Are these any good for carb sync/balancing ?

[Guest]

Vacuum gauges and 6mm adapter kit nice and cheap at $50 + $11.62

http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=2727

Anyone have any experience with these gauges?

Thanks

[Steve]

They will work. You don't need the 6mm adapters if you have stock Suzuki parts.

Although they will work, be aware that you will need to fabricate a manifold to calibrate them before using them every time. A simple manifold can be made from a 4-way and a 3-way "T" setup. The idea is that you want to connect all four gauges to the same vacuum source at the same time and adjust them so they all read the same. Now you can remove them from the manifold and connect them to the individual intake tubes for the carb sync.

One other thing about the analog gauges...the needles tend to bounce. A restriction in the tubing helps to minimize this. You can use a wire tie to choke the tubing to a smaller diameter.


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[lurch12_2000]

Steve is right if yours is a 1100G. It will use the 5mm adapters so save some money. Attached is a picture of a 4 way valve that you can use, that I picked up for $4 at the fish/pet store, so you don't have to make one.
My vacuum gauge bounced about 3-4 cm's so I had to take a median point when measuring.
NOTE: Others strongly recommend other types of carb tune products vs vacuum gauges.

[lurch12_2000]

sorry, here is the pic

[Steve]

The four-way manifold that Lurch is presenting will work, but be aware that whenever you change the adjustment on one carb, it affects all the others.
It is much easier to see this change and the resulting balance when you have four gauges and can see all of them at once.

Using a single gauge with a manifold will involve a LOT of manifold valve switching to achieve the same results. :shock:

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[trippivot]

I use a set just like those.

You need to recalibrate all 4 dials to 1 cylinder every time you use it.remember that!!, but no mercury is why I went this way.
it takes a little more time but not that much.

they are worth 2X weight in gold.

I got mine from K&L no middle man fee (z1Ent)
regulators stop the bouncing and you'll develop a technique with a little experience you'll have it down pat -- after you DE-tune your bike and then bring it back is what taught me.


it is really easy to make your bike slower BUT when you make a buddy's bike faster and smoother you'll have free beer for a long time

[trippivot]

I personally would not use any contraption that did not have 4 individual - seperate- dials. 1 per cylinder. each measuring meter completely seperate

yamaha YICS is another beast that you have to isolate the cylinders with a seperate tool

I have 2 sets for cb 1000 and kz 1300 6 cyl. bikes-- no jumping dials from cyl to cyl.

this is a precise tunning tool / procedure. half arssed combined vacuum contraptions are better than tunning by ear but will not get you to perfect.

the difference between accuracy and precision is 2 or 3 decimal points

[Billyboy]

but be aware that whenever you change the adjustment on one carb, it affects all the others.


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Is that true with pods?

[Nessism]

I’ve used round vacuum gauges to sync carbs before, works fine. One extra step is needed as trippivot mentioned; calibrate each gauge to a common vacuum source to make sure the gauges all read the same. If you spend the big bucks and get the factory Suzuki gauges you will need to do this same calibration each time they are used.

A vacuum restrictor of some type is a great help when using this type of gauge in order to damp needle oscillations. My elcheapo mercury gauges have small plastic plugs with a hole in them in the vacuum tubes to serve such a purpose.

And while I agree that four gauges at the same time are better, I certainly wouldn’t fault anyone for using what they have in the garage and give it a go. I used a homemade mercury sync tool for many years since I was too cheap to spend the money on a factory built one. Too bad mercury can not be purchased through retail outlets anymore, making your own sync gauge is very easy.

And speaking of making your own sync gauge, what would stop someone from making their own Carbtune style gauge? Get some hard, clear plastic tubing and some polished steel rods that fit down in the tubes. The clearance between the clear tubes and the rods would be critical, along with the weight of the rods. Seems easy enough…might have to give it a go.

[lurch12_2000]

half arssed combined vacuum contraptions are better than tunning by ear but will not get you to perfect.

the difference between accuracy and precision is 2 or 3 decimal points

Trust me, I'm not pushing my method over the Carbtune tool, but just sharing my "homemade expirement" with "what can I build from stuff in the garage and that actually works". I would also buy the right tool for $100 if you're planning on doing this stuff regularly.
Someday one of you can come by and check my carb synch readings and see if I got within one cm2 of accurate. It is like night and day for how my bike runs now and when I got it last year. Honestly it is mostly due to the valve adjustments, pilot mixture screw adjustment, and the new intake boot o-rings over the other things I've done.
I'll provide lunch for any takers:-D!

[jpaul]

If you look in the picture on the link, you can see 4 small white plastic pieces. I believe these are restricters, just put them inline on each hose and turn till the gauge bounce stops.

[tone]

my thoughts on this are that dial type vac guages are a real pita because of the needle flutter, so much so that i threw mine over the hedge years ago & bought a borgan carbtune 2 :-D never looked back & its paid for itself many times over

http://www.carbtune.com/

[Steve]

Is that true with pods?

Yes, it's true with pods. Especially with CV carbs.
VM carbs are not quite as sensitive to the others, but are still affected a bit.

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[Colin Green]

Thanks everyone. I need the bullet/idiot proof one, so think I will look around more

Edit.. besides.. with the cost of delivery to NZ, ($79US for delivery of 2 gaskets and 4 jets from Bike Bandit) I may as well spend a few more $ on one that is easiest to use

[psyguy]

Thanks everyone. I need the bullet/idiot proof one, so think I will look around more

Edit.. besides.. with the cost of delivery to NZ, ($79US for delivery of 2 gaskets and 4 jets from Bike Bandit) I may as well spend a few more $ on one that is easiest to use

i've used "carbtune"
many people here share good experience with that set
google it up
($100 i think)