Carburetor sync. gauges

[SO CAL ZL]

(1) Is there anyone here using dial type sync. gauges who can tell me what I can expect to draw (As a maximum in inches of mercury) when synchronizing the carbs during tuning and tweaking?

(2) I'm looking at several different types of dial type sync. gauges, some on eBay, some from other sources. What's the consensus here, are there any favored brand names/models? I'm looking for quality gauges that I can believe the readings each time.

Thanks for the help on this.

[CHRIS]

not sure about mercury guages, but a few of us have vacume gauges from ebay. they work very well, cost around $100.00, & are from ebay seller sportingforless. CHRIS

[wuputt]

not sure about mercury guages, but a few of us have vacume gauges from ebay. they work very well, cost around $100.00, & are from ebay seller sportingforless. CHRIS
Best $100 I ever spent!

[SO CAL ZL]

Best $100 I ever spent!


not sure about mercury guages, but a few of us have vacume gauges from ebay. they work very well, cost around $100.00, & are from ebay seller sportingforless. CHRIS

Thanks guys....

I was wondering about those gauges shown in Chris' picture; they're one of the several sets under consideration for purchase.

Do either of you recall the highest number on the dial that you've gotten when tuning the carbs with those gauges? I'm curious to know what "numerical" results can be expected.

[CHRIS]

i have'nt actually used mine yet, so i can't answer that particular question. i remember paul was showing me how to hook them up, during the Markus engine swap, however i can not remember the exact setting. if you watch the video you can see me along side paul as he was dialing in the carbs. i'm not much of a drinker, but i always drink beer at zl-oa meets, & i had'nt drank before then, since M/O 2008 so my memory was'nt the best on that day !!!!! lol !!!!!! CHRIS

[gosupes]

Vacuum gauges will typically read from 0 to 30 inHg. Average car engine might pull 23 inches at idle, a bike will probably pull between 10 and 20 inches. Every engine is going to be a bit different. I can't remember what mine were actually reading, it's been over a year since I sync'd up the carbs. I can pop a gauge on tomorrow unless someone can chime in sooner.

[lowlife]

I run about 20-21 if i remember correctly. I have the sporting for less ones, however I bought the larger diameter gauges for more deliniation. I checked the accuracy of all 4 gauges and they were all spot on. this is more important that the number itself, they need to be calibrated the same.

[paulfun]

here is a pic of the guages while working on my zl9 last year. Wasnt compleetly in sync yet. but its at about 1000 rpm in the pic.

[Jarney]

I've got the morgan carbtune and IIRC, mine was around 20-22 also. Later.

[WillyD]

Something to think about....Paul, Lowlife, Chris......Those guages are the same ones I have....the dial goes to 76 but that is CENTIMETERS of vacuum...Not INCHES of vacuum....I believe my carbs synced out and looked just about where Paul's picture showed....I have always thought vaccum was read in Inches of mercury, but CENTIMETERS are used quite a bit....25 inches of vacuum, would be WAY higher on guages than CENTIMETERS.....Look closely at your guage and see what it says....

Also as metnioned...balance is the key...

Willy

20 in of vacuum would be about 51 CM of vacuum

[SO CAL ZL]

Bingo gentlmen.....thank ALL of you for weighing in on this one...that's what I needed. All of that is exactly what I needed to know in order to unscramble my quandry.

What was throwing me was that I was viewing pictures (Not real great ones!) of gauges where I could kind of discern a 70 something on the dial of what I thought were stricly for motorcycles, and 30 on the dial of those used for automobile engines. It never ocurred to me that one was stated in "inches" and the other in "centimeters".....had I been actually holding the ****ed gauge, I might have caught on before now......Geeeezzz! Consequently, I was unsure of which gauge set to purchase. That clears up a lot of fog for me...!!

Muchooo thanks to all! YOU GUYS ROCK!

[wuputt]

Lowlife, how did you calibrate your gauges? I just want to check mine out.

[rammy1500]

JC Whtney and harbor freight are good sources as well but harbor freight won't have the dampening valve to keep your dials from jumping all over the place. Since the overall purpose is to have the carbs reading the same it is important to make sure they are calibrated. For me, I take my ole vacuume pump, which has a gauge built into it, connect it up and adjust as necessary with the little screw. Then hook-up to the carbs, see which on is closest to 20 in then adjust the rest. Should be very minor adjustments unless you recently worked on the carbs.