Last Summer I took a job of spot-spraying thistles in some CRP farmland (tall grasses, flowers, some weeds). Part way through the season my 2012 Sportsman 500 starts acting up. When I get to about 1/4 throttle, the motor seems to hesitate... kind of fall on it's face. If I let up on the throttle it will run fine, or if I keep advancing the throttle it will get pas the hesitation and run fine. I don't use this machine a lot so I didn't get around to fixing it yet. Now that it's cold outside, the hesitation seems hardly noticeable , if at all... but I haven't used it very much in cold weather yet to be 100% sure. This leads me to think the mixture is too rich, not too lean as I first suspected.
I've cleaned the air filter and foam sleeve, the hesitation at 1/4 throttle is still there. Are there any carb adjustments that I could try before removing the carb ?
IIRC, I've got around 200 hours on this ATV. If I have to remove the carb, is this something that could be cured with a can of carb cleaner and compressed air ? I used to rebuild my own Holley and Rochester carbs 40 years ago, but haven't done that kind of work since.