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who misses carbs?

1679 Views 17 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  Nimh
My father rides a TBS with a K&N, TORS, and ultra clean & re-jetted carbs. The noise that thing makes when on full scoot!! It has a good raspy sound at idle and does not stumble when you yank your right wrist. How come my 1050 can't sound like that. I'm no good with computers, I miss re-jetting in a messed up way.....anyone got a 95 S3 for sale in the northeast for cheap?

Am I crazy or does the sound of a fuel pump take away from the music that comes from between your legs. My bike seems like it has an electric motor compaired to old Triumph twins or even modern classic triples, sometimes I wish it was a little less refined.

Anyone feel the same way?
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I ride with ear plugs....
Sometimes I miss carbs, then I look at all the jets, needles, etc., in boxes in the shop and remember.

A wide-band O2 sensor and a laptop is easier to use than a ColorTune, vacuum balancer, and a box of needles/jets. It is simply something different.
Miss carbs? Not even...I ride from 5000 ft to around 10,500 regularly. Try and jet carbs for that.
Bein' older than most rocks, I miss 'em. Sure, I suppose if y'er a genius like Devi an' have access to all that fancy computer stuff, it's easy to retune, but for us mortals, jet size an' needle height was a lot easier to unnerstand.

Not to mention the cost. Add up the cost o' the PC or Tuneboy, the laptop, cables, an' whatever else an' you could buy a whole lotta jet sizes. Or a whole 'nother bike :beer:
G
Mmmmmmm...carbs. aarrrgh. :beer: :beer: :beer: :popcorn:
R100Pilot said:
Bein' older than most rocks, I miss 'em. Sure, I suppose if y'er a genius like Devi an' have access to all that fancy computer stuff, it's easy to retune, but for us mortals, jet size an' needle height was a lot easier to unnerstand.

Not to mention the cost. Add up the cost o' the PC or Tuneboy, the laptop, cables, an' whatever else an' you could buy a whole lotta jet sizes. Or a whole 'nother bike :beer:
Have you priced a set of Keihin FCRs or parts for them lately?
And getting jetting correct for one set of atmospheric conditions still leaves many parts of the powerband out of tune. If the weather of altitude changes, you start over again.

IF you have a shop nearby, having your bike tuned with a PCIII is fairly simple, and you don't need to touch it later unless you modify something.
Devious2xs said:
If the weather of altitude changes, you start over again.
Yeah, but I've lived in Florida all my life. Altitude changes? What's that? :drink:

And Keihin? We don' need no stinkin' Keihin! Carb balancin' is pretty simple when ya only got two.


I certainly understand the many reasons why FI is better in the long run. In fact, I had one of the earlier FI systems ever, on my old GPz1100. I think that was a Bosch unit. Ran damn good.

But, until I feel like droppin' a grand or so on the computer gizmos necessary to tune it myself, I'm stuck relyin' on the mercy o' the shop, whereas before, all I needed were the hand tools I already had.

Now, excuse me while I go make fire with two sticks. Flint? What's that? :beer:
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I recall a guy with a newish (1998?) BMW who got pissed at all the electronics. He removed everything, including the ignition, and replaced with mechanical stuff: Carbs, Points/condenser etc. He claimed in the end that he gained 12 Horsepower.

Of course that's probably mostly due to the change from 32mm throttle bodies to 38mm Carburetors... OR he could have been lying or simply deluding himself. :violent1:

I too miss carburetors, for the simple fact that I completely understand them. But I won't be going back. The advantages of FI are too great.
Bikes were some of the last vehicles to convert to fuel injection. Mostly due to some of the great carbs available of bikes - and NO I am not talking about Amals.

The big difference is torque and throttle response when both are tuned correctly.

Modern engine management also includes the ability to control spark timing much more closely than with a distributor. But you still have to be able to figure out what you need/want.

Crash - I believe he gained power with the carb conversion. He may have gained airflow and the ability to tune the bike better. The early EFI systems did not have tools available to tune them, and the factory tuning left a lot to be desired.

The only time i have seen carbs out perform EFI was when the injectors are mounted close to the valves and the carbs are spraying fuel far from the valves - cooling the intake charge more than the EFI. The gains were only on the top end, and throttle response was lazy. So in reality, this was not a good comparison.
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Devi,
I can rebuild an Amal monoblock with my eyes closed. Maybe I thought they were good cause I could work on them. Anything that needs a little foreplay to work (the tickler) is alright with me. ;D
I miss carbs.
crashmasterd said:
I recall a guy with a newish (1998?) BMW who got pissed at all the electronics. He removed everything, including the ignition, and replaced with mechanical stuff: Carbs, Points/condenser etc. He claimed in the end that he gained 12 Horsepower.

Of course that's probably mostly due to the change from 32mm throttle bodies to 38mm Carburetors... OR he could have been lying or simply deluding himself. :violent1:

I too miss carburetors, for the simple fact that I completely understand them. But I won't be going back. The advantages of FI are too great.
Are you saying that he DOUBLED the horsepower by replacing FI with Carbs??? :laugh: :laugh:

AA
AA said:
Are you saying that he DOUBLED the horsepower by replacing FI with Carbs??? :laugh: :laugh:

AA
Doubled? Nearly Tripled!
:eek:wned:
I don't miss em at all. Never learnt enough to rejet/rebuild them and FI has less problems and is more fuel efficient. Very happy to see most technologies progress.
If anyone is really missing carbs I do have a 1980 HD sportster for sale! ;D
Carbs? I'll never look back. Cleaning jets, adjusting needles, screwing with the float, syncing... BAH.

Bye Bye!. :wave:
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