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1Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 6:47 am

JGT

JGT
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Platinum member
Anyone have any experience of these cheap £25 Chinese balancing gauges on Ebay? Worth the money?Throttle body balancing S-l16014

    

2Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:36 am

Dai

Dai
Life time member
Life time member
They're a knockoff of the original Davida ones. As to whether they are worth the money... if you do the following then the answer is probably yes.

- Warm the engine up to a steady temperature. If you don't do this, the revs will change during testing
- Connect one gauge to one cylinder
- Take the reading
- Connect a second gauge to the same cylinder
- Take the reading
- Repeat for 3 & 4. If they match, you'll probably win the lottery this weekend
- Take the one with the lowest reading and try to match the other three to it
- If that fails, take the second lowest and rinse

Don't ask why 'lowest' because at this point that information is a fading ghost on time's arrow. Balance your TBs and prepare for the ballsache when they are done. Repeat the first five steps above to make sure that none of the gauges have slipped out of sync. When you've done this two or three times and they haven't slipped, you can consider starting to trust them. Also: do steps 1 - 5 before each session to be sure you are working with synched gauges. It really doesn't take long - the bike will object to having a vacuum port uncovered but it won't stall so no stop-starting.

I've had my Davidas for around 40 years now. They've been bashed, battered, stripped and cleaned numerous times but once they're synched before a session, they stay synched.


__________________________________________________
1983 K100 naked upgraded to K100LT spec after spending time as an RS and an RT
1987 K100RT
Others...
1978 Moto Guzzi 850-T3, 1979 Moto Guzzi 850-T3 California,1993 Moto Guzzi 1100ie California
2020 Royal Enfield Bullet 500
    

3Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 9:21 am

Point-Seven-five

Point-Seven-five
Life time member
Life time member
Or you can spend maybe 5 quid for a couple glass bottles(the vacuum will collapse plastic), two stoppers with holes in them, some brass tube and a couple meters of plastic tubing.  Way more accurate than mechanical gauges.

The operating principal is that the fluid will flow to the bottle with the higher vacuum.  It's amazing how sensitive and easy to use this rig is.  I can set the vacuum so the fluid levels don't move for a minute or longer.

Connect one bottle to the last cylinder and adjust the air screw for 1 1/2 turns out from lightly bottomed.  That is your reference cylinder.


Connect the other tube to one of the other throttle bodies and use the air screw on that throttle body to adjust the vacuum so there is no change in the fluid level in the bottles.  When the level is steady, the vacuum is perfectly matched on the two cylinders.

Repeat for the other throttle bodies.  Whole job should take less than 10 minutes.  Throttle body balancing Thrott14



Last edited by Point-Seven-five on Fri Mar 10, 2023 9:58 am; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : added plastic bottle caution)


__________________________________________________
Present: 1991 K100RS "Moby Brick Too"
 
Past:
1994 K75RT "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
1988 K100RS SE "Special Ed"
1994 K75S "Cheetos"
1992 K100RS "Moby Brick" R.I.P.
1982 Honda FT500
1979 Honda XR185
1977 Honda XL125
1974 Honda XL125
1972 OSSA Pioneer 250
1968 Kawasaki 175
    

4Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 9:43 am

Point-Seven-five

Point-Seven-five
Life time member
Life time member
If you do go for the ChiCom gauges, I would suggest an easier calibration procedure.

Get a manifold that will allow you to connect all four gauges to the same throttle body.  The manifold can be as simple as a daisy chain of three plastic tubing tees.  I like to use the last cylinder with the vacuum line to the fuel pressure regulator as my reference. 

Start the engine and adjust the air screw on that throttle body for 1 1/2 turns out from lightly bottomed.  Look at the gauges.  Are they reading the same?  They should, but I doubt they will. 

With the engine idling, put a small piece of masking tape on each gauge and mark the needle position.

Now separate the gauges from the manifold and connect them to the cylinders.  With the engine idling adjust the air screws so all the needles align with the marks you made on the tape.  Don't pay any attention to the reading on any of the gauges.


__________________________________________________
Present: 1991 K100RS "Moby Brick Too"
 
Past:
1994 K75RT "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
1988 K100RS SE "Special Ed"
1994 K75S "Cheetos"
1992 K100RS "Moby Brick" R.I.P.
1982 Honda FT500
1979 Honda XR185
1977 Honda XL125
1974 Honda XL125
1972 OSSA Pioneer 250
1968 Kawasaki 175
    

5Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:02 am

Dai

Dai
Life time member
Life time member
You've possibly missed it, but the small screw at about 5.30 on the gauge face is the needle adjustment screw. The 'glass' (plastic) face just pulls off. Unlike my Davidas, these appear to have knurls on the bezel which should make that operation a lot easier.

Point-Seven-five wrote:Don't pay any attention to the reading on any of the gauges.

Yes. I meant to add that you're just trying to get the needles to line up. It's a hell of a lot easier than trying to set the carbs up on some Japanese and Italian bikes when the needles have to indicate a given reading at a given set of revs.


__________________________________________________
1983 K100 naked upgraded to K100LT spec after spending time as an RS and an RT
1987 K100RT
Others...
1978 Moto Guzzi 850-T3, 1979 Moto Guzzi 850-T3 California,1993 Moto Guzzi 1100ie California
2020 Royal Enfield Bullet 500
    

6Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:07 am

Point-Seven-five

Point-Seven-five
Life time member
Life time member
How steady are the needles? 

I have a vacuum gauge that the needle vibrates over a 1cm span when the engine is idling.  Do you just "eyeball" for the center of the blur?


__________________________________________________
Present: 1991 K100RS "Moby Brick Too"
 
Past:
1994 K75RT "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
1988 K100RS SE "Special Ed"
1994 K75S "Cheetos"
1992 K100RS "Moby Brick" R.I.P.
1982 Honda FT500
1979 Honda XR185
1977 Honda XL125
1974 Honda XL125
1972 OSSA Pioneer 250
1968 Kawasaki 175
    

7Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:32 am

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
When I started syncing TBs I used to use a TwinMax but it was a PITA because I had to sync 1-2, then 1-3, then 1-4 and then recheck. I swear mine cost me a lot less but now they're $150+. affraid


Then I broke down about 10 years ago and bought a Morgan Carbtune. I paid $100 and they cost $129 now. Very simple and quick. Worth every penny. Wish I'd just bought that in the first place. So quick and easy that anytime somebody brings a K by my house I give them a free TB sync.

A nice thing about the Carbtune is that it hangs from the clutch grip making it very easy to see/compare while you're syncing.

Throttle body balancing NANZ0G3
(The number 4 tube is not registering because that pic is on a K75.)

Motion Pro makes one but the inmates over at ADV have a pretty low opinion of it.

Out of curiosity I looked at the Chicom vac gauges over at Amazon and none of them have very good ratings. I would not go that route.

JM.02


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

8Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:58 am

Point-Seven-five

Point-Seven-five
Life time member
Life time member
Different strokes...

The $90+ I saved with my balancer bought the gas for a trip around Lakes Huron and Superior.


__________________________________________________
Present: 1991 K100RS "Moby Brick Too"
 
Past:
1994 K75RT "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
1988 K100RS SE "Special Ed"
1994 K75S "Cheetos"
1992 K100RS "Moby Brick" R.I.P.
1982 Honda FT500
1979 Honda XR185
1977 Honda XL125
1974 Honda XL125
1972 OSSA Pioneer 250
1968 Kawasaki 175
    

9Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 11:28 am

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
Point-Seven-five wrote:Different strokes...

The $90+ I saved with my balancer bought the gas for a trip around Lakes Huron and Superior.

The Carbtune costs less than one night of hookers and blow. Twisted Evil


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

10Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 12:26 pm

Point-Seven-five

Point-Seven-five
Life time member
Life time member
duck wrote:
Point-Seven-five wrote:Different strokes...

The $90+ I saved with my balancer bought the gas for a trip around Lakes Huron and Superior.

The Carbtune costs less than one night of hookers and blow. Twisted Evil
Well if that's your hobby...


__________________________________________________
Present: 1991 K100RS "Moby Brick Too"
 
Past:
1994 K75RT "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
1988 K100RS SE "Special Ed"
1994 K75S "Cheetos"
1992 K100RS "Moby Brick" R.I.P.
1982 Honda FT500
1979 Honda XR185
1977 Honda XL125
1974 Honda XL125
1972 OSSA Pioneer 250
1968 Kawasaki 175
    

11Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 12:37 pm

Laitch

Laitch
Life time member
Life time member
duck wrote:The Carbtune costs less than one night of hookers and blow. Twisted Evil
Hookers and Blow have an office on Aurora Ave in Seattle.  Idea   So that is where you go to abuse clutch push rods? I'm asking for a friend undertaking a spline lube for the first time. Laughing


__________________________________________________
1995 K75 90,000 miles
    

12Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 12:55 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
This one is pretty cool.  Hook it up to a laptop via USB:

Throttle body balancing Intake10

https://promototools.myshopify.com/products/motorcycle-diagnostic-tool


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

13Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 2:34 pm

fishboy316

fishboy316
Life time member
Life time member
Laitch wrote:
duck wrote:The Carbtune costs less than one night of hookers and blow. Twisted Evil
Hookers and Blow have an office on Aurora Ave in Seattle.  Idea   So that is where you go to abuse clutch push rods? I'm asking for a friend undertaking a spline lube for the first time. Laughing

Heck! I did it right in my back yard with the whole fandamily at home! BTW I knew immediately who you were talking about! Throttle body balancing 44271

    

14Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 2:42 pm

Dai

Dai
Life time member
Life time member
Point-Seven-five wrote:How steady are the needles? 

I have a vacuum gauge that the needle vibrates over a 1cm span when the engine is idling.  Do you just "eyeball" for the center of the blur?
No reducer on it, I guess. The ones the OP links to and my Davidas have a screw-thread damper in the line that allows you to smooth out the pulses. I can get mine to pretty much rock steady. The one on mine is inline per gauge; the picture on the OP shows a 90 degree turn with the damper knob at the back of the pic.


__________________________________________________
1983 K100 naked upgraded to K100LT spec after spending time as an RS and an RT
1987 K100RT
Others...
1978 Moto Guzzi 850-T3, 1979 Moto Guzzi 850-T3 California,1993 Moto Guzzi 1100ie California
2020 Royal Enfield Bullet 500
    

15Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 3:21 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
Laitch wrote:
duck wrote:The Carbtune costs less than one night of hookers and blow. Twisted Evil
Hookers and Blow have an office on Aurora Ave in Seattle.  Idea   So that is where you go to abuse clutch push rods? I'm asking for a friend undertaking a spline lube for the first time. Laughing

Yeah, it's very convenient.  I can drop my bike off Vallantine Motor Works at 3909 Aurora, pay them to abuse my clutch rod and then walk up the street to party.


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

16Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Fri Mar 10, 2023 3:46 pm

Dai

Dai
Life time member
Life time member
Once you've finished there, you can head on to dentists Blood, Payne and Feare to have your missing teeth replaced. After, you could then engage Sharkey and Slye to take legal action against... well, whoever forcibly removed your teeth at the  party.





(Yes, both companies exist in the UK!)


__________________________________________________
1983 K100 naked upgraded to K100LT spec after spending time as an RS and an RT
1987 K100RT
Others...
1978 Moto Guzzi 850-T3, 1979 Moto Guzzi 850-T3 California,1993 Moto Guzzi 1100ie California
2020 Royal Enfield Bullet 500
    

17Back to top Go down   Throttle body balancing Empty Re: Throttle body balancing Sat Mar 11, 2023 5:08 am

JGT

JGT
Platinum member
Platinum member
Thanks guys interesting comments. I found on youtube a French fella setting up a customised K100 with what looked like identical cheepo Chinese gauges and what I think is a good result, so will invest £25 and give them a go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qEZvKVMuP8


__________________________________________________
1992 K75
    

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