jbh Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 I was looking at various resources regarding synching the throttle bodies and it looks like something I should be able to use. My question is what type of device does everyone use to balance the throttle bodies? Do you use the BMW device or the mercury carb stix that are mentioned. And also where do you buy these devices and how much did you pay? Link to comment
Dave_Armstrong Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 I think most guys use what is called a 'TwinMax'. I just got mine this week and will start into the unknown depths of owner maintenance on my bike. TwinMax is available from many places and BMW dealers. Try BMW of Santa Cruz, Bob's BMW and others. Mine was $79.95. Don't forget feeler gauges for the valves. Regards,,,,,Dave Link to comment
smiller Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 My preference is for a mercury manometer (Carb Stix, etc.) as I find them much easier read and easier to see where each cylinder is as I run the throttle up and down, etc. Observing those sorts of trends is an important part of a good TB sync and it seems (to me at least) to be easier with a simple, inexpensive mercury (or water) synchronizer vs. an electronic meter. Again, maybe that's just me. Link to comment
2wheelterry Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 Based on the input from this forum, I made a water/oil manometer for less than $10. I wanted to avoid the potential issues with mercury. A search here or on Google will generate suggestions of how to make one if that is of interest. Link to comment
Ken H. Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 Home built water manometer. Link to comment
Jake Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 While I haven't gone the homebuilt route yet (and all seem to be pleased with it) owning the twin version of the Morgan Carbtune is the reason why. Portable, no mercury, very well built unit, etc. I have a strong preference for it over the Twinmax. Link to comment
oreana123 Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 Just one other consideration: you might want to make adjustments to your bike based on driving it down the road! Only Twin Max will accomodate that kind of meticulous tuning. John S Boise Link to comment
Marty Hill Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 That's odd, I could have sworn that I did just that using my carbtune. Link to comment
MCDenny Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Just did my first TB synch on my 11RT today with a home made manometer. Used 20' clear vinyl tubing stapled to a piece of scrap 1x6 lumber. Cut a tiny bit of the black vacuum hose off to match the vinyl tubing at the hardware store. Fill about 6" high with Auto trans fluid (or colored water). Worked great - was very sensitive. Took a while to get the right cable adusted as I kept over correcting. A little patience and ... voila! $3.80 for tubing, $2.79 for plastic coax staples. Link to comment
Big_Gray Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Another vote for clear plastic tubing and ATF...<$5.00 Link to comment
GearedForACure Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 so is there a thread that details a.) how to make this thing yourself, and b.) how to use it? I consider myself fairly mechanically inclined with cars, but I have never worked on my bike. This is one of the things the BMW shop told me they would do to my bike...but if I can do it myself, I will. Link to comment
Blue Beemer Dude Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Just did my first TB synch on my 11RT today with a home made manometer. Used 20' clear vinyl tubing stapled to a piece of scrap 1x6 lumber. Cut a tiny bit of the black vacuum hose off to match the vinyl tubing at the hardware store. Fill about 6" high with Auto trans fluid (or colored water). Worked great - was very sensitive. Took a while to get the right cable adusted as I kept over correcting. A little patience and ... voila! $3.80 for tubing, $2.79 for plastic coax staples. Denny, I'm glad this worked for you. However, I really feel like I should point out to you that you've done this all wrong. If you refer to the Official BMW Hacker/Homemade Tool Guide (p/n 335 0987 747646 82 929 100 001 rev 55), you will see that: 1) the board should be exactly 97 mm wide. Your 1x6 board, which is probably only 5 1/2" wide, just won't do. 2) 20' of clear vinyl tubing just will not do. Twenty feet!?!!? Maybe you meant 20". Regardless, it is wrong. First of all, it should be metric, and secondly, well, it's just wrong. Was it Bosch vinyl tubing 4mm OD? 3) Cut "a tiny bit" of the black vacuum hose? Fer shame! 4) Auto Trans fluid? I think not! It must be a BMW approved motor vehicle fluid, in this case, nothing more than a 650 viscosity rating based on the Geurgehiminer viso rating system, published 1963. Yeah, it's not translated. 5) Voila? French? Merde! No, no, no! It's a German bike. You start speaking French around it, and there's just no telling what may happen! I hope everyone else can learn from Denny's mistakes. Don't let this kind of casual haphazard part construction happen to you! Michael Link to comment
bigboy Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 WOW It must be nice living in a perfect world . talk about mr complementary. I hope our man has a good sense of humour? Pewrsonally i like the way you spotted the lack of correct equiptment . Link to comment
MCDenny Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Ryan: Search the forum for "manometer" to get lots of data. http://www.rightspin.com/motorcycles/LowCostMano/mano.html has instructions and some good pictures. I got whatever size tubing had the same I.D. as the black vaccuum hose on the bike. I did not bother with the vaccuum restrictors. (Don't tell Blue Beemer Dude) It's just a loop of tubing with fluid in the bottom and one TB sucking on each end. The synching goal is to get them sucking equally so the fluid level is the same height on both sides of the loop. I was surprised how much effect a very small turn of the brass screw or cable adjuster had. IBMWR.org has a very detailed description of the process. Michael: I apologize to all here for offending their Germanic need for over complication. I confess to being a long time Honda owner and never having to spend any money on maintenance aside from an annual oil change. The $6 TB synching tool is $6 more than I ever spent synching the 4 carbs on the ST1100. Link to comment
Blue Beemer Dude Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Michael: I apologize to all here for offending their Germanic need for over complication. I confess to being a long time Honda owner and never having to spend any money on maintenance aside from an annual oil change. The $6 TB synching tool is $6 more than I ever spent synching the 4 carbs on the ST1100. Apology accepted. I've had two Hondas myself, back in the old days. Talk about a boring bike! Change the oil, ride, change the oil, ride. Nothing to tinker with, adjust, replace, adjust, and replace. Boring. I'm glad you saw the humor in my post. Some people take me too seriously. Michael Link to comment
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