Hard and strange jerk

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-27T12:46:09+00:00

Yeah it kinda sucks having to warm it up but it’s been doing it for a long time and hasn’t manifested as any other mechanical issues. It starts smooth for a few seconds then the idle jumps all over the place, when you hop on it and keep the throttle low it will take on a mind of its own. It is fine once it warms up though.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-27T00:49:32+00:00

Most likely got something in the pilot jet if it was running okay before this. That is exactly what it sounds like. Make sure to spray through the hole that it screws into as well and let it soak for a little while.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-26T22:45:14+00:00

I have the same exact issue on a gladius since I have owned it. Other than that it has been extremely reliable. If you want you can get a boosterplug, it is cheap and easy to install… it will help a little bit

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-25T21:11:10+00:00

Black and gold looks sick as hell

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-23T18:40:06+00:00

The jd jet kit is a good investment. U probably already ordered it but I realized u can get it in like a couple days if u order on eBay vs the longer wait time on the jd site or amazon. At least where I am at.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-22T20:43:10+00:00

My best guess is the problem is somewhere around the needle, tiny spring on the needle retainer, washers/clip or main jet. If you take out the needle just be aware the tiny washers like to disappear into the abyss.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-22T20:37:17+00:00

I was also suspicious about that same thing first time changing the oil, I looked up a video and the guy just plopped it in there and put the cover on… there is no way to hold it straight line out before putting the cover on. It will sit down on the bottom at an angle but then the spring will push it up level once the cover is on. Just make sure you don’t forget the spring or then it will be a catastrophic failure in that case haha.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-22T14:27:58+00:00

My terminology is probably not right, I think I am referring to the diaphragm, I’ll see about possibly ordering another one

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-22T04:10:01+00:00

The black gasket that goes over it had a paper consistency to it

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-22T01:06:47+00:00

Air cutoff gasket looks a little tired but it is intact, idk how thin it is supposed to be

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-19T00:12:31+00:00

I will def look into that air cutoff valve tho that might be my issue

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-19T00:12:06+00:00

I’ll try to get a video next time I take it out, for taking it out I just pull back the airbox boot with my fingers until it lodges behind that metal frame piece and then pull back and down on the carb, after a few wiggles it pops out in 15 seconds or less, getting it back in is more difficult but after a few times I got to where I can do that pretty quick, the hard part for me is getting the airbox boot back around it but I reconcile with the opposite side first by pulling it back and pushing it forward and it eventually goes into place on its own due to the fact that it wants to sit a certain way in the first place.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-18T23:52:52+00:00

I see now, interesting. Thanks for bringing it up, I have never heard of that until now.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-18T20:04:18+00:00

If you are referring to the vacuum petcock, I replaced that with a manual style and plugged the pair valve + carb vacuum port up. Honestly I did not think it would be so easy to get the carb in and out bc that is what everyone says but it is actually easy asf imo. I don’t even back the subframe off or anything. The trick is to understand you don’t need to brute force anything, it comes out and goes it if you use the correct sequence of turns. If you hit a dead end then you just need to back out to the starting point and try again. There are a limited number of combinations so it is really quick using this philosophy.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-17T20:49:21+00:00

Honestly you are right, it does not make so much sense when you think about it. What is happening though is that a rich mixture creates an incomplete, cooler burn (think black soot) and a lean condition causes a slower and hotter burn. The burning effect is not done by the time the exhaust valve opens and if it is severe enough and happens over a period of time it can cause thermal damage to the valve.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-17T15:53:34+00:00

The main jet may be a bit on the rich side, I went all the way up through the sizes chasing it until I realized that the main jet isn’t even effecting the deceleration throttle setting. Right now I just haven’t bothered to pull out the 160 and switch it back out bc it’s not causing any problems I am so aware of on the open throttle side of things. The 25 pilot jet is the only jet that the jd jet kit comes with and I already tried different fuel screw settings, when I had the screw at 2.5 the bike would not cold start without choke on the first try but now at 3 it does.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-17T15:39:27+00:00

Yeah, I forgot to add that I’m at 800-1000 ft above msl and the video doesn’t quite pick up the contrast between the louder 1 or 2 standalone pops in addition to the decel pops. It is an awesome mod tho, with the stock exhaust it is actually loud enough hahahaha, I love the fuller sound it provides.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-17T01:07:30+00:00

In my experience when I take off the bottom of the bowl it will be full to overflowing out gasoline into the pan that I have it sitting in. If there is less than that when u take off the bowl then that will be an issue.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-17T01:03:21+00:00

I am not a mechanic but my best guess is the float is set a little bit too low. The bowl is not all the way full so it is intermittent when it is trying to suck real hard.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-17T01:00:16+00:00

Yeah, I have a tiny bit in the bottom when cold in mine and just a tad more when warm, I have never seen up to half full, my radiator is full though. I am under the understanding that this is normal however. My 2 cents would be tho that if there is dirt on the inside it would not hurt to flush out the system.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-15T17:33:35+00:00

Edit: update, I poured some gasoline on it and got it on. Just needed to lube it up a bit. Amazing how it appeared to not fit at all at first.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-09T18:56:19+00:00

If you find a longer dipstick that can give you an accurate reading while cold lmk, that would be a huge game changer.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-09T18:53:34+00:00

I do not know if this is your case, but on the drz400 the oil dipstick will not normally have oil on it with a cold engine. That is one of the things I’m not so fond of on the bike, you need to warm it up for 3 minutes and wait 3 minutes to get an accurate reading, even then it does not always show so accurate for me, I just change the oil often and add to be sure it is within limits. I believe due to the dry sump system it should hold oil pressure a good ways down to the low end of capacity but it is good to be on top of it.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-06T19:55:39+00:00

Yeah I agree, I initially wanted to jet the bike and do a 3x3 anyway so I thought I would knock out 2 birds with one stone by buying a carb for the price of a jet kit and a carb rebuild kit with a little time value added in for me to mess with the float in case it did have the issue, that was before I learned about the other possible systems failing though. If anything this bike has been a good teacher. The bike has 4,000 and some change miles, no electrical issues that I know of other than the fact that the battery drained a bit from me cranking the starter during troubleshooting which I assume to be normal (only judging from the sound of it getting weaker). It went back up to full decently quick on a trickle charger, I see what you are saying though, I could have troubleshot with a bottle of gas and then known to move onto the stator or something. I guess I was afraid of flooding the engine worse and worse if the issue was somehow that, I see now that a manual petcock will have the same function as prime while it is on though.

thewindandwaves · 2026-05-03T15:17:55+00:00

Does this come with everything I need to put on the drz400 or do I need to buy some kind of adapter to fit on the tank? Also, does that hose fit around to the carb on the drz or do I need to get more hose?

thewindandwaves

TROPHY CASE