HPX is backfiring when letting off the accelerator

[roboman]

It's a 2005 and accelerates and drives pretty well, and when it's warmed up it is even better. It has been backfiring pretty badly lately, though, when you let off the accelerator not very smoothly regardless of how warm the engine is. The spark plug and fuel filter are both less than a year old. It's only had about 40 hours on it since its last oil change, but I'm changing that and the filter as we speak. Does the carburetor just need cleaned or is there a bigger issue? I don't know a whole lot about carburetors, but I would assume it would drive lousy no matter speed or driving conditions, which is why I've decided to temporarily put off cleaning it and buying new gaskets etc. So any suggestions?

[Dane]

I don't know that model or engine specifically but running lean can cause backfiring and it's something that could be caused by a jet in the carb. being clogged or partially blocked. Not enough to cause it to not run but enough to lean out the mixture to cause backfiring.