hi there, still a bit of a noob on here..

had an XT for a while now, bought it from a prev owner who'd fitted an arrow exhaust system, seems they were the best option , now im no expert but ive got half an idea about bikes and that and when i start the bike up from cold, obviously i have to give it a bit of choke but it coughs its way along. i think im right in saying the bike should idle around the 1200 - 1400 rpm mark, but it idles at around 900 rpm and when i pull the throttle just splutters and cuts out.

now im thinking it may be something to do with the air mixture not being set up correct for the new exhaust, but any advice would be much appreciated

anyone!?

Are you saying it's running like this with the choke on ? If so you will find this is normal as the choke is only meant for cold starting and as soon as the engine is warmed up you should be taking the choke off.

no, its when i start and take the choke off it runs really lumpy.

First let the bike fully warm up (take it for a ride) and make sure it has the proper idle speed 1300-1500 RPM with no choke. On my XT I leave the choke on full for at least 1 minute before the bike will tick-over without choke from a cold start, and even then it idles low and bogs when I start riding, so I use full choke to pull away from a junction, and when I get on a straight I knock it off half-way. After a few miles you should be good to knock it off completely and have proper throttle response.

If not, you might want to clean your carb paying particular attention to the jets.

Hope this helps.