Hey Folks,

I'm in the middle of tracking down why my bike is running to lean. I'm pretty sure I've got an air leak around the throttle shaft through the carb and have order a few parts and gaskets to resolve.

After looking over everything I notice that the needle on the primary carb has some play in it, up and down. Not much about 1/8" up and down. Is this normal for the needle to be loose? The holder it's in is as tight as it goes. I was going to move the the adjustment clip down one notch to try and move more to the rich side.

Symptoms of my bike include the secondary not closing (stuck throttle around 3500rpm) inconsistent idle, popping or sneezing through the intake and a good backfire on deacell. I did the find the leak with carb cleaner and the idle changes when I spray up around the top of the carb. Also, after thinking my cables were gunked I replaced them, however this didn't solve the issue. If the throttle is wide open it will snap close, if the throttle is half open it won't snap closed, almost if it doesn't have enough force to close the throttle when only opened half way. This is what is leading me towards the throttle arm, or perhaps the spring (which is now obsolete).

Here's what I've done so far:
- Cleaned Carb
- Replaced gasket on bowl and top cover (primary)
- Intake boots good
- Replaced throttle cables
- Ordered: needle valve set, main jet (#125), jet gasket, pilot screw set, throttle arm gaskets, short hose between carbs.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!