Hello everyone I purchased a Rascal with a Predator 212 on it stock my plan is to repaint and go through this mini bike and let my grandson ride it, so im trying to save a few bucks by doing most of this myself, carburetors aren't my thing but when I got it bike runs fine with choke slightly on and it had no air cleaner so I would like to replace it so what are people using,
Carburetor Replacement for a Predator 212 Stock
- Thread starter RWRIGHT
- Start date
Respectfully, you don't have the modifications that would make a round slide carburetor "that" important. You would gain granularity, but if you are running a governor and with a kid operating it, it just isn't worth the tuning. And this is coming from a guy who has a lot of vintage motorcycles with Mikunis on them. I have no problems tuning them, but with an engine exactly like you have, I stayed with the stock carb and jetting to keep things simple. Hey, best of all, you can use regular gasoline in your tank and not have to worry about cleaning out Mikuni pilot jets. Something I have to do regularly on any of my Hodakas with a VM22 Mik on them. 
Whether you went with a cloned VM22 or an authentic mikuni, they'd probably perform about the same and neither would come guaranteed for plug-and-play. The difference you'd notice if you install a slide carb is responsiveness. I think it's safe to say a mikuni style carb makes a bike feel jumpier because your throttle is regulating gas flow so directly, without any extra springs or governance to sorta smooth things out. It won't really add power to an engine, but can make the throttle feel a little spazzier. In your case (for now at least), the experts above are right: the original air box design is sure to make the bike run better, probably solve your choke condition, and even keep the bike in a more dependable state. Maybe wait for your grandson to want to upgrade and you can work on it together 
Last edited:
It looks like your engine has a free-flowing exhaust system on it. That, along with the lack of an air filter will cause the mixture to lean out enough to cause your issue. Good advice above about the jet kit to solve it. I would keep it as stock as possible and definitely keep the governor connected and functioning. A 212 can be a really fun engine for an adult, but very scary and wheely-prone for a 70 pound child. As he grows, the governor can be tweaked a little bit for more power and speed, again, retaining the original carb.
In case you had not noticed this fact, the governor will not be functional with a slide carburetor.
In case you had not noticed this fact, the governor will not be functional with a slide carburetor.
Adding to what's been said above, verify your governor spring hasn't been modified. At the very least it probably has been moved on the gov. arm to raise the rpm limit from the stock 3600 rpm. Also, If you go with a stock airbox you'll want to get a hose for the valve cover to airbox connection and a hose for the gas tank vent. At least add a filter to it.