I'm thinking about buying a carb balancing tool but I was wondering if it is really necessary to balance them. Does this give any noticeable gain or is it OK to adjust them by ear and keep the rear carb a little richer. I at 3 , 3.5 turns front and rear but I dont know if they are "balanced". Any insight is appreciated.

Bob

 

It is always bet to have your carbs sync'd. The motor pulls even this way when both holes are working together. I had a balancer and found that the best and quickest is to have the edge of both slides "dissappear" at the same time. apply the throttle and feel the inside of the intake. When the first slide is flush with the opening, feel the other carb and adjust it's cable length to match the first carb. you are done!. I have checked this method with the balancing tool and it is so close to bang on that you are good to go

 

Hey XC: the balancing tool I'm talking about is something like the Carbtune, that uses the vacuum and I believe the idle mixture is adjusted to balance both sides. Is this the same tool you are talking about?

 

It is run from the vacum the motor created on the intake side of the carbs. you attach it to the carb and there is a pea inside the marked chamber. The pea goes up and down as throttle is applied or backed off . The idea is to ajust the slider timing so that the pea is at exactly the same spot in the chamber on both carb. Hence they are sucking air at the same rate. I picked it up from Cycle Works a few years back