carb balancing?

[unfazed]

Just ensure the carbtune unit is positioned vertically, otherwise the rods may stick and really confuse you with its weird readings. :lol

[darrsi]

Just ensure the carbtune unit is positioned vertically, otherwise the rods may stick and really confuse you with its weird readings. :lol

I'd already though of that so i hung it off the handlebar as shown in the manual. 
Although it's 2nd hand the person i got it off said he only used it 4 times and it's all properly bagged up and looking in mint condition.


I still think that there's gotta be a better screwdriver than a #2 to use on the left side screw though, i couldn't get it to seat properly to feel when i was turning it, it was all a bit random.
I might grab a handful of long screwdrivers from work and experiment.
For the right screw i used a short flat blade, that worked a treat. 

[mickvp]

a #2 seats fine as long as it has a thin enough shank. grind the shank down a bit to give you clearance if needed

[darrsi]

a #2 seats fine as long as it has a thin enough shank. grind the shank down a bit to give you clearance if needed

Yeah, that does sound like a plan..... 

[Yamazer-92]

Is this an easy job to do by yourself at home? I thought carb tunes would be expensive but I can get one for about £55 on ebay and a garage will probably charge about £40 to do it for me so it pays for itself in 2 goes really. How did you mount the tank to give you a fuel line whilst still getting to the carbs? Do you need any other special tools, I see theres some screwdriver issues going on I have a few long ones but they're pretty standard. I also just checked my tps for the first time and that needs adjusting too so I've ordered the tool for that, It reads 0 but also 10,000? Definitely not 5k anyway. Step 1 says make sure you've balanced your carbs so...

[darrsi]

Is this an easy job to do by yourself at home? I thought carb tunes would be expensive but I can get one for about £55 on ebay and a garage will probably charge about £40 to do it for me so it pays for itself in 2 goes really. How did you mount the tank to give you a fuel line whilst still getting to the carbs? Do you need any other special tools, I see theres some screwdriver issues going on I have a few long ones but they're pretty standard. I also just checked my tps for the first time and that needs adjusting too so I've ordered the tool for that, It reads 0 but also 10,000? Definitely not 5k anyway. Step 1 says make sure you've balanced your carbs so...

I've done it twice now in the last few days, as i wasn't happy with the first attempt, and then found out i had the tubes the wrong way round.


I checked the TPS before and after i balanced the carbs, remembering if an adjustment to the TPS is needed the engine should be at operating temperature.


A few tips i can give, firstly take the blanking caps off and fit the pipes on when the bike is cold, as i found a very hot engine is a bit of a bugger otherwise. Then let the bike warm up until normal tickover is reached.
All i did was take the tank bolts out, after unplugging the fuel gauge plug, then very carefully lifted the tank with the fuel pipe still attached and aimed the tank the other way. It just rests okay without putting any pressure on the fuel tap at all, then i used 2 bungees to secure it in place to prevent any accidents. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK, don't blame me if you end up with a metal bonfire!

I'm gonna experiment with the screwdriver issue, as it's definitely a bit fiddly and can be made easier.


Other than that follow the instructions in the manual, which are very simple, and take your time, don't rush it, 'cos the results are really worth it. 

[Yamazer-92]

I've had the tank off several times so I'm confident doing it, it's easy enough if you're careful but when you say aimed it the other way do you mean having it facing to the left or right of the bike with the bike pointing forwards? Thanks for the advice though anyway I just ordered one and the torx driver you need to adjust the TPS. Hopefully they arrive soon so the bike is running nice and sweet for when I go to wales in 2 weeks. 

[elbrownos]

Turn the tank 180 degrees

[darrsi]

I've had the tank off several times so I'm confident doing it, it's easy enough if you're careful but when you say aimed it the other way do you mean having it facing to the left or right of the bike with the bike pointing forwards? Thanks for the advice though anyway I just ordered one and the torx driver you need to adjust the TPS. Hopefully they arrive soon so the bike is running nice and sweet for when I go to wales in 2 weeks. 

Turn the tank clockwise 180 degrees, so it's facing backwards.
I did it standing on the right side of the bike.
There must've been a reason i did this, probably not to kink the fuel pipe?

[Yamazer-92]

Ah right I see what you mean now, do you need anything under the tank like a block of wood to hold it up for some clearance?

[darrsi]

Ah right I see what you mean now, do you need anything under the tank like a block of wood to hold it up for some clearance?

I actually put a foam knee mat across the battery thinking it would sit on that but it didn't even touch it, so no not really.
Although covering the battery wasn't a bad idea anyway just in case of any accidental leakage.
Make sure you secure it though, even though it appears to sit quite happily on its own.
Always safety first when fuel is involved. mokin

[Yamazer-92]

Well my carbtune arrived in the post today so I went for it. Followed the guide which was brilliant because I couldn't even see the left and right adjustment screws at first, then when I did I sobbed a little at how ridiculously hard they are to get to especially the right. Got there in the end though after a trip to toolstation for a foc off long screwdriver. Got them all within the 2 cm spec, although they do bounce around a little but they were all within the lines and level so I was happy with that. I finally did the TPS as well and set it to 5k. Bike feels great at low revs now, a lot smoother. Would definitely recommend anyone considering doing these 2 jobs to get them done because you won't regret it.

[darrsi]

Well my carbtune arrived in the post today so I went for it. Followed the guide which was brilliant because I couldn't even see the left and right adjustment screws at first, then when I did I sobbed a little at how ridiculously hard they are to get to especially the right. Got there in the end though after a trip to toolstation for a foc off long screwdriver. Got them all within the 2 cm spec, although they do bounce around a little but they were all within the lines and level so I was happy with that. I finally did the TPS as well and set it to 5k. Bike feels great at low revs now, a lot smoother. Would definitely recommend anyone considering doing these 2 jobs to get them done because you won't regret it.

I used a cheap 4" flat blade on the right side, it was much easier.

[Yamazer-92]

Funnily enough that's what I did too, couldn't get the phillips onto the threads at all and had enough room on the right to get the shorter flathead I have down into it. The middle and left screw needed the long phillips though. Runs a hell of a lot sweeter now. Wouldn't be scared to do it again next time it needs doing either, wasn't as difficult as I imagined once I had all the correct tools.

[Dead Eye]

Undertaken this task again today (3rd times the charm) after forgetting all about the restrictors on my previous attempts.

The issue I have is that they are completely out of spec - I can sync them up but they all sync to about 19-20 cmHg whereas the spec says 23-25

I'm also pretty certain that cylinder 1 is the culprit in some way. If I adjust the centre screw in favour of 3+4 the revs rise and so does the cmHg across all cylinders - this is an even increment across 3+4 then a slightly lower on 2 and only very slight increment on 1. Same sort of circumstance if I adjust the left hand screw (for 1+2) in favour of 2. 2 obviously rises but so does 1, just at not such an extreme rate. With 3+4 if I adjust then one will drop about as much as the other increases, which is what I expect to happen

So basically, what the crap is going on with cylinder 1?! I unfortunately don't know enough about the importance or meaning of these measurements to start building up a prognosis

[mickvp]

if you wind all 3 screws in/out, the overall vaccuum should move?

[Punkstig]

Undertaken this task again today (3rd times the charm) after forgetting all about the restrictors on my previous attempts.

The issue I have is that they are completely out of spec - I can sync them up but they all sync to about 19-20 cmHg whereas the spec says 23-25

I'm also pretty certain that cylinder 1 is the culprit in some way. If I adjust the centre screw in favour of 3+4 the revs rise and so does the cmHg across all cylinders - this is an even increment across 3+4 then a slightly lower on 2 and only very slight increment on 1. Same sort of circumstance if I adjust the left hand screw (for 1+2) in favour of 2. 2 obviously rises but so does 1, just at not such an extreme rate. With 3+4 if I adjust then one will drop about as much as the other increases, which is what I expect to happen

So basically, what the crap is going on with cylinder 1?! I unfortunately don't know enough about the importance or meaning of these measurements to start building up a prognosis

how gentle are you using the screwdriver- you should be trying your damned best not to be pushing on it at all as this will affect the gauge readout, also after every little adjustment blip the throttle and re read the gauges, its this that makes adjusting time consuming!

[Dead Eye]

if you wind all 3 screws in/out, the overall vaccuum should move?

For some reason I hadn't considered this... must be my bad day

Punkstig - I was using very little pressure as I know that if you push down it affects the readings and always blipped the throttle between adjustments

Unfortunately the bike and I had a slight accident which resulted in the front end being destroyed on a ride this afternoon so it seems all my fettling was in vein as its off the road until I can fix it up  :'(

[darrsi]

[quote author=mickvp link=topic=8911.msg92244#msg92244 date=1375541910]
if you wind all 3 screws in/out, the overall vaccuum should move?

For some reason I hadn't considered this... must be my bad day

Punkstig - I was using very little pressure as I know that if you push down it affects the readings and always blipped the throttle between adjustments

Unfortunately the bike and I had a slight accident which resulted in the front end being destroyed on a ride this afternoon so it seems all my fettling was in vein as its off the road until I can fix it up  :'(
[/quote] 


WHAT????  :groan

[darrsi]

"....Unfortunately the bike and I had a slight accident...."

[size=1em]You fell over that cliff didn't you? [/size] :'(