front view
loop of tubing containing liquid. lines which connect to vacuum takeoffs. carb vacuum control valve at top.
Only experienced personnel should attempt to fabricate or utilize the device shown here. If you attempt to copy this device, you do so at your own risk and fully cognizant that such risks include destroying your motorcycle engine or causing your neighborhood to be sucked into a black hole.
(c) copyright 2009 Fred Morris, Seattle WA, USA.
devil
/ Gravity Defying Carb BalancerThey said it couldn't be done: atmospheric pressure supports 30 inches of mercury (commonly used in traditional "carb sticks", and almost universally used as a measure of pressure/vacuum compared to atmospheric pressure), and to make "carb sticks" with some liquid like, say, two cycle oil thinned with kerosene you'd need to make them 30 feet high... such is the difference in density between the two liquids.
loop of tubing containing liquid. lines which connect to vacuum takeoffs. carb vacuum control valve at top.
That does require some thought: should one go around then violating the laws of physics, or should one uphold all that is right and normal in the world?
bleed or bypass valve, also known as "gravity neutralizer".
Gravity: it's not just a good idea, It's The Law!
Yes, perhaps so. But perhaps, like the law, it is different in different places. Or, let's say, if you have a gravity neutralizer (or are a member of Congress or Wall Street executive) then you can make the law anything you want to! Luckily, I was able to obtain said gravity neutralizer and it works quite well. I'm not sure whether it works by locally increasing the effects of gravity, or whether it distorts the fabric of space; I don't ask questions like that, because I'm not trained to!
tees. routing to carb vacuum valve.
both valves: carb vacuum at the top, bypass strapped to rear side.
Of course I do take prudent measures, which is why I have the appropriate $50,000,000,000 mad scientist's liability policy. It doesn't cover me in case of earthquakes or floods, but if half of Ballard disappears into a spontaneous black hole: my ass is covered!
tee fitted to line which goes to vacuum controlled foolcock
But all levity (ha ha!) aside, I found the existing commercial offerings lacking in several respects.
First, the digital and dial-reading devices are not intuitive from a human interface standpoint: one has to convert numbers or angles and then evaluate those.
Those traditional vertical-standing carb sticks are vertical-standing (linear read) and the columns are directly comparable... but they're still bouncing up and down independently of each other!
If you're trying to balance something, then what you want is something which reads differentially... which is to say that when they're balanced it reads zero (if it reads infinity, watch out for the black hole). As an aside, at that point a linear read isn't so important; but curving gravity into a circle seemed dangerous so I didn't bother.
surprisingly hard to catch with a still camera...
You will see that my device consists of a loop of clear tubing partially filled with liquid (a mixture of two cycle oil and kerosene), with the loop connected continuously at the bottom; the two columns therefore oppose each other and stand equally about one third of the way up each column.
Suzuki didn't see fit to leave the takeoff nubbin in place as a standard item. you'd think that a place like Bent Bike would have old carburetors laying around, or bins of fittings and you'd be wrong. it was too small for Fittings Incorporated to carry. in short: obtaining an extra nubbin for the front carb was the toughest part of the project.
At the top both ends of the loop are connected to a separate tee. One
arm of the tee connects to the loop, the other arm connects to the hose
which will connect to the carburetor vacuum takeoff (one of these has a
small ball valve in it). If you pay attention, you will see that the
hoses, like the columns are color-coded with small pieces of tape.
The foot of the tee connects to the very special gravity-neutralizing device. I know, I know: it looks just like the (other) small ball valve! But it's not: it's special!
And that's it: that's the whole setup!
To use it, start with the gravity neutralizer fully engaged (open) and the ball valve on the carb vacuum line fully closed. Gently open the the ball valve connected to the carb line until the barest disturbance can be seen in the columns of liquid. Now start to disengage the gravity neutralizer: carefully and gently disengage (close) it until the liquid pulsates in the columns in the most satisfying fashion.
In the last picture of the device I try to capture the liquid bouncing playfully up and down, but it's extremely hard to do. Those are two 400cc jugs turning at about 1000 RPM. The liquid is bouncing about an inch. An amazingly sensitive instrument!
I end with a completely free and uncompensated shout out to the folks at Fittings Incorporated who let me wander their stacks assembling the pieces for my device.