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Tuning your carburettors for intake & exhaust modifications (practice)

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    Tuning your carburettors for intake & exhaust modifications (practice)

    This is continued from the "Theory" thread - read it first!

    2 - Jetting size chart

    All measurements refer to mainjet size and are approximate, as no two bikes are exactly the same and thus the sizing will vary. 'OR' means 'instead of', or 'not in conjunction with'. 'AND' means 'as well as' or 'in addition to'.

    +1 - Slipon system OR unpacking/debaffling OR high-flow air filter OR modified airbox

    +2 - Pods OR full system exhaust OR modified airbox AND high-flow air filter

    +3 - Velocity stacks OR pods AND slipon OR unpacking/debaffling

    +4 - Pods AND full system exhaust OR velocity stacks AND slipon OR unpacking/debaffling

    +5 - Velocity stacks AND full-system exhaust

    Remember, all references given are approximate, and I would use them as starting points for additional tuning only.


    3 - Plug chopping

    This is how you find out if your engine is running rich or lean. Aside from the more obvious symptoms like a lean engine cracking and popping when you wind on thr throttle, or a rich engine bogging down when you wind it on, in which case you will need to adjust the jets accordingly either way as you see fit. After some experimentation you will soon know what is lean and what is rich, and can go from there with the rest of your future tuning.

    A plug chop gives you a snapshot of the condition of the spark plug at the moment in time when you perform it, and is a very useful tuning tool. It is performed by simultaneously itting your kill switch and pulling in your clutch, then rolling to a rest and pulling your plugs on the side of the road. Black or sooty is too rich, and will cause plug fouling and loss of economy and power. White is too lean, and will cause overheating and loss of power. A biscuit brown colour is what you are chasing, indicating a good fuel to air ratio for your engine.

    You can perform a plug chop at any speed and engine revolution, but there is not sense in changing the pilot jets while your mainjet is still stock - you need to work from the top down to acheive results. Thus, once you get the jetting close enough in your garage, you need to throw some tools in your backpack and then take the bike for a spin to warm it up. This is critical, a warm engine runs leaner than a cold one and vice versa. Once you've warmed it up (15min good riding) then find a deserted bit of road and run max rpm in whatever gear you feel comfortable with. Hold for a few seconds, then perform a plug chop. This will give you engine conditions at maximum rpm, and you can adjust your mainjets accordingly.


    4 - Changing jets

    Your carburettor is the heart of your engine, metering fuel into the incoming airflow so your engine can combust it and produce power. It is essential to know which parts perform each function before you start tuning, or you won't know what action provides which results...or why! Another must is only changing one carburettor setting/part at a time, or you will not know which setting or part yeilded the result. Capiche? Right, onto business.

    You will need to tune your carburettor(s) from the 'top down', starting with your mainjet which controls fueling up to maximum engine revolutions. Once this is set via experimentation in the garage, then plug chopping to fine-tune, you can move onto every other part. The midrange is governed by your needle, moving it upwards in the carburettor body will let more fuel flow for a given throttle setting. Low range is governed by your pilot jet, and this is the jet often responsible for lacklustre off-the line performance or bad idling. A single size up at a time should tell you whether you are going in the right direction, after you've set your mains and needle, of course. Acceptance of throttle from low rpms is your float height. Lower the float height if you are not running rich, but continually bogging down. You should be able to give the engine full throttle from 2~3,000rpm and have the engine slowly pick up, not stutter and bog.

    Perfecting your carburettor tuning is not an easy task, but it need not be tiresome. Simply take a few tools and jets with you on an afternoon ride, and do what you need to on the side of the road. It may also help you to keep a log of what mdifications you have made, along with their results. This will save you time and money in the long run.

    Cheers - boingk

    #2
    Originally posted by boingk View Post

    You will need to tune your carburettor(s) from the 'top down', starting with your mainjet which controls fueling up to maximum engine revolutions. Once this is set via experimentation in the garage, then plug chopping to fine-tune, you can move onto every other part.
    Cheers - boingk

    Your "top down" approach is certainly consistent with the the FP guidance
    http://www.factorypro.com/tech/carbtun.html however, and I know this from my own experience as well you have to test the main jets first with a full throttle pull to redline. This is not something most people can do in the garage (i.e. on a dyno).

    Personally if someone was just starting out in carb tuning, I would recommend finding the jet kit for their bike. While your guide provides some general knowledge of carburetors and their part in the operation of a engine, there are a few items you did not cover that the jet kit will.

    1.) you will usually be able to get first hand knowledge from this board on which jets in your kit to use for your setup. For most pod/pipe combination mods this is all that is needed to set the mains.

    2.) In the US at least most jet needles are not adjustable which the DJ needles are. In addition apparently the GS OE taper of the needle jet makes it essentially impossible to get smooth drivability across the RPM range regardless of potential shimming. You cant get there from here with OE needles. You need the DJ needles.

    3.) There are additional details about drilling slides you did not cover that is covered in the kits.

    4.) In certain cases there are also air jets provided.


    Finally there are people that have specific hard won experience having already banged their head against a bike trying to get the bikes jetted properly and have already discovered some things that don't work. Those K&L air filters you first found are one of those very things. I myself bought a box of about 8 of them and unless I can fit one to the inlet of my air compressor they will likely stay on my shelf for a very long time. Even though the inlet ID is some 52mm the effective inlet is probably 20 mm less due to the construction with the rubber inlet flange.

    It has generally been found that with BS34/36 CV carburetors the K&N pods or a reasonable facsimile of those pods work best.

    In another case of the BST36/38SS CV flatslides , it has been discovered that a dual K&N oval filter is required as the carbs are sensitive to the inlet flow and I'm guessing the dual pods form somewhat of a small air box. So while it might be possible to fit some regular single pods, it is known from experience that the duals will work better no matter what you do to jet the bike.

    So while I can admire your experience and confidence in jumping into any
    type of jetting situation, most of the recommendations you previously received are related to the points above.

    Jim

    P.S Oh and just ignore Steve about using Pods; he seems to allways do that.

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks for the reply posplayr, always helps a thread when theres constructive criticism such as you've just given. Was wondering about Steve as well, saw another thread with the 'dont use pods, you after looks?' kinda reply.

      Didn't really know that you fellows in the US have had that sort of restriction for some time now - you can still buy carburetted stuff over here with good, tunable carbs. In which case, you fellows may well be better off skipping straight to the DJ kit... if only for the adjustable needles!

      And on pods...I've recently beenr eading some information that seems to indicate that an engine may need an airbox up to 130% of its rated capacity to run at its best if the filter intake is directly mounted to the throttle body. May be one reason why pods can be troublesome.

      Cheers - boingk

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