Carburetors

[Mac]

Since I don't have one of those 'Things" to balance the carburetors. Does anybody know a quick, sure fire way to balance them.

 

Everything seems to be running just fine. Started the first time. But I just want to be sure.

 

Mac

[Wombat]

I would have to guess that the only sure fire way to balance the carbs is with one of those 'Things'.

[gspell68]

Some folks prefer a performance based sync method as follows. In theory the same vacuum measurements on both carbs on both heads of the same bike should yield the same results, but it's not a perfect world. Sometimes you gotta think of it as a Siamese motor with two heads joined at the crankshaft.

 

The old school way to make sure the carbs are playing on the same team is to:

1. jack it up,

2. fire it up,

3. put it in 4th gear,

4. disconnect one cylinder wire, (heard you should ground bikes with electronic ignition)

5. rev it up to 40-50 khp,

6. clamp the throttle in place,

7. now quickly re-connect that side disconnect the other

8. adjust the carb to match the speed you set while the first side was running.

 

Bada-bing!

[Yphan_of_Oz]

You can try this. http://www.airheads.org/content/view/183/98/

 

I made one and it seems to work just fine, and the price is right.

 

I can't compare it to a TwinMax as I don't own one.

[IMZman]

Mac,

 

Remember there is always more than one way to skin a cat.

 

To help you further, what carb do you have?

[csbdr]

Since I don't have one of those 'Things" to balance the carburetors. Does anybody know a quick, sure fire way to balance them.

 

Everything seems to be running just fine. Started the first time. But I just want to be sure.

 

Mac

 

gotta say, using a TwinMax is so easy, it was worth the $. I tinker with it more than I need to, probably. Crawford's has em' - Chris

[pigdog]

If worse comes to worse, you can do the following.

 

Put one finger on the left carb where the cable attaches. While you open up the throttle, watch the right hand carb. Do they move at the same time? If they do, you're close.

 

You can also use your hands to feel the exhaust pressure at the tailpipe.

 

While neither one of these will get you "dead-on" balanced, it should get you close enough to ride home.

 

For what it's worth, I've had both carbs offa number of times for cleaning, adjusting, etc., and finally bought a Twinmax last year. The carbs were close enough that I didn't have to make any adjustments.

 

 

[JohnBG]

If worse comes to worse, you can do the following.

 

Put one finger on the left carb where the cable attaches. While you open up the throttle, watch the right hand carb. Do they move at the same time? If they do, you're close.

 

You can also use your hands to feel the exhaust pressure at the tailpipe.

 

While neither one of these will get you "dead-on" balanced, it should get you close enough to ride home.

 

For what it's worth, I've had both carbs offa number of times for cleaning, adjusting, etc., and finally bought a Twinmax last year. The carbs were close enough that I didn't have to make any adjustments.

 

FWIW, I used to do the "touchy-looky" method you indicated. It don't work worth beans until you have the idles set dead even woth each other first. Putting your hands over the exhausts is only somewhat accurate if you don't have a crossover pipe on your exhausts (true dual pipes).

 

I broke down a few months back and bought the TwinMax and it's probably the best $80 tool I ever bought. I even made some adapters so I could tune the K-68's on my 650 as well as the Keihins on my 750.

 

Trust me I fiddles with the K-68's for hours by hand and never got them really right. It took me less than 10 minutes with the TwinMax.

 

Holopaw Gene has them in stock.

[Mac]

What kind of carb's do I have? What ever came with a 2002/03 model. I really don't know. Guess I better find out

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I will take all under consideration.

 

Mac

[JohnBG]

What kind of carb's do I have? What ever came with a 2002/03 model. I really don't know. Guess I better find out

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I will take all under consideration.

 

Mac

 

Then they are most likely the Keihin CVK carbs... Get the TwinMax!

[Dubliner15]

Do you have twin exhausts?

 

And a plastic bowl to put some liquid in?

 

Not kidding.

 

You can feel if one side is 'blowing' more than the other by placing your hands behind the exhausts when the bike is running....

 

Also - to ensure a proper 'balance' try putting a bowl of milk or water on your tank when the engine is running. When the carbs are equally balanced the vibrations are minimal and you won't be spilling anything....

 

To check that your mixture setting is ok take the bike for a ride and pull the clutch, hit the kill switch at 50-60 Mph, coast to a standstill and remove the plugs. They should both look the same. If not, refer to Dan's MC guide pages on how to read a sparkplug. Adjust your mixture accordingly.

 

This may help, if you, like me, don't want to buy a twinmax, or don't have carbs capable of takign them without breaking out a drill bit...

 

:thumbsup!:

 

Dub

[Sam]

make yourself a manometer; 10 ft of clear vinyl tubing and some water or light oil, and something to squeeze the tubing with (to damp pulsations). $5 if you shop wisely; and totally accurate.