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My 2006 crf230 will not stay idle unless it is choked. I can ride it down the street, come back home and it still will not be able to hold its breath and stay alive. The carb is clean, I just cleaned it after I had a problem with it not having power. Any clues on what might be the problem?

Thanks!

What was the cleanliness issue with the carb?
Was it dirty fuel or was it just old and gummy.

When you cleaned the carb did you take it off the bike and make sure all the boots are sealed when it went back together?

Is the idle jet clear?

Have you tried adjusting the idle mixture screw?

Did you take the idle mixture screw out when cleaning?

Is the idle speed set high enough?

What jetting do you currently have?

Aussiecrf230 wrote:What was the cleanliness issue with the carb?
Was it dirty fuel or was it just old and gummy.

When you cleaned the carb did you take it off the bike and make sure all the boots are sealed when it went back together?

Is the idle jet clear?

Have you tried adjusting the idle mixture screw?

Did you take the idle mixture screw out when cleaning?

Is the idle speed set high enough?

What jetting do you currently have?

I would have to lean the bike over onto the ground to start it. Weird I know, but it was the only way it would start. Turned out to be a little speckle of something under the needle in the carb. got that out of there before it went inside it. It ran fine and idled perfect after that. I went on vacation but my brother stayed home to start it every week. It is new gas. Yes i took the carb off the bike when I cleaned it. I cleared all jets to make sure they were good, and they were great. No I have no touched the screw. The idle was a little high but I tuned it down and it was fine. It just won't stay alive like it should.

I'm confused, did you fix the problem or not? Idling related issues are typically caused by a clogged pilot circuit. Not only do you need to clean the jets, but you need to spray carb cleaner in all of the circuits followed by compressed air to flush everything out. Soaking the carb is not always sufficient. Also check your float level as that may have been why you had to lean the bike over (to let fuel in the bowl). If you don't have a float gauge, you can use a ruler or do a visual check to get it approximately in the right range. Hold the carb upright and the float needle should close fully just about when the float is level. If not, bend the tab on the float slightly, check again, and repeat to get it within range. Also make sure you aren't missing the rubber o-ring and washer from the end of the fuel screw, and make sure the o-ring is seated properly. Starting from the tip of the fuel screw (the part that goes inside the carb), the order is o-ring/metal washer/spring. Often times people forget or don't know about the o-ring because it doesn't just fall out like the metal washer does when they disassemble the carb, and they either end up losing it while cleaning without even knowing it or it stays in there and gets smashed when putting the fuel screw back in. All of a sudden they have idling issues.

Please report back with your findings.