• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Anyone run a single carb?

  • Thread starter Thread starter kyle.quamme
  • Start date Start date
I had a T120 and a TR6. The TR6 was a 650cc and had a single Amal carb that I doubt was over 30mm. My Harley is 1000cc and came with a 42mm but now has a 36mm Mikuni and runs pretty good with it.
 
I had a T120 and a TR6. The TR6 was a 650cc and had a single Amal carb that I doubt was over 30mm. My Harley is 1000cc and came with a 42mm but now has a 36mm Mikuni and runs pretty good with it.

But the issue has been brought up about the CFM of a Harley vs the CFM of an inline 4, and consensus is that the inline 4 will pull a lot more CFM. Maybe start with a 38mm Mikuni and go from there?
 
But the issue has been brought up about the CFM of a Harley vs the CFM of an inline 4, and consensus is that the inline 4 will pull a lot more CFM. Maybe start with a 38mm Mikuni and go from there?

No, that seems like the wrong way to do it. Instead, there must be a way of simply measuring the CFM your engine is using. I bet there is someone on this site that could tell us.
 
No, that seems like the wrong way to do it. Instead, there must be a way of simply measuring the CFM your engine is using. I bet there is someone on this site that could tell us.

On Vintage-Suzuki.com, they have a VM 38 for a 460cc I believe, and a TM 38 that they say should work on a 500, so i dunno for sure, but I'd think something in the 38-40 range VM style would work, the thing would be getting it to work perfect.
 
On Vintage-Suzuki.com, they have a VM 38 for a 460cc I believe, and a TM 38 that they say should work on a 500, so i dunno for sure, but I'd think something in the 38-40 range VM style would work, the thing would be getting it to work perfect.

Yeah, but as drhermanstein (I think that's right) says, displacement isn't really the issue. And carbs are expensive, so you probably wanna get it right the first time.

AND I'm really interested in the answer, heh :lol:

What size is your engine? Is it a GS550 four?
 
Have you considered using a single twin choke, side draught carb like a Dellorto or Weber.

The advantages of using such a setup are:

1. You get a strong scavenging pulse between 1&2 and 3&4 inlets, as the inlet timing is always 180 degs seperated at each branch.
2. It is easier to fabricate a manifold that keeps the inlet tracks at the same tuned length, than for a single choke carb setup.
3. From your CFM calculations, you can further calculate the choke diameters required to deliver optimum performance for your peak HP. By using a Dellorto, you have a range of chokes available for any given carb model, ie, with a 40 Dellorto you can run a range of chokes from 25-32mm diameter. A 45 Dellorto's choke size range is 28-36mm.
4. These carbs are fitted with an accelerator pump and are relatively easy to tune.
5. Changing jets on these carbs is a breeze. No need to remove the carb from the bike.
6. Once tuned, they stay in tune with no need to do individual balancing, as the butterflies are fitted to a common shaft.
7. Velocity stacks are available that can be enclosed in a purpose built airbox.

The dis-advantages are:

1. Space would be tight around the rear of the frame because of the length of these carbs.
2. Economy is slightly compromised by the use of a pump jet circuit.

Just another option for you to consider.
 
Cfm

Cfm

CFM is not hard to calculate. You need to do some conversion, but it's not that hard. What does CFM stand for? Cubic Feet per Minute. That's volume per minute. Well, your volume is the volume of the bike (750cc, 1000cc, etc), and your per minute is the RPM of the engine, right? Your volume is constant, in other words no matter how fast or slow you are going, the engine is the same size. What changes is the RPM's. So you you need to find you CFM at the max RPM of the bike. Call it 10000.

One cc is 1centimeter X 1 Centimeter X 1Centimeter. 1 centimeter is equal to .033 feet so 1 cubic centimemeter is equal to .033 feet X .033 feet X .033 feet. Or .0000359 cubic feet. Multiply that by the size of the bike. In my case 1000. So 1000 X .0000359 is .0359 cubic feet. Mulitply that by the maximum RPM (10000), .0359 cubic feet X 10000 RPM and you get 359 CFM.

Now there's one other thing to consider. These engines are four stroke engines (intake, comperssion, power, exhaust). That means that for two turn of the crank, they are only drawing air/fuel once. So, you take your previous figure and divide by two. So, theoretically, you need about 180 CFM for a GS1000 to function at 10000 RPM.

Hopefully I didn't bore too many people.
 
"But the issue has been brought up about the CFM of a Harley vs the CFM of an inline 4, and consensus is that the inline 4 will pull a lot more CFM. Maybe start with a 38mm Mikuni and go from there?"

I'm just tossing out examples of things I have seen myself. Let's run the same numbers for my bike and we get in the 250CFM range. Add 12 PSIG of boost (where I stopped last year) and you get around 380 CFM at the compressors inlet. All with one little 42mm carb. At 30 PSIG it would be around 450CFM.

BTW, this carb is only recommended for applications in the 210 CFM range. I guess my point of this is that if your not looking for an optimum solution, you can get away with a lot.

Post pictures of your manifold once you get it done.
 
CFM is not hard to calculate. You need to do some conversion, but it's not that hard. What does CFM stand for? Cubic Feet per Minute. That's volume per minute. Well, your volume is the volume of the bike (750cc, 1000cc, etc), and your per minute is the RPM of the engine, right? Your volume is constant, in other words no matter how fast or slow you are going, the engine is the same size. What changes is the RPM's. So you you need to find you CFM at the max RPM of the bike. Call it 10000.

One cc is 1centimeter X 1 Centimeter X 1Centimeter. 1 centimeter is equal to .033 feet so 1 cubic centimemeter is equal to .033 feet X .033 feet X .033 feet. Or .0000359 cubic feet. Multiply that by the size of the bike. In my case 1000. So 1000 X .0000359 is .0359 cubic feet. Mulitply that by the maximum RPM (10000), .0359 cubic feet X 10000 RPM and you get 359 CFM.

Now there's one other thing to consider. These engines are four stroke engines (intake, comperssion, power, exhaust). That means that for two turn of the crank, they are only drawing air/fuel once. So, you take your previous figure and divide by two. So, theoretically, you need about 180 CFM for a GS1000 to function at 10000 RPM.

Hopefully I didn't bore too many people.

Yay! I knew somebody would know! :-D
 
While that is "true" that's also assuming zero intake vacuum, and 100% VE.

Most carbs are rated at a certian number of inches of vacuum. While a 180cfm carb may be enough, you'll be looking at signifigant vacuum at 10,000rpm. Vacuum means less horsepower. So you'll want a carb that's much larger than that. dont' ask me for hard numbers, becuase I came up a blank when I last started trying to figure out what it would take to put a single carb on a GS.

Keep in mind, that in comparison to "real" engines, motorcycle engines are almost always disturbingly overcarburated. My little 49hp bike has a 4bbl carb with 1.25" venturis. Though the bike really only breathes through one carb at a time. So if you had a manifold on it.. in theroy a single carb would do it. Still it's a 1.25" carb. :-)
 
Thank you for all of the information on here. Since I only have a 550 I'm thinking something that can flow 180CFM will be plenty. I am pretty sure I am going to go ahead with this project. My father owns all of the tools that I will need to make my manifold and I know that once I get it tuned in, I am going to be really happy with the dependability.
 
I'm fairly sure even an oversized single carb willl idle better than our racks of carbs. more consistant airflow means better metering. less reversion. less of everything that makes carbs unhappy. Except that a wet manifold ends up sucking fuel out of the airstream.
 
While that is "true" that's also assuming zero intake vacuum, and 100% VE.
You're right about the assumptions that I made. Considering that an engine without a compressor is not 100% VE the carb might be on the big side. Also, I'm not sure how much time anyone spends at 10000 RPM. Obviously you need when you want to operate at that RPM. Vacuum can be increased through restriction if the carb ends up being too big. As is the case with most formulae, it only gets you in the ballpark.

Please post a report how this works out. I'm curious to see how it goes.
 
My father is insisting that I make a header with tubes as close to equal length as possible, so he won't help me fabricate my original design, but from what I've gathered, it won't really make a difference. :? I'll try to make it happen but he seems dead set on making me stay with the setup I have, and well, I'll have to unless I have access to his tools.
 
My father is insisting that I make a header with tubes as close to equal length as possible, so he won't help me fabricate my original design, but from what I've gathered, it won't really make a difference. :? I'll try to make it happen but he seems dead set on making me stay with the setup I have, and well, I'll have to unless I have access to his tools.

Your father is right. You should try to get the inlet tracks as close as possible to equal length. If you don't, you will compromise performance.

The timimg of sound resonance is almost a beneficial on the intake as it is on the exhaust. All purpose built performance 4-1/extractors, are designed with equal length headers. The correct tuned length, back pressure and sound resonance is the key to their performance. If you lengthen the intake tracks, you will reduce the rpms where your maximum HP is produced.
Some performance 2 strokes, fitted with expansion chamber exhausts, produce over 1/2 a bar (7 lbs per square inch) of vacuum at the port window/crankcase by cleverly utilising the effects of soundwaves.
 
There's a lot more to it than just that.

Equal length is HIGHLY important.

Tuning for resonance is much more difficult. As diameter changes the frequency it responds to. So does length. As does temprature, and vacuum level.

Now, you get to throw in the fact that you're running a wet manifold. So length is almost more important than tuning. Having crap mixture reach your combustion chambers is worse than not having good resonant tuning.

This is a situation where trying to copy a good wet 4cylinder manifold would be your best bet. :-) Problem is.. there aren't a lot of good 4 cylinder manifolds.
 
There's a lot more to it than just that.

Equal length is HIGHLY important.

This is a situation where trying to copy a good wet 4cylinder manifold would be your best bet. :-) Problem is.. there aren't a lot of good 4 cylinder manifolds.

Another 2 good reasons to seriously look at a sidedraught twin choke setup.
 
Your father is absolutely right about the equal length intake runners. There is a formula that you can use that will optimize the length according to your chosen inlet diameter and which RPM you would like to boost. Unfortunately equal length runners only give you an increase for one area of you RPM range. That's not a bad thing though. You might want to also consider adding a plenum or an air box. That would actually give you something to mount the carb to is if you want a single and you could still have equal length runners. You could either do a side inlet or a top mount. I think if you did it right you could stuff it all under the frame and it would look pretty good. You may need to experiment a little but, the right size airbox will get you some pretty good throttle response.
 
Back
Top