I was liking the NT speed but I don't like that fuel shutoff valve built into the inlet. the problem I've been having is that the inside of this valve has a cheaply made rubber disc with 4 holes in it, 2 of the holes lock it into position and the other 2 are for fuel passage.
What hapens is when the valve is used, it sheds off some of this rubber from the disc and it makes it's way to the needle and seat valve and the main jet blocking it from passing fuel.
I found the problem first time I was about a mile from home and noticed the engine cutting out but when I rolled back off the throttle it would clear up and run right, I was able to baby the bike home, took a look at the fuel filter and it was good as new, pulled the float bowl and it was perfectly clean, removed the fuel shutoff valve, and there it was... lots of tiny chunks of black rubber.
I also noticed there was no flow into the carb past the needls and seat when I put the valve back on so I took the valve off and sure enough... more rubber pieces and I saw where it was wearing off the disc in the shutoff valve.
The fix here is to remove the shutoff valve here and replace with a 8mm banjo fitting, you can also just not use the fuel shutoff valve at the carb as I see no point in having it there when there's a valve on the tank.
Other than the speed carb, I like the Mikuni VM16 and VM18 for a mildly modified engine since it can be fine tuned beyond just swapping the main jet and adjusting the idle speed, the Mikunis also run a slow jet with an idle mix adjust screw so tuning can be done much more accurately.
I also like the floatless carbs like the Walbro or Tillotson carbs, these are great for their tuning ease as well as there are no floats so the carb can run in any position.
What hapens is when the valve is used, it sheds off some of this rubber from the disc and it makes it's way to the needle and seat valve and the main jet blocking it from passing fuel.
I found the problem first time I was about a mile from home and noticed the engine cutting out but when I rolled back off the throttle it would clear up and run right, I was able to baby the bike home, took a look at the fuel filter and it was good as new, pulled the float bowl and it was perfectly clean, removed the fuel shutoff valve, and there it was... lots of tiny chunks of black rubber.
I also noticed there was no flow into the carb past the needls and seat when I put the valve back on so I took the valve off and sure enough... more rubber pieces and I saw where it was wearing off the disc in the shutoff valve.
The fix here is to remove the shutoff valve here and replace with a 8mm banjo fitting, you can also just not use the fuel shutoff valve at the carb as I see no point in having it there when there's a valve on the tank.
Other than the speed carb, I like the Mikuni VM16 and VM18 for a mildly modified engine since it can be fine tuned beyond just swapping the main jet and adjusting the idle speed, the Mikunis also run a slow jet with an idle mix adjust screw so tuning can be done much more accurately.
I also like the floatless carbs like the Walbro or Tillotson carbs, these are great for their tuning ease as well as there are no floats so the carb can run in any position.