Lectron on a WR 450

[CATSLEDMAN1]

We have all read the gushing over Lectron style carbs on 2 strokes and I have been an advocate of them for years. I run two on my dirt bikes, all good.

So what happens when you want the same improvements on your 4 stroke single 450 ?
Been waiting and asking. Now I have one, no I haven't ridden it yet. So no gushing or thumbs down yet.

I have been watching and waiting for someone to post on this subject. Now you can read a good test. search for MOTOSPORTZ, Vancourver WA company here in the NW, go to his products, hit lectron and read his testing on a yz450. All what I wanted to hear.

$450 give or take for a 40MM LECTRON with needle and choke setup for my WR450 Yam with a cable and single cable MOTION PRO throttle and rubber cover.

So, you set aside an almost 3 lb Keihin Carb with three cables and replace it with a way too simple single cable & twist throttle. Fits the carb boot and air box boot real well. Goes on and off the bike with about a 1/10th the effort of the stock setup. It will swivel down for needle adjustments on the bike with tank on out in the field with ease.............nice. The stock carb is a turd basically. I have almost as much money in parts and needles and diaphrams, and jd needles for my WR250f as I spent on this carb if it works.

So what do I expect...............it'll work. Not sure how well, time will tell.
Will it ice up as is, yup, did my keihin ice up, fixed that.........now again.
Will it do 50 miles to the gallon no, 31.2% more hp.....no. I won't need a dyno to tune it.......cause I don't have one. I'll report later. Biggest issue is I made about 51 changes to my snobike this fall, now I have to gather all that up and ride and sort out the tuning and dinking around.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

garage running

Slow going getting my new 2.5 track and other mods ready for the.......oops low snow out there.

What I can say is, carb mounted up and looking ready.
Had to make a new vent line bottle as 3 were eliminated, only two on the Lectron.

Dropped on the tank, a splash of gas, dead battery on the Wr, started second kick with the choke with the Lectron and idled just fine, tried to lean the idle mixture, no good, out of the box setting was good so far. Already this setup has dropped the handlebar vibration at an idle and rev'n the motor.

Single cable Motion Pro twist throttle, nice light throttle pull, nice rubber cover over the throttle to keep water out, better than stock Yamaha.
Engine sounds clean and crisp, real throttle responsive, nice. So this weekend I'll throw the setup on the snow and go for a first ride.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

test run

First trip to the snow.

1. starts 1st or second kick in the garage, good, 25 miles ride in cold weather in the back of the truck, pulled out the wr, pull the choke, 3rd kick cold, choke pulls fair gas because you can't let it sit and idle cold with the choke on, but after starting in 25 degree temps pushed off the choke, sat and idled to warm up. at this point all settings as I took the Lectron out of the box.

2. Up the road on my wr that has had a good number of summer modifications so carb wasn't really my focus because it was running clean and smooth.

3. Seamless throttle response from idle through top end, making shifting from gear to gear easier to the point my wide ratio transmission pulling a 2.5" 144 track is less of a gap handicap than my old 2" 136. A nice feature of the Lectron is you just about can't won't flame out, 3rd gear idleing along, roll the throttle picks right up, pulls long and hard,feels like you stretched the power band of the wr by a couple of thousand rpm.

4. tried leaner and richer because I could, nope, mostly tried leaner, performance didn't change but it would lean pop a little on deacceleration and put a dead spot at 1/5th throttle, that was just the external power jet, 1/2 turn in or out.

So far, I can say I have been fooling around for more than 15 years with the Keihin and its over engineered no performing junk. O rings and jetting kits and pumper bodies and diaphrams, Boyeesen this and that, three cables, 7 jets........all typical oriental overly complicated and unnecessary. And now I know for sure


More testing to follow.

 

[J&L Snowhawk]

Hey mike how much for a lectron?

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

LECTRON $$

I BOUGHT A CARB SETUP FOR MY BIKE / MOTION PRO THROTTLE AND CABLE TOTAL $450

 

[J&L Snowhawk]

have you given up on the smoker?

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

smoker sitting, but building a Lectron for it, another track also

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

more lectron riding

1. three more rides in cold deep snow

2. like all carbs as you adjust one gas control if affects the whole range of the carb.

3. so when I leaned the top end with the power jet I lost mid range and had to raise the needle to fatten the mid range, those changes are more suttle in effect than a 2 stroke, so you ride a little more bewtween changes.


4 overall power better now than anything with stock carb with mods
starts cold out of the truck with choke 2nd or third kick
tip it over hot in three foot of light powder starts in kick or two...way better

more prone to icing due the more radical venturi effect, I have carb cover and left side panel, slow going no icing, 4th and 5th running breaking trail it iced and froze once. ktm 450 only iced a couple of times riding along side.

still room for improvemement, but I'm gloating over this improvement

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

this weak's improvement

cold new years, so instead of riding I machined out a carb heater for the Lectron, basically the same as the unit AVID build's for the Keihin two strokes, so I am taking the bypass hot water just just before the thermo stat in my thermo-rob and dumping it back into the water pump intake, so far so all good.

 

[Pedec]

Lectron is running great on my ktm 250sx but same problem icing up and freezing slide.
Have you had throttle stick wide open when it freezes. Looking in through airbox carb has no icing on inside but still sticks so slide must be sticking in top part of carb. Like to see some pic of your carb decicer when done. Thanks.

 

[wwillf01]

Lectron is running great on my ktm 250sx but same problem icing up and freezing slide.
Have you had throttle stick wide open when it freezes. Looking in through airbox carb has no icing on inside but still sticks so slide must be sticking in top part of carb. Like to see some pic of your carb decicer when done. Thanks.

Just so you know I know when I talked to the owner of Lectron he said he did not mind developing or making a heating collar for me...,but then I ended up getting a dedicated bike so I ended up trying the Smartcarb... At least on my set up I feel the smart carb runs much cleaner.... And was easier for the initial set up... But it is still somewhat close....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

arctic blast

I gave my carb heater the test today, cold slippery powder, blue ice building up every where and then some 5th gear riding in snow cloud.
No icing, no frozen throttle. Hard to get temps up even with side covers/covered radiator/carb jacket

I'll post picture if my bike thaws out before spring.

 

[Pedec]

When your lectron freezes up would throttle stick wide open. That is what mine does no other problem bike is running great before it happens.. I am just wondering if mine might be another problem like cable binding somewhere or water getting in from top where cable goes into carb. When I look in from intake side after taking air filter out there is no ice in throat of carb. My other idea is to put a extra return spring in carb to push slide down harder which will increase throttle pull but worth it to stop the wide open throttle problem. Thanks for any help.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

ice'n

I think your slide is just freezing. The Lectron slide is a tight fit. My Lectron would thaw after sitting for a minute or two. Frozen cable wouldn'd thaw that quick if at all.

 

[Pedec]

I am sure it is slide freezing how do I stop that.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

slide freezing

I think the only option is some heat. That mean getting some hot antifreeze circulating around the carb body.

On my wr450 I built a carb heater to the Lectron size / yam air boot specs. works great. Hot water from the heat side of my thermostat through the carb heater and return line to the hose into the water pump.

on my Yz250 snobike a couple of years ago I just wrapped copper tubing around the bell mouth of the carb trying to make as much metal to metal contact as possible plumbed up the hot coolant, I never had icing issues with that crude but effective setup.

I also run a carb jacket made from sleeve of old water skiing wetsuit. Did the job for lots of cold days until I would cut a long sidhill in deep powder then froze up my lectron.

On Dan's KTM 450 his carb icing was way way reduced when we realized the carb body temp was being dropped by snow hitting his pipe and the now wet slush/ super cold slush was building into blue ice on the right side of his carb.
Wrapping the pipe and a plastic shield on the right side of the carb has nearly eliminated the isssue with stock carb. Cold dry snow flowing along the carb was not a problem, wet snow on the carb is a problem.

 

[the gman]

Do you have a smarty and lectron?? Or is that Will on here. Wondering how the compare in looking at them. I think the FLAT needle is what makes them work so well, fuel casts off in finer particals. I had slide sticking with the heater but no carb rap and if you think about it on a stock carb, you lose your idle from ice forming over the air hole drilled in the bell. Smarty only has a hole for choke so it will idle with frost. My cast smarty last year would run (and idle) with ice but slide would stick. What would happen if we warmed the slide tower. Maybe problem solved.

 

[Pedec]

I have lectron on my 250sx and not sure but I tried a zippo hand warmer inside my carb jacket up around slide tower and never had one carb problem. It was -23c and we rode for 3 hours and not one time did slide freeze which is a first time. When ever I stopped there was no snow on back of snow jacket and little bit of steam comming out top of carb jacket where throttle cable comes out. Might have been just luck but for 30 bucks worth a try.

 

[dirtrebel]

Do you have a smarty and lectron?? Or is that Will on here. Wondering how the compare in looking at them. I think the FLAT needle is what makes them work so well, fuel casts off in finer particals. I had slide sticking with the heater but no carb rap and if you think about it on a stock carb, you lose your idle from ice forming over the air hole drilled in the bell. Smarty only has a hole for choke so it will idle with frost. My cast smarty last year would run (and idle) with ice but slide would stick. What would happen if we warmed the slide tower. Maybe problem solved.

I made these a few years ago, tried zip tying to my float bowl, didn't work in that application. might be a good fit on the smarty slide tower, just an idea to help brainstorm.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

lectron

I have not personally owned one of the smart carbs, tuned a couple,thats it.

The flat needle / flat slide combo in carbs can make a two stroke dirt bike really pull /crisp fuel delivery / often big mileage gains.

this is my first 4 stroke experience with the Lectron. I like to tune, so every ride and twice today I am stopping to change setting trying to perfect the fuel delivery. So far better than the stock Keihin with needles/quick shot/o rings/ air box mod.