Re: Carb switching.... very crazy but very rewarding

[Ben Barkow <dr.ben@xxxxxxxxx>]

> Funny that you mention it. I have had three clients  over the years who
> insisted on doing carb swaps on their bikes over and over. I  "labeled" all
> three the "crazies". None of their bikes ever ran as well as they  did when
> set up with the stock carbs.
Tom C


In defense of Tom's crazy customers (obviously they are smart cookies since
they have wisely chosen his services even if emotionally disfunctional, I am
referring to these clients, of course)...

1. it takes a while to sort things out and Tom may have found their bikes in
the middle of development (well, two years..... more....)

2. DIY fixes always feel great, although that's an illusion, it may have
lulled the hobbyist into premature satisfaction with his new carb

3. priorities differ - perhaps the hobbyist was delighted with better grunt
(as I particularly like) and was not bothered by faulty starting or by
tendency of the engine to rotate backwards when started on Wednesdays

Being keen on Lord Kelvin's insistance on measuring stuff (if you can't
measure it you are talking BS, the Lord said), the hobbyist can rent dyno
time by the half hour (just can$35 for a quick check at helpful Toronto
dynos.... I know they sneered when I showed up with an Airhead) - dynos give
you low end results as well as the less important peak HP figure that
manufacturers lust for, Tesla
us$150 G-force gizmo which measures all kinds of g forces, ETs, etc assuming
you can find a quarter mile stretch of flat road which is unpatrolled and
have no respect for your clutch (they disclaim application to bikes -
vibration?  ded horizontal mounting surface? - but ignore that, works great
except for display in bright daylight and the need to invent a mounting
system), or buy one of those wheeled measuring devices or a 100 foot laser
"tape measure" (or maybe a 1 inch ruler) to measure tire skid marks.....

Ben (going to be 37 and I'm outta here)

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End of oilheads-digest V2 #31
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