Carburetor vs Fuel Injection - Why Motorcycle Riders Should Think Again
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ต.ค. 2021
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Modern motorcycles are switching to fuel injection, but why? It's not the reasons we think, and that makes us reconsider a carburetor in our future.
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Directed and Edited by Luke McAdam - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
![[UNCUT]”บิ๊กโจ๊ก” แฉพลีชีพ เดินหน้า ล้างบาง สตช. ฟ้องหมด มันสนพวกใคร I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FIWKnr2ArPs/mqdefault.jpg)
You forgot the most important bit. Carb makes me feel like a pro mechanic when I clean it and the bike starts lol.
Friends also think am pro mechanic
Or to tell your car friends that you still have a carb in 2021
I'm too terrified to do it
I like having a bike (with EFI) that seems to always just work no matter what. Mechanics sit at home and get dirty, while I get to ride.
@@fuwafuwarowatari I respect your opinion, sir
This guy could make learning anything fun, but he chose a topic that's already fun and made it more fun
Who are those 1/10 weirdos
@@mvd4436um. What?
The children in the end beg to differ!
After all these years of trying to grasp carb technology it turns out I didn’t need a smarter brain, I needed a better teacher. Thanks Fortnine, we love you dearly
As much as I love this video, check out Smarter every day carburetor as well!
I find carburettors amazing. If you take the time to tune the set up, they just do so well across a whole range of conditions. As for the fuel clogging up after a few weeks, I just drain the bowls if the bike is going to be parked up for any length of time. If longer, just add some fresh fuel to the tank and mix it in before turning the fuel tap back on. Give me carbs any day!
Do you think adding a Carburettor Cleaner every once in a while will delay the clogging problems? I started using them but I still haven’t any long time experience.
What also helps is getting ethanol free fuel.
@@standardheat-fs8159 mist definately!!
@@standardheat-fs8159
There's also fuel stabilizers, water removers, or just good old fashioned methanol that will do the trick.
It may be an over simplification, but just think of the things you do to winterize a lawnmower, or prepare a snowblower for summer storage.
I just use non ethanol :)
My Air Force carb training was a 2 hour class with test at the end....you condensed that carb course into a minute or two, without losing any content...53 years since I took that course.
dude airplane carbs are super important, wow didnt even think about those mechanics
Two hours for a carb?? We spent a full week just learning to solder! That was my Air Force 30 years ago. Maybe we were dumber than the previous generation of Airmen...
Those kids deserve credit for either great acting or for dealing with your technical gibberish.
Don't get me wrong, I love that gibberish.
I speak gibberish. It’s like a second language to me.
That girl's side-eye/eye roll is perfect.
I probably would have gotten it at that age. Maybe...
the subtleties in these productions are incredible. the traffic "honk" when cutting to the car scenes, acting as a perfect intro for the speaker. he even acknowledges them with his verbal cadence. what a privilege to watch.
When I used to race two stroke minimoto, it gave me an appreciation for two-strokes and carbs, as I learned to work on both. The problem was when you spent Saturday learning the track and setting up your gears and and carb to be optimized for the track and current conditions, only to have a massive weather change over night making your carb setup sub-optimal on race day.
Tip: for carburetors, when done riding if bike is not going to be ridden for a few days just shut off the fuel and let the bike idle until the carb is dry/stalls. Then there is no ethanaol fuel in the jets to clog things up.
Strangely a lot of newer bikes don't have a fuel shut off. I wonder why?
I am referring to carb bikes.
@@01322521959 Newer bikes use the vacuum from the engine to turn on the fuel. Other wise it's off. The prime setting is a True on setting.
I was taught to always switch it off, that way you don't forget.
except the main jet is always 'lower' in the fuel than the pilot. so the main jet is still submerged but the pilot is dry. only way to actually drain it is to.. drain it at the bowl drain.
@@rooskie it also makes the engine run very lean for a few moments
I've been watching Ryan F9 since I was in 8th grade. I graduated just last year and finally got my lisence and bought my first motorcycle. FortNine really helped me learn the ins and outs of riding before I even got on a bike. Thanks guys.
congratulations man!
That's awesome man! Which bike btw if you don't mind 😁
@@idlanariffinfareed6900 Thanks. man.
@@elemental9039 An Indian Scout
@@stereowave_yt That's a great bike, Congrats!
Man that shot in the end of the kids walking away was awesome..........symbolic!
Excellent as usual - and funny too. One point not mentioned though is reliability. A carb is essential a clever passive system. As long as all seals are OK, passages are clean, adjustments are made and stable, it will work. EFI will also work as long as all electronics / sensors do - which we know to be a potentially tricky business....
EFI proved to be much more reliable than carbs since a very long time - and way before it was put in any 2 wheeler!
Most of the sensors can be out of tolerance and the engine still running. You won’t ever have a blocked or stuck injector unless it stayed stopped for years, fpr are easy to change & costs 30€, joints are easy to change most of the time…
Bonus you have huge margins on mapping values, with the computer correcting itself if way too lean or rich with a very wide band of autocorrect, which prevents you holing the pistons unless you really go wild on mapping.
Carb jets gets blocked every once in a while, which can immediately lead to catastrophic engine failure without electronic shutting it down or restraining its capabilities. Also carbs have fragile membranes, needs syncs if multiples, wings sometimes gets unadjusted themselves..
For small drivers it’s probably okay, but we just couldn’t drive 100.000+ km on a bike by all weathers and terrains in the 80’s and 90’s, the same way we’re doing with today bikes
You can brag about fool infection all you want. I have never in 58 years of riding had an engine failure from carb problems. In fact the only thing that happened to my Harley Superglide carb in 43 years was a plugged accelerator pump orifice but the bike still started and ran. No high tech guessing what is wrong with any of the carbureted bikes I have had in 250,000 miles. No hard to find obsolete parts problems as with fool infection. If need be, it is easier to substitute parts on old school bikes than try to find specific obsolete parts that will work on this new junk. The only note worthy thing on fool infection is that bigger car engines get great gas mileage but not so with small engines as in cycles. I'll take repairable transportation any day over this so called reliable b.s. fool infection crap and get home from a trip every time.
@@bottmar1 Harley.. Well that’s not exactly the kind of bike engines I’m speaking about, like not at all 😅 at all
@@bottmar1 Also I own some nice 2 strokes that’s obviously not injected and it’s awesome how it feels with big flatslides. I don’t say carbs are piece of shit, it’s just not as reliable as modern EFI (any bike system).
I also have a 4 stroke 750 that’s carbureted and it’s an awesome bike. But it needs much more attention to fuel system than my FI ones, they just never need any end of the story!
But it is very different to Harley’s, with all respect to your brand dude. Just a very different kind of engine to other bikes. No better no worse, I’m not into these stupid wars except after a beer lol
@@bottmar1 I actually bought a small screen tool that costs a few hundred dollars, it works with every DME EFI bikes (all the ones that don’t have detachable memory to flash like old Bosch car systems or very early injected bikes from late 90’s), is super easy to use, and thankfully it is just a great tool that gives you a clear access on superb amounts of data, without actually replacing any physical maintenance operations.
As I hate high tech, and kinda struggle a bit on computers, you really could tell how easy those systems are to use considering how it went with me. It took a few hours to really get accustomed to interface, but what is it for years of usage ?
Is anybody else interested in a video, where Ryan simply shows his bikes, their "stories" and what he changed about them?
He does go over the changes on the Harley a least a little in one or two.
Cool idea! Though I'm oddly private about my personal bikes. Not sure why, but it would feel like dragging family members in front of the camera. ~RF9
@@FortNine Maybe you could ask them for permission first?
@@FortNine Hah! your bikes hate you for not showing them off
@@FortNine "it would feel like dragging family members in front of the camera" Like those adorable trick or treaters? Kudos to both of 'em.
I am completely dumbfounded by the brilliance of this video! Finally a clear, concise, and enormously entertaining explanation of fuel systems for the layman with the bonus of learning the differences between car and motorcycle applications. Unraveling the mystery of fuel injection mapping was particularly interesting. And tailoring it all to the Halloween theme was nothing less than creative genius.
Well..... as a veteran mechanic of 25 years I can assure you it was a pretty basic attempt to explain the difference. He makes some good points, but is dead wrong on others. Ethanol fuel alone WILL NOT “gum up” in just a few weeks. Buying low quality fuels and poor storage habits of the bike WILL cause issues. People (and lower quality mechanics) are always quick to blame ethanol when the problem is in fact not the fuels fault. The fact that motorcycles use what we call a “speed density” system is really pretty irrelevant to well, anything. The automotive world used the same system for around 10 years before going to multi port injection with the ability to more precisely match the fuel/air ratio. This was done for.... emissions. Nothing else. Motorcycles simply don’t need all the other garbage because they are small enough to be able to pass emission standards without them. This is also why you can still find carbureted bikes. (Last knew there still are anyway.) Once again, I watched a video by someone with a marginal understanding of mechanics, and even less understanding of the why and how things are built the way they are.
Ryan, stop, you're embarrassing yourself. (Jk)
Cycle.. this video is so technically inaccurate I am completely dumbfounded. No wonder the world is heading into the downward spiral. We have given a loud voice to the uneducated, and allow them to educate others..
@@jdbrepair right on.
@@deniskefallinos39 exactly, im baffled by the amount of people praising the video, and "how they NOW understand" and all kinds of praises, the video is not bad, but its far from accurate.
I absolutely LOVE your videos! That being said...
I've broken down with fuel injection, and I've broken down with carburetors. I'd much MUCH rather break down with a carburetor.
Also, carbs absolutely ARE simple when you understand them.
Man gotta say that your videos are simply some of the best out there! Keep them coming!
One of my favorite lines from Click and Clack, the Magliozzi brothers, was that if you rebuild a carburator enough times, you will wind up with enough left-over parts you couldn't figure out where they went to build a complete new carburetor.
Steve's First Law: Each time you repair something, you may omit a part during reassembly and it will work perfectly fine.
Steves Second Law: If you repair something often enough, omitting a part each time, soon it will operate perfectly fine with no parts at all.
This is how carburetors reproduce. The first one was found, not manufactured, under mysterious circumstances.
I do miss Click & Clack
I wonder what the overlap is between Fortnine viewers and car talk listeners. Can't be many of us.
@@tannerhawes6890 Add one to the list.
Yep. Another masterpiece from F9. Well done Ryan and team!
F9 videos are such a nice surprise to see in the middle of a mundane weekend.
this guy is great and he's only going to get better.
Simply superb as usual!
Really a good video explaining how both the carburetor and fuel injection work. Really easy to understand.
Very useful infusion info. Thanks.
I guess this is the same for small air cooled engines made for outdoor equipment too.
I was saying my vows at my wedding when this video was posted so I told my still fiancé that I will be back after watching Ryan F9
Your marriage has been annulled, and you are now a permanent incel. Sorry. 😏
Lucky woman 🙄
My wife would understand. Best guy on YT!
@@Dutchdriftking Wife, perhaps. Fiancé at the alter?!? That's gonna be a negatory, ghostrider!
Must have sounded better in your head?
I've used to have an inline 4 with carbs (Suzuki RF600). I've mastered the cleaning, rebuilding, setting (syncronisation, and setting the pilot jets correctly(!)) the carbs during the time I've owned the bike. And also the religios way to drain the fuel from fuel bowls before the winter break... There was also a starting procedure, how much choke you need in the current temperature/humidity/engine temp from previous running. It was fun, like the bike had habits :D
I've switched to a fuel injected Honda VFR800 VTEC. You just start it in every possible environmental condition and it just runs. Always with the same rpm, and always sounds the exactly same, without any hesitation. Much more simple, much much more reliable, and also a little bit boring to be honest.
Just fill it up with (euro) 100 gas and leave there for the winter, starts up instantly at spring lol. I love modern technology but missing the romantic side of old style things. :D I'm also not missing the struggle to maintain the carbs at the same time
Yeah I have a really early fuel injected bike with one of the worst fuel maps ever concocted by man. Yet it starts and runs EVERY TIME in sun, rain or snow. Yes, I have ridden it in snow. The same can't be said for my 1st bike which was carbed.
Winter break? What's that? Like, you let your bike rest and you grab your second bike? 😁
It gets even worse with 2 stroke boat engines. Leave it idle for a few weeks...eesh. I've had 5 of the things. My current boat has a 4 stroke, with fuel injection.
I would never have a 4 carburetor bike lol. But don't worry, as bikes get old they start to need maintenance
@@moteroargentino7944 lol he must live in the middle of the pole
Another excellent video! I have eight carbs (8!) on my Vmax, and I have ridden from the coast of California, through Texas right through Denver up to South Dakota with zero noticeable changes in performance or fuel consumption. There's over 60000 maintenance free miles on those carbs. I don't think carburetors are nearly as finicky as people are led to believe. Just don't let them sit lol! As always, your mileage may vary.
Cheers!
Hey bud I’ve got an 85 vmax.
Very Curious on your set up what do you have going on
@@steveh7085 hi Steve! My bike is all stock except for the k&n air filter, and the sasy control module from australia. That seems to really make a difference, as you can control when the boost engages. If you can track one down, I highly recommend it!
Does carb consume a lot of fuel than injection?
@@kaptain2507 that's a good question, but I don't think there's any real discernible difference. My VMax will get anywhere from 30 to 50 miles per gallon depending on how much I twist the wrist LOL.
And my Dr.Z 400sm it's around 55 mpg. I'm not sure fuel injection on those bikes would have drastically different results.
Cheers!
I believe you mean 4 not 8.
Just got my first injected bike, and so far love it. I ride regularly from 4500 ft to 10000 ft, and I get good power delivery regardless of altitude.
I surprised he did not mention altitude compensation. That was the bane of carbs back in the day.
Yes injection keeps mixture correct but you still get drop in horsepower due to less dense air
If you think Carbs are simple, try jetting them with a Turbo.
My first thought when he mentioned carburetors taking advantage of "relatively low pressure" airflow was "wait, how do carburetors handle forced induction?"
I take it by your comment that it's a bit tricky.
No carburetors are simple, installing turbos is a nightmare. But as my uncle once told me anything that's really simple and easy to get, will probably give you an STD
@@bluebeard6189 so what exactly is your point?
@@CS_Mango if you try to install a turbo kit on a carbureted motorcycle, you're getting for a nightmare.
@@bluebeard6189 not the ideal way to do it, but instead of putting boosted air into your carburator, you could mount your turbo in a way that it's sucking from your carb. Downside is that you can't use an intercooler then
Hey Ryan, we haven't had a "motorcycle mods/accessories" video in a few years. With Christmas coming up, any chance we can get an updated list of your favourite biker gifts/gadgets? (whether bought by others, or ingeniously bought FOR others knowing they'll just give it to you because they don't want it)?
I love this - particularly a video focusing on cheap-ish gadgets and gear that a normie could buy for their motorcyclist friend/partner/child/sugar momma/etc.
He's too busy making these dumb videos, just to be a contrarian. Just like the one about leaning that got partially busted. Yes everyone knows motorcycle Jet Carbs are different than old barrel car carbs. He's also wrong telling you motorcycles fuel injection can't adjust itself. I'm sure some bikes can't, but a lot can.
@@Damitsall You sound really touched by someone telling you that dragging knee in every corner is not the best way to turn, haha!
@@TheGrundigg That's partially busted, yea when your taking your average corner on the street, yea there's no need to lean or use knee. If your at the track or carving a nice road and you don't lean, then have fun eating concrete.
@@Damitsall So you didn't watch the whole video it seems, he speaks about the uses of leaning in the end. Also please stop confusing "your" with "you're"...
I absolutely love the thought of FN just explaining all this to two random elementary schoolers who knocked on his door.
This has been very helpful. I discovered that if I pull my knob less, I can fill the hole more. Thanks FortNine!
"the fuel jet is precisely the width of your cojones."-killer line
2:40 well I’ll be. I had to Google that pronunciation. That’ll be; cohonas, in the Ozzie tongue
On the cons of EFI, if you're worried about the "accuracy" of the fuel mapping table, you could search and send the bike to a qualified tuner who can either 1) reflash the stock ECU according to your bike or 2) get aftermarket ECU and tune it, which also would make it easier if you want to use different air filter & exhaust in the future. Also can be fitted with multiple maps depending on your usage (daily ride, track day, drag?). Don't mind spending more money? Get a wideband O2 sensor and aftermarket ECU that can utilize it, and you can pretty much fit any kind of modification to your bike. Plus with certain ECU, like Tuneboss or Aracer you can install app on your phone to get live data logging, and see all the sensor readings. Which make it easier to troubleshoot if your bike are having problem on the side of the road.
I used and dabble a lot with both of them. I worked at a workshop involving heavily modifying the bikes (which isn't really usual for most riders), and in my experience EFIs are far more easier to manage. If we replace the head and block cylinder + piston to be bigger, fit a different camshaft profile, bigger valves, bigger exhaust pipe, and if we did it on an EFI bike, I would just send the bike for dyno tuning when we're done (maybe fit a bigger injector or throttle body if needed, usually the tuner can tell). On carb bikes on the other hand, we would have a massive headache for the next few days trying to match the carb sizes, and then have to match the main and pilot jets trying to make the bike run happily at all RPM range. But then again, at the end of the day it's much more satisfying to see when the carb bike finally run like a champ.
On stock bikes, that would depends on the owner. Some people like tinkering and servicing the carb, and consider it as routine. Some just like to press on the start switch and ride, and don't want the hassle of having to service the bike when it won't start. Some people, like me, want to utilize the "extra" features that EFI bikes can provide. Choose whichever you prefer. It's your bike and you're the one riding it.
Thanks for that bit of tech explanation.
Thank you for ending with ride your own ride. A lot of people judge others for there choices. Ride it how you like it
Unfortunately for many of the entry level (cheap bikes) that now also comes with EFI , there's no ECU flash readily available , at least not for cheap. Guess we just have to live with it.
I also ran a big displacement kit to raise my single 149cc to 180.1, completed with cam, valve, stronger rod, bigger injector, exhaust, full remap, you name it.
23 horses whip my bike like a 2 stroke thanks to proper ECU tune, and my shop can tune either a steady map or "sporty" one (drag, but high chance of wheelies). All done in a day, not 2 weeks with a carb.
Or, buy a Harley where every stock ECU is tunable and you can buy a little tuner that will do the job of fine-tuning for you over an hour-long ride.
Why all ECUs on all vehicles are not provided with such at least as an accessory is beyond me.
Thanks so much for explaining stuff that I find interesting, and doing it in an entertaining and, more importantly, understandable way.
First video I watch of this channel! I must say it is utterly enjoyable! Really well put together and thought of! May very well be the discovery of the year for me!
My guy, this was an amazing explanation! I, for one, am quite the car geek and I found myself working for a motorcycle company in the spares department... Completely unnecessary information, BUT, I found myself to be so ingrossed in this video as it answered every thought I had after you laid out the facts! Absolutely enjoyed this video! Keep doing what you do man! We Love It!
Well, actually for me, an old guy who is 15 with 50 years of experience, after having worked on both carbs and fuel injection on both autos and motorcycles, they both work, and as long as you use the fuel regularly out of the tank, they stay relatively clean. But like you said, with ethanol fuel, water can mix with the fuel since alcohol absorbs water, and you get goo, which can plug up both systems, not to mention crystalizing the fuel lines. So it's the fuel thats the issue, not the delivery system. Out in the field or on the trail, and with the correct tools, I can and have repaired a carburetor and finished my ride for the day. But with a malfunctioning fuel injection system, I can't even leave the garage. So for me, I'll keep the block of aluminum with simple holes drilled in it. I can poke guitar strings thru the holes, clear it, and enjoy moto therapy for the rest of the day.
Spoken like a real man. Let me ask. How much hair is on your chest... and will you adopt me?
@@kiaadams104 Hope you like a big fambly 🙂
That is applicable for the simple carbs on the simple engines. In my case it was a japanese v4 (vmx1200) with rather unhandy intake design and somewhat sophisticated carbs, that led me to building my own efi system. On the other hand, on a single cylinder engine I would definetly install a carb - it will be much more easy to repair out in the field.
"who is 15 with 50 years of experience" I'm stealing this, thank you.
@@3dreamsequence Me, except now I'm aging..... 15 wit 51 years of experience.
Thanks for explaining the theory of fuel map logic, the difference between having carburetors and fuel injection, and why motorcycle carburetors gum up. I worked in the IT industry for almost 40 years. I did everything from designing and writing apps to fixing hardware. In my many years of testing apps I have found one constant. Programs contain logic problems, even after rigorous testing. Ever have your check engine light turn on and the mechanic can't find the problem, or it is misdiagnosed? Of course you have. Don't assume that that computer is working perfectly, because it is not. In the IT industry the saying goes" Assuming makes an ASS out of U and ME". Rely on your skills more than the vehicle.
my uncle, who worked in the IT field since computer were bigger than cars, had a sign on his wall "To err is human, but to really screw things up you need a computer" always thought it was funny..... and true :-)
My versys wouldn't start one day. The starter would spin it up, but the FI Light would just flash; This panicked me as I tried a few more times. I then turned the bike off and on again. It started first time.
Most vehicle problems aren't necessarily a logic problem within the code, but instead it's down to faulty transducers 99% of the time. The programming behind a car's computer is relatively simple leaving a small envelope for error.
This is not IT. This is mechatronics. The reason why IT has such problems is that the systems are incredibly complex and difficult to test thoroughly. Not to mention crappy programming, pressure to add features instead of making the product robust, pushing out software prematurely and using the users as beta-testers... Code reuse means that almost any program relies on tons of libraries, which can introduce their own errors or quirks. I've had cases where programmers have relied on behaviour that was undefined in the API, and their software breaking when the behaviour they expected suddenly changed. It's a mess. When you work in IT, rather than wonder why something doesn't work, you wonder how the hell ANYTHING works at all.
This kind of electronics is a wholly different beast. You have simple microcontrollers and firmware you control completely. The algorithm is simple - open this valve for so long depending on a function of Input A, B, and C. You can test the crap out of that with every possible and impossible (in case of a failure) variation of input. You are under no pressure to update anything because to supply firmware for your engine, you're only competing with yourself (and some chip tuners whom you can just ignore). You have a solid product that has been developed and tested for years or decades on millions of products, and only non-critical maps which are changing according to different engine.
While I don't trust any server or software or network at work, I have no issues whatsoever trusting EFI, ECU, ABS and other automotive electronics (except for user-facing interfaces, those are crap like any other IT stuff)
@@horrovac Thanks for the education.
These videos are so good. I've been keeping my 2017 KLR running myself with no training for 75K miles. So far I had to change clutch plates and, more recently, piston rings. Took me a while to figure out clutch plates. Piston rings I identified right away from oil-fouled spark plug, thanks to my Clymer manual. The bearings on the rear wheel broke while bike was over-loaded but that could be because I put it back together wrong. Cooling issues have plagued me since I first got it and kamikaze'd into a ditch I didn't see. After that I added crash bars. Made a few mods to the carburetor, but I seem to be getting less power than I did before. That's why I watched this video. Hopefully I can figure out why I'm not getting most HP possible. Just saw most recent ebay replacement radiator leaking this morning. Guess I'll go back to one of my old spares. Oh and I swapped out the exhaust cam-shaft. It wore down a good full mm hugely increasing valve clearances. For some reason my front-right valve is still way more clearance than it should be. No shim sizes would bring it to spec. Not sure what to do there. Could be the valve lifter...
I love how the first shot is supposed to be spooky but F9 couldn't help firming the little squirrel
Squirrels are demons and you won't convince me otherwise. ~RF9
@@FortNine but, but, but, I have lots of squirrel friends. They are a little gray ground squirrels behind the store where I work. I feed them with a slingshot across the creek. I have gotten in trouble with the police for doing this. There is nothing funnier than watching about 20 squirrels running after the peanuts that I shoot at them.By the power of gray squirrel, it is very funny to watch
Never thought I'd be comparing those two ever again but F9 comes along and reminds what pulling a Knob was like.
EFI for me thanks 😄
Great Video! Simple enough to be entertaining, relevant and informational enough to not be a waste of time.
Loved the way he explained everything. Great Job Buddy!! I loved it!
This is without a doubt the clearest explanation of a carb and how it works I've ever seen or heard. Thank you.
Now we just have to figure out what the other 50 microscopic holes, screws and mini pipes in them do.
I finally got all my 4 carbs (one for each cylinder) tuned and synced perfectly. Took a few years to master setting float height, air/fuel mix, synchronizing with a manometer, jet sizes, needle height and cleaning/rebuild. An interesting experience to say the least. The most valuable lesson I have to share is a JIS screw driver is your friend.
Japanese industry standard for those who dont know. Different to a phillips.
I agree. Worked and swore at many of my carbs when tinkering but they give an enormous pleasure when you get things right and that knowledge is worth gold.
The number of carbs that come through my shop that have stripped screws from someone using a philips is staggering.
Specifically Vessel Impacta drivers IMO. My go-to's for literally everything. They saved me so much trouble taking apart an old 1975 Yamaha after my regular fat stubby impact driver shattered on me lol.
I have a 2005 Bandit 650, which I bought in about 2011, and I have never touched the carbs, other than when I bought it the carbs seemed way too lean, and I got a mechanic to do something to them to make them run a little richer.
Clearest explanation of the basis for fuel feed systems I have ever seen. Thanks
You truly take any topic and make it an interesting lesson. Good on you sir. You have a gift. Thank you for what you do.
I’ve went my whole life confused about how Carbs and Fuel Injection worked due to intimidating and hard to understand explanations. Thanks Ryan for the much needed clarification in an entertaining and understandable way!!
My first four bikes were carbureted. My current bike is 20 years old and fuel injected. It's been 20 years since I've had to clean a carburetor before I could ride. I'll stick with a fuel injected.
Please put out more videos!
Agreed. I remember longing for the day i could pull my bike out for spring and just, ride it?
I hate when carbs start leaking gas all over my floor
Is it a VFR?
I also like how I can navigate the thousands of feet of elevation changes where I live without worrying about the bike running inconveniently rich or lean.
Plus, even if we assume what-sounds-kinda-close-to-a-conspiracy-theory is the real reason for the change to injectors, that still doesn't magically make fuel ethanol-free again. (In my experience it's been inconvenient-to-impossible to find pumps with ethanol-free fuel, especially for 87 octane.)(And I look; I'm a fuel efficiency nerd with my cars, and ethanol has 33% less energy per gallon, so even 10% will make a notable drop in fuel economy.)
I am on my 22nd two wheeled motorised vehicle in 55 years and my latest one is fuel injection. Every time I start it I am infuriated by the way that it runs perfectly and never needs adjusting! Also, I clean my machines once a year if they need it or not, so what else have I got to do other than the ride the bastard?
My first motorcycle experience was with a FCR carburetor 4 stroke dirt bike. I bought it running in excellent shape but learned how to disassemble and reassemble it. Carbs suck to work on at first, but it gets better and "cleaner" the more you do it.
your amazing man, I can't find this quality of documentary anywhere on the internet. even better its about motorcycles
I tell people they need to retune for their full exhaust and they say “no my O2 sensor will do that” 🤣 ok bubs
Ahh the weekend warriors lol
Don't help BMW are saying the same thing about their s1krr
I always found that funny. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since there is a more free flowing exhaust, doesn't that mean that the system ignores a significant amount of the air/fuel table, as it will only operate in that world, thus out of whack? That just screams long term problems to me. Less so if one wants to be F1 Frank on the freeway.
Honestly until this very moment, I wasn't aware motorcycles didn't work correctly.
@@CrashRacknShoot every time someone puts an after market system on their bike and ignores the tune? Within 2 years, if they last that long... Manifold, rings, carbon build up from too rich or too lean a mix all kinds of bad things happen
I hope you never stop making videos bud. Everyone is better and better. Your editing skills, content, and witty delivery is top notch. You should be proud.
That was the best visual explanation of how a carburetors and fuel injection works that I’ve seen
I'm 61 now but remember dismantling my motorcycle carburettor and doing the usual repairs all from the manual that came with the bike. How the great have fallen. Admittedly we're dealing with far more complex modern machinery but your average dual sport or single cylinder commuter isn't so. I was in my teenage years working on these motor bikes so I'm guessing it's assumed that we're no longer useful. Great luminary this fella! Thanks for an illuminating explanation!
Ding ding ding, the old manuals were real manuals that could let anyone nimrod take the thing apart down to the frame and put it all back together
@@coreygolpheneee damn true, I'm having a 1991 gn250 and the manual literally tell me how to take it apart and fix shits, then there's my modern scooter with a manual on how to press the key fob and manufacture legal disclaim :), the fixing manual is only sold to mechanics
I was an electrician, so i never really trusted fuel injectors... but then i started to learn mechanical engineering... now i doesn't trust carbs either...
I would love to find a friend with knowledge of carbs 😂
Absolutely love your channel bro. I'm 52 years old been riding most of my adult life yet my knowledge on the subject has easily doubled due to watching your videos. I highly recommend your channel to all my friends who ride .please keep them coming and keep the rubber side down
God your videos are soooo good I can’t even wait for the next one. Everything from the content to the scripting, filming, editing, sound effects just top notch!
Missed this one. Great vid.
Carbs do seem to make slightly more power due to charge cooling in the intake when fuel is introduced before the intake, Richard Holdener has some great videos on this with an engine dyno
"Hit the gas" is still accurate because "gas" has another meaning beyond gasoline...🙃
Touché ~RF9
"Americans call a liquid gas" -Jeremy Clarkson
@@Tuukkis oline
Are you saying that if you were to use the same fuel that they did in 1970, that you would rarely need a carb job? I have just fixed up an old carb bike with 4 cylinders and it's been put away for the winter. I will die if I need to do it again. 1989 Kawasaki's were not built to be home mechanic friendly
Also absolutely love the video!
Run non ethanol fuel all the time in your carbed motorcycle and add marine stabilizer in the winter when you store the bike.
I liked the video, but I have to say that this time you got it partially wrong. You are right only if you consider old generation efi.
It's been years since manufacturera started putting lambda sensors in bikes. It allows for continously correcting the fuel map in different air conditions.
An example? the efi in a 2003 sv650 works as you described, but since 2007 the sv650 has a lambda sensor!
Also an efi allows you to do much more than just getting the optimal stoichiometric ratio, things that a simple carburetor can't do, like changing the ignition/injection timing when opening/closing the throttle in different ways, thus allowing different behaviors if you accelerate/decelerate fast or slow, and much more!
Electronic ignition was a thing even before EFI.
@@nestserau I know! I meant the combined tuning of ignition and injection yelds better results. I'm sorry I didn't explain myself clearly.
You are spot on here. I work on automotive EFI for a living, went through the carb-->EFI transition in the late 80s and the biggest difference he missed in this video is pressurized atomization. Most carb systems are 4-6 psi, and the fuel droplets are way bigger and don’t burn nearly as well. After TBI systems went away (9-16 psi) the modern Port fuel systems are 35-70 psi, and (assuming the injector nozzle is clean) the fuel will come out much more atomized and lights up way easier. That alone is the compelling reason everyone went to EFI. They run better in almost all conditions and are much cleaner at the tailpipe, with much lower CO and HC emissions left over after combustion.
@@robertaugustine5350 Thank you. "It was just a big conspiracy in order to enable ethanol fuel additives" seems... uncharacteristically over-simplified for this channel.
More precise/efficient fuel metering is one of the big reasons I chose fuel injection for my bike, and will for any future bike. (Also I live in the Rocky Mountains and lots of the trails I love going on traverse thousands of feet of elevation; plus the temps can swing widely too.)
I was looking for this comment, the first time F9 got it wrong. I really like the character of a carburated bike, the mechanics and physics behind it, however any but the crudest EFIs are more precise than a carb. And fueling is more complex than always striving for the same ratio.
I find it surprising and uncharacteristic for F9 to come forward with an uninformed "old is better" and ethanol conspiracy theories.
very helpful and definitely one of the more easy to understand videos on carburetors
RyanF9-(Good Job, As always) I see the comment regularly that this is the best Motorcycle related content on YT but after nearly exhausting your library I am convinced you have the best "Do-It-Yourself" content on the Inter-Web! I watch everything from Auto-Centric to Xylophone Repair (couldn't come up with a valid "Z") and Race/All Terrain/Off Road/4X4 to DIY of every topic and I do not see the consistent high quality and creative thoughtfulness of F9. Nobody, Nowhere, Knowhow. I will shut up now and start at the top. Thanks for the great Videos and for sharing your talents.
EFI is only an improvement in that you don't have to fiddle with fuel delivery, whether it be local weather, or altitude changes on a cross-country trip. Motorcycles have averaged 40mpg for at least as many years, and everyone usually runs to lean, or rich, same as the old carb days. It's rare to find anyone that takes the time to properly tune their motor.
I feel like as much of a pain as Vacuum slide carbs are, they probably handled some of the altitude air density mixture changes on the fly because less dense air outside means the slide doesn't open as far.
I enjoy carbs when they're working, but I can't really tune them that well myself.
Wholly depends on displacement. Current bike does 40MPG or so, old bike got about 60 at 650cc, first bike was a 125cc and did 300+ miles on a two gallon tank.
CV carbs help with self tuning aspect but are typically sluggish in response compared to a slide style carb
how are motorcycles getting such lousy gas mileage? Noob here but... how? I mean sport bikes ok i guess but are you telling me dual sport, adventure, commuter, whatever are only getting 40mpg? At 1/10th the weight or less of most cars? i get that you are less aerodynamic and smaller engine maybe less efficient, but...
@@zacharyb2723 My bike, with a 1L engine, gets about 40-45MPG. My car, with a 1L engine and a fat turbo, gets 43-43MPG
My bike makes 150HP, the car makes 125.
The bike, however, has a redline twice what the car does, and spends more time accelerating instead of cruising at a steady speed.
Smaller engines, like on a 125cc bike, are insanely efficient. You can get 200+MPG out of one, if you don't mind not being able to go above 70MPH, being blown around like a leaf in the wind, and having tiny skinny tyres with no grip.
I'm just here to appreciate the amazing cinematography and storytelling 👏
👍🏻 👏🏻
Brilliant video. Just got my first bike a 99 ZZR600 (ZX6R) and first job needed is a carb tune! I used to do it with old cars! Here's hoping the Haynes instructions are good!
Fantastically educational and the perfect amount of clever and tongue in cheek humour.
I played with my carbureted bike more than I played with myself. Does that make me the one out of 10 that didn't make Ryan's majority? Damn. Bring me an EFI bike then...
Yep.
My bike will start in the middle of winter at the touch of a button after sitting for a year.
I'll keep my EFI, thanks.
@@Maccaroney no joke, I just wheeled my 01 Kx500 out of the corner of the garage been sitting for two years with old fuel. Turn the gas on lean it over fuel passes out the overflow, prime the motor with a few slow cycling kicks then top dead center with kicker and one good kick, boom running . The ease of Fi has conditioned riders to never look back. That ol 500 has NEVER let me down or stranded. My 21 450 has already flamed out with engine light on on a few occasions (and yes it's tuned properly) I'll love the Fi when all is good, but Carb will always be the goto when it comes to reliability
@@pooch299 two strokes don't count. Lol
@@Maccaroney i have a carbureted 125cc, so reaaaaally small nozzles, i don't use fuel from my country (Brazil) because it is 88oct 27% ethanol, i rather cross the border and get the 0% ethanol 92oct for the same price!! In the winter it is a piece of shit to start when it gets below 5 Celsius unless i use it every day, other than that, the old choker does the job, even if it sits for 5 months
Oh, i must not forget, if it doesn't start, i just push it down a hill in 3rd gear and the engine sucks all the gunk on itself
Omg... the Charlie sheen reference was hilarious. I'm weak! 😂
Indeed, twas funny.
@@mikebarnett339 'Twas indeed. 😃
I've kind of binge watching you since my son told me about you. You sir, have some very good insight on anything with two wheels, have some of the funniest comments on this TH-cam thing and the trick or treaters were adorable 😂 nice touch lol
Amazing content. Thanks for explaining TPI and challenges for actual injection. How does KTM do it now?
The production quality on this is amazing for just a video explaining carbs vs fuel injectors on motorcycles.
The greatest thing about carburetors is the ability to take advantage of the stupid. I can’t count how many old motorcycles and watercraft I have purchased at ridiculously low prices, or even had given to me, because the owner rode it for the summer then just parked it for the winter and, surprise, it won’t start the next season. All his clueless friends did the same thing so the dealership is full and taking months to get to it, so he sells it to me for pocket change. I clean the carb and wave to the former owner as I ride past. Fuel injection threatens to put an end to my little scheme. I hate so called “progress”. I might add that I have an 81 year old car that runs perfectly, no fuel injection, no computers, so little wiring there’s not even a fuse panel. I wonder how many 2021 vehicles will still be operational in 81 years, or even able to be restored, because of all this progress and advanced technology.
Fantastic point. The last bike I flipped was a 3k profit and all it needed was a 15 minute carb clean. ~RF9
What he said, is gold! 👍👍👍
Always entertained by your videos. Wish you were my math instructors. To the point, what I took for granted about carburetors, I'm blown away with this knowledge you have injected into my brain (of course no Ryan's pun intended).
Your videos are to me as relaxing as watching Top gear/ grand tour. Great job ;)
I like carburetors because the more analog feel makes me feel more connected with the vehicle, and the lack of a computer results in instant throttle response. Now if only I could figure out how to tune them properly…
When you get defeated by a bike with computerized mechanisms, you would forget the old school.
@@JohnKickboxing Wait until the computer has a hiccup, or an electrical problem that messes up the computer on your bike. Rain has a way of doing that. In other words, if it has tits or wheels, you’re going to have a problem with it or her.
@@nico8587d 👌
@@nico8587d carbs have problems but you cannot disregard edit because a hypothetical problem vs a problem inherent to carbs of witch a more than efi
Fortunately, I had an option to chose between carburetor and FI. I went with carburetor coz I can at least disassemble it, clean it and put it to work again in a bad situation. With FI, it's expensive and you need a good mechanic and the spare parts to fix them. I will always prefer carburetor over FI as long as the option is available since FI needs more maintenance, hard to repair and is expensive.
Those kids at the end said it all without saying a word...
"we don't care, just give us something that is fun to enjoy"
Sir, you and your crew are complete geniuses. Well done to all involved.
drugs will do that
@@gewizz2 ...thanks...you have completely taken the topic completely of subject and injected something totally useless.
Please try again to be funny.
Or better yet...remember this quote...
"It is better to be thought a fool, than open your mouth and remove all doubt"
@@heathb4319 a wise man once said, its not smart to be a smart tw@t
The production and narration is so good, it would definitely give big movie production houses a run for their money.
This is brilliant. I learn something every time I hit up YT.
The gaze those two kids make while waiting is priceless :) Great video as always
Every video yall make is a cinematic masterpiece! Well done once again
Fuel additives can help carbs stay clean i use it for the winter layover bike starts right up ..Also drain your carbs if long term storage is inevitable
today is the first day I heard of this channel and it was on Spites Corner talking about r/motorcycles. This channel is awesome. I love the physics component!!!
The production as always amazing. This channel needs 100 million subs
This was a great video. Good job of explaining how things work.
On newer cars I have to say the fuel injection is so much better. It calculates just the right mixture for start up and for driving. Cars now days start so fast you might not know your battery is on its last leg until it won't crank the engine. That happened to me. I started up at home, drove to a town 20 miles away and visited a store. When I tried to leave the engine barely turned over and then, NOTHING. Thankfully I was at the store where I ALWAYS get my batteries. I pulled the battery out and saw it was 8 years old with a 7 year warranty. Guess I got my money's worth!
My 2000 Harley with carb never had a fuel problem. But, I always looked for alcohol free gas and I shut the petcock off as I roll in the driveway. By the time the garage door is at the top the engine is almost out of fuel.
But for winter storage, I add twice the recommended amount of Sta-bil and make certain that reaches the carb before I turn off the ignition. I don't run the carb dry for the winter but as I mentioned it is soaking in the Sta-bil fuel stabilizer.
That carb has never been off the engine for servicing. It is now 21 years old and has 85,000 miles on it.
Twice a year, I run one half can of sea foam through the gas tank.
Ayo...why do you have my name???
@@Mike_B. Evidently YT doesn't scan for similar user names. I've been on YT for about 12 years
My last name starts with BEN....
What is Sea foam?
@@codyhatch4607 Well, they don't have catalytic convertors so that is part of it.
Another issue is they often burn premium fuel and may have the carb a bit too rich to keep the engine running cool.
@@codyhatch4607 They say all that????
I love my fuel injected 100th Anniversary Ultra Classic Electra Glide. I only had one problem one time with the fuel injection... and that was the servo motor in the throttle body went bad. It was replaced under warranty. Which brings me to this point. Sustainability. I believe that the more our motorcycles stray from the basic elements of design, the less likely that we will be able to enjoy them for many years. The range of years that any part on a motorcycle will fit, is getting more narrow as time goes on. This means that it is less economically feasible for the original manufacturer to supply any particular part, or for a third party manufacturer to decide that there is enough of a market to make that part. So the ECU, various sensors, electric fuel pump, throttle body, injectors, etc. will be hard to get. Any one of these items can be responsible for a problem with the fuel injection system. For a carbureted bike, all you needed was a rebuild kit for the carb. Maybe a jet kit. Maybe we should just budget a new $40,000 motorcycle every few years.
Its called planned obsolesce. Of course dealers want you in their shop as much as possible.
I live in México, so carburator motorcycles are still really commom here (also with small cc engines). It's usually the higher end bikes that use FI
Thank you so much for making those gems Ryan and team, its pure pleasure watching those clever and witty videos.
I just love the way these videos are put together, brilliant work man !!!
Using a sealed "bag" you can make auto adjust for low and high pressure air. At they have that in car carbs.
Best motorcycle channel bar none.
The spookiest part of this video is how well it explains how the carb and choke work in simple terms
Ryan F9 has taught me more about motorcycles & components than I’d ever thought possible! Call me a weirdo but I love this nerd shyt! Keep ‘em coming sir
He does have good content on his channel, but take some of these latest videos with a grain of salt. Seems like at this point he's just making these videos just to be a contrarian. On this for instance, yes everyone knows jet carburetors are different than what old cars use. What's not true, is that he said fuel injected bikes can't actively modify the flow, when they can. Some bikes have all those sensors, it's becoming common. With that being said, FI is definitely better for most people. He didn't even talk about the maintenance on those carbs which is a real pain, I know because I have a bike with carbs and 1 that's FI.
@@Damitsall he did mention the maintenance. you just didn’t pay attention
A few days ago, rain poured heavily and I borrowed a flat screw to remove water in my carb. I feel like a pro mechanic that day.
I tuned the carb on my dirt bike to perfection for my conditions. Mountain riding between 4-6k feet above sea level. It was a 2 stroke and I used premium gas mixed with quality synthetic oil. It was not terribly difficult and once it was tuned, the bike ran flawlessly every time.
no one cares, not a sole came here hoping to find out if WT ever tuned a carb this isn't your channel you're adding nothing to this video
After recently inheriting (well, having dumped on me) an old Leyland DAF van with an SU car I was honestly shocked how ridiculously simple they are to work with. Sure its not perfect in every situation like EFI, but my god it makes the entire vehicle feel so simple when there's only 10 wires and buckets of free space because its not a zillion components, wires, sensors and fuel lines smashed into an absurdly small package
i got the first Toyota Starlet with EFI (1992) and even the first EFI are so simple and take up so little space its rediculous compared to todays monstrosities
The SU carb is fundamentally different in the way it works to the carb described in the video. SU carbs lingered longer than almost any other; as emission requirements became stricter in Europe the SU was the only one that could deliver fuel accurately enough and they never go out of tune. Even Ford had to develop their own constant vacuum carb, a particularly horrible thing it was too (Ford VV carb.)
The last of the SU carbs were closed loop with a Lambda sensor and a very small computer with a stepper motor to wind the jet up and down, would have been a really great idea, if only they had got Bosch do the electronics instead of Joe Lucas.
The production of this show is just so insanely good. Man what a constant joy to watch!
Not too shabby - for a Snow Mexican
Great video. Full explanation of the man holding it down
Thank you for making this video. You explain it in very simple and understandable language.
Thanks Ryan Always love the way you explain things to us. Keep up the good work .
Man, these are done well! Always stay interested the whole way through!
Videos like This are the reason Why we Love you guys!
Love watching a stoic calculation!