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FAQ - Carbs

327K views 314 replies 120 participants last post by  joshuaj 
#1 ·
Quote, originally posted by GTaye »
Ever wonder?

(Stolen from Sport-Touring.net):
Basics of Motorcycle Carburetor Operation
The basic secret of carb function is that inside each carb are thousands of tiny gnomes; each with a small bucket. As you open the
throttle, more of these gnomes are allowed out of their house and into the float bowl, where they fill the buckets and climb up the carb's passages to the intake, where they empty their buckets into the air stream.

But, if you don't ride the bike for a while, bad things can happen.
Tiny bats take up residence in the chambers of the carb, and before
long the passages are plugged up with guano. This creates a gnome
traffic jam, and so not enough bucketfuls of fuel can get to the
engine. If it gets bad enough, the gnomes simply give up and go take a nap. The engine won't run at all at this point. Sometimes you'll hhave a single dedicated gnome still on the job, which is why the bike
will occasionally fire as the gnome tosses his lone bucket load down
the intake.

There has been some research into using tiny dwarves in modern carbs. The advantage is that unlike gnomes, dwarves are miners and can often re-open a clogged passage. Unfortunately, dwarves have a natural fear of earthquakes, as any miner should. In recent tests, the engine vibrations caused the dwarves to evacuate the Harley Davidson test vehicle and make a beeline for the nearest BMW dealership. Sadly, BMW's are fuel injected and so the poor dwarves met an unfortunate end in the rollers of a Bosch fuel pump.

Other carb problems can also occur. If the level of fuel in the float bowl rises too high, it will wipe out the poorer gnome housing in the lower parts of the carb. The more affluent gnomes build their homes in the diaphragm chamber, and so are unaffected. This is why the bike is said to be "running rich".

If the fuel bowl level drops, then the gnomes have to walk farther to
get a bucketful of fuel. This means less fuel gets to the engine.
Because the gnomes get quite a workout from this additional distance,
this condition is known as "running lean".

The use of the device known only as the 'choke' has finally been
banned by PETG (People for the Ethical Treatment of Gnomes) and
replaced by a new carb circuit that simply allows more gnomes to carry
fuel at once when the engine needs to start or warm up. In the
interests of decorum, I prefer not to explain how the 'choke'
operated. You would rather not know anyway.

So, that's how a carburetor works. You may wish to join us here next
week for basics of electricity, or "How your bike creates cold fusion
inside the stator, and why the government doesn't want you to know
about it."


Modified by GTaye at 4:59 PM 9-8-2004

http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif
Later,
Thomas


Modified by the12for12 at 10:37 AM 6-21-2007
 
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#315 ·
Please don't chastise me for this but after reading 15 pages of this post i have found a plethora of very useful information, but not the answers I'm looking for.
1. When carb - ing, what does one do about MAF sensor? Is the only way to run some form of stand alone engine management?
2. What is done about PCV and crank case breathing? My current engine came to me with one of those little filters in place of PCV, and an oil leak from the base of the distributor. When i reinstalled a factory PCV plumbed to intake, the oil leak stopped permanently.

I have been gathering parts for about a year to swap my ABA hybrid from an mk2 gti into an mk1 cabby, what I've realized is there is not enough space for the stock passenger side airbox. Only ideas ihave at this point are build a different head or carb/itb the one I've already got...

Suggestions?

Thank you
 
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