'06 400 XT Carb Problems

Bought this Quad new for my wife (and myself when I need a good trail quad   ), and while it is a great riding machine for what we do, the problem I have is this is the most troublesome quad (or motorcycle) I have ever owned  when it comes to sitting for a while and carb jets gets clogged. I have tried the best gas, including a recommended fuel additive from my mechanic and the carb jets still get clogged. I have run the carb dry, left gas in bowl with and without the fuel shut off on, and it still clogs. I have other brand quads and motorcycles that sit around longer and never have a clogged jet problem. Is this typical of the 400XT?

Anyway, enough of the bitching...I am just getting tired of paying $$$ to a mechanic almost every time we want to take the 400XT out, so I plan on down loading a manual, but can anyone give me a quick step by step how-to to get to those pesky jets? Also, any special tools besides screwdrivers that I will need? Let start with the plastics off (for which do I need both sides off?).


Any Help Much Appreciated!

Chips2000  

there is a how to with photo's on quadclass.com  
meet me at www.quadclass.com

ALL REPAIR ADVICE GIVEN FREELY, I CANNOT ATTEST TO YOUR MECHANICAL ABILITY FOLLOW AT YOUR OWN RISK

Wolf Performance
...KEEP IT RUBBER SIDE DOWN!!....

Hello,
 First, always run the carb dry when you are finished riding by shutting off the gas at the petcock and let it idle until it stops running. This is the best practice for any small or industrial engine. You may have a Mikuni. Even if you don't many carbs are similar in design and parts. Mikuni carbs are very easy to work with. Make sure that you have no vacuum leaks whatsoever.
 Usually, the bigger the carb, the smaller the jets.
 1. The idle air screw always starts at 1 1/2 turns from closed. Let the engine warm up and open or close an 1/8 of a turn at a time. Give it about 5 seconds to settle. Continue until the engine reaches its highest RPM/speed. This is called your best lean idle.
 2. The cutaway on the slide regulates your mixture just off idle.
 3. The slow speed jet regulates the mixture until the needle in the slide takes over.
 4. The needle in the slide regulates the mixture to wide open throttle. The needle has a taper to it which regulates the fuel amount from the main jet.
 5. The main jet regulates the mixture at "wide open" throttle.
 I have found that the best way to jet your engine is by what's called "seat of the pants performance".
 Adjust the jet size by enriching the jet until you get the highest RPM/speed at that specific RPM/throttle position. An example would be the slow speed jet at let’s say, 850-1000 RPM though this will change with the richer jet so actually it's better to go by slide position.
 The high speed jet you do by accelerating through the gears until you reach top end. Keep increasing the size one size at a time until you get the maximum speed and feel of power. Once that is reached go down one jet size.
 With different pipes and types of driving as well as types of intakes jetting will change. Altitude is also a factor. An example of intakes would be velocity stacks or air cleaner inside configurations. Different lengths of these passages affect you RPM and acceleration. High performance demand will always require richer mixtures as moderate driving will perform better at leaner mixtures.
Good luck.