Worth while to use an EGT to tune a modified kz?

For heavily modified KZ's I'm wondering if anyone had any experience tuning a motorcycle with an EGT with out a wideband. Eventually I will get it dyno tuned but any value in having an EGT meter on the bike at all times?

Hmmm I never thought about that. I have a wideband and that helped with my tuning. I'm not sure if an EGT would help of not. Any idea what baseline exhaust temps for a stock bike should be? Up till now my exhaust temp checking has been done with a laser thermometer at the head pipes to make sure all my pilot circuits are roughly the same. After that its visual check, "Is my pipe glowing orange? No, ok that's good." I would be interested to see if you move forward with an EGT.

We ran them on snowmobiles all the time without a wideband for years and years. On Rotax rotary valve engines you had to stagger jetting because of the nature of the signal the carb received through the rotary valve. One carb got a top to bottom signal while the other got a bottom to top.

Do you need it on a KZ? No. But it certainly would't hurt.

I can't see it as being a worthwhile thing for tuning. EGT is more for a steady state throttle setting like in an airplane. Or to make sure you don't exceed a maximum safe temp, again in steady state maximum power output situations, like semi's, airplanes, roadrace cars etc. By the time you get to max egt on a bike you are going so damn fast the last thing you have time for is to stare at an EGT.

Roadflyer wrote: I can't see it as being a worthwhile thing for tuning. EGT is more for a steady state throttle setting like in an airplane. Or to make sure you don't exceed a maximum safe temp, again in steady state maximum power output situations, like semi's, airplanes, roadrace cars etc. By the time you get to max egt on a bike you are going so damn fast the last thing you have time for is to stare at an EGT.

Well I did some research and apparently as long is the engine tune is the same state, despite the outside the air temp the WOT EGT reading will always be the same.

I'm thinking because you have the double dip in EGT tuning it could be useful if you follow this tuning process:

Make the bike rich, then start to lean it out and watch the heat increase. Once it starts to get too lean the temp will start to drop again, the basically dial her back a jet or two before the dip and done!

Another way would be to dyno it, get it tuned up for optimal fuel then record the EGT value at peak torque then use that as a safety that if it ever strays from that value, you can it tune accordingly.

The second question would then be where to put the probe, the documented leanest cylinder? or at the collector.

Generally, the purpose is to be able to watch each cylinder rather than the collective temp.

Yes, you are correct. I used to own an airplane with an EGT and a mixture control. The recommended procedure is a little different from each engine manufacturer. On my engine for maximum power and engine life, I would lean the mixture for maximum EGT at full throttle and then richen it up 50 degrees on the EGT, repeat every 1000' of altitude gained or lost.
For steady state cruising at 75% power or less lean the mixture for maximum EGT and go further lean on the mixture until your down 50 degrees from peak on the EGT or just short of a lean miss, whatever comes first.
Every change I made to the mixture control took at least 5 seconds for the EGT to settle out.
My EGT was digital, you would never see the difference of a single jet size with an analog meter.
The closer the probe is to the head, the quicker the response to changes but the more destructive it is to the probe. Mine was about 4 inches downstream from the head on the traditionally hottest running cylinder on my airplane. Even in the collector you may not be getting a combined reading of all 4 cylinders. An AFR meter would give you way more useful info at all throttle settings.

Hollywoodmx wrote:

Roadflyer wrote: I can't see it as being a worthwhile thing for tuning. EGT is more for a steady state throttle setting like in an airplane. Or to make sure you don't exceed a maximum safe temp, again in steady state maximum power output situations, like semi's, airplanes, roadrace cars etc. By the time you get to max egt on a bike you are going so damn fast the last thing you have time for is to stare at an EGT.

Well I did some research and apparently as long is the engine tune is the same state, despite the outside the air temp the WOT EGT reading will always be the same.

I'm thinking because you have the double dip in EGT tuning it could be useful if you follow this tuning process:

Make the bike rich, then start to lean it out and watch the heat increase. Once it starts to get too lean the temp will start to drop again, the basically dial her back a jet or two before the dip and done!

Another way would be to dyno it, get it tuned up for optimal fuel then record the EGT value at peak torque then use that as a safety that if it ever strays from that value, you can it tune accordingly.

The second question would then be where to put the probe, the documented leanest cylinder? or at the collector.

Ok well since its not that popular to use on motorcycles I will wait to see how the tuning goes with this new carb. If I am finding I need more feedback to tune, I will actually try this method.

What's the hottest cylinder on the kz 1000's? Brake or clutch middle?

I find its usually middle.

To answer your question .
NO

I tried that stuff over 25 years ago .
The ONLY way it works at all is on a dyno .