Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/771894
January 2017 11 carb kit, set up specifi cally for our climate, including the proper and a bit longer thro le cable. Installa on of the Lectron proved to be a breeze. A er a brief Internet search of what would be required to install the carb, we decided to go a diff erent route and just pull the shock. Yes, the other methods of removing the subframe bolts and holding it up and out of the way seemed like more work than necessary. Since our test bike is a PDS KTM with no linkage to deal with, only two bolts needed to be removed; the shock pulls out the back in less than a minute. We pulled the air fi lter, loosened the carb clamps and pulled the air box boot out the back. With these components removed, there was more than plenty of room to work with. Since we needed to swap out the exis ng thro le cable with Lectron's specifi c Mo on Pro cable, we removed the thro le cable at the thro le housing. And we removed the Keihin carb, slide and cable as a unit. At this point, we had less than 10 minutes into the installa on. Our next plan of a ack was to re-route the new thro le cable. Fortunately, the Lectron t-cable is several inches longer, allowing for rou ng the cable from the le side of the frame with a much smoother bend. Although we've yet to experience cable failures, there's no ques on that smoother bends in cables increase life over me. With the cable routed where we felt best, the new Lectron was fi ed into the intake boot with a nice ght snap. On the carb side of the cable, Lectron makes things much easier with a quick release connec on to the slide. Other than a fl at blade screwdriver required for the carb top, no other tools are required. As for the air boot, a bit of trimming might be called for. In our case, Lectron had provided the trimmed boot, but in all honesty, it really wasn't necessary as only 10-12mm had been cut off the carb side of the boot and could have easily been handled on our end. The trimmed boot popped into posi on without hassle and we installed a fresh air fi lter because we were there anyway. We then installed the shock, tank, seat and turned on the gas. (Lectron supplied new clear fuel hose and it was a good thing as we saw evidence of ethanol fuel deteriora ng the exis ng fuel line.) Even with taking our me and doing a bit of cleaning in the nooks and crannies while things were apart, we had less than an hour into the installa on. Test me was now in order. Once installed and the fl oat level checked (clear fuel bowl is a huge bonus), the bike fi red immediately. What was interes ng is that it fi red without choke and seemed like it was not as suscep ble to needing choke although it was warm in our shop during install. A er a few minutes of warm-up, we were ready to test. Ini al impressions were how well it ran on a cold Maine a ernoon. Our low-end cold weather lean condi on was gone and power delivery was very linear. It felt as if the brutal mid-range hit of the big 300 was tamed a bit and seemed to pull longer in the upper rpm range.