If you were buying new carbs, which ones?

[LW_Icarus]

Ive been looking at brand spanking new carbs recently, My CVs function fine, but I know they are just waiting to cost me alot of money- those diaphragms are near 135 bucks apiece, for instance. So, Ive been looking at the Keihin and mikuni replacements, looks like 6 or 700 bucks can get you done on new flatsides from mikuni, same for keihin, and Ive also seen lectrons new in something near a 36 mm size for just slightly more.

I have an 850, and am working towards a 1000 transplant, ideally Id like a set that will work with both engines, although its possible I may buy them for the 1000 and continue to use my CVs on the 850 for the time being. which brand and what style is going to make the best set for the street? Im intrigued by the lectrons as they supposedly sellf adjust the mixture, and the keihins look like the best bargain, but Im unsure as to which is going to be more streetable, or if Im overlooking an option. Also which is going to have the best attachment hardware (manifold boot styles?) Im planning on retaining at least the appearance of an airbox,although I know ill need to use pods for actual filtration I want to retain the sides of the box and the chrome trim, are there mounting length differences?

last-which one has the best throttle assembly, either included or accessory? maybe one with switches? Im thinking the lectrons arent "racked" like the otheres and uses the 4 seperate cables, are these a potential problem for everyday street use? like needing synchronized alot more often maybe?

just throwing these questions out there for you guys, it may be months before I do this, or maybe not at all, but right now it looks like I can replace my carbs and have all new parts at a fraction of what a restoration of my old ones would cost, even with me doing all the labor. and as they sit my carbs work perfectly,I could sell them and offset the cost if need be, or keep them around for spares, but I know how that usually turns out ;P

 

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Reading your post, I'm not sure what you really want. More power or just peace of mind? Are you unhappy with the bike enough to invest the $ and possibly a lot of time rejetting/tuning?
The part of your post that sticks out the most is "the CV's function fine but I know they are waiting to cost me a lot of money". The diaphragms are expensive but $135/ea can't be correct. But how do you know the carbs are about to go? Under normal conditions and on a running bike, the bodies and the metal components will last decades. Only a few metal parts will eventually wear out with lots of miles on them. The o-rings are cheap to replace if you must. The diaphragms are the main thing to be concerned about but they WILL let you know if they start to harden or crack and fail. Throttle response will suffer and soon turn into zero throttle response. I don't know if you've inspected them. If they feel reasonably supple, no worries. Just keep the juices flowing through them (don't let the bike sit too long) and they can last much longer than you think. If you ever remove them, spray some silicone spray on them to help them even more.

 

[RacingJake]

For a streetbike I'd stay away from lectrons. They are most happy at WOT, they drink lots of fuel. They have high idle around 2k and are tuned rich at idle due to no low speed or choke circuit.

I think for a daily driver hotrod I'd go for flatside's 34's-36's??? with engine mods, like cams, pipe, head cleanup. I wouldn't buy new, instead I go dragbike.com or e-bay and try to find them for around $300