Question on 2003 Volusia Suzuki Lehman Romani Trike

Big0 · May 1, 2014

Just bought my Suzuki Volusia with Lehman Romani Trike kit - the question is
what can i do to her to get the most out of it for power ? She is at this
point pretty stock. Am actually liking it better than the Tri-Glide i had
as that one was the beast and this one is the beauty. Seriously it's just
more easy to handle but of course there is more road vibration but such
are the trade offs.

cavie · May 2, 2014

You have to remember you only have 805cc. 52 BHP. there is not much you can do to improve on this. I drove an '03 VOL for three years. I did find that a K & Nair filter and rejet of the carb gives better performance in mid range but will not increase horsepower. The trike kit added weight to the stock bike. You would have to do the math for takeoff and added new parts. Vol is ok for one up but will suffer with twoup riding as a trike.

Big0 · May 2, 2014

Thank you for your answer will see about changing the air filter and working
on the carbs. Over all am really enjoying the trike but of course i want to get
it to the very best it can be.

cavie · May 3, 2014

Big0 said:
Thank you for your answer will see about changing the air filter and working
on the carbs. Over all am really enjoying the trike but of course i want to get
it to the very best it can be.

Just one carb.

Big0 · May 3, 2014

cavie said:
Just one carb.

* i stand corrected.
:xzqxz:

Sinical · May 10, 2014

If you're going to install the K&N air filter and rejet the carb, you might also consider a more free-flowing exhaust.

By opening up both exhaust and intake for better flow, one can gain roughly 15% more hp than the stock rating. This means that the stock 52 hp could be bumped up to around 59.8 hp.......granted, not a huge leap, but every pony helps

The rejet can be a matter of trial 'n error. You could start with one size fatter (larger) on the pilot jet, adjust the needle jet for better mid-range and possibly one size larger on the main jet. You might also need to adjust the idle setting to dial it all in.

Sinical · May 10, 2014

There's another option if you don't want to change air cleaner and rejet. If you leave the intake stock, you can adjust the air/fuel mixture only and this can be done whether you open up the exhaust or not. Altering the exhaust only and leaving the intake stock shouldn't require a rejet. <br />
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These machines are notoriously set too lean from the factory. On the side of the carb, you should see a small round brass plug (it might have a tiny hole in the middle of the plug). Use a metal screw and thread it into the plug only a slight bit then pull that plug out. This allows you access to the air/fuel mixture screw. Turn the a/f mixture screw in clockwise until l-i-g-h-t-l-y seated, then back it out 2 full turns. Fire up the trike and let it warm up fully (carb adjustments should be done with a fully warmed up engine) Once warmed up, lower the idle slightly. From 2 full turns out on the a/f mixture screw, turn it in slowly until it just starts to stumble, counting the number of turns going in.

Then back it out again, counting the number of turns going out until it starts to stumble again, then turn it back in 1/2 way splitting the difference between counted turns in & out. This should bring you to the sweet spot and enhance the general performance now that it's getting the proper amount of fuel and no longer running too lean. Last step is to adjust your idle back to the normal idle rpm spec and you're done <img src="images/smilies/thumbup.gif" border="0" alt="" title="ThumbUp" class="inlineimg" />

Big0 · May 12, 2014

Thank you for that post as it is a big help. Wouldn't turn down
better performance.

Sinical · May 13, 2014

Big0 said:
Thank you for that post as it is a big help. Wouldn't turn down
better performance.

My pleasure. Just my .02, but adjusting the air/fuel mixture screw would be the first mod I'd do. It doesn't take much time, no special tools required and the results are immediate.

Once you locate the small round brass plug with the tiny hole in the center, you only need to screw the metal screw in about 3 turns max just to get a bite on it. Then grab the metal screw with needle nosed pliers and jiggle the plug out.

Once the adjustments are made, you'll notice less choke needed at cold starts, faster warm-up and better running.

This '02 Intruder has dual carbs and I was surprised to read that the '03 Volusia is a single carb. I'm jealous as I prefer single carbs myself :laugh: Did this mod on both carbs and as mentioned, the enhancement was immediately felt ThumbUp

Good luck and Ride Safe.......