one more day

[kramdua]

i went 1 groove rich on the needle. i haven't had this much fun riding in years.
that said it runs like a bat out of hell. good power through mid range and through the power band till max rpm.
the only thing i can complain about is while cruising and i let off the throttle. when i start to turn the throttle on normally or gradually i get a slight sputter that is just off zero throttle. it is so slight that if i had to i would live with it.
i have been making minor adjustments to the air screw and at 1 turn out seems to run best. the problem i have is some days it is 40 degrees out then other days it's in the 70's. 
i am not sure if the sputter is a rich or lean symptom. the picture is plugs after the needle adjustment.

[m in sc]

jump up one size on the pilot and set it to 1.5-1.75 out. the circuit velocity is causing the burbling a bit i'd bet.

the mikuni official 'range' on air screw settings are 1-3 turns out as acceptable.

[kramdua]

i think right now i am really happy with the outcome. i found that i accidentally had 2 different settings on my air screw. i reset them and took most of the sputter away.
thanks,
mark

[kramdua]

i found this video and this rd350 has the off throttle sputter. mine wasn't quite that bad. i kept fine tuning the air mixture screws to finally get rid of it. i did find that the mixture setting was a little different between the two carbs.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K82uJoCML0s&ab_channel=phoenixvids

[Kawtriplefreak]

Yeah my RD 4 strokes a little in the mid range. They tend to run a little rich at Deals Gap. The elevation here is 570 if memory serves. At the Gap it is 1100.

[kramdua]

i didn't consider the elevation. good call.

[kramdua]

actually the first ride i took today that i didn't say i have to do this or that. great weather and riding.

[m in sc]

sweet! 

[kramdua]

yes mark i think your weather should be hitting the 90 mark.
i am someone who hates cold weather and i like it hot 85-90's.
so today is going to be a good day.
mark

[kramdua]

a great ride today. i don't know what people are wearing nowadays but i wear a padded jacket, jeans, boots, gloves, and a full face helmet. The bike was running great so i thought I would get out my 12 year old favorite helmet. this helmet is actually quieter than my full face helmets.

[NotDeadYet]

Love that helmet. Look like the helmet of a guy that's been shot out of a cannon. 

[kramdua]

you mean shot out of an RD?

[kramdua]

sorry i dropped off radar. more important issues have come up.
i can say after running the stock carb setup i am converting back to the dave f mod..
hopefully be back soon,
mark

[kramdua]

When I first bought the 75 rd350 it was pretty nice. It had jl pipes and y-boot. It ran pretty well but needed some work. I took the carbs off and took off the float bowls. it was clean inside. I decided to take them apart and that's when I noticed the needle jet was loose. I removed the main jet and noticed the washer was worn out and the needle jets had seen better days. It did have the dave mod but whoever installed the mods had cut the needle jet shroud and one was 3mm and the other was under 2mm. Having not ridden an rd with the dave mod i decided to order stock carb kits from economy. I went with new washers, 230 mains, and 30 pilots. Used the stock air jet. Needle in the middle slot. Air screw 1.5 out. I have to admit it did run good. I did notice the mid range power loss. It already had a vape ignition so i bought a dial indicator from economy and the timing was right on 1.8.
I rode it like this for a few weeks and decided to buy all new parts to convert it back to the dale mod.. I already had the 2mm air jets to reinstall. I didn't cut the needle jet shrouds because i think m in sc ???  told me i didn't need to. Well again it ran pretty good and i did notice the mid range was better. Also it ran really good in the high rpm range. I still had low power on take off so i added more fuel with the mixture screw. It ran better for a short while then i had to add more fuel till i was almost screwed all the way in on the mixture screw. Now pull the carbs and change out the pilot from 30 to 32.5. Set mixture screw to 1.5 and still needed more fuel. I went up to 35 pilot and the same thing. It ran better but still not right.
Ok let's get to the real problem. As i usually do, I will not give up. Sometimes a little or a lot of luck helps.
The other day i started the bike and put it in gear. I started to take off and the bike started to move backwards. I shut it off and started it again and it moved forward. Ok timing is way off. I checked it and i believe it was 4 or 5 degrees or more advanced. Remember vape ignition doesn't have a keyway. I removed the flywheel and found the crank screw and washer was never updated to use the larger thicker washer. So i cleaned everything up and reinstalled the flywheel with the new bolt and updated washer. Set timing to 1.8 and it runs really good now and the low end power problem is solved. I believe the timing didn't change all at once. I think it was gradual and that's why i was getting different results with the carbs.. I took the heads off and luckily i didn't cook the top end. Since repair i have ridden it several times and all seems well. Now i am at 220 main, 32.5 pilots, and needle on the fourth clip.
The only other time i had a engine run backwards was when i had a yr5 that the crank bearings were so worn out that at times it would run backwards.
I know this was long and rambling on but the outcome might help others.

[m in sc]

glad you  found it!