My $9 carburetor

[LWJ]

So I have the COVID boredom. Some friends go putting in the woods on small trail bikes. I think this sounds fun and buy a clapped out TTR225 from Craigslist. (Funny, there is NOTHING to buy used or new now. I was lucky to get this piece of crap.)

It runs VERY poorly. Super rich. I tear the carburetor off and clean it up. Put it back together to spec. Make a new washer as it didn't look right without it. And...it still runs like crap.

Goof with the float level far too many times. Until I realize some critical conclusions:

1) This is NOT a Mikuni. It is a clone.
2) It has a poorly fitting or incorrect jet. Thus the float can't possibly ever work correctly. I suspect that the original jet was replaced with a Mikuni. Meaning, a working carb was turned into a non-working one in an attempt to "improve it."
3) I bought a used Mikuni on Ebay but there was a long time for shipping.
4) So, I searched and bought a new clone on Ebay. It was $9.00 including shipping.

It arrived on Thursday. I slapped it on. Dialed in the idle. And went riding all day Saturday.

Just for fun I pulled the plug to see how the mixture looked. It looked perfect.

[asphaltgambler]

awesome!

[Scott Douglas]

I want to know what a TTR225 is....

PICTURES speak volumes.

[Nostril Cheese]

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

I want to know what a TTR225 is....

PICTURES speak volumes.

A 4 stroke yamaha dirt bike from the late 80's early 90's

[flipper35]

We just picked up a 1982 XT-250 for my wife to trail ride on. Clean and the only issue is a dead battery and a broken compression release cable (decompression release). Both are on the way. The older ones are lightweight and sit low to the ground so she can flat foot it when sitting and they have a monoshock rear by that time. Rambo stole one just like it in First Blood.

There was a really nice XT350 but it was sold by the time we inquired. That one went for $2200. Clean and 6k miles.

[LWJ]

Fred is correct. It is a low end 4 stroke dirt bike. 225cc of displacement. Mine was circa 2003. You know it is slow because it has a drum brake on the back.

[flipper35]

Now, if someone can find a bolt in replacement for a 1985 XT600 with the Yamaha Dual Intake System (YDIS) carb, let me know. The one in my bike sat a few years from the PO and it has been through a sonic cleaner and the float still sticks and the idle circuit still gums up. Otherwise it runs strong. I hate those carbs.

[flipper35]

Here is what the TT looks like. for those asking for pics. 225cc is enough for putting around. Kind of like a first gen Miata.

[fastfredracing]

I think one of you guys pmed my about my xt 350, and I am sorry I did not reply. I have been running around like a madman at work, then working at my home, and trying to get this house om the market .
I have never ridden it . Bought it as a project , should have it making some smoke in the next few weeks. I had to split the case to replace the output shaft and oil pump gears . Getting there !

[flipper35]

Fred, that was me, no worries. The 250 is a good fit for her and the 350 was sold the day it listed.

[unclebilly]

Getting back to the $9 carb...

I've had success with these before too.

Here is the thing, though.

How can they even make it for $9?

I assume it went through at least one middle man between you and the manufacturer so I revise the question, "How can they even make it for $7.50?"

But then it was shipped 1/2 way around the world... so I revise the question, "How can they even make it for $7.00?"

Its impossible for North American companies to compete against stuff like this where they can't even buy the raw materials for what the finished goods sell for.

Theoretically, the raw materials cost the same in China as they do in North America (I know this isn't the case). The manufacturing processes are automated in China the same way they would be here so the manufacturing should cost about the same - wages are NOT a factor.

The difference it is that we have overhead. They have overhead too but its somehow not the same.

Why do our governments turn a blind eye to what is obviously 'dumping'?

[Nostril Cheese]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

But then it was shipped 1/2 way around the world... so I revise the question, "How can they even make it for $7.00?"

Its that smell in Harbor Freight. The sweat of those ground up in the machinery.

[herr_oberst]

Cheap foreign labor, the ability to stamp anything and everything off the assembly line as though it were Chiclets and ships that can hold 20,000 20' containers.
The cost of the part is probably $4, and it probably cost $4 more to ship it to LWJ once it reached American shores.

[unclebilly]

^^^ but you cant buy the aluminum for $4.

[herr_oberst]

I'll admit, it's mind boggling. That carb needs casting, machining, assembly. There's a brass float a cro-mo slide, needles and jets, seals, gaskets, fasteners.

Yet someone has figured it out. Start with paying the factory workers pennies to our dollars.

There's profit all the way along the process, and the biggest cost, by far, is always the shipping from the port to the consumer.

[LWJ]

On the pricing? I saw them everywhere for $32-35. I assume that is the typical price.

I searched under a part number and suspect that I found some dead stock or a weird inventory anomaly. $9 is insane. The float alone retails for $12. Then there are needles ($6) jets ($6) and other stuff.