Trail Rider Magazine

When we got wind of Lectron releasing their new H-Series carb, I figured it was me to break out the trusty 2013 300 and see what all the fuss was about. I've loved how well my TPI 300 performs, but would this new Lectron even begin to compare? We had to see for ourselves. As men oned, the old carbed 300 hadn't seen much use this season and to keep all tes ng apples to ap- ples, we started with a thoroughly cleaned, properly je ed Keihin. Suited up, we ripped the 12-mile loop outside TR headquarters for some baseline tes ng. This is a rela vely technical trail with some steep eleva on changes do ed with a few moss-covered, steep rock ledges. As expected, the old 300 handled the terrain well, without a bobble although it was apparent the carbed 300 has no ceably more low- end grunt, but less mid and top end compared to the TPI. We then headed back to the shop and installed the new H-Series Lectron. For those familiar with the drill, installing a Lectron in the past might have re- quired either replacing the intake boot, trimming it or even replacing the intake with a shorter one. Fortu- nately, these issues have been addressed as the new H-Series is an en rely different cas ng that's shorter in length. KTMs, in general, are a cinch to swap carbs as all one has to do is pull tank, seat, silencer, loosen the upper subframe bolts, while removing the lowers and flip the en re subframe assembly up and out of the way. Might sound like a lot of work but it's really only a minute or two. Our new H-Series came with the thro le cable installed making installa on even easier. I'll be honest; my next lap around our loop was a bit lackluster. Although it pulled great from quarter thro le on up, it was quite a bit more burbly than I like just off idle. Being a lugger not a ripper, I tend to ride a gear or two high and just crack the thro le as needed. Back to the shop, we called our buddy Brooks Tomblin at Lectron and described the condi- on. Brooks recommended leaning out the metering rod a half-turn (counterclockwise) and see how it responded. That half-turn made a world of difference and it cleaned up substan ally. Always looking for more, I'd ripped the rest of the loop and headed back for another quarter turn and she liked it even more. With daylight fading, we wrapped it up for the day and shot a message asking Brooks if it would be ok to give it another quarter-turn leaner, pu ng us a full turn out on the metering rod. Yes, said Brooks, no problem, but you might want to open the power jet screw an 1/8 as not to run lean on top end. This last adjustment proved to be just the trick and it now runs clean right off idle to top end. The feel compared to our je ed Keihin is different as it's more linear in delivery. We took two full rips around the 12-mile loop for good measure then hopped immediately on the 300TPI. This is where it got interes ng. As I've men oned, I flat-out love my TPI, but the Lec- tron H-Series carbed 300 actually runs cleaner at minimal thro le openings, just cracked off idle to quarter thro le. Perfect for us old luggers! This was a pre y fun li le experiment that yield- ed some real-world results. Eye-opening, really. Like most everything, all is not perfect right out of the box, carburetors especially. How could a com- pany located in the middle of the country deliver a carb set up exactly for your terrain and riding style thousands of miles away? For some odd reason, many feel that Lectrons are supposed to be adjusted perfectly right out of the box. Well, how could it be? I also feel since they are quite different from individually je ed carburetors that most are reluctant to mess with it, and Lectron has received an unjust amount of flack over this misconcep on. Too many have been bolted on and removed shortly a er with never touching the metering rod height, only to be resold weeks later. These same guys then get online and com- plain about how disappointed they were in the product. To me, that's sad. In the end, we spent less me tuning this Lectron than we would have swapping jets, searching for the perfect tune. We've spent quite a bit more me on the old carbed 300 since the install, and we're very impressed with how it behaves. When we first took delivery of our new TPI last fall, we soon no ced how s ngy it was on fuel compared to the carbureted bike. In fact, we had fi ed our old 300 with an oversized tank a couple seasons back as fuel range was always a concern. It's no secret that the Lectron is a more efficient de- signed carburetor. We've taken advantage of this addi onal benefit and have lost the giant tank in favor of the stocker. Making the old girl feel light- er and slimmer. All good stuff! -Kurt September 2019 21

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