XS11 carburetor tuning

[Nholmes1987]

Hey guys, I have recently cleaned my carburetors and replaced the floats and am getting ready to tune it. I have had to resort to tuning it by eyeballing it because when I hook the vacuum gauges up to the carbs, the gauge just bounces from one side to the other. Is this because I bought the gauges from Nappa and they are not specifically designed for tuning bikes or could there be another issue? I have seen videos of people tuning their bikes with gauges, however, they look much different than mine. I was thinking about buying a set of gauges from thealphamoto.com that are designed for four cylinder bikes and are adjustable.

The bike itself idles great and revs up no problem just by having eyeballed it. I have not;however, taken it out for a ride yet. I would appreciate any help on the issue. I can't imagine it being the ignition timing or anything like that.

[motoman]

Actually, you need to place a restrictor inthe vacuum hoses. One of the small size hex Kiehn jets will work if you have any. Otherwise, you can actually buy the restrictors and push one down each of the four hoses if your using a four gauge setup.

[crazy steve]

Your problem is unrestricted vacuum to the gauges. You can install restrictors in the lines; some have had success with old pilot jets or similar, or you can go to a pet supply and pick up some cheap 'air valves' and install in-line with each gauge. Adjust the valves until the needles steady.... Similar to this: http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=986

If you have four individual gauges, you do need to make sure each one reads the same for a given vacuum.

[LoHo]

If you are a fan of shade tree mechanics, you can buy four inline air petcocks at a pet/aquarium store. Insert them in the hoses a couple of inches from the gauges, close them, then slowly open until the needle moves but is steady, and you're good to go.

[natemoen]

If you are going to buy the right tool for the job I (as well as many here and elsewhere) recommend this one!

http://www.carbtune.com/

[CatatonicBug]

If you are going to buy the right tool for the job I (as well as many here and elsewhere) recommend this one!

http://www.carbtune.com/

+1! The simplest (and possibly the most accurate) tool for the job.

[CaptonZap]

Are you in a hurry? Take four clothes pins, and pinch the hoses down and try it. "Pore folk have pore ways" CZ

[Nholmes1987]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. This seems like it should do the trick. I'm gonna give it a whirl once I get off work.

[James England]

You can see here that there are four little plastic clamps which you put on the tubes. They work really well. You just tighten them until the needles stop fluttering. Any little clamp would do but I think you're better using something that's adjustable, rather than a clothes peg; they need careful adjustment to stop the fluttering without stopping the gauge entirely.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-or-Mot...item4166c1e58c

I have a set of these gauges and they are excellent to use and, IMO, very good value for money. I've used them on my XS1100, XJR1300 and also Honda GL1000. Each time... what difference! Well worth using