Carburetor heater?

[awa355]

Under the left pod of my XV250 is a small electrical solenoid? I have been told that it forms part of the carby heater system.

Here is a picture. 309221

I unplugged the two leads from it and everything starts and runs on the bike. Seems dumb to have a bulky pod housing this small item. The bike looks leaner and cleaner without the pod in place. Does the fuel system need this device hooked up?

[unstuck]

I think they only work when the temp drops below about 10 degrees, I dont think it would get cold enough up north to really affect the running of your bike.
Different if you were down here in winter perhaps.:msn-wink:

[Grumph]

Do a search on Viragotech Forum. Pretty sure it's been discussed there.

[Premature Accelerato]

Two bikes that I have had in the past (RD350 and a YZF600) had carby freezing problems. Each time it was in extreme cold and forced the bikes to a stand still. I would then have to wait about 5 to 10 mins for the engine heat to warm up the carbs again before I could continue. One of the these times was 20 meters into the Mt Vic tunnel in Wgtn. I had to push the bike the rest of the way in peak hour traffic. Unplug it if you want,but I wonder if perhaps your bike is susceptable to carby freeze , that the makers have known this and have installed the heater intentionally.

[awa355]

I'm a member of the viragotech forum which Grumph referred to. One chap has told me how to keep the heater circut out of sight to allow doing away with the hideous looking left pod on the bike.

Got this in his reply
" Carb heating is not to protect the carb on cold mornings. It is to prevent carb icing. Carb icing can occur in warm humid weather, when fuel is drawn up into the carb some of it evaporates. This drops the temperature of the carb body due to the latent heat of vaporisation*. Moisture in the air can then freeze to the carb body and butterfly causing fuel starvation and misfires.

This has been more of a problem since fuel companies started adding volatiles like benzene and toluene to fuel. These evaporate at an amazing rate which makes the carb body much cooler much quicker. Hence why carbs now have body heaters.

* blow on the back of your hand. Lick the back of your hand and blow on it again, the difference in how cold it feels the second time is the moisture on your hand being evaporated.".

Dont know how accruate he is.

[awayatc]

you want to risk having to push a bike because of some slight esthetic alteration

or ride it with a small added necessity you don't quite like the looks of.....?

[tri boy]

* blow on the back of your hand. Lick the back of your hand and blow on it again,

I prefer "lick, guzzle, suck":drinkup:

[Monsterbishi]

I'm a member of the viragotech forum which Grumph referred to. One chap has told me how to keep the heater circut out of sight to allow doing away with the hideous looking left pod on the bike.

Got this in his reply
" Carb heating is not to protect the carb on cold mornings. It is to prevent carb icing. Carb icing can occur in warm humid weather, when fuel is drawn up into the carb some of it evaporates. This drops the temperature of the carb body due to the latent heat of vaporisation*. Moisture in the air can then freeze to the carb body and butterfly causing fuel starvation and misfires.

This has been more of a problem since fuel companies started adding volatiles like benzene and toluene to fuel. These evaporate at an amazing rate which makes the carb body much cooler much quicker. Hence why carbs now have body heaters.

* blow on the back of your hand. Lick the back of your hand and blow on it again, the difference in how cold it feels the second time is the moisture on your hand being evaporated.".

Dont know how accruate he is.

His explanation sounds a bit BS-ish to me, I'm yet to meet a carb where the needles are sitting on the inbound side of the butterflies!

Carb heaters have been installed on cars & bikes for donkeys years, unless you're leaving your bike outside in the deep south during the dead of winter I can't see it ever being of any use.

[Kickaha]

Carb heaters have been installed on cars & bikes for donkeys years, unless you're leaving your bike outside in the deep south during the dead of winter I can't see it ever being of any use.

It's not about leaving it outside, it happens when you're riding it

Brothers mid nineties 750SS Ducati used to have carb icing problems in Chch, fixed it by relocating the oil cooler higher so the air going through it blew across the front carb