Do I need to...............?

Re-shim my carbs? on a 1999 (curvy) SVs

I have a scorpion race can and am planning to fit a K&N filter,
I cannot afford to get it Dyno-jetted and set up, cos there is no one on the Isle of Wight with a dyno, to set it up properly.

Is it easy enough to do the re-shimming, and be confident that there is going to be no harm to the engine. I am assuming that running slightly rich would be better for the engine than running slightly lean.

Does anything else need to be done at the same time to ensure correct running?

Can all of the set-up be done with out the aid of expensive gauges/tools etc.

Thanks in advance.

[johnnyrod]

Odds are you will end up with rich midrange and lean top end, better to go with bigger mains, dunno if anyone here has a similar set-up and could give you some pointers (rich is safe as you say but you will get crap mpg). You also really need to check the carb balancing, you need a good set of vacuum gauges and need to know what you're doing with them. The proper set-up would be done on a dyno (they would balance the carbs too if they're any good), I'll bet there is someone in Southampton that could do it.

I would agree, far easier to put in bigger jets. I had a race can and K & N filter and it ran very lean. I put bigger (OK Sid Squid and Rictus did) and that solved the problem. The carbs were balance at the same time. They actually didn't need doing so it turned out.

[northwind]

You can get good results by simple trial and error, but it does take a fair commitment to taking the bike apart and putting it together again. After several attempts I've achieved a passable setup, but it'd still benefit from a visit to a dyno. I could be wrong but I think the Isle of Wight is geographically quite close to Crescent Suzuki, if you ignore the sea?

I've said this before, but any breathing mod that doesn't require rejetting isn't much of a breathing mod- the entire point of the K&N is to pass more air, after all.

Originally Posted by northwind

It'd still benefit from a visit to a dyno. I could be wrong but I think the Isle of Wight is geographically quite close to Crescent Suzuki, if you ignore the sea?

Yeah thats wright but i dont think salt water will do the carbs any good

I didn't necessarily put the K & N filter for any sort of power increase, I put it in to get the nice induction roar.

[northwind]

Heh, I prefer the way my bike sounded stock... It sounds a bit broken with eveyr other filter I've tried

northwind, what set up are you running ?
I have absolutly no idea where to start this kind of thing.

[northwind]

Eh.. Not really sure 170 DJ mains, Chewy's tank spacers, BMC Race RS and modified WRP Lite race system, about 2 1/2 turns on the mix screws IIRC and, er, something on the DJ needles, no idea there. I've tweaked them that often that I couldn't even guess.

Shimming doesn't apply to UK-spec bikes by the way, we get slotted needles as stock so you use a wee ****er of an e-clip that'll make pretty impressive attempts to either escape or blind you at the slightest provocation. It amounts to the same thing though.

Rejetting the bike with the Renegade airkit was one of the first mods I did, it's not quite easy but basically straightforward. The hardest part IMO is doing battle with the various cheap screws that hold the carbs together. if you're reasonably confident and competent with a screwdriver etc you should be able to do it.

http://www.geocities.com/catpoopman/sv650_rejet.html was my bible for the job The Haynes manual's less clear than that IMO. Some of the instructions in there are irrelevant- you won't be changing pilot jets or using shims, or having to drill the air.fuel plus as we don't have them. But it's a really good break-down and rebuild guide.

As for what jets and needle setting you want, that I don't know I'm afraid.