1997 xlt. Help

Here's a link to the installation instructions and tuning sheets for the slp pipes:

http://www.slp.cc/instsheets/09-5970.pdf

Is your XLT an RMK like mine with the ACCS or is ithe standard 34mm carb/38mm carb special version? The ACCS is an altitude compensating system that is supposed to require no jetting/air delivery changes. A gutted airbox will need some expirimentation to find the right jetting combo.

Also, since you say it doesn't get used much, make sure carbs are well cleaned and adjusted properly. The pilot jets are very small and can plug up easlily. I had an idle issue with mine until I got the pilot jets good and clean, it would not idle under 3000 rpm (idle is supposed to be 1700rpm +/- 200). Start with that and I have the service manual on CD if you need some PDF pages sent to you.

Good luck, you will a ripping sled when you get it together. My XLT has more than enough oomph to get my fat butt around, and I love it. Mike

As weird as it may seem, we had to go to 25 pilot jets to get my son's 95 XLT SKS to run right when we put SLP triples on it. It runs real strong 4 to 6000 feet. 34mm carbs. Another thing not related to fuel but affecting performance is to make sure the belt deflection is set right.

If you have the "high port, 96hp" XLT engine, identified with 38mm carbs, you are in for a tough time. I had a '97 version in an Xtra 12 chassis. The first season, perfection, then nothing but grief. From the second season on this engine took the term "hard starting" to the apogee of misery. Cold, no problem, then the engine warms, then the rest of the day, rope till it bleeds - then under totally miraculous reasons it starts and runs great till you were stupid enough to turn it off. Sometimes too much fuel, sometimes not enough. Sometimes it would feign fuel starvation and you would choke it... rats, bad.

My buddies with the 90hp XLTs, 34mm carbs, just laughed and drove off, not being able to deal with the misery.

Another buddy had the 96hp engine and further exasperated the bad ju-ju by triple piping his XLT. Yes, more delicate the whole starting procedure now, lots more items to go out of balance. This guy never forgave Team Polaro.

I tried installing 34mm carbs on the engine, but to no avail - just a terribly bad designed engine that, to me, gave the 600 triples the death boot.

No help, but maybe some history round out your troubles. Been there way too many times. Cheers.

Factory setting for XLT RMK was 240 jets with needle position #3. I have 240's in mmine, and I think my clips are a position #4 (lower clip position, raises needle). This is what chart in my OM shows for 0-3000 ft, 10-40 deg F with clip position 3 at all other altitudes.

I would have to look at my tech manual for a refresher on how exactly the ACCS works, but it basicly compensates for the thinner air at higher altitudes (richer) mixture. Which is why you have to go to a larger # (smaller) jet the higher/warmer you get on a non-compensated motor. I'm wondering if the altered air box is affecting something--but it would seem this would cause a lean condition (less fuel, more air) and your plugs would be white in color at the tip. Ideal plug color should be a cardboard brown color.

I say start at square one with stock carb settings (which is what SLP uses for the ACCS models) and make sure floats and needle valves are set right, pilot jets cleaned thouroghly, carbs themselves cleaned well, carburators synched and cable set correctly, etc. to get a good foundation to start from.

Perhaps our forum moderator, the illustrious Mountainhorse, has some ideas??

Main jet and pilot jet fuel flow go down which causes a leaner condition as the jet size number goes down. Air jet size causes leaner condition as number goes up. Don't confuse the two.

ACCS leans out the mixture automatically when the altitude goes up. It doesn't compensate for temperature. The way it works is that it obtains a small vacuum from the throat of the carburetor when the engine is running at rpm. This vacuum causes a bellows in the ACCS unit to move which results in a change in pressure in the float bowl of the carburetor. Depending on the atmospheric pressure you are at the bellows move more or less distance and that is how it compensates for altitude changes. The baseline jetting for this system is sea level. In your case with a gutted airbox you may have less vacuum signal than a normal airbox.

Now to get to the point that I am trying to make. The vacuum that this system depends upon is not there when the engine is idling or at least not enough vacuum to make a difference. Therefore the pilot jets are too big and flow as much as they would at sea level which is too rich for high altitude. Once you hit the throttle then the vacuum signal comes into play and everything is happy and works as designed. To rectify this you need to change the pilots down to a smaller size. I would start out by going to the size recommended on a non ACCS carburetor and going from there. You may have to go up or down from there depending on throttle response from idle. By adjusting the air screws on the carburetors and changing pilot jets you should be able to get the proper idle condition and throttle response.You can basically leave the main jets and needle clip positions as recommended by the pipe specs for ACCS. The other option you have is to disable the ACCS and jet according to the specs for a non ACCS carburetor. The disadvantage to this is that if you experience large elevation changes where you ride you may have to compensate in your jetting or change jets as required.

As mentioned above it is important to start with proper float levels, synchronization etc.

xlt

we have a 95 xlt,used to flood all the time after it was shut off,i think they had a problem with the needle and seat leaking , so when you went to restart when warm it would flood,also never park with the nose pointing down hill,good luck