My wonderful '98 SH street/track bike was crashed and trashed a couple of weeks ago and I've been searching for a replacement. Narrowed my choice to a pristine '03 with 14,300 miles and a rough '99 with 22,500 mi. I bought the '99 because it will only see track use so let's call it a track bike. The trackbike has Micron slipons. The Microns are a) so loud that they'd only be acceptable on the track and b) they cause the bike to backfire so much they worry me. I have two choices 1) reinstall the stock pipes or 2) add a jet kit, or 3)???

I have no experience with jetting a carburetor. Are jet kits a straight forward plug and play (I know there are no electronics involved) proposition and do they include good instructions or is this something for a professional mechanic?

 

The backfiring you're hearing is most likely due to the PAIR, and is relatively harmless as i understand it. Removing the PAIR system can help.

As for the jetting, I didn't buy a kit, i just went to a local shop for a 48 pilot and shimmed the stock needles, like some people here.

Is the SH "backfire" usually on deceleration? If so, it's the PAIR, and it's common.

 

How does it run? Does it have any flat spots at a certain rpm range? Does it have a stock air filter? The excessive backfire, if it's on decel, could be bad exhaust gaskets.

Since you've owned a VTR, you know how it should perform. Also, if as you say, it's rough, the carbs could probably use a good teardown and cleaning.

As stated by thefitzvh, I also just shimmed the needles and went to 48 pilots, as suggested by 8541 Hawk. And mine runs great, with or without the street baffles installed. It's quite loud without them, as I'm running it right now.