Topic: cb500 muffler Balancers question.

[wolf550]

could not find an answer to what they do.
would they be necessary if I was to make a Repro version with it deleted on the mufflers?

thanks

[bryanj]

Honda put it there for a reason but no idea what that was and dont see any reason why you cant make some without after all aftermarket systems can be 4 into 1, 4 into 2 or all seperate

[Deltarider]

From what I have read back in the days, they were ment to improve performance in the high end. Another article stated balancer pipes the more to the rear, the more improvement in the high, the more to the front the more improvement in mid rpms. I have forgotten the reasoning behind it. That's all I remember. Sorry, it's not much.

[wolf550]

thank you. it is more than I knew anyway. I thought maybe it had to do with a scientific back pressure sorta reason the honda guys came up with. since the internals to the repro mufflers systems would not be the same I will delete them.

[Deltarider]

About balancing. As some of you know, I like to do little experiments every now and then. Next spring I'd like to see what happens if you remove the little screws from the holes for carb sync adapters and have all 4 intakes 'communicate' their underpressure via thin vinyl tubes. Unless you talk me out of this ofcourse by predicting what the outcome will be in both idling and overall running.

[robvangulik]

I have done that years ago, linking 1 and 4 / 2 and 3, as well as 1 to 2 and 3 to 4, and it didn't make any difference.
My 400 was still blindingly fast as ever and idled just as good as with closed vacuüm ports.
I didn't make any pics special for this but I have one where you can see what I did...

[Deltarider]

Ha, thanks, Rob. I knew you were as nuts as I am. BTW, I still consider building the ultimate homebuilt fluid synchronizer. That is, when I can overcome my laziness. It is not that I need one. My 4-gauge set is in a friends workshop. But it must be rewarding to create such a thing yourself, using the cheapest parts imaginable. The challenge will be to have exactly the right damping ofcourse. In spring I'd like to see if a thin straw (the small Ø WD-40 cans have) can do the trick. It will take some experimenting. I guess one needs extra long vinyl tubes that almost reach the ceiling. For fluid I suppose red ATF will be fine.

[robvangulik]

Hardly worth the trouble IMHO, my set, which I made wih 4 (cheap) gauges from an autoshop some 35 years ago, is mostly used for other bikes than my own.

[Deltarider]

Back then I bought a quite expensive EFKA set. I have used it maybe three times max, so I'd better saved the money. I have never used a Carbtune. I guess it is easy to work with. Still I wonder if gauges are not superior in one aspect, knowing you can not only monitor the vacuum but also the response in time when you snap the throttle open and close. I mean when you see one needle return slower than the others, you know that carb is still not OK. I don't know if a Carbtune reacts the same way, by not only showing the vacuum but also that eventual hesitation to drop. I hope I made clear what I mean.

[robvangulik]

I never regretted going to the trouble of buying mine, always worked just fine, used many times, but like I wrote, once done right it doesn't need doing again for years on the same bike. My friends are happy anyway