Here we discuss everything related to motorcycle (and scooter!) riding, maintenance and gear.
Rules:
Without seeing the video:
We should do a list of stuff that should be brought back, I'll start.
Oh, fuck a carb 7 ways to Sunday, EFI is a million times better
I get the thinking, but carbs are 19th century black magic that only strange people truly understand, and most of them died decades ago (I say this having cut my teeth working on carbs...ewww). Haha.
That said, bike carbs are way simpler than on cars.
The problem here is multiple carbs.
My personal favorite is the carb setup on a Suzuki Intruder 1400. One down draft and one side draft. The idle speed is linked together with a cable. No vacuum nipples to put your guages on, but that's ok the guages won't help anyway.
Or I could ride my nightster with it's EFI.
That said, bike carbs are way simpler than on cars.
This suggests to me that you have not dealt with a 4 carb setup on a 4 cylinder bike before.
Never fucking again.
Unless I stumble on a cherry CBX1000. I'd make an exception for that glorious 6-cylinder monstrosity.
Or a bike that has multiple tuned carbs per cylinder that have to be balanced together. Thanks BMW.
Why would anybody design something like that?
BMW is like wha ha ha ha
Hold my beer, or whatever that is in German.
I have, and those carbs are still far simpler than on cars.
Balancing can be fun (figuring out why the hell does this one always pull more mercury, and how do I balance so they're all reasonably similar).
Have a bike like this currently.
But bike carbs don't have the crazy vacuum lines everywhere, or an EGR system mucking things up.
Never did have to deal with a carbureted vehicle with EGR. Lucky me I guess!
4 CV (vacuum operated) carbs on a 30 year old inline 4 cylinder bike is where I topped out. There were definitely several dark magic ceremonies required to get those to run well (at all throttle positions). God forbid you want to change the intake setup.
My point of view as connysewer of cheap and disposable bikes, is that a carb can be fixed with a screwdriver on the side of the road. A GOOD efi will enter limp mode and get you home, but I don't do good bikes...
I've had way more failures with carbs than efi.
I've had EFI run for 20 years with zero issues, on a single vehicle. Zero maintenance, not even sensor replacement.
One current vehicle is from 1985 and the EFI still works flawlessly... A 1985 EFI.
Once EFI transitioned from analog to digital, lots of little gremlins just went away. They became a lot more consistent and robust.
I've owned early analog EFI... Whew, talk about a persnickety system.
I had an Isuzu Trooper with an early multiport EFI setup on a 2.6 4ZE1 engine. It basically ran on controlled vacuum leaks. The easiest way anyone ever found to fix it was to remove it and swap in a carb setup from a 2.3 4ZD1 engine. I decided that when coping with a 1980's Isuzu the most effective way to solve all your problems was the radiator cap solution: Remove the radiator cap and hold it up, then drive another vehicle under it. Put the cap back on and it will run better.
If you live in a relatively flat area then sure…carbs. I live in the mountains and can change 5-6K feet of elevation on one ride. The carb will not run great somewhere along that trip. I will mention the Euro5 emissions throttle/fuel maps on EFI can be janky. Carbs do have a smoother power delivery in general…when working.
@TerraRoot @daveywaveyboy My motorcycle has both kickstart AND carburetor. Yes, it's a 2026 model. 😆
My 2024 Grom has #6. No matter how I adjust it, it just doesn't light up very far down the road.
If any Grom owners have a solution, I'm all ears.
Drum brakes, but for ABS reasons rather than performance. He skids his drum to prove it.
16" rims, with which bias ply tires are mentioned as part of the appeal
That's all you got close
Most new bikes over here in SEA either don't come with ABS at all, or is an expensive addition lol.
Drum brakes suck btw, they can get fluid in them and you can't easily check if they're about to fail like a disc.
Also you can get you a brand new current MY Honda Dream with… still drum brakes
I miss my 86 cb700sc 🥲
They miss you too.
Anything on Fortnine is an insta-watch.