carburetor vs feul injected

[SDSUsnowboards]

Perhapse I'm letting a little of my "n00b" show here but, what are the differences here? Techincal explanations are OK but will probably go over my head. What I am really interested in is the main differences, advantages/disadvantages of each.

I mention this because I recently learned the f4i in CBR600f4i mean "feul injected". I can't think why there is a 4 inbetween but anyways I am wondering about carburetors because the f4 and earlier models have that kind of engine. Enlighten me please :o

[md2lgyk]

Basically, fuel injection is a much more precise way of getting fuel to the motor in just the right amount under all operating conditions. This results in more power, better fuel economy, and less maintenance.

[Uncle Bob]

FI also does away with a choke.

FI will be more expensive and not as easily maintained by your average back yard mechanic. Should you want to up performance you will need an expensive power commander rather than a more reasonably priced jet kit.

[SDSUsnowboards]

Thanks guys, what I have heard so far answered most of my hidden questions. If one has a power commander how does it work? I understand it isnt "installed" but instead flashes a cpu or something on the bike that controls the feul,o2 and stuff? What is a jet kit in a nutshell?

[007]

Inspiron from Switzerland has a bike with FI. He said it has a fuel gauge, so he can always tell how much fuel is left. That's a nice feature.

[LayinLo]

Just a guess here, but the 4 in F4i could stand four 4 cylinder as in inline 4?

[Drake]

With a fuel injected vehicle, there are a few ways that your horsepower will get boosted.

1) Help it Breath better: This mean providing a less constricted flow of air into and out of the engine my getting a modified intake and exhaust. This usually leads into #2
2) Modifying the onboard computer to adjust your fuel/O2 mixture.
3) Modifying your ignition timing
4) Turbocharging = getting one of those really whiny high pitched fans that slams air into your engine at a higher rate.
5) Boring out your cylinders
6) Modifying your cams (by now you've done so much to that engine that if you didn't adjust the valve timing, you'd rip it apart. ... hence new cam shaft)

These modifications can work for both Carbed and FI motors, but the computer games are typically reserved for FI. I don't think I've seen a carbed engine that had an onboard computer yet.

What kind of bike do you have, that you are looking into modding it?

[tlwisner]

Fuel injection is much more desirable. The throttle response is much smoother, starting is easier (no choke) and you do not have the maintenance requirements of syncronizing carburetors. Modern fuel injection is very precise and computer controlled, a big leap beyond the carburetor.

I have both a bike with 4 carbs and a bike with fuel injection. Man, I wish the bike with 4 carbs had fuel injection!

[SDSUsnowboards]

Drake: No bike yet, but have several serious offers accepted (more or less) and all I got to do is pick one. Two f4 (99 &00) for $5K each or a 02 f4i for $500 more. The f4s are stock, the f4i has a power commander3, k&n air filter and an aftermarket exhaust whos brand name I can't remember. That's why I asked about the carb vs noncarb, and jet vs commander. I don't think I plan on modifying my bike any time soon unless it came with the mods...

I guess it all comes down to is: is $500 worth a non-carb? I'm hoping to find out myself by weighing the pros and cons. Seems like I'm going for the f4i at this moment...

[inspiron]

Originally Posted by SDSUsnowboards

I guess it all comes down to is: is $500 worth a non-carb?

No one can answer that question for you ... how hard do you have to work to earn $500? Depends upon your individual situation. I know people who earn that in 2 days, others who have to work a whole month for the same money.

What the others stated here is correct: FI will give you a faster and more precise response on the throttle, but you can't mess around with it without getting into some low-level reprogramming.

If your concern is more speed...then buy a bigger bike. If you want more comfort and responsiveness (and usually, better fuel economy), then get the fuel injected version. If you want to tune the bike and have something to take apart and rebuild, buy the one with carbs.

There are almost no cars built today with carbs - fuel injection is the way to go. Bikes still use carbs simply because it's cheap and easy to slap some carbs on top the the block, while injectors are more expensive and require more careful tuning. Cars all have FI because of the improved economy and efficiency - so that they can fulfill the strict emissions stadards.

The same is true about brakes - almost all of the cars built today have ABS, but hardly any bikes come out with ABS or linked brakes. Why? Because it's more expensive and required more skill to get them tuned and balanced correctly. (Whether or not ABS or linked brakes are good idea for bikes is another question - I don't want to get into that here.)

Hope that helps...