Hi all. I've been cleaning out my carburetor for the first time on my 2005 Suzuki Savage, and I noticed something odd when putting things back together. The needle seat, though nice and clean, and with intact o-ring, doesn't fit snug into the carburetor.

I press it in expecting it to slide in tight, but it's just completely loose... no friction at all. When I flip it over, it just falls out.

Is this normal with the 2005 model? OR Am I dealing with a mismatched needle seat? OR Is the o-ring deteriorated? OR Is there something else I'm missing?
(Btw, The needle seat can still technically be held in place by its screw and compression mount.)

You know, before I slowly got to work on this bike, it stopped accelerating a while back. Could this have been the cause?

I assume when you took it out it was tight?

It's possible that is made of the wrong material and shrinks when not in gas.

Try a new one.

Good call guys.  As Youzguyz notes, it should have parts 22 and 23.  And I also agree with Verslagen about material quality.

If it came from an aftermarket kit, the o-ring and/or valve could both be undersized.  

It shouldn’t be loose.  I’ve had to use needle nose pliers and pry the screen out with a pick when they get stuck in there good.

I agree that your seat assembly is too loose.  You can see from your picture (and your video too) that the o-ring is flat.  So, you should change it with a new Suzuki OEM o-ring.  But you also have an operational problem, so it would be in your best interest to also test it to see what you can learn.

My experience with leaking needle & seat assemblies has been poor idle and low speed operation.  Things tend to be much better when you open the throttle a bit.  That's because at wider throttle opening fuel consumption through the main circuit exceeds the amount of leakage past the needle/seat, so the fuel level returns to normal.  At smaller throttle openings, the leakage exceeds the fuel consumption through the idle circuit, so the fuel level rises and causes an overly rich mixture.

You stated:

"You know, before I slowly got to work on this bike, it stopped accelerating a while back."

Leakage at your needle/seat is probably unrelated to your lack of acceleration.  How does your bike idle?  How does it run at very small throttle openings?  

I like to test my needle & seat to make sure there are no leaks.  I hook up a clear plastic container to the carburetor and fill the container with mineral spirits.  Then I let the mineral spirits fill the float bowl.  You can observe the level of mineral spirits in the clear container.  The level will quit dropping once the float seats the needle.  Then I observe the container for about ten minutes.  The liquid level in the clear container should remain steady.  If there are no leaks, the level will not drop.

Although it is obvious that your o-ring needs replacement, it would still be a good idea to test what you have now.  That way you can learn just how good or bad your current needle/seat assembly is.

This picture shows how simple the test rig is.  Any clear plastic container will work.  Use mineral spirits, it's safer than gasoline.  Don't wanna burn the garage down.   :'(