Just bought this bike this week, '05 Virago XV250. Can't get it to idle well (really low & stalls-increasing the idle screw makes it worse?) or quit sputtering when giving it light throttle. I have to leave the choke on for it to idle well. Revs up fine when gunning the throttle off idle. Took apart & cleaned the carb w/ carb spray, but still does it? Has anyone messed w/ the pilot adjustment on the carb on their XV250? Or do you think I need to clean it again, any hints on where to concentrate my efforts? BTW, hi to everyone.

Just bought this bike this week, '05 Virago XV250. Can't get it to idle well (really low & stalls-increasing the idle screw makes it worse?) or quit sputtering when giving it light throttle. I have to leave the choke on for it to idle well. Revs up fine when gunning the throttle off idle. Took apart & cleaned the carb w/ carb spray, but still does it? Has anyone messed w/ the pilot adjustment on the carb on their XV250? Or do you think I need to clean it again, any hints on where to concentrate my efforts? BTW, hi to everyone.

You can get problems like this when the engine is cold and the spark plug gaps are a bit too wide, ...an easy one to check there.

You can get problems like this when the engine is cold and the spark plug gaps are a bit too wide, ...an easy one to check there.

Thanks for that reply. I suppose I should check the plugs, even though the bike has 1,100 miles on it. Can't hurt anyways...

Well I thought I'd update this thread and mention that it was the carb. I took it completely apart, soaked the carb body in Yamalube carb cleaner. Used a welding tip cleaner tool to carefully clean out the holes. Sprayed out all the holes w/ Gumout, and put it back together. All seems well...

Thanks, we appreciate the update.