Seaking Posted March 17, 2011 #1 Posted March 17, 2011 Hi folks.. I had picked up a new carb synch gauge, the four dials one.. And used it on the bike today.. I already have the carb tune with the rods that bounce up and down but the 4 dials gauge came at a super good price so why not. Wow, that was easy to set up and quicker to balance the carbs.. Maybe TOO easy? If I may pose a few questions to those who are experienced with this type of gauge. In regards to the little restrictors, how much do you close these off? They have to be open to a certain amount to let the vacuum do it's job, but too much and the needles bounce like crazy, too little and you wont get an accurate reading.. I did mine where the needles bounce between two indicator points.. to me this seemed like the best amount of bounce to go with? As you can see in the photo, the needles are bouncing pretty well spot on across the board.. When I started they were up and down a few notches but a few turns of the screw driver and everything balanced in nicely. I don't know why I feel this was much easier than the Carb Tune? Did I get this right for the amount of restriction to put on the valves? Cheers
capn eddie Posted March 17, 2011 #2 Posted March 17, 2011 close but mine said to adjust the restrictors until they just stop bouncing and stay steady, i have the same gauges you do and also a new motion pro set and they both work well i checked them against each other. also i adjust the gauges by teeing all gauges together to make sure they are reading the same. hope this helps. Ed.
Condor Posted March 17, 2011 #3 Posted March 17, 2011 Take all the guages and adjust the restricters off one vacuum bib. Then you know that they're equal. Then sync them the same way you did when using the CarbTune, and you should be good to go.
Squeeze Posted March 17, 2011 #4 Posted March 17, 2011 .... I did mine where the needles bounce between two indicator points.. to me this seemed like the best amount of bounce to go with? ... Did I get this right for the amount of restriction to put on the valves? Cheers Yes, that's the right Amount of Rstriction. If you got to the Point where they don't move much, the Stick-Slip of the Needle Bearings will start to interfere with the Readings. The bouncing actually helps keeping them move and even out the Reading.
bongobobny Posted March 17, 2011 #5 Posted March 17, 2011 Yup! And what Condos says! Check with a single source to make sure all the gauges are eading identical! I too made a pretty good deal on a set of 4 gauges this winter, and they work fine!!
V7Goose Posted March 18, 2011 #6 Posted March 18, 2011 Sounds to me like you did it right. You DO want a little wiggle in the needles - if you close the valves down so much they stop moving, you have absolutely no idea if they are reading correctly or not. Any wiggle is good enough - you do not need them to jump any particular amount. The reason you found it so much easier than a carb tune? Well, in my personal opinion, it is simply because the cab tune is a junk tool that is not worth using unless it is the only thing you have available! (People who have already sunk their money on a carb tune tend to argue with this - maybe to keep themselves happy?, but that is OK, they have a right to their opinion too!) Goose
KeithR Posted March 18, 2011 #7 Posted March 18, 2011 So where would a person buy a set of gauges like that ? Keith
MiCarl Posted March 18, 2011 #8 Posted March 18, 2011 I use the same set. I agree they need to flutter just a bit. If they ain't moving they're stuck. You're going to want to replace the vacuum hoses that came with them. By the 3rd use they'll start to split. Mine need to be re calibrated periodically. I hook them to a manifold and along with a vacuum pump from a mity vac type brake bleeder. I adjust them so they all match at 10" Hg.
Dave77459 Posted March 18, 2011 #9 Posted March 18, 2011 These are the sorts of gauges I am interested in. When do you adjust the flutter? When they are used on a running engine, or when they are attached to a manifold? Doesn't adjusting the flutter change the calibration? Aren't those the white valves mid-hose? Dave
V7Goose Posted March 18, 2011 #10 Posted March 18, 2011 These are the sorts of gauges I am interested in. When do you adjust the flutter? When they are used on a running engine, or when they are attached to a manifold? Doesn't adjusting the flutter change the calibration? Aren't those the white valves mid-hose? DaveYes, those are the valves. No, adjusting them does not have any effect on the calibration (unless you adjust them so low the flutter totally stops). A four stroke engine only produces vacuum 1/4 of the time (during the intake stroke). The gauge shows max vacuum and then leaks down during the other three strokes; this is what causes the flutter. By closing the valve down, you slow down the amount of leak down at the gauge so that it stays close to the vacuum reading from the intake stroke. Goose
MiCarl Posted March 18, 2011 #11 Posted March 18, 2011 These are the sorts of gauges I am interested in. When do you adjust the flutter? When they are used on a running engine, or when they are attached to a manifold? Doesn't adjusting the flutter change the calibration? Aren't those the white valves mid-hose? Dave **EDIT** Goose's explanation was a lot clearer than mine
Seaking Posted March 18, 2011 Author #12 Posted March 18, 2011 Thanks all for the info.. After I'd seen Goose use his on the bike I picked up a set of gauges for myself and glad I did. Thanks for the tip to calibrate them against a known source, I wouldn't have thought it of that. I can't remember where I got mine from, can't find the receipt.. Cheers
MiCarl Posted March 18, 2011 #13 Posted March 18, 2011 ... Aren't those the white valves mid-hose? I believe the hoses come pre cut. You are correct though that the valves shouldn't be up against the gauges - they should be on the engine side. The extra length of hose between the valve and the gauge acts as a reservoir to damp a lot of the flutter.
gibvel Posted March 18, 2011 #14 Posted March 18, 2011 The reason you found it so much easier than a carb tune? Well, in my personal opinion, it is simply because the cab tune is a junk tool that is not worth using unless it is the only thing you have available! (People who have already sunk their money on a carb tune tend to argue with this - maybe to keep themselves happy?, but that is OK, they have a right to their opinion too!) Goose Gonna have to disagree with you here, Goose. I've got both sets. Set both up with one manifold and a vacuum pump (not talking a mity vac here talking a full fledged electric pump with a bleed valve so I can pull as much or as little vacuum as I need). The gauges were perfect on the pump at the same vacuum that the bike pulls. Synced my carbs with the dial kind (perfectly synced with the gauges) and noticed a bit of vibration when riding. Checked the sync a couple more times on different days... perfect sync. Stuck the Carb tune on there (it showed a bit off) synced the carbs with the carb tune to a very good sync and bingo, the vibration was gone and the bike ran noticeably smoother. I'm just saying!! YMMV.
FreezyRider Posted March 18, 2011 #15 Posted March 18, 2011 So where would a person buy a set of gauges like that ? Keith Search ebay for "carb synchronizer"......a ton of them there. That's where I bought mine.
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