ColorTune??!!

[ddragon63]

I'm sure this has been discussed before but I have to ask the question. Is a ColorTune really worth the time and effort. I've always done carbs by ear. Turn in screw slowly untill it starts to change pitch and or stumble a little. then back out till smooth. Usually I do this with a vac gauge hooked to the manifold so I can watch the needle move.

You opinions please on whether or not this product is really worth the money to waste my time with... looks like another gadget, to collect dust... I'm gonna check the sync on the carbs soon and figured I'd check the mixture while I was that far. for no reason other than I just bought a sync tool and want to play with it

[DGXSER]

IMO, it does work. For those of us who apparently damaged our ears severly enough not to hear the change in tone of the engine to tune by ear, it is a great tool to get close with. It also is still a good idea to check plug color and fine tune it as needed. One thing I have learned is that with these bikes, they like to run a little on the rich side, so instead of looking for bunsen blue, go for yellow, then back it off till it just starts to turn blue again. open maybe a 1/4 turn from there.

[79XS11F]

It's a great tool to have and good when sorting out carb problems and or rejetting. I have 4 so I can watch what's going on in all 4 cylinders at the same time. I find that just like when your do a carb sync, improving the burn in one cylinder will affect the others. Not much, but it can be seen.
Rob

[ddragon63]

I couldn't tell you the last time the carbs were synced... I noticed on my last trip after pulling the plugs there is a Lil difference between the idle burn on 1 and 2. So I figure while I'm waiting for the nicer weather to show up I'll set the mixtures and sync. Maybe I can squeeze a couple more mpg's out of the old dog.

[XJfan1]

im thinking about buying a color tune on ebay. what size do i need for my xj 14mm?

[DGXSER]

XS and XJ engines are all but identical, 14MM is the size needed.

[ddragon63]

Wouldn't a fella also not want the long reach one? As the plug reach is 3/4 of an inch?

[CatatonicBug]

Long reach one?? I don't think there is such a thing. They only sell based on diameter. They are not designed to be used for a long period, or under load, so the length of the threads shouldn't matter.

I really like mine, and I can't imagine trying to adjust the mixture without it. I can't hear even the slightest change in the engine between blue and yellow, unless I go WAY out of tune. As far as color goes, I drop it to blue, then raise it up until there is just a HINT of white/yellow in the flash. Since 1/16th of a turn on the screws makes a difference, I would never be able to get that kind of accuracy by ear.

[ddragon63]

Thanks guys... Maybe I'll search flea-bay for one. Watched a video on YouTube last night to see one in action. Pretty slick little device. I can see how 4 of them would be a good idea to adjust all @ once. But @ about $40 a pop I'm not that anal to spend that kinda money. $40 for a tool i might use once is plenty as is.

[CatatonicBug]

$40 for a tool i might use once is plenty as is.

Once?? You should use it every time you do anything to your carbs. It's part of the synch process. If you clean the carbs or adjust the valves, you synch and colortune - every time.

[TADracer]

Its a toss up for me. I have one left over from when SWMBO had an MGB (boy, do those cars suck). Had to wear a hard hat when I worked on it to keep that big hook for the hood from denting my head.

I have used it to test out my 'by ear' skills. It is a good tool but I personally would not go out and buy one just to set the idle mixture. But since I have it, I do use it from time to time.

[ddragon63]

Once?? You should use it every time you do anything to your carbs. It's part of the synch process. If you clean the carbs or adjust the valves, you synch and colortune - every time.

I'm not sure how often you like to play with your carbs there Bug... Once mine are set I pretend they don't exist anymore.

When I put this bike back on the road in 09 I set the mixtures by ear and road it... no surging and plugs read close to each other, so I didn't feel the need to sync them. I adjusted the valves a couple months ago and every intake needed adjustment and 1 exhaust. now my #1 and #2 plug are reading a little different, #2 header is bluing more than the others, and my mileage has dropped 2 to 3 mpg. So now before the real miles start this year I need to re-set them and probably sync them.

The issue I can see with this little colortune tool is a Fella could get WAY too anal with it... be chasing his tail around in circles for hours. Colortune, sync, check colortune, re-sync, re-check colortune, re-re-syn......

[CatatonicBug]

The process is: sync, colortune, then sync again. No need to re-colortune again. I need to do this process about once a year for either a carb cleaning or valve adjustment. IMO, being a little anal with it isn't a bad thing.

[ddragon63]

Well I thought I found one for a good deal on flea-bay. 25 plus 7.50 shipping... Cost in British pounds

So its more like $50 than the $40 I was stating earlier. Hmmmm

[DGXSER]

$40 is a pretty good deal. I got one a couple years ago for cheap as the seller had a few missing the mirror. Not something I use anyway.

Synch, colortune, synch....colortune, or no colortune...judgement call. When to stop for me depends on the results. If the synch required any significant change in the screw settings whether it was the first or third time around, I would recheck the tune. If the tune required any significant change, resynch. Repeat and rinse as needed. If it is close and only needs a subtle change, no need to repeat the other step. Thats my thoughts on it anyway.