I don't have a fuel filter installed.

Air seems to make sense to me, like the bike is not getting enough of it. It was only about 35 degrees when I oiled the new uni filter. I used a uni oil spray can and rubbed it in like the video on their site shows, it was pretty tacky. Wonder if that might have something to do with it?!?

 

Might sound dumb, but where should I check for vacuum leaks? I checked the boots on both sides of the carb to make sure they were correct and tight. Is there somewhere else to check?

 

There is a fitting on the front of carb that supplies vacuum for the smog pump (it's a small one, maybe 3/16") - this one has to be disconnected to get the carb out, and would be easy to forget to reconnect. If you still have your smog equipment hooked up, the connections at the pump as well. There is one more connection on the airbox just above the carb intake boot; this one would short circuit dirty air to the carb, and may affect jetting too.

 

Ok. I connected those lines back up, but I did buy the plugs to do away with the smog crap. I just didn't want to ditch it till I got the bike back together and running right as to eliminate any more options for problems.

 

i beat the **** out of mine, i dont think I get much more than 40-50.

 

My first suggestion, and several times, was to return the bike to stock exhaust and intake system (carb, airbox, filter). Returning to stock jetting with any modifications other than proper removal of smog (fuel burn off) system will do no good.

Kawasaki engineers went through a lot to design a stock air box that runs with great reliability and efficiency. While the bike may perform better with a higher flow air filter and modified silencer, your best bet is to leave the air box stock unless you want these kind of jetting nightmares. While many riders with the same bike may do similar changes without issue, this owner is having problems with this particular bike. Modified air box snorkels or lid removals can create turbulence in the air box that can have the bike run horribly.
Landon, removal of the smog or fuel burn off system has not effect on jetting. If you left a rubber cap/plug off of the carb, it should not create such a drop in performance. The removal of the smog system is something that makes no real difference to the bike other than a minimal weight loss and improved looks. To me, dirt bikes are pretty utilitarian and require very little of improvement in looks. Oh, and who really cares if a header on a performance bike discolors? It's not a Low Boy. You have bigger issues going on than worrying about doing more mods
At this point, you really need to ask yourself when is the last time the bike ran "right" to your specification? If you return the bike to stock air box, K&N filter, stock exhaust and OEM jetting and it still doesn't run "right, it won't be jetting. It may be a pain to "undo" your slide work, but you need to do it or you're peeing into the wind. Cut your riding time losses and admit the mods aren't worth it.
Air system/silencer mods are great for letting the bike run better and provide better response and marginal power numbers, on this bike the gains to be had by any additional mods without big bore are really senseless. Get rid of the Unifilter and put in a K&N, buy stock diaphram and needle valve. You don't need to do that mod to make the filter and pipe work. It only changes how the bike accelerates and produces no power gain. Unless you find out what is wrong soon, you'll star missing riding time. What are these "performance" gains worth?

 

brooksie, I think you may be giving the engineers too much credit on some of this. The airbox has to be designed with some serious compromises to EPA noise standards. It is not an optimum performance device. You don't have jetting nightmares by altering the opening, removing the backfire screen, trying different filters, etc., on our KLX's. You have jetting nightmares by not knowing how to jet the carb/engine...or perform the other mechanical steps involved in the jetting process.

You commented that some of these intake and carb mods only help acceleration and produce no power gains. How our bikes accelerate is kind of important to most of us.

 

Ouch. I am no expert, but you have to start and learn somehow. I guess I should just load the bike up and take it to the dealer and drop a ton of money for them to work on it. Then again I think not, I will keep working on it and fix it myself. Its called learning and I will be more knowledgable next time I need to do it.

 

I asked about a fuel filter because, although our bike has what I call a little "strainer" in the fuel line before the carb, its not much of a real filter. Could you be pulling contaminants into the carb, plugging up jets? Its a stretch, but thought it worth pointing out. Could the stock filter be plugged, impeding fuel flow at higher throttle positions?

I don't think your air filter type is the problem, nor that putting in a K&N will solve it. You said the filter appears stock, and I agree that's what it looks like in the pic. If any filter is over-oiled or full of dirt, it can cause a problem. If you're riding dirt, be careful going with K&N as they have a bad reputation for passing dirt (although their supporters say that's due to improper fitting or user error). You could also try thoroughly cleaning your filter again, and then using regular 2-stroke oil instead of the Uni spray.

 

Check for vacuum leaks just about anywhere from the carb intake to the motor intake. Some have mentioned spraying carb cleaner or WD40 around any and all possible vacuum leaks and looking for idle changes. Sometimes the boot between the motor and the carb gets cracked or doesn't seal properly.