I tried searching expecting several posts on jetting but must have done the search wrong and really got nothing. I have a "new to me" stock pilot I bought from DC last fall. Over the winter I ordered a brand new Powerpros torque pipe. I was surprised they still made them.

I plan to jet the pilot this Saturday to the pipe and stock carb and stock air box. I live in Michigan so there is no real elevation issues. The stock jetting is at 140 main, 52 pilot. I plan to bump both jets up a bit as a starting point. Any suggestions out there for a jetting starting point for a stock pilot and torque pipe?

IMHO
The pipe shouldn't make that big of a difference that you would need to re-jet. Install the pipe and run it to see how it does. I would also run it with the stock pipe and get some plug readings to give you a base line.

Hope this helps:)

Au contraire, mon frère

I would suggest you bump up your main jet by at least one to a 142. You may not need to bump up the idle jet. I can't say for sure for the Pilot but for the FL350, the power Pros pipe flows better than the stock pipe does and larger jetting is needed.

Rand

I agree with Randman here.
Any change makes a difference in jetting. Why do you think an EFI unit makes hundreds of calculations a minute ?? Reason: because the sensors say the jetting needs to be adjusted. But in my opinion is it really needed ?? Most drivers couldn't tell a difference if the jetting was off a point or two anyways. That said, if you lean it out bad then it's all over except the swearing. I am by no means an expert on jetting. What I have found is that the pilot jetting gave us the most drivability problems. We ride from just above sea level to over 5000 ft in one ride. When the pilot was off it was a nightmare. Starting issues and bogging. When the main was off then the Engine just seems flat. As we were racing to the top, you could feel the Engine at a certain altitude go a bit flat.
The easiest way to set a pilot jet is to get one of those induction tach's. You can't tell a hundred rpm change on a two stroke with your ears, but you can see the change on a tach. Set the idle so that the Engine just runs. Hook up the tach and adjust the air screw until the rpm stops climbing. If it is turned out more than 3 turns then put in a bigger pilot jet (I think that is correct). Then do it again until you have it set at about 1 1/2 to 2 turns out and the rpm don't climb anymore after that. Pilot is now set. Use the stock recommended main jet and you will be close enough. Do plug inspections and plug chops to make sure.

Gentlemen, I agree with you both!
I should have phrased my post better. What I am getting at is that you need a base line to start with, then from there you can make adjustments to jetting. I would start with a current plug reading and go from there.

FYI the radiator makes it a bitch to work on the carb and if you can avoid having to get in there, all the better. If you have a radiator relocation kit where the radiator is out of the way, it makes life much easier:)

On the subject of performance gains, the biggest power gain is you.
My brother and I were at the race track years ago and some simian climbed out of the car and was bragging about the 5lb saving in weight of some suspension part they just put on. My brother and I almost started laughing. This chimp weighed at least 300lbs. My brother and I weigh 140lbs and 130lbs. I am sure that if my brother or I were in that car it would drop .5 off the ET. You see it at the NASCAR races too. If they put that driver on celery sticks and water the car would be a lot faster.
Easier on the tires too.
No offence to our heftier members

you may also want to do a mod to the air box, open up the top glue in a 4" ABS 45 and put a pre filter on it, in my opinion you will have a lot more air, with that be sure to increase your jetting before you start tuning, it's easier to lean out a rich Engine then rebuild a lean one.
same goes for just doing the pipe mod with no air box mod, start rich, it doesn't take long to melt a hole in your piston.

Thanks for the responses! I will post again after tomorrow and update on what I find.

Wow, getting at the carb is a pain in the butt. I bought 2 pilots and will refer to them as #1 and #2 representing the order I bought them. #2 is the stock Pilot I bought from DC and the one I put the new pipe on. I unloaded and drove #2 down the road, it ran surprisingly clean on the stock jetting, new pipe. I bumped the main jet, "bigly" or "big league", at #160 :) and that went too far... Blubbering mid to full. No plug chops at this point, it was obvious. I feel my next jet to try will be a 150 on the main. I ran out of time messing with #2 and turned most of the days attention to my troublesome #1 pilot.

Pilot #1 came from Ohio. It was on ebay and of coarse, according to the owner ran perfectly, until I paid top dollar and "bought it now". Than the owner claimed it had top end jetting issues. It had all the right parts on it, so I didn't make a fuss and figured I would work thru the issues.

This pilot #1 has a 39mm carb, powerpros pipe, stock airbox. It had;
175 main
45 pilot

Mid to full throttle is like turning a switch to "bog". I didn't have a larger main jet with me than the #175 that was in it, so I put a #165 in it to see what happens. The #165 seemed marginally better but it still fell flat starting at mid range thru full. This made me think that there is another issue than jetting on this one. My theory is the #175 that was in it, might have been left there from a failed jetting session, and just left in it. It seems too big to me to have ever run on the restrictive stock airbox. I noticed last fall after I bought it, that the previous owner only owned it for 2 months. I think the Pilot had this issue and he just couldn't figure out and gave up on it putting it on ebay for me...

I thought what else could it be other than the carb? Maybe I have a fuel pump issue. I read somewhere about the 4.5 oz in 10 seconds flow rate. I think I will try checking that today.

The good news for the day is my 14' trailer. I worried over the winter that the Pilots wouldn't fit on it and I would have to modify it somehow. Yesterday, I got them both loaded, because of the front bumpers, #2 first, #1 second with 1/2" to spare between them. Whoo hoo!

Pilot #1 bogs mid to full and is the rear one in the photo below. Did the fuel pump flow test. Pulled the plug for faster turn over. turned on gas, put gas line in glass capture jar with ounces marked. Had my wife time 10 seconds on her phone, turned over starter for the 10 seconds. 1.5 ounces. Supposed to be 4.5 ounces, hmmmm...

Bad pump
Bad pulse line
Clogged gas filter
Those are some beautiful machines...
I would make sure the pulse line is without cracks and has good clamps at each end, then clean the filter and try again...

If the flow still is low, replace the gas filter... I used a standard/universal pump for my Pilot.

Another thought... If it is the pump, don't throw the original one away... Some have had luck rebuilding it and the purists love original equipment, so it's worth some coin in your pocket if desired too.

Ohhhhhhhhh --- don't even start that thing until you get the fuel flow figured out. That's a poofkaboom waiting to happen. Made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. That's what happened to me on one of my FL350's. Engine run great at idle to mid range and then at full throttle Booooooom lean out. Took me a while to figure it out. Those kinds of issues are expensive.
P.S beautiful machines

Thanks, don't worry, I will sort them out before going riding. I plan to order a fuel pump somewhere. I might call chucklenuts at aftershot motorspurts, he is local and his website has universals for a "fair" price. I ran compression checks on these with the starter and carb on full throttle.

compression=
Pilot #1 140
Pilot #2 162

Over the winter I put new "Works" shocks on the front of each one. I also ordered two front disk brake kits from Farr motorsports, but I will wait until I get them sorted out running good before I tackle that project.

I see that "chuckle nuts" automatically entered itself on the "preview" when I mentioned chucklenuts at aftershot motorspurts. It did it again, this must mean something... :) Maybe I won't call him...

The pump I use is from Polaris, it will not be stock but flow rate is correct.
I made a small plate to bolt it too and then bolted into the stock location (on my FL350's).
Polaris part number 3085275.
Not sure if you want to do that to your machines as they do look real nice right now. Once you start to butcher who knows how far you will go .

I agree "go oddy", Thanks for your ideas and responses!

Nice write up! Thanks!

Sorry but a bit off topic -- are those seat covers or did you get them re-done ??
If so, info for us please.

Did you buy them on eBay?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-PILOT-FL4 ... jP&vxp=mtr

Yes, bought them on Ebay, and those are the ones. They slip right on, very nice fit. I love them.

Canadian oddy, thanks for the info. I looked up this pump on Amazon, close to 5 stars and many good reviews, plus cheap price. Did it fix your problem back when when you got it? You feel the flow rate is correct? I am going for it, thanks again!

What is a radiator relocation bracket? Still available somewhere? Thanks...

edit********** Nevermind, Google found them at atv powersports. I think I would rather have a second "6-pack" rack for storage like the one on my Pilot #2. Atv powersports has that listed for sale too.

Hopefully once I get the jetting sorted, I will never have to get in that area again. Thanks for your response Pilot bird.

You can make both items if you have some welding/fabrication experience. I bought one of the relocation kits from atvracing and then made my own for my other pilots:)