[WindTherapy]

This was brought on by a conversation with my brother. I'm just curious really.

Has anyone, or would it even be possible to convert an EFI Thruxton or bonnie to Carburetors?

Take out all that ECU stuff and electronics and rip off the throttle boddies and install is sick set of carbs.

Would there be an ounce of benefit? Or is EFI just a better fuel delivery system?

It was just something that we started talking about and thought i'd pose the question here.

 

[Birch]

I think it would be cheaper and more practical to just sell the EFI bike and buy a carb'd bike.

I'm thinking the real differences is mapping vs. rejetting. But there's guys on here that know a whole lotta more then me.

Just seems like more trouble than it's worth, yes?

 

[killian101]

I dont think its possible...IDK for sure. be faster to sell and buy

 

[Triumph-ant]

EFI is the future. Be patient.

Ps. Don't hate me, Guys.

 

[e rock]

Syncing/jetting/needling/de-warping/cleaning carbs is a friggin nitemare if you ask me. Only downside to EFI is the ''twitchy'' on/off throttle response from zero to first twist.

 

[WindTherapy]

ok. i was just curious. So i ask you this. most of the flat track race bike's i've seen have been carb'd. why dont they go EFI?

 

[Triumph-ant]

ok. i was just curious. So i ask you this. most of the flat track race bike's i've seen have been carb'd. why dont they go EFI?

While I'm pretty much the furthest thing from an expert as possible. I'de guess that race bikes still use carbs because they're easier (for the experts) to understand and tune (at this time).

 

[Dorian999]

Also possible the Racing rules for Flat track limit them to carbs for cost control. And currently carbs have smoother throttle control for that traction that flat trackers are always fighting for.

 

[WindTherapy]

well that makes sense.

 

[JasonRP]

plus probably lighter weight, less components, cheaper for racers to use carbs..

 

[mikeinva]

As far as these bikes go for now you can make more hp with a carb bike.That could change if after market efi parts come out .But I dont think it will be as cheap as flat side carbs to get the hp out of these bikes

 

[1peter]

Making more HP sort of defeats the purpose of owning one of these bikes to me ? I have an S3 as well and no matter what i do, the Thruxton will never be an S3. I think they were deliberately designed to be something other than powerfull. To me, they are just a beautifull little bike that handle really well and because of the lack of straight line speed, will help stop you from either 1. killing yourself or 2. losing your license. Great fun without the balistic speeds, what more could you want ??

 

[Triumph-ant]

...because of the lack of straight line speed, will help stop you from either 1. killing yourself or 2. losing your license. Great fun without the balistic speeds, what more could you want ??

Great points. There have been a couple of times that I thought I would have killed myself if I was on a bike with more pull and top end speed. Maybe its my age or my family, but I'm happy with the bike. With time, it will be tuned just for my butt.

 

[WindTherapy]

i'm not complaining or hoping to get Daytona numbers out of it. The balance is just right for this bike. It's honestly still freakin quick compared to a lot of things on the road. My car seams sllloooooowwww. I like where its at i just wanted to see if the possibility was there. i think the rules statement about the AMA Flat track thought is correct. I think it may limit them to carbs.

 

[mikeinva]

No you wont get the same numbers as a s3 but you can get real close .But then your s3 wont get the numbers a kaw 14 will ether .What does a high hp bonnie have that none of the sport bikes have.They look and sound way better .There a heck of alot of fun all bike riders like them even the Hd guys.Its all in what you want guys,not everyone likes the same things.

 

[WindTherapy]

ok, here's a question. Why did Triumph switch to EFI from carbs on the thruxtons in 2009 or 2010? my brother's bike is carb'd (2008 thrux) starts easier than mine does ironicly enough. The only thing we noticed that effected him for the negetive is when we did our lassen volcanic run. Once we got above a certain elevation he had to adjust his carbs so it wouldn't die.

 

[mikeinva]

to pass epa reg

 

[welshrob]

You can get really decent numbers from an efi, for significantly less cost than buying new carbs and an airbox removal kit. Mine makes 68.5hp at the rear wheel and 56ftlbs of torque and is as smooth as treacle from open throttle right up to the 8500 redline. What it cost me was the price of some performance pipes and a K&N filter, which is a given for tuning carb AND efi bikes, $20 for an OBD2 cable and $140 for the correct tune from Triumph Twin Power. Add about 10 minutes of my time to download the tune and an hour to remove the airbox baffle.

It is IMHO, the best bang for your buck and by far the easiest way to go faster and it`s easy to do at home, even with limited mechanical knowledge. If you want serious horsepower, have plenty of money and want to start fitting cams, big bore kits etc then as others have pointed out carbs are probably your best bet.

 

[Danbuc]

I used to be one of the guys that said, "Want more power? Buy a second faster bike!". Well I did, and I still want pods and cams for my thruxton anyway lol.

The real problem is that any more significant amount of power, and your braking and handling becomes grossly inadequate. It's be really nice to have a thruxton with the power to do 130+, but being able to control that power costs money too. Hence why I have done nothing.


Thought about carb switch too. I'm sure it could be done. Find a junked carb bike and pull the wiring harness, carbs, and cluster, and tank. Everything else is the same. Could prob snag all that for under a grand.

Then again, i do like know I'll never have to fiddle with the bike to get it to start and idle.

 

[mikeinva]

I used to be one of the guys that said, "Want more power? Buy a second faster bike!". Well I did, and I still want pods and cams for my thruxton anyway lol.

The real problem is that any more significant amount of power, and your braking and handling becomes grossly inadequate. It's be really nice to have a thruxton with the power to do 130+, but being able to control that power costs money too. Hence why I have done nothing.


Thought about carb switch too. I'm sure it could be done. Find a junked carb bike and pull the wiring harness, carbs, and cluster, and tank. Everything else is the same. Could prob snag all that for under a grand.

Then again, i do like know I'll never have to fiddle with the bike to get it to start and idle.

You have a good point about the bike not handleing all the hp you can get out of it but thats what makes them fun lol.Its up to the ryder to know how far he can push the bike.But I grew up rideing bikes with out the good tires and brakes bikes have now so I like it when its gets about out of control lol.but then i am not right anyway I grew up drag raceing h2 kaw back in the 70s.Now those are totaly out of control lol.But damn fun to hang on to.You can get up to 115hp on the rear wheel with these bikes and near 80ft/lbs.
that would be around 128 hp at the crank like triumph rates there bikes so the S3 would have a few more hp but the 1087 bonnie would make more torque and at a lower rpm.