What should the warm idle speed of an NC24 be?

I had a lot of problems with it cutting out at junctions as it was idling too slow, so I had a little fiddle with the idle speed selector down by where the throttle cable attaches onto the top of the engine and it's running sweet, although i'm not sure what the right idle speed should actually be.

It currently idles at around 2500-3000rpm when warmed up - is that about right or should it be higher or lower?

Thats pretty high for idle.. Haynes manual suggests 1200 give or take 100 rpm. Mine idles around 1500 but it does have a tendency to run a little warmer than it should
If it won't tick over at these speeds then I think thats a sign the carbs need cleaning and balancing :)

Yeah that's pretty much what I thought.

It starts and runs, but unless I gun it at junctions the revs tend to drop off anf fluctuate before stalling.

Reckon give the carbs a clean and balancing?

yep - summats not right?? Mine will idle happily at 1400, give it some tlc....

1300rpm± 100rpm.

2-6mm of freeplay in the throttle cable.

If you can't get it to idle at that overhaul your cabs and have them balanced.

I had a fiddle with the idle speed and it seems a bit happier down at 1500 revs.

It still sounds like it's struggling though so i'm going to have a look at the carbs.

For someone who is new to doing mechanical work on a bike, what sort of time investment would this typically take?

Best part of an afternoon?

And of course, what tools are needed? :)

No special tools are needed - just screwdrivers a socket set and a haynes manual never goes a miss .

First time i took my carbs off didn't take very long at all. 30 minutes maybe...but i already knew what i was doing as i'd gone as far as carbs before without actually removing them.
Another thing to check when you get them off is the rubber clamp that hold them on aren't torn.
If they are they should be replaced.

It depends what you plan on doing, just a spray with carb cleaner then it shouldn't take long. If you are balancing it can take much longer and more patience. But all the info you need can be found on here :)

You may run into a bit of trouble refitting the diaphragm rubbers if you do clean the carbs out. Mine had stretched as they are 21 years old now, but you can shrink them back to size so they fit by putting them in the freezer overnight.

castrol101 wrote: It depends what you plan on doing, just a spray with carb cleaner then it shouldn't take long. If you are balancing it can take much longer and more patience. But all the info you need can be found on here :)

Perhaps a silly question, but what does spraying them with carb cleaner actually involve?

I take it I would need to open up the float chambers and spray them inside with carb cleaner and then put back together?

I ordered a haynes manual off fleabay yesterday, so that should hopefully be with me next week along with some better weather.

Would I need a paddock stand for this or is it fine with just the side stand?

Or you could try this stuff. You need to remove the airbox to do this. Just pour a cap full into each carb with the engine running, You may need to set up a fuel line to do this though. Or you just add it to the fuel tank (Half the bottle it says)lol. You will have lots of smoke for a while till it burns off.