Lectron Carb

[singletracker]

As some of you may know I was fed up with having to keep a close eye on the air seal at the bell of my carb and air box, so I bought a new carb. I know there are other fixes, but I was also looking for a little better power at high and low RPM's and better fuel mileage.

I probably wouldn't have even considered getting a new carb if it wasn't for all of the talk about APT's Smart Carb. Strangely enough I didn't even know Lectron existed until it was brought up in the SC thread.

Anyway, I didn't want to wait until May 1 to get a SC, and after researching the Lectron and speaking to the owner of the company I was convinced that it's on par with the SC regarding performance and may have an advantage or two. I would feel much better about the SC if they had all of their bugs worked out, and there were reviews to back it up. Specifically, the cable fitting issues and the engine flooding. One of the selling points for me regarding the Lectron was that they set up the carb for my bike, riding conditions and type of racing. Before they shipped it they even put it on a dyno to make sure all was in good order. I also like the fact that it has vents so I don't have to worry about it flooding my bike any worse than a normal carb. Hey, it's worked for years so why change it? I know why, but I'll probably kill more trees by running in to them than leaking gas.

The good news; IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS GOING TO FIX MY FITMENT ISSUE! WOO, HOO! Its about 6.7 mm longer and the bell is about 2.8mm smaller in diameter, so it fits nice and snug now. I don't think I'll have to worry about the clamp coming off now.

The bad news; I had to modify my stock cable to give it more slack. It barely had enough slack with the stock carb, and since this one sits back a little further I had to reroute the cable slightly and cut off about 16mm of the cable housing to give me the slack I needed. It still just barely has enough, but it should work. All it cost me was a little time. Of course they have a cable that they'll sell you if you want to go that route.

I got the adjustable power jet so I won't have to take it apart to adjust the top end. Once the metering rod is set I shouldn't ever have to take the carb apart at all, and there is a good chance that the metering rod won't have to be touched to begin with since its been dialed in for my bike at the factory. The owner of Lectron, Kevin, said that once it's set the only thing I should ever have to adjust is the idle screw and that's if I have more than a 2,000 foot elevation change. That's something I don't have to worry about around here.

Unfortunately, I don't have a ride report yet. I still have a few other things to put back on the bike, and I've been down in the back today. Hopefully, I'll get a short ride on it before the end of the week. More to come.

 

[Jakobi]

Really looking forward to your ride report. I jumped the gun, bought the hype and placed my preorder on the smart carb cast version. I'm hoping I don't regret the purchase.

 

[nambo-trev]

I'm very interested in your ride report as well! What did lectron say(if anything) about the differences benefits or not about the lectron compared to the smart carb?

 

[gasgasman]

Nice and compact.
How is access to the choke knob?

 

[singletracker]

I'm very interested in your ride report as well! What did lectron say(if anything) about the differences benefits or not about the lectron compared to the smart carb?

I mentioned to him that the only reason I knew about his carb was because of the SC, and he casually acknowledged them. I'm paraphrasing here, but he went on to say that companies have tried to duplicate the Lectron but they are unable to. He said the metering rod isn't a straight taper, so to speak, and that it can't be duplicated. Later he also mentioned that Lectron is the only company that puts every carb on a dyno.

I haven't spoken directly to anyone from Smart Carb, and I don't want to come across as slamming them in any way.

 

[singletracker]

Nice and compact.
How is access to the choke knob?

It looks like it will be a bit of a reach, but I haven't tried it while on the bike yet. I read elsewhere that they have a lever type that sticks out to the left side of the bike for easier access though. If this is too much of a pain I may ask them about it.

 

[GMP]

The biggest difference I see is the air density compensation, and the "scoop" in the bell and lack of vents needed to accomplish this. The Lectron has a large selection of metering rods they pick from at the factory to get you close. Keep us posted, Kelly thought it was good, but the SC was perhaps a little better. I went with the cast SC because the billet is just too expensive and bulky, I can't ride here until March anyway, there are only two races before May 1st, and I have the Keihin dialed in very well. I'm hoping to smooth the power a bit and add a little grunt, as this bike seems to have more of a mid/top personality with a little more hit than my '07.

 

[nambo-trev]

What about fuel atomization and fuel economy? I wonder if there both pretty much on par with each other? It just seems strange to me that lectron hasn't been as big of a topic(if at all) and the SC is coming into the picture as a revalation to most people so to speak?? Is the only thing the SC have over the lectron a broader range in terms of elevation? I don't want to ask Corey or Kevin because there opinions will undoubtably be somewhat biased as would mine if I owned the company. I too am not trying to knock one for the other but the lectron is almost 100 bucks cheaper and I don't ride outside of a 1500ft elevation change.

 

[GMP]

I think its more than just a correction for altitude and temp. Its also a correction for engine tolerances and the different signal they create. Look at how Keihin jetting varies. The SC has what is essentially a feedback loop, so any differences in demand are a wash once corrected, and the initial metering rod adjustment made. This is why they can use just one metering rod for a wide range of applications. No need for an array of multi tapers, its all done by the variable fuel pressure in the bowl in relation to the vacuum signal at the rod/nozzle. You adjust the OVERALL mixture by the mechanical position of the rod, and its taken care of at different points in throttle position.

The only thing I can see being perceived as a limitation is that there is no way to intentionally tune a certain area alone slightly rich or lean, like is done in the case of mellowing out a 300. On the flip side, this is usually done as an alternative to needles/settings with less than linear characteristics, that we just happen to be bound to due to availability. This is a very different way to think about fuel delivery.

 

[singletracker]

When I mentioned to Kevin from Lectron that I read Kelly's reviews, he stated that he was really pleased that Kelly was so happy with the carb considering he sent him a generic carb that wasn't completely set up for him.

From the research that I've done it seems that Lectron made some significant advances in their product in the past five years. It appears that it was more of a drag race carb prior to the new ownership and recent advancements in technology.

In Kelly's latest review he made an adjustment to the Lectron for the first time, and said;

"Also got some testing in yesterday. Dropped the rod 1/2 turn (super EZ to do). While my bike seemed to run perfect before the plug read slightly rich. The leaning of the rod made it more snappy. I also richened the power jet (twist the external knob) and that to added top end. Seems perfecter now. :>) Carb still runs flawless from bottom to top. Buddy Ken with a KTM 350 tried it and really liked it. He said "wow, that carb is different, I see what you mean, fluid smooth power everywhere with zero glitchs""

I'm anxious to see for myself how it works on the GasGas.

BTW, it sounds like GMP knows a lot more about how these carbs work than I do.

 

[Fred1956]

It appears that the SC has more circuits that help it with the 'extra' compensation. I had a Lectron back in the late 70s and loved it. The metering rod on the 'new' generation Lectrons is vastly superior to what was available in the 70s. A rod can be ground that is similar to fuel mapping on fuel injection thanks to computer grinding techniques. The Lectrons appears to be 'simpler' than the SC while still doing all or most of the the same functions. + Lectron has been around for 30 years. You are right about "where have they been" though, the drag racers got wind a long time ago about the simplicity of the Lectron and kind of took over the Lectron market, as far as temperature and altitude compensation, check the snowmobile guys, they are running the same Lectron at the winter drags and the summer grass drags.... The SC is the bomb diggety but I don't think the Lectron is a bad choice either Just my .02 worth

 

[desertgasser300]

How strong is that plastic float bowl?

 

[singletracker]

I don't know yet, but it seems to be the preferred bowl. They have an option to get a billet one if you want.

http://www.lectronfuelsystems.com/products/parts-1.html

 

[GMP]

I think that they are both good. The SC just has a little more smarts designed in. If a cast version was not available for a reasonable price I would not spend twice that on the billet. I make it a point to understand how something works, and decide if its worth it before spending the $$.

 

[hannesd]

i'm in for one of the 2,either Lectron or the cast SC, wichever is sooner available at a reasonable price (+ reasonable shipping price!!) shipped to Europe.
i like a clean running 2 stroke, and it's got a better fuel economy too, so it's a winner for me, extra power/smoothness throughout the entire revs is yummie


ciao, Hannes.

 

[singletracker]

I had a chance to put about 50 minutes of test time on it today. First off we're going through a January thaw, so the conditions consisted of slop, snow, and slop over frozen ground. Good times!

For starters it starts. Yaa! It took a few kicks to start it the first time because I thought I had the choke engaged but it wasn't. After that it started first kick whether it was in gear or not. That's a relief. It should be good for HS starts.

The idle was set high from the factory, but that was about a 5 second fix that didn't require any tools. It idles very smooooth.

The top end is way stronger than its been in the past. Before getting this carb I decided to buy a Turbine Core 2 to see if that would help the top end, but it isn't needed now. I'm glad the trade with twowheels for a Turbine Core 2 fell through. I don't think I'll get gobbled up in the open fields any more! It's even more impressive because Kevin told me that he purposely set the power jet rich, and that I would need to lean it out some. I guess that means it can get even better than it is because I never touched the power jet.

The mid is quite stellar also with no transition from mid to top. Just a strong pull all the way through. My front end is definitely lighter now even in the slop today.

The bottom end has very good torque, but I'm looking forward to testing it in better conditions. The only thing I noticed is that when at idle and blipping the throttle it could have a tad more spunk, but it never stumbled. Maybe it was spinning out a little? Actually it was very predictable and gives very good low end throttle control. I slowed to a very slow crawl and let the bike idle while in second gear and it ran for quite awhile before it finally died. I thought it was pretty impressive.

Even though I was happy with the way it ran I decided to adjust the metering rod a couple of times to feel the difference. The metering rod only effects mid and bottom end. I leaned it out a 1/4 of a turn to start with, and I could definitely tell a difference it was a little weaker on bottom and had a little hit in the mid range. Didn't like it....too lean. I adjusted it richer than stock next, and it ran very good again, but I can't say that it was any better than how it came from the factory. I think they had it dialed in to a gnats ass. I'm going to switch back to the stock setting before the next ride. The cool thing is I may never have to adjust it again. It took me about 15 minutes the first time since I had to read the instructions. The second time I would've had it done in about 5 minutes if only I could have hit the hole with the metering rod. I need more practice. Once I figured out what to do it was wham bam thank you mam, done.

I'm very pleased with my purchase thus far. It's too soon to verify improved fuel mileage, but it's accomplishing everything else that I wanted out of it so far. Smooth, strong, controllable power, and it fits my bike better than the stock carb.

 

[john01]

Glad you like the Lectron as from what I've read it's a very good product. I just got my SmartCarb back for letting a CH member test it. I'm not sure what is different on Kelly's bike's throttle cable but hooking it back up to my bike only took a few minutes and I was up and ripping! I'm sure you like me won't miss playing with jets, needles, an air/fuel screws . Congrats.

 

[singletracker]

Glad you like the Lectron as from what I've read it's a very good product. I just got my SmartCarb back for letting a CH member test it. I'm not sure what is different on Kelly's bike's throttle cable but hooking it back up to my bike only took a few minutes and I was up and ripping! I'm sure you like me won't miss playing with jets, needles, an air/fuel screws . Congrats.

It sounds like they are both very good products. Thanks for being one of the first to jump on the bandwagon for the metering rod carbs.

 

[singletracker]

I forgot to mention that all of the testing I did was with fuel that is two months old.

I set the metering rod back to stock, and even on a dirty bike it only took about 10 minutes.

 

[Jakobi]

I'm liking what I'm hearing! Come on SC!! May may may!