Just read in an article of popular science that if your riding along and maybe you hit something hard, or for whatever your engine stops running due to carb problems, you can get yourself a makeshift fuel injection. at least till you get home.  Take a bic ballpoint pen, empty the guts out, but keep the little plastic end cap on there. stick the open end of the pen, where the point was, into your fule line, and secure the pen to the intake end of your carb with that tiny little hole in the side of the pen facing into the carb body. (forgot to mention your gonna have to move your airbox, or lunchbox.  Now you wont be able to idle to well, or run fully open, but itll at least get you somewhere where you fix the problem.

Anyone ever done this before?  im anticpating an answer from Budha.

I wouldnt like the idea of fuel flowing like that without control over it.  newtons laws of motion say the fuel will want to drip backwards when accelerating, and you dont want gas running down the back of your motor would you?  I can see it applying on a car though, where it could drip down into the carb since the throttle body on it is pointing up instead of backwards

yea your going fowards, but the engine is sucking it in

theoretically, but I wouldn't want to take the risk.  I used to do something similar on my old cavalier though, had a small pump to pump gas into the throttle body for easier cold weather starting. hit the switch for a few seconds, and it wud fire right up everytime

Its Bernoullis principle, or the venturi effect and I wouldnt term it as `fuel injection` simply on the basis that it is not being injected  
In theory yeah it might work but for there to be enough vacuum to draw the fuel out through the venturi (hole), then for it to mix with air and stay within the upper and lower explosive limits needed for combustion relative to throttle opening, prior to passing through the carb would require something approaching an act of God!!!

Interesting disscusion point, personally I see far to many variables with the notion and will take it with a pinch of salt and believe it when I see it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venturi_effect

without calibration of fuel flow it could only work at one load. Likely not a load that is within actual envelope.

Quote from: gregvhen on December 02, 2009, 04:50:59 PM
Just read in an article of popular science

...written by somone who has never tried it, and doesn't know what fuel injection is. "Popular" gets a lot more attention than "science" in that rag. Much less applied science, aka engineering. Deadline approaching, 3 sheets to wind, MacGyver reruns on the television, = bad article. Editors just as ignorant == bad article printed in magazine.

Suggest you try it, and write a letter to the editor after you try it.  Perhaps sue them from the burn ward, depending how it goes. 

Keep the crap out of your carbs, and/or remove it regularly with the drains, and don't let them sit full of gas while the bike is stored, drain or use stabilizer on fuel in tank as well for storage == no problems with carbs for a long, long time. You generally get plenty of warning for carb problems - fix when it's running badly or on one cylinder and you'll never waste time proving a bic pen won't actually work.

I don't have the slightest clue what I'm supposed to be doing with a big pen. How do I put it in the fuel line, and what little hole are we talking about??

My favorite big pen trick, is to pull everything out of the white tube, so it's completely hollow and you could use it like a straw if you wanted, then you lay it at the edge of a table, put your thumbs on it evenly spaced, and push down on it really hard, and only ever so slightly pull back a little bit so when you're putting enough pressure on it it will pop forward out from under your thumbs, and it just floats away.

Quote from: DoD#i on December 02, 2009, 08:18:41 PM

Quote from: gregvhen on December 02, 2009, 04:50:59 PM
Just read in an article of popular science

...written by somone who has never tried it, and doesn't know what fuel injection is. "Popular" gets a lot more attention than "science" in that rag. Much less applied science, aka engineering. Deadline approaching, 3 sheets to wind, MacGyver reruns on the television, = bad article. Editors just as ignorant == bad article printed in magazine.

Suggest you try it, and write a letter to the editor after you try it.  Perhaps sue them from the burn ward, depending how it goes. 

Keep the crap out of your carbs, and/or remove it regularly with the drains, and don't let them sit full of gas while the bike is stored, drain or use stabilizer on fuel in tank as well for storage == no problems with carbs for a long, long time. You generally get plenty of warning for carb problems - fix when it's running badly or on one cylinder and you'll never waste time proving a bic pen won't actually work.

Hater. How do you know they havent tried it? and yea they and i know its not actual fuel injection, it was printed in the magizine with them intending it to be helpful advice for people whove been stranded with their dune buggy, or four wheeler or other vehicle with the carb facing up, yea tight, its not REAL fuel injection, they know that and so does everybody else.  And its not putting any crap in your carbs other than gas.  Or gas all of sudden not good for your carbs anymore?