So, I recently replaced the carburetor on my 2003 TRX 500FA. I was going to just rebuild the carb but one of the jets stripped when I opened it up (I am in the process of removing said stripped screw) so I ended up just putting in a new carb.
I confirmed that the jets were the same at installation. Double checked the part number on the carb before ordering.
I installed the carb, carefully following the service manual step by step. Everything went well. I adjusted the pilot and idle as per the service manual.
All that said, it is now a total bugger to cold start (cold start meaning ambient air temps of ~50 degrees F). With the old carb I would just pull the choke and hit the starter after a few primer pumps and she would start right up. Now, in order to start it I need full choke and to give it a little throttle (which many of my fellow Honda owners say is totally normal with a new carb…or just with the Foreman Rubicons period). All that said, with full choke and a little throttle for about ten seconds she is just fine and runs great once I slowly release the choke. That said, once she has been running for as little as 45 seconds, she will start right back up without any choke or throttle.
She is running the best she ever has. I pulled the spark plug to confirm I was running the pilot at a good spot and sure enough the spark plug is a nice brown color (was worried the pilot screw might be causing the hard cold starts).
So, am I worried about nothing, since there really isn’t anything that changed asides from the carb? As I stated above, I adjusted the pilot as her the Honda manual (even did it a second time worrying that it was causing the hard starts) and also adjusted it for my altitude (~8,000′). Is there something I might be overlooking? Gas is fresh, treated for ethanol, air filter is clean, fuel lines are turned on…
Is my new carb just cold blooded? :dry:
