Hi guys,
I recently just got a 1999 Suzuki Quadrunner 500. The day I picked it up it idled great, but lately it has been acting up. Every day it does something different. It has been dying, backfiring and not wanting to start. When it does start it idles extremely high until we mess with the idle adjustment screw. I pulled the spark plug out the other day and it was black like it is running rich. It has a brand new oil change, air filter and we just pulled the carburetor out and cleaned it some.
I have to keep usually keep it at about half throttle, otherwise it will end up dying on me.
Today it died on me again, after pulling it back to the house and letting it sit for about ten minutes, we started it and it started smoking really bad. It looks like a white or blueish smoke. It has never done this before and it cleared up within 30 seconds or so of running.
Can anybody help me out on this?
Thanks in advance

 

How about a new spark plug,then install a good carb kit instead of "cleaning the carb some" Might solve the problem. Or at least may help you narrow it down.Shindy Products Carburetor Repair Kits 03-212 for your SUZUKI LT F500F QUADRUNNER 4X4 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at PowerSports Place

 

Are you running with the tap (petcock) on run? My guess is a faulty float needle. If the tap is on run, this cuts fuel supply to the carb when you switch the engine off, but the float level could be all over the place. However if you put it on prime and the needle is stuck, it will fill the airbox and engine with fuel.

 

Merryman Thanks for replying. We thought this may be the problem, and that it could be causing it to flood. When we took the carb apart we bent the float tab down slightly hoping this would help shut off the fuel when too much comes in. We also noticed that around the petcock it leaks some fuel. However, we are still learning about atvs and this is the first carb we have messed with. We have a new carb rebuild kit coming in on Wednesday. Hopefully this will fix this problem. When we get the kit should we still try to bend that tab down to help with the flooding problem? Thanks again for replying, I would really like to start riding my atv soon without having to dump a bunch of money into it.

 

I don't go for bending things, (or fitting new parts to carbs unless something is badly worn), as most carb problems are from dirt, and the bike would have been running fairly well until dirt got in, so will run well once you get it out. Float needles are a bit of an exception as they can start to dribble with little indication of wear. On most carbs the float seam should look level with the carb body if you turn it upside down with the chamber removed.

 

Ok, we will try this sometime this week. Thank you so much for your reply.