I did a bafflectomy (just the back baffle) on my 05 hawk about a month ago. I read that you can usually just drive it like this, but it seems to warm up much faster and it idles about 500 RPM higher. Is there a way to adjust this back down? I have never had the tank off the bike as I purchased it new about 5 months ago.

My question is basically, can you tune the bike like a car? I would not think that the one baffle would make that much difference to require new jets but I dont know. I was expecting/hoping for 3 mixture screws (idle, midrange, top end) but I dont know anything about bike carbs.

I read that you can shim the needle after doing a bafflectomy. Is this what I should do instead of messing with the mixture?

Basically I want to have the bike running just like it did factory but louder

Also if anyone has a writeup on syncing the carbs (with pictures would be great) I would really appreciate it

Basically everything is factory except for the back baffles on the exhaust.

As always thank you for any advice or sugestions

 

there is an idle adjust below the carbs on the right side.
you can reach it from a seated position through the right side of the frame.
it is a black knurled plastic ****.

 

so do you think I should turn the idle down a little and just shim the needles? I dont know how much extra fuel the shims would give, but I would think that it would not take too much to get it back to where it should be. Also do you have to sync the carbs again after this. I would assume so, but I dont know.

 

Hi Tyson,
Doing the baffles wouldn't change the carb sync (on a Superhawk). That doesn't mean they are in sync though. Idle should be 1100 RPM +/- 100.

 

Sorry I dont think I explained that well I had the 600 mile service right before I cut the baffles. At the 600 mile service they synced the carbs and it was running great before and runs ok now. If I turn the idle down a little and shim the needles will I need to re sync them? How hard is it to do. Sorry I am a noob here, but I want to learn and if you point me in the right direction I can do the research I need to, but always prefer a writeup from someone here that did it.

Thank you again for your answers

 

I don't think you would have to resynch after shimming the needles and adjusting the idle, a #4 brass washer under each needle from the hardware store worked out well for me with approx .026" of thickness. Its not real hard to do if you have worked on cycle carbs before otherwise it might be a good idea to either buy or download the manual fom the knowledgebase so you have something to refer to if you run into any questions.

 

if you want to sync the carbs buy this part 16214-MB0-000. ( if it's a 49 state bike ). if you look at the front cylinder parts fishe it's part # 7 and replaces the part # 14. then put a vacuum hose / clamp on it & run it to the left side of the bike. then splice in a t junction to the fuel vacuum line. this lets you have easy access to the two lines you need to do the sync.

tim

 

These bikes are lean in stock form. Opening up the exhaust makes them leaner. It may appear to be running fine but lean is bad. Mine did the same thing, warmed up quicker and reved higher, both symptoms of being lean. Working on the carbs is not for the faint of heart. Read up on it and try to find a member who has a similiar set-up. Mine has a baffelectomy and a K&N and I required new mains and needle shimming followed by several tries on the fuel/air mixture. It runs well but I left it a little rich. Second gear power wheelies are now a twist away. Cheers

 

+1 on bowhawk's comment about these bikes running lean stock. I also have an '05, bought new, now with 23k miles. I've left the exhaust stock...at 62 and after 45 years of riding I don't need any more hearing loss. Mine has gotten louder with age, but if you've done even a partial bafflectomy some carb work is in order.

But the sync should not be affected, unless you don't alter the carbs equally.

 

Generally speaking, the stock bike only runs lean at idle and very low rpm. Honda has the mixture screws adjusted about 1/4-1/2 turn short of where they should be. The rest of the range runs a tad rich in stock form. With the bafflectomy you can just adjust mixture screws and leave it be or you can shim the needles if you desire. You probably won't notice much difference either way by shimming the needles.

It is highly suggested that you adjust/check carb sync every time the carbs are removed.

 

Greg is right. I've pulled my carbs at least a dozen times. Every time you pull the carbs up off of the manifolds, you need to sync them if you want the VTR to run right.