Carb balancing by ear?

Is it OK to balance curvey carbs by ear? Just like the old twin SU's on Minis etc?

Coz I have just done mine with a bit of tube in my ear and it runs far better now!!! I do have many years tuning Trials bikes and cars, but i'm not a professional!
And while i'm here my 2000 curvey has fork springs that are about 430mm long! So are they :-
An after market goodie
or just out of something else

As Im new to road bikes they seem fine to me!!

[flymo]

cant see any harm in that, but obviously it would be more accurate with a set of gauges. Unless you have the ears of a bat

[yorkie_chris]

One pot will run a bit hotter if they're out, but if it feels better then it's probably an improvement.

You can make a vaccuum gauge with some clear tubing and oil/coloured water if you haven't the money for proper gauges.

[northwind]

I got mine pretty close... But you'll never know for sure without gauges.

Originally Posted by ikb

And while i'm here my 2000 curvey has fork springs that are about 430mm long! So are they :-
An after market goodie
or just out of something else

As Im new to road bikes they seem fine to me!!

Welcome to the show

You'll get all the advice you need on balancing here.

As for the fork springs, my trust manual says fork spring free length is:

Standard 314.6mm

Service limit 308mm

So like you said they are either after market or from another bike.

Greg

The main reason for doing the balancing by ear is speed, airbox off and adjusted in 10 mins!
But I did make the mistake of reading the manual first as it said remove every thing to get to the vac ports!

[yorkie_chris]

I reckon I can do it with gauges in about the same.

Just have a bit of hose from the front pot blocked off somewhere convenient.

[northwind]

Yeah, that's a ridiculous way to go about it- just add a tail onto the front port, and you can balance the carbs in minutes in future. I did it by popping the carbs off, took no time at all to set up.

[johnnyrod]

I must have fingers like the guy in Total Recall, I can just about get the tube onto the front stub, though it is tricky and you can get burned. If I gave a monkey's i might fit the extension. Gauges all the way though.

Hey, you guys with the gauges, how much vacuum or head(in metres?) does the carb/engine produce when it is idling?.