Can anyone identify

[Rsw]

That is a Trike Shop trike now that I seen the face plate. The front end is not a springer, it's Leading Link.

[DeathBySnuSnu]

How much carb and head are you running? I have a stroker also. Fun to have enough motor to pull big gears.

Have fun. Enjoy.

[vwmaniac]

That does look to be a Corsair body or a clone of a Corsair. Does the face plate look like mine??

Well how about that my face plate looks like yours too, guess I have a Corsair trike body after all. Grinn.
Among others too.

[Ozarkryder]

The medallion on fairing in front of the windshield and the triangle above the licence plate looks to be from the Trike Shop, but I'd need a clearer view to be absolutely sure. If it is a "V" with the word "CYCLE" top to bottom that would be a Trike Shop brand logo for the V-Cycle, the VW based trike line as opposed to the GL1500 kit called the "Ultimate" that had fenders with skirts that looked like large GW saddlebags.

[Jcrenken]

Ozark you are right, it is a Trike Shop build from 1980. Built in Anoka Minnesota By Dick and the gang. Then there was a lawsuit, the rest is Trike history.

So what does it mean how much carb and head am I running?

Also with the specs that I listed above, what kind of spark plugs should I burn? Zex nitrous or Iridium. Whats a smart choice.

And finally, my cousin says this runs best on av fuel. Hmmm

[Jcrenken]

ok so after the whole summer in the shop, .....rebuilt heads, carbs, front end, I got it back and still having misfire problems from the left side. So I tore the carb apart and found one of the top accelerator pump jets plugged. cleared it and it runs smoother, however now the exhaust from that side is only lukewarm as opposed to the right side which is very hot. Any suggestions? 2180cc 92jugs 84 cam, dual weber IDF 44's.

[dextlc45]

I believe that is a V-Cycle, made by The Trike Shop. It looks like the dragon wagon. (Photos in the gallery section)

[DeathBySnuSnu]

The big Webers are very tunable, but they are picky.

I have to remove and blow out my low speed jets all the time. I would guess that they are so small in diameter that anything sticks in them and the cylinder that one is on starts cracking and popping.
Every tank of gas runs differently also. I reduced the compression on mine and it helped with that though.
I dont know what compression, or how much (or modified) your heads area, or how much (or large) of cam you run. If you are using stock heads on that large of motor, or a small cam, then the two two barrel webers are a bit of overkill. Under around 4000 rpm a set of large single barrels tend to be less of a headache to keep running correctly.

If your using ported heads the manifold gasket area gets real small. Check gasket for vacuum leaks.

Clean the carbs and blow out the low speed jets.

Idle air bleeds screwed all the way in closed and leave them there.

Idle fuel screw out 1.5 turns.

Start balancing there. Adjust side to side with air flow meter untill you get the throttle position in sync. The butterflys opening the same on all bores at idle.

Make sure the throttle linkage that ties the carbs to the cable pull is good and solid, pulls straight and dont flex. Adjust on it untill both carbs pick up and move exactly the same.

Start driving it and buying jets to suit your engine.

It sounds like you are out of sync with the carbs. The cool side being not as much throttle as the hot side.

I use plain Bosch spark plugs, but will try something better once I go to true modern electronic distributerless ignition. I am still running a 009 and points.

AV gas is ok I suppose, but really just need the higher octane fuel. The combustion chamber temperatures are high on an air cooled engine, so you need the octane rating.

Sorry to be so long and rambling.

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Here are some instructions from the tuning book.

Venturi selection - For engines that rev pretty high (6000-7000 rpm), you are best off choosing vents that are about 2 to 4mm smaller than your intake valve size.

For engines that are set up for torque, like bus engines, and other torque-happy applications, you can go a little smaller on the vents and get better low end response. For these, I'd recommend 4 to 6mm smaller than your intake valve size.

So what happens if your vents are too big? You'll have reduced air-speed at low RPMs, which makes tuning harder. Air speed is one of the things that tells your different fuel circuits when to start to come on. It will be soggy down low.

So what happens if your vents are too small? The undersized vents will restrict your engine's ability to breathe at higher RPMs.

How critical is it? Not terribly, but if you're way off it will matter, and you will feel it. Putting 40 vents in a set of 44 IDFs with 40mm intake valves will be pretty soggy down low. Sticking with the 36's would be about right. Putting 28 vents into a set of 40 IDFs on an engine with 40mm intake valves will limit your top end noticeably as well. A set of 44 IDFs, for example, can me made to work on many engine sizes with the standard 36 vents, but you might find that you could optimize them better if you are willing to spend the money and try some different vents that would be ideal for your application.

A few notes about jets
More recently made jets are a little different in shape from the standard ones made by Weber, and there are some characteristics of them that could use a little attention. The key thing to watch out for when installing new jets is blockage and burrs. Don't assume that they're clean out of the package. Many have little bits of crap in them that will cause you misery if you just install them. Clean them out with carb spray and look in them to make sure you have them clean. =_blank&tp=inuvo&link_id=-10391983&cid=974&pid=1]Compressed air is very handy too for blowing them out after you spray them. Get them clean and dry before you install them. Many have burrs along the split areas where they compress to fit into your jet stack or idle jet holder. Inspect for this and get it cleaned off before you install them, or the burrs can chip off and fall into the stack or holder, causing blockage. Check it all. I like to clean them, install them in the holders or stacks, and then pull them out and clean it again, to be sure.. Then you know if anything was going to chip off it did, and has been cleaned out.

It's wise to invest in a set of jet gauges to inspect the jets you use, to make sure they have not been changed. If you trust the stamped or screened writing, you might end up with results you do not expect. I've had them come to me sized wrong a couple times. While I don't like to ream jets, I think having a reamer/sizer is handy for checking them, and sizing them in a pinch. I personally think it is a wise (albeit expensive) choice to have an arsenal of correctly sized jets of all increments around the range that you need to use, but that's something you will likely accrue if you build a few different sized engines with some different combinations of carbs.

Idle jetting
Once you've settled on your vents and your carbs are adjusted and cleaned up, you can choose your idle jet size. I've noted a formula in the books (basically 1.6 * vent size) for idle jet sizes, and I have to say that vent size has little to do with idle jets, on the vw engine at least. More efficient engines can benefit from leaner idle jets, and less efficient engines probably need a little more. 50-60 is the range, and there is a trend toward larger jets for larger carb bodies. The throttle plate size is a key factor.
Idle jets are usually 45-65 in size, mostly in the 55 range. The rule is typically to multiply the vent size x 1.6 to arrive at your rough idle jet size, but what I've seen is that 50 to 55 is mainstream for about any 40 or 44 IDF. 55's will make sure you're not leaning out when you are tuning, so I start with those.

Before you do any more, MAKE SURE the air bypass screws are CLOSED. These are the little screws and lock nuts that are next to the mixture screws. If they are not closed, you'll probably never get it jetted right.
Now. This article assumes that your engine is in top notch condition before you go about tuning the carbs. That means general engine health, timing, dwell, fuel delivery, fuel quality, all the way down the list. And all THAT's another subject.
After installing your idle jets, you close the idle mixture screws and unscrew them all about the same amount, maybe about 1.5 turns out. Then, with your linkage disconnected, unscrew the idle speed screws (the ones the throttle arms rest on) until they are no longer touching the arms, and then turn them back until they are JUST touching. Now turn them in another half turn or so. Start the engine, and after you get it warmed up a little, see if it will idle ok. Now get your synchrometer (Unisyns suck, get a snail if you don't have one) and use the idle speed screws to even it out, and get you to a reasonable idle speed. Not too fast, keep the idle speed down for now, and get it even. If not then turn each mixture screw out another turn. If it STILL will not idle well, then your idle jets could be too small. Now get your synchrometer and use the idle speed screws to even it out, and get you to a reasonable idle speed. Not too fast, keep the idle speed down for now, and get it even using the snail. The snail readings at a proper idle should be between 4 and 6 or so.
Now go to each mixture screw one at a time and slowly turn it in (by slowly, turn it about 1/8 to 1/4 turn at a time and stop and wait for the response of the engine for a few seconds) until the engine begins to slow down (you'll be leaning out a cylinder). Now slowly back the screw back out (same method you used to screw it in) until that cylinder starts to pick up again and run smooth. This is the critical point in the mixture adjustment. Slowly open the screw a little more at a time until you reach a maximum idle speed. Don't go any further! If you're not sure, stop there, screw in back in until the idle drops, and then start to back it out again until you feel confident you have unscrewed the minimum amount that you have to in order to get max idle speed from that screw. Move on to the next cylinder. Do this until you have done all 4 cylinders.

Now back to the synchrometer. Get them as close to the same as you can, and at the target idle speed you want. 800-900 is a reasonable range. Lower you can get and live with it, the better IMO.
You're getting close now. Repeat the idle mixture procedure and when that is done, if your idle is right, you're done with the idle settings for now. If your idle is now off, go back to the synchrometer and idle speed screws.

These iterations help you trim it out - you start low on idle, get your mixture right, and then move the idle up, and check mixture again, and if you have to adjust your mixture to the point that it messes up your idle, then you adjust that, and mixtures one more time and you should have it. If you don't have it by now, you are probably doing something wrong.
So what do you do if two barrels on one of your carbs are not flowing the same? If it's only about quarter point or less, don't sweat it - it's most likely to affect your idle more than anything, maybe a weaker or more eager barrel at idle. If it is more than that, your carbs need attention, namely that the throttle shaft may be bent, or there may be a problem with the butterfly plate or its alignment, or something else causing different air flow. Some people recommend using the air bypass screws to adjust it, and this does help, but if it's more than a point off, it will cause problems that the air bypass can't account for. They need to be FIXED if this is the case. I never use the air bypass screws for more than about a point of difference.

Main jetting
Now with the idle jetting done, main jets are next in line. Assuming F11 emulsion tubes, your starting point for main jets is about 4.1 to 4.3 x the vent size. So for a 36 vent, your main jet should be roughly 145 to 155 to start. 150's a good choice to start with unless you're feeling lucky, in which case you can start with a 145. With a 145-150 main jet, you'll be pretty close with a 36 vent. Similar rules work for smaller and larger vents, though once you get past 40mm vents, the rules don't seem to apply so well.

Air jetting
Air jets are more empirical, but a good starting point for them is about 200 if you have 145 mains. If your mains are considerably smaller, like 135 or 115 or something, a 160 to 180 air jet is a better place to start. Start there and don't mess with them until you know the other jets are right.

Synchronization
This is a topic that does not get enough attention. Synchronization is EVERYTHING after the jetting is done. Synchronization will such a difference in the way it runs you just can't believe it when they are right. Unfortunately all the linkage that is out there has certain characteristics that keep your synchronization from being perfect all the time, so all you can do is get it close and keep after it every once in a while.

The biggest problem with synchronization is keeping the geometry correct. This is hard to understand without illustrations of why, but if you just trust that it's important, you can avoid all the rest.
Linkage
There are different kinds of linkage out there, and a lot of people use crossbar linkage, while some others use bellcrank type linkage. Each one has its application, but I prefer bellcrank when I can use it and can get good linkage.
Crossbar linkage: How to ensure that your downrods have the right geometry

With your downrods, if you can position the crossbar arms so that your downrods are vertical (left to right), that will help matters, and complicate the situation less. Once you have achieved that, you can work on making sure that they are both at the same angle (leaning from front to back of the car). Use an angle finder, and read what the rods are, and use washers to get them the same. There shouldn't be a lot of difference to start with, if you have the right linkage for your setup. Different intake manifold types (offset versus straight) will use different linkage setups. If your crossbar is sitting at an angle with respect to your fanshroud, you have the wrong linkage.

Once your downrods are at the same angle side for side, then your synchronization will be easier, because the throttles should now be offsetting the same amount on each side throughout the full range.

Now, to synch your carbs, loosen the nuts on one downrod, and use the rod's opposed threads to set the carbs so they are opening at the same time. Be careful when doing this (I do it with the engine off) so that you don't open them a lot too many times.. you'll dump a bunch of fuel into the engine if you do. When you test, make sure that you are using the point where the cable connects to the throttle arm in the middle of the crossbar. If you twist at one of the outer arms, you will not get accurate results. Just push on the arm at the point where the cable meets it, so that you are applying the same force that the cable does when it pulls. If you put your hand on the crossbar and twist it using your thumb or something on the middle arm, you are still applying a force that the crossbar will not experience under normal conditions.

Watch the throttles, and compare what both sides are doing. They should be opening at the same exact moment. Realize that as the engine warms up the geometry changes slightly so there may be some difference between hot and cold engine. I like to warm mine up before I do this. After you get them synched right, tighten down the nuts so that both the heim joints are centered to their positions. I rotate the joints so that they are both resting against the position they would be pulled to when you tighten the nuts, and then I tighten them. Be sure to not let the rod twist when you position or tighten them. You may find that tightening the nuts changes the geometry slightly, so you may have to compensate a little bit for this on the rod.

After you get the nuts tight, check it again, and repeat if necessary.

Why this matters so much: Once you get them synched perfect, you will FEEL how much better it runs, especially on low throttle lower RPM. If you have a head temperature gauge, you will see that when the linkage is not right, one side will run warmer than the other. If the left side throttle opens first, the left side will run warmer, especially at low throttle low RPMs.

The last thing you should do if you have never done it: Loosen the throttle cable from the center arm and have someone push the gas pedal to the floor. Pull the cable tight, and then snug the connector. This will ensure that you do not put undue stress on the throttle shafts on the carbs at full throttle. If you put too much pressure on them you can twist the throttle shafts too much and bend them. This is especially true of setups that have the return spring and stop on the FRONT of one of the carbs, which is the way most Weber setups are out of the box. I use the CB Weblink kit to put the springs both on the throttle linkage side, to help with synchronization.

This with some practice and a good feel for what you are doing will help a lot with making sure your engine runs smooth.

Drive it
Something you should understand about tuning from this point. Your accelerator pumps are going to try to fool you unless you understand their purpose and function.

Accelerator pumps are there to compensate for some physics. The fact is that fuel is heavier than air, and it takes longer for the fuel to pick up speed in the circuits than it does for the air to pick up speed in the throats. So when you stomp the gas, the air starts moving faster a lot sooner than the fuel does. The accelerator pumps are there to provide a little extra fuel during that short time it takes for the fuel to catch up. Keep this in mind when you are tuning the jets, and avoid rapid pedal movements for now.

It really helps to have a tach, and an air fuel gauge, and I would say that a tach is next to necessary, while an air fuel gauge is a luxury that you can do without unless you are FINE tuning, and going for near perfect in terms of mileage and power.

Take the car out and drive it. Pay attention to what's going on at about 1500 to 2000 RPM, and at 2000 to 3000 RPM, and from 3000 to 4000 RPM. While the RPM bands will vary depending on what size carbs, what vents, and what engine combo you have, these are pretty safe ranges to look at.

1500 to 2000 RPM is almost purely idle jets in action. Keep the pedal steady here, in 3rd gear so you can see what it does with a slight load. If this area is running ok, move on. If it feels weak or soggy, you might need different idle jets. Unfortunately, it's sometimes hard to tell if it's rich or lean unless you are experienced here. This is where an air fuel meter will help you out. What you can try is opening up your mixture screws about half turn and see if it feels better. If it doesn't, then it might be too rich. If it does, then your idle jets may be too lean. For those of you with air-fuel gauges, about 13-13.5 or so is what I like. Move on to the next range.

2000 to 3000 RPM is the "transition" stage. This is the part where the main circuit starts to take over. Your idle jets start to matter less here, and your air corrector jets are the progressively deciding factor for why your engine is running the way it is. With the pedal steady, make note of how it feels in here, and move on.

3000 to 4000 RPM is where your main jets are really doing their job. With the pedal steady, if it feels lean here, (sort of like it is running out of fuel) then you might want to try going up a main jet size. If not, try going down one and see how it runs. Go down until it starts to feel lean (weaker with maybe some popping). When you feel it go lean, move back up a size and you are done with the mains. For those of you with air-fuel gauges, about 13.0 - 13.5 or so is what I like.

Now, back to the transition stage. If it felt lean there before you did anything, and the main circuit felt lean, determine of moving the main jet up helped the transition stage. When the idles and mains are both right, the transition should be pretty good too. If your mains and your idles feel good, but your transition does not, try going up a couple sizes on the air jet and see if that helps. If not, try to go up a couple sizes more and see. By now you should have it cleaned up. If you STILL have problems with transition, something else may be wrong.
Accelerator pump settings
Once everything else feels right at steady state, then you can start playing with the accelerator pumps. While there are different pump jets and bypass valves, you can usually get what you need out of the ones that come on the carbs out of the box. First, make sure that they are adjusted the same. Drive it, and see what happens when you give it gas more quickly. If when you are in second or third gear, and you push the pedal from cruise to WOT over the course of about a half second, and it bogs, try unscrewing each accelerator pump nut about 3 turns and try it again. If it's worse, then they were too lean, and you should go back the other way. Try 3 turns at a time until they are right. You shouldn't need more than about 1/2" of rod sticking out of the nut. If you do, you might have some timing issues you need to deal with. For those of you with an air-fuel meter, your meter's response to mashing the pedal should be as close to steady as possible, but that's not realistic to expect. If your engine falls on its face, and the meter goes lean, screw the nuts in about three turns on each side, and try again. Same rules for if it goes rich for any period of time, like two seconds or so. What I like to do is back off the screws until it falls on its face, and then start screwing them back in until it doesn't anymore. Too much fuel from the accelerator pumps is going to cause the excess fuel to wash oil off the cylinders, and cause you poor mileage.

Common mistakes
Lots of folks are driving around thinking their state of tune is good, when in fact, they've covered up symptoms with incorrect jetting. The only ONLY way to know for sure is to have an accurate air/fuel meter, but you can avoid a lot of it by just paying close attention to what the different circuits are doing. For dialing the jets, paying attention to what happens as you mash the pedal or right afterwards is wrong. The accelerator pump is screwing with things when you do that. Jetting requires paying attention to what's happening at steady state, during fixed RPM ranges, under different conditions.

What happens under WOT is not an ideal way to assess your jetting, at least under heavy load and at lower RPM ranges. Things will go rich there, and should due to what your engine needs. If you have an Air/Fuel meter and it is dropping down to the 11's or something when you nail it, worry about some of that when you have the rest tuned. Don't shoot for getting that right until you get the rest right. That part may never be perfect, but you can get it closer after you do the rest.

If you think you have it tuned, drive it for a while, a distance, a few days, whatever, and see how you feel about it. If you try to jet an engine that has been running really rich for a while, it may take a few stages of leaning it before you get it right, due to carbon buildup, and may take some new plugs to be sure. Plugs are another factor that has to be paid sufficient heed to get things right. That's another topic, but about 0.025" for stock, more like 0.040" for CDI and such.

New engines: Never try to tune a new engine perfectly. It's going to change. I tend to suggest running them a little rich in the beginning to keep temps down and make sure you don't lean it out while your rings are trying to seat.

What kind of mileage should you expect? Depends on how you drive. If you drive it like you're sick of the high gas prices you should get close to 20 if everything is right, maybe even more. I get about 25. You can get very good mileage if you lean things out close to 14 across the board, reduce your accelerator pump action to the very minimum, with just a hint of hesitation when you punch it, and use a vacuum advance distributor (SVDA) with the ports on the carbs (many have vacuum ports you can attach to a T fitting and then to an SVDA distributor that is tuned right for use with dual carbs. Not all cam/head setups are going to work well with an SVDA distributor, but many will do fine.

If you drive with a heavy foot, then face facts. Your mileage is going to suck.

Hope this helps you.

[dextlc45]

My trike has a 2 piece front end cover for the handle bars. Does any know when the Trike shop changed from the 2 piece cover to a single piece cover? Or is it a Trike shop unit or one of the copies?

Dextlc45 with the Dragon Wagon ( in photo section)

[Jcrenken]

I think originally it was the one piece first and then they were sued for copying the Corsair style and went to the two piece with molded rear fenders. Mine has detached fenders which i am told is rare. Dunno.