Jeff, The balance tube may be removed and the holes plugged in Solo. In racing, the balance tube must remain in place.
One of these days, they'll realize that the balance tube does absolutely nothing for the performance of our engines at the RPM levels we all motor around at. Maybe, they'll even take the 50# penalty off too :-). Art -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jeff Blumenthal Sent: Saturday, August 26, 2006 9:52 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [F500] Rotax 493 installation Sorry to interrupt the bike motor thread... I just finished installing a 493 in my KBS Mk8 and thought I'd share some info to save others the frustration I experienced. After completing the installation I tried to fire the engine. It cranked fine but did not even hint that it wanted to fire. I rechecked all my fittings, connections, etc. Spark was good and there was fuel in the carb bowls. I pulled the plugs and they were dry!? I pulled the fuel line off the carbs and cranked the engine to check fuel flow. There was plenty of fuel getting to the carbs. So everything checked fine but it wouldn't run. The 493 comes standard with a plastic "balance pipe" that connects the two carb manifolds. There is a hole (1/2") in each rubber manifold that the balance pipe connects to. When the 493 was first legalized, there was discussion about whether the balance pipe was legal...I can't recall what the current ruling is, but I don't use it because it does not fit my installation (because of the way I routed the cooling lines). I didn't have anything to plug the holes at the time and didn't think it would have any effect on starting the motor. WRONG!!! If those holes aren't plugged, or connected with the balance pipe, there is not enough suction to pull fuel from the carbs into the motor. I plugged the holes and the motor fired instantly. BTW, this is the first 493 I installed that has Rotax reverse. Very cool!!! Press the reverse button at idle and the motor almost comes to a stop, and then very quickly begins running the the reverse direction. The entire process only takes about one second to change direction. -Jeff B. ________________________________ FormulaCar Magazine - A Proud Supporter of Formula 500 The Official Publication of Junior Formula Car Racing Subscribe Today! www.formulacarmag.com or 519-624-2003 _________________________________ _______________________________________________ F500 mailing list - [email protected] To unsubscribe or change options please visit: http://f500.org/mailman/listinfo/f500 *** Please, DO NOT send unsubscribe requests to the mailing list! ***
