Throttle body balancer

pitrat101

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Decided to give the old girl some attention, while Denzo is doing his magic on my suspension, I've given the bike a full service, just throttle body's left to balance (never done this before!). Just wondered what the best tool is for balancing throttle body's on 2012 TC, seems to be a lot of balance gauges out there! don't really want to pay through the nose for something only going to once in a blue moon.

Thanks

Steve
 
I have a few different sets including some very accurate ministry gauges but the set I always end up using is the carbtune pro as in this ebay listing.
eBay item number:352772421572
Although they can be found cheaper than this.
But it is down to what suits the individual.
 
You only need to adjust one side and the right side is the one Mikeyboy demonstrated to me years ago so that's been good enough ever since. I use a TwinMax to check for balance and it seems to work for me although there are professionals around who've no time for them but don't say why. Douse the adjuster in release fluid a few times as they have been known to stick.
 
Different bike, but it shows the cheapest and most accurate way of comparing the vacuum between the cylinders.



The details of the adjustments are described in the repair manual.
 
A Harmoniser is one of the best tools for balancing throttle bodys

However with Grom's passing they are very scarce.

I did hear Groms family have sold the rights to the Harmoniser, and new units are manufactured from time to time.


Some of the original parts are no longer available but alternatives are being investigated

It remains the Unicorn horn of GS ownership
 
Thanks guys, i like the look of the home made one, simple is my friend! just one thing how do you know which side is out? Do you just open the low one up till its balanced?
 
Thanks guys, i like the look of the home made one, simple is my friend! just one thing how do you know which side is out? Do you just open the low one up till its balanced?



Set up the #1 cylinder (left) as you want it and regard it as master, then adjust the #2 to match (slave). Doesn't really matter which one you choose as the master, the clue is to be able to do all the balancing by adjusting only the cylinder you have chosen to be the slave.
 
Different bike, but it shows the cheapest and most accurate way of comparing the vacuum between the cylinders.



The details of the adjustments are described in the repair manual.

Is there a download for repair manual, can it be seen online?
 
On the 1200, I thought the steppers had to be parked or disconnected?

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk
 
On a 1200, the stepper motors ARE the idle. There is no adjustment. Just electronic calibration.

You adjust the RH Throttle to the LH throttle at around 4000 RPM on a warm engine. It's very easy. Just make sure you maintain freeplay in the cables and check freeplay on both steering locks.

They need doing so infrequently that it's probably cheaper to pay a shop to do once every five years than buy the kit yourself.
 
On a 1200, the stepper motors ARE the idle. There is no adjustment. Just electronic calibration.

You adjust the RH Throttle to the LH throttle at around 4000 RPM on a warm engine. It's very easy. Just make sure you maintain freeplay in the cables and check freeplay on both steering locks.

They need doing so infrequently that it's probably cheaper to pay a shop to do once every five years than buy the kit yourself.
But the idle is irrelevant if you're balancing as surely you're checking/adjusting on the throttle, not idle? Anyway, just looked at that jvb link and interestingly he says he can't tell the difference if he disconnects the steppers or not.

And you're probably right about the frequency of adjustment

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk
 
Length of silicon hose, nail it to a board and pour in some Scottoiler lube, it’s coloured, it’s got some viscosity to it which lets damp the motion, and by my reckoning less likely to do massive harm than water in the tubes.made one in 2008 still going strong
 
I made my own like in the link. Long length of clear hose and ATF i think. Works really well and is so simple when you actually use.it. Very satisfying
I do have a GS911 so i could park the stepper motors.
 
A Harmoniser is one of the best tools for balancing throttle bodys

However with Grom's passing they are very scarce.

I did hear Groms family have sold the rights to the Harmoniser, and new units are manufactured from time to time.


Some of the original parts are no longer available but alternatives are being investigated

It remains the Unicorn horn of GS ownership

I helped Grom develop the Harmonizer. I have a Mk1, 2 and 3 model, as well as two of the final released version. They are superb, the best synchronising tool available. We were starting on a 4 cylinder model when he passed away.
 
I did one of these home made efforts for my twin cam, grand total of £8 it cost and works brilliantly.

Post here
Got the throttle bodies synchronised today with my new homemade manometer. GS911 pain in the behind getting it upto operating temp but that was the hardest part.



Did over 80miles tonight and feels much better.
 
The important thing to keep in mind when balancing the throttle valves is to understand what you really want to obtain.

The adjustment as such is merely adjusting the length of one throttle cable vs the other one.

The idle actuators are used for upping the idle when the engine is cold, and it does this by pushing the butterfly valve partly open. Hence, the importance of ensuring no interference from the idle actuator. This may be done by using the GS911 or similar device.

When at idle, the butterfly valves are resting on the stops. These stops are adjusted at the factory, and should NEVER be touched.

The throttle cables should allow the butterfly valve to stay at idle without any tension from the cables (resting on the stops), thus the cables should be adjusted in such a way that when opening up the throttle you first pick up the play.

The BMW procedure then focus on an even pickup. I.e when slowly you open the throttle, you tension up the play of the cable, and then the butterfly starts to open. And the focus in on this opening happens at the exact same time to both cylinders. Therefor the procedure calls for setting up both cables with a bit of play, then setting the left cable to start opening up with the minimum of play. and the right throttle a little bit more.

With the instrument connected (electronic one or home made) the aim is to adjust the right cylinder in a such a way that both butterflies opens simultaneously. I.e they focus more on the synchronization on the opening point rather than exact equal vacuum.

Keep in mind that while the throttle cables and the butterfly is purely mechanical, the vacuum reflects the amount of air flowing through to the engine. This is ofcourse affected by the opening of the butterfly valve, but it is also influenced by the engine valves adjustment, obstructions in the intake channel and possible minor leak in the induction system.

So.. rather than readjusting the throttle cables at a higher RPM, the BMW focus is on accepting a potential difference. They do however specify a maximum difference, meaning that if the difference is too large (remember that at this point, both butterflies are at the exact same angle), there must be a leak , an obstruction or the valves out of adjustment.

With this in mind, the importance of a reading system is not as much exact accuracy as is the response time. Unless you have an electronic system that is dead on calibrated with a mBar reading, even the simplest and cheapest system is as good as any.

Personally I'm all for the simplest system (as linked). It is VERY sensitive, (I use it on my vintage boxer, and you can hardly even touch the cable adjustment before it shows a difference. I also use two-stroke oil. It's red, easily visible, it's thin, and it's made to be run through the engine, handy in case i screw up, like one hose popping off and the oil is sucked into the engine).



Then you may think: Exact equal vacuum to both sylinders is important for the equal proper fueling of the engine, hence a more smooth running engine.

I is true that if one cylinder puts out more power than the other one, this will cause the engine to run less smooth. Hence the requirement for the maximum allowable difference.
But as for the fueling, remember that the R1200 (different from the 1100/1150) engine has an O2 sensor for each cylinder, and whatever the amount of air that enters the cylinder, the amount of fuel added is optimized based on feedback from the O2 sensor.
 
I helped Grom develop the Harmonizer. I have a Mk1, 2 and 3 model, as well as two of the final released version. They are superb, the best synchronising tool available. We were starting on a 4 cylinder model when he passed away.

I know you showed me ;) , didn't make me jealous at all, no, not one little bit ;) :( :tears

To be fair though Ii think i could count on one hand the amount of times i would use it .

Have you seen the latest versions? are they much improved over the originals
 
The important thing to keep in mind when balancing the throttle valves is to understand what you really want to obtain.

The adjustment as such is merely adjusting the length of one throttle cable vs the other one.


The throttle cables should allow the butterfly valve to stay at idle without any tension from the cables (resting on the stops), thus the cables should be adjusted in such a way that when opening up the throttle you first pick up the play.

That's why i adjust which ever side is furthest out, i don't do the adjust the right to match the left. If the left has more play what's the point of adjusting the right to match it :D, adjust the right and you'll have a better response and more a controllable throttle.
If one's a bit tight and the other a bit loose then adjust them both.
You can see which is furthest out by the pick up readings on the gauges.

It's a very simple 2 minute procedure that people can turn into a 20+ minute confusing drama.


Of course the 1100 models with single throttle cable for both throttle bodies and three adjusting points for the cables is another thing altogether, and makes your 13 elaborate paragraphs redundant :D

I know you showed me ;) , didn't make me jealous at all, no, not one little bit ;) :( :tears

To be fair though Ii think i could count on one hand the amount of times i would use it .

Have you seen the latest versions? are they much improved over the originals

I haven't tried any of the latest versions... i have a few harmonizers, a set of Mercury gauges and a set of Carbtune rod gauges.......
Forget the twinmax, awful things to use and no where near accurate as the other available option.
I sold my twinmax to a GSer who does a lot of work on various bikes, and did warn him before he bought it. A couple weeks later he sold it and said he should've listened to me. :D
 


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