I bought one of these:

http://www.carbtune.com/

 

I believe the yard stick is the way to go if your looking to do it cheaply. Worked well for me many times. But I recently invested in the Motion Pro sync tool, very similar to the carbtune posted above.

 

So the next logical question is did you notice if the yardstick was inaccurate?

 

As long as you get all of your air bubbles out, it's just as accurate as anything else. You're not trying to measure specific vacuum readings, you're trying to see if the vacuum from the two carbs is the same. So, if the liquid in the tubes (I used red Caterpillar coolant) rises at the same rate on both sides of the tube, you're good.

 

I use the yardstick set up, I was just wondering why the purchase of the sync tool? Is there something he noticed? we missed?

 

I just took the time to read the bottle method and I will be making one of those next. thanks for the info.

 

Since I work on aircraft as a profession, I consider myself a tool-a-holic and am rather nit-picky about accuracy. That and it's cool to pull out of its little case to play with.....

I also use one of these tools to adjust the carbs with.
http://www.motorcyclecarbs.com/kl/catalog/2003/069.pdf

 

No, there's nothing that "we" missed, some people would rather buy a gauge set. It would come in handy for recording vacuum readings for future use, or for synching four carbs without having to do them two at a time.

 

The yard stick and hose worked just fine. Mine only works on twins (although I have seen ones made for 4 cylinders) and isn't very professional looking. I have been between jobs for a while and have started to work on other peoples bikes, wheelers, sleds and such. That is why I spent the money on a proper tool. It has easily paid for itself.

 

Anyone ever use gas instead of oil or antifreeze for the yardstick method? It seems like it would be much easier to get rid of the bubbles.

 

I think gas would deteriorate the clear hose (and using black fuel line hose would defeat the purpose of the gauge) and would kinda stink. I used A/F because I had it on my shelf and it was red (easy to read).

 

Ok, I thought the change would be easier to notice. If the oil is being sucked away from the carb you are adjusting, should you open the carb (throttle valve) up more or close it?

 

There's only one adjustment screw on the VTR carbs, so you want to adjust it whichever way levels out the fluid (with the ruler method anyway).

 

I understand that but it is not as noticable I expected. If I know which way to adjust then I can be sure I'm am not adjusting the wrong way and further out of sync.

 

Rotating the screw clockwise will give the rear cylinder more vacuum, raising the fluid level for that cylinder.

 

TwinMax is pretty cool. Take a look:

http://www.rlmotorcycles.com/cgi-bin....72021&pid=582

JB

 

is the oil moving fast or slow? if it is moving fast, insert a baffle into both ends of the tubing(i used 1 inch pieces of WD-40 spray tube) and this will slow it down so you can adjust easily. You may have to turn the idling up a little to get it to idle once you hook the tubing up. If the oil starts to move up on one side, simply turn the screw the other direction a hair. Make sure you are holding the throttle spring forward so the presssure you put on it to turn the adjuster isn't giving you a false reading. Just try to get the oil to stabilize, i.e., not moving up or down, and you'll be good. The adjustment is minute.

 

i made the bottle setup. easy to use and no chance of anything getting sucked into the engine