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View Full Version : Colortune carb tuning diagnostic thingy!



toads
22nd May 2004, 18:36
has anyone ever had or used one of these, we are intrigued!, apparently it's been around for a while but thought one might be handy in sorting out young sons cbr which is being muleish starting

Motu
22nd May 2004, 21:14
I got 2 sitting in a draw somewhere - good for lawnmowers,that's about it.Motors run so lean these days you won't be able to see a thing.

dangerous
22nd May 2004, 21:34
How do these things work then? different to carb balanceing I expect

Motu
22nd May 2004, 21:47
They got a glass or resin type insulator,so you can actualy see the mixture firing in the cyl - they are way cool...put them in and go for a ride - look at your spark plugs and see the pretty colours...gas it hard out of a corner,bend down and take a look - could be the last thing you see.

laRIKin
23rd May 2004, 10:17
How do these things work then? different to carb balanceing I expect

I have one, some where DD.
Come around next time you are going past, and I'll dig out for you.

toads
23rd May 2004, 10:21
They got a glass or resin type insulator,so you can actualy see the mixture firing in the cyl - they are way cool...put them in and go for a ride - look at your spark plugs and see the pretty colours...gas it hard out of a corner,bend down and take a look - could be the last thing you see.

sounds as exciting as lighting a fart! LOL, thanks Motu, I think we'll probably get one if they aren't too expensive, it might be worth it for the various heaps of S%*t we have sitting around the place, there's a mercury tube gizmo that is also used for balancing carbs, which we will check out also

Paul in NZ
5th September 2006, 10:19
Thread dredging at it worst..

I have a need for one of these on my old triumph...

Having a little problem with it returning to idle and I suspect that the brand new carb is a bit lean in the idle cct. There was a known fault with them being miss drilled but I was assured this one should be OK.. Hmm.. Hard to really know as it's a fixed jet.

The yanks reckon to run a #78 drill bit through it but I can't get one of those here so it's a bit of a mystery. Certainly, you can't really read plugs like you used to... and I sucked at that even when you could.

I'd be happy to buy one of these things if someone had one for sale??

Cheers

Motu
5th September 2006, 10:29
I've seen the odd one on TradeMe - but of course if you want one there were 3 on last week and you'll wait a year until the next one turns up.Have you got an LPG powered torch of some sort? Just trickle a little gas into the carb and see if the revs increase,this will prove a lean mixture......or you could give it a tickle....

rwh
5th September 2006, 10:45
Thread dredging at it worst..

I have a need for one of these on my old triumph...



I'll have a look when I get home. I think I've still got it, but don't know if all the bits are still there.

Richard

Lou Girardin
5th September 2006, 10:47
Like Motu says, they were great in the 70's. Nice bright yellow or blue flames.

Paul in NZ
5th September 2006, 11:35
Like Motu says, they were great in the 70's. Nice bright yellow or blue flames.

Jeeze Lou - everything was brighter in the 70's man.. even me...

Paul in NZ
5th September 2006, 11:41
I've seen the odd one on TradeMe - but of course if you want one there were 3 on last week and you'll wait a year until the next one turns up.Have you got an LPG powered torch of some sort? Just trickle a little gas into the carb and see if the revs increase,this will prove a lean mixture......or you could give it a tickle....

D'oh of course - trademe....

Yeah I was going to do that but the problems a little more complex than that. (naturally)

I can get a steady idle but when down shifting (say a stop sign etc) the bike dies sometimes. If you blip the throttle a few times and let the revs die gradually, no sweat. It idles OK.

I've changed a few of the settings to match my old set up but don't want to use the old carb body as it was a little warped and this is just mildly annoying.

I am going to go up a grade hotter in the plugs once I have a few more miles on it. I was chatting to one of the yank tuners who had a problem getting his to run OK in traffic and that cured it for him. I'm of the opinion it's a little lean as it pops in the inlet tract when kicking her over sometimes. I put that down to the wasted spark from the Boyer.

I do have other options with slide cutaways, needle positions etc but I need to know which way to go, richer or leaner to save a hell of a lot of time..

Cheers

oldrider
5th September 2006, 11:55
D'oh of course - trademe....

Yeah I was going to do that but the problems a little more complex than that. (naturally)

I can get a steady idle but when down shifting (say a stop sign etc) the bike dies sometimes. If you blip the throttle a few times and let the revs die gradually, no sweat. It idles OK.

I've changed a few of the settings to match my old set up but don't want to use the old carb body as it was a little warped and this is just mildly annoying.

I am going to go up a grade hotter in the plugs once I have a few more miles on it. I was chatting to one of the yank tuners who had a problem getting his to run OK in traffic and that cured it for him. I'm of the opinion it's a little lean as it pops in the inlet tract when kicking her over sometimes. I put that down to the wasted spark from the Boyer.

I do have other options with slide cutaways, needle positions etc but I need to know which way to go, richer or leaner to save a hell of a lot of time..

Cheers

"Crickey" Paul, thats why the Japs started making motorbikes, thought I'd heard the end of that sort of thing! :shutup: Cheers John.

Paul in NZ
5th September 2006, 12:02
"Crickey" Paul, thats why the Japs started making motorbikes, thought I'd heard the end of that sort of thing! :shutup: Cheers John.

Not the bikes fault John...

It was made to run on leaded gas and the carb is a recently made brand new one possibly not quite right.

I know what you mean though but to me it's a part of the fun. I spent 2 hours on sat making a threaded pin thats not shown in the parts book but solved a long standing problem... I actually really enjoyed solving that little problem..

Paul N

eliot-ness
5th September 2006, 14:32
Yup, still got one of those suckers. It's a short reach one but works on long reach ok Haven't used it in the last fifteen years or so. Only trouble is getting it to you. If you pm me your address or somewhere to deliver by courier, or I can arrange for you to pick it up in Mt Eden during working hours. The wife works down there. Saw a 10mm one in the local secondhand shop a few weeks ago for $10. Should have bought it

sAsLEX
5th September 2006, 14:49
Yup, still got one of those suckers. It's a short reach one but works on long reach ok Haven't used it in the last fifteen years or so. Only trouble is getting it to you. If you pm me your address or somewhere to deliver by courier, or I can arrange for you to pick it up in Mt Eden during working hours. The wife works down there. Saw a 10mm one in the local secondhand shop a few weeks ago for $10. Should have bought it

Hes down Kapati coast way so doubt pick up would work

eliot-ness
5th September 2006, 14:54
Hes down Kapati coast way so doubt pick up would work

Yeah, just noticed. The reply was meant for Paul in NZ. That'll teach me to read the whole thread.

Paul in NZ
5th September 2006, 15:10
Yeah, just noticed. The reply was meant for Paul in NZ. That'll teach me to read the whole thread.

Got a bit on tard me for one at the moment - probly cheaper than a 2 way courier deal. Possibly a daft thing to do but I'm a sucker for a car tool...

Hey, thanks for the offer though - if this falls through I will holler...

Paul N

Hitcher
5th September 2006, 15:23
And whatever happened to Toads?

Motu
5th September 2006, 15:34
Got a bit on tard me for one at the moment - probly cheaper than a 2 way courier deal. Possibly a daft thing to do but I'm a sucker for a car tool...

Hey, thanks for the offer though - if this falls through I will holler...

Paul N

What's the auction number? I'd like to help out with the bidding.

They will work well on the Triumph,I used to use mine for setting up twin carbs.Although mine are different models,one has the clear part like a spark plug porcelain,the other has it set down inside,I think that's the later model.I have extentions,mirrors,cleaning brushes and the little bottles for the cleaner.An indicator only....you'll need to set it on the rich side,just as it goes orange.

eliot-ness
5th September 2006, 15:39
Got a bit on tard me for one at the moment - probly cheaper than a 2 way courier deal. Possibly a daft thing to do but I'm a sucker for a car tool...

Hey, thanks for the offer though - if this falls through I will holler...

Paul N

No need for a two way courier. I'll not be needing it again. You can pass it on to someone else who may need one in the future. The wife works with couriers and gets it pretty cheap. It could be on your doorstep tomorrow

Paul in NZ
5th September 2006, 17:19
No need for a two way courier. I'll not be needing it again. You can pass it on to someone else who may need one in the future. The wife works with couriers and gets it pretty cheap. It could be on your doorstep tomorrow

Hey thanks..

Last time I looked I was leading the bidding on trademe so IF I win that I'll honour it - if not, I'm in your debt!! (finishes tonight)

Paul N

rwh
5th September 2006, 21:07
Hey thanks..

Last time I looked I was leading the bidding on trademe so IF I win that I'll honour it - if not, I'm in your debt!! (finishes tonight)

Paul N

Alternatively I have one I don't want, if you want to collect in Wellington.

"Smaller style COLORTUNE to fit all petrol engines which use 14 mm spark plugs (see over)" ... but I'm not sure which bit of 'over' is relevant.

Looks a little corroded, perhaps - crystals of something stuck to it, and the mirror is a bit cracked. The instruction sheet is a bit mouldy too. All in original packaging though.

Richard