.

FYI: There are only two reasonable ways I can think of to measure power changes. Timed 1/4" or 1/8" runs under similar conditions (that’s a long topic) and comparative dyno pulls on the same dyno. Anything else is folklore and bench racing BS.


PS. I think it’s cool that you appear to be scratching you head in your thumbnail, it suits you perfectly!

Have you got time slips for those 1/8" and 1/4" runs? Just thinking an eighth of an inch, is a very short trip down the track.

[brd812]

Just a thought. Check the vent lines to the carb, and gas cap vent. I had a mud wasp make its home in my gas cap vent hose and starved my bike under hard acceleration to bog. I tore that carb down to mainly times to count. I found it on accident. My 2 cents

[splangeland]

Ok, I ended up just buying a compression tester. The guy at the counter pointed out that it is never a bad idea to take one along with you when you are going to look at a new toy, thread it in and you will instantly know if the engine has obvious problems. So, I tested my compression. I did it cold, the manual said to test it when engine was at operating temperature, but with wide open exhaust I try not to ride very late. It came back at roughly 150psi. I believe manual said maximum was 148psi. I then disassembled the carb and cleaned like El Camexian stated... Not so scary afterall There was a small amount of gunk inside the pilot, nothing substantial but there was a little. I also noticed that neither of the two juts were any too tight. Seemed kind of loose to me. I had checked the float height when I had the carb off a few weeks ago so, if I did it right that is still good to go. Like I said it was too late to take a spin with pipes this loud but believe me, it will be the first thing I do when I get home tomorrow.

As for the petcock, I just replaced that and the fuel line this fall. Just to be sure I took El Camexican's advice and checked it anyway. All was good. I forgot to check to see if the breaks were dragging so tomorrow I will check that. I will also try Six Stroke's, and Brd812's ideas.

Thanks for all the help so far guys!

[El Camexican]

Have you got time slips for those 1/8" and 1/4" runs? Just thinking an eighth of an inch, is a very short trip down the track.

ha ha ha...Dick!

[El Camexican]

Ok, I ended up just buying a compression tester. The guy at the counter pointed out that it is never a bad idea to take one along with you when you are going to look at a new toy, thread it in and you will instantly know if the engine has obvious problems. So, I tested my compression. I did it cold, the manual said to test it when engine was at operating temperature, but with wide open exhaust I try not to ride very late. It came back at roughly 150psi. I believe manual said maximum was 148psi. I then disassembled the carb and cleaned like El Camexian stated... Not so scary afterall There was a small amount of gunk inside the pilot, nothing substantial but there was a little. I also noticed that neither of the two juts were any too tight. Seemed kind of loose to me. I had checked the float height when I had the carb off a few weeks ago so, if I did it right that is still good to go. Like I said it was too late to take a spin with pipes this loud but believe me, it will be the first thing I do when I get home tomorrow.

As for the petcock, I just replaced that and the fuel line this fall. Just to be sure I took El Camexican's advice and checked it anyway. All was good. I forgot to check to see if the breaks were dragging so tomorrow I will check that. I will also try Six Stroke's, and Brd812's ideas.

Thanks for all the help so far guys!

I so hope it runs good for you, but if not we continue... Sleep well.

[barnett468]

Hello


Good job so far, as mentioned check everything answer all questions in detail and perform tests as requested. Lots of info, easy to miss something or get overwhelmed , just print all this out, do one thing at a time. then scratch off the list. Do compression test do with gas off and throttle wide open.

Since your problem is intermittent it should not be caused by incorrect jet size, spark plug, electrical, low compression, ignition timing, bad gas, air cleaner over oiled or dirty, missing muffler, dragging brakes etc. Your problem simply shouldn’t exist as you describe it. It sounds to me like there is some critical detail missing in your description. Any idea?


Try acceleration test again from stop and from cruising speed with motor slight loaded down [too high of a gear].

Does it ever “burble” or “sputter” [rich condition]?

Does it simply have flat spot then accelerate [carb too big or jetting lean]?


The following is a bit of process of elimination based solely upon your description so far.

.xxxxx

“Sometimes it will run great,” “Power is sometimes very intermittent.”

Jetting will never cause intermittent problems simply because your jet size obviously doesn’t change itself however something in float bowl ie water, rust from tank etc, fuel restriction might but check carb as Camexican suggested.

Xxxxx

“I could feel it cutting out.”This refers to electrical like oil gas or carbon fouled plug or ignition.

If it does this when iyt is hot it is tyoically the ign coil.

xxxxx

“It would be running great then slow down then back to great again all without moving the throttle.”

This pretty much eliminates coil problem and probably plug and also dragging brakes.

xxxxx

I should have said when it is running good it will pop wheelies but most of the time its just slow and when I say slow I mean slooooow, I'm thinking my mini bike from Tractor Supply could just about out run this thing... Not quite but you get the idea.”

xxxxx

It also doesn't burn oil or anything so I was thinking it hopefully doesn't need a rebuild

If it did your [problem would not be intermittent and it would most likely never run as good as you say it does plus it would typically smoke.

xxxxx

“My exhaust is basically a straight pipe. The baffle was hacked out and where the muffler meets the head pipe is not really connected... that's my next project”

A blown out or missing muffler or straight pipe will not cause an intermittent problem. It will cause others as mentioned ie lean jetting, possible reduction in power over stock, and engine popping upon deceleration. They can cause “coughing” on acceleration not popping if not jetted properly.

xxxxx

“When I am cruising and rapidly let off the throttle, sometimes its a few really loud pops, sometimes it sounds like a machine gun going off. “

This throttle off popping condition is not caused by a lean condition. Most likely causes of this type of condition are leaking valves however if they leak bad enough to cause off throttle popping then they will cause popping under steady throttle and acceleration also so it is not your valves. Another cause is built up fuel. Lastly straight pipes typically pop exactly as you are describing for several reasons.

Xxxxx

“‘From a stop it sounds normal, just doesn't have the get up and go.”

Is this now a permanent problem or does it still run good at times?

xxxxx

Since your problem is intermittent it should not be caused by jetting, spark plug, electrical, low compression, ignition timing, bad gas, air cleaner over oiled or dirty, missing muffler, dragging brakes etc. Your problem simply shouldn’t exist as you describe it. It sounds to me like there is some critical detail missing in your description. Any idea?

If you are not exaggerating, providing your brakes are not heating up and dragging like veal monkey suggested that you look at, this is a very unusual case and a tough one.

xxxxx


Hope this info helps

[Scootertrash]

ha ha ha...Dick!

I thought his name was dave

Good info in this thread!!

[El Camexican]

Hello


Good job so far, as mentioned check everything answer all questions in detail and perform tests as requested. Lots of info, easy to miss something or get overwhelmed , just print all this out, do one thing at a time. then scratch off the list. Do compression test do with gas off and throttle wide open.

Since your problem is intermittent it should not be caused by incorrect jet size, spark plug, electrical, low compression, ignition timing, bad gas, air cleaner over oiled or dirty, missing muffler, dragging brakes etc. Your problem simply shouldn’t exist as you describe it. It sounds to me like there is some critical detail missing in your description. Any idea?


Try acceleration test again from stop and from cruising speed with motor slight loaded down [too high of a gear].

Does it ever “burble” or “sputter” [rich condition]?

Does it simply have flat spot then accelerate [carb too big or jetting lean]?


The following is a bit of process of elimination based solely upon your description so far.

.xxxxx

“Sometimes it will run great,” “Power is sometimes very intermittent.”

Jetting will never cause intermittent problems simply because your jet size obviously doesn’t change itself however something in float bowl ie water, rust from tank etc, fuel restriction might but check carb as Camexican suggested.

Xxxxx

“I could feel it cutting out.”This refers to electrical like oil gas or carbon fouled plug or ignition.

If it does this when iyt is hot it is tyoically the ign coil.

xxxxx

“It would be running great then slow down then back to great again all without moving the throttle.”

This pretty much eliminates coil problem and probably plug and also dragging brakes.

xxxxx

I should have said when it is running good it will pop wheelies but most of the time its just slow and when I say slow I mean slooooow, I'm thinking my mini bike from Tractor Supply could just about out run this thing... Not quite but you get the idea.”

xxxxx

It also doesn't burn oil or anything so I was thinking it hopefully doesn't need a rebuild

If it did your [problem would not be intermittent and it would most likely never run as good as you say it does plus it would typically smoke.

xxxxx

“My exhaust is basically a straight pipe. The baffle was hacked out and where the muffler meets the head pipe is not really connected... that's my next project”

A blown out or missing muffler or straight pipe will not cause an intermittent problem. It will cause others as mentioned ie lean jetting, possible reduction in power over stock, and engine popping upon deceleration. They can cause “coughing” on acceleration not popping if not jetted properly.

xxxxx

“When I am cruising and rapidly let off the throttle, sometimes its a few really loud pops, sometimes it sounds like a machine gun going off. “

This throttle off popping condition is not caused by a lean condition. Most likely causes of this type of condition are leaking valves however if they leak bad enough to cause off throttle popping then they will cause popping under steady throttle and acceleration also so it is not your valves. Another cause is built up fuel. Lastly straight pipes typically pop exactly as you are describing for several reasons.

Xxxxx

“‘From a stop it sounds normal, just doesn't have the get up and go.”

Is this now a permanent problem or does it still run good at times?

xxxxx

Since your problem is intermittent it should not be caused by jetting, spark plug, electrical, low compression, ignition timing, bad gas, air cleaner over oiled or dirty, missing muffler, dragging brakes etc. Your problem simply shouldn’t exist as you describe it. It sounds to me like there is some critical detail missing in your description. Any idea?

If you are not exaggerating, providing your brakes are not heating up and dragging like veal monkey suggested that you look at, this is a very unusual case and a tough one.

xxxxx


Hope this info helps

The great thing about all this is that he isn't scared to get his hands dirty and doesn't take three days off between posts. As he checks and fixes each issue he will either solve the main problem, or stumble onto it as he goes through the trike. I like your post, but now that we know he has squeeze in the engine I'm stuck on this being a fuel/air issue until the process of elimination is over.

[Six Stroke]

“When I am cruising and rapidly let off the throttle, sometimes its a few really loud pops, sometimes it sounds like a machine gun going off. “

This throttle off popping condition is not caused by a lean condition. Most likely causes of this type of condition are leaking valves however if they leak bad enough to cause off throttle popping then they will cause popping under steady throttle and acceleration also so it is not your valves. Another cause is built up fuel. Lastly straight pipes typically pop exactly as you are describing for several reasons.

I had an XS650 for a while that would lean pop after you cut the throttle. Bumped up the pilot size and it took care of it.

[Dave8338]

I thought his name was dave

Good info in this thread!!

It is. I think he must have me confused with someone named Richard.