Throttle Body Sync Tools

[Cohiba54]

I use to use mercury sticks to balance the carbs, love it worked really well but that one is no more (got run over dang-it, don't ask) so I did the DIY thing and made my own.
Works Ok but kind of jumpy at idle and want to go store bought now. I have to say I'm old-school, I like the new stick style ones, but vacuum gages may do the trick. Heck I may jump to the 21 first century and go electronics.

So what do you use?

[AZBMWRIDER]

I use a homemade oil manometer, just like your picture, I use 7.5 wt BMW fork oil .
I have no jumping issues with the oil column, the amount of oil I use, is about 4 feet on each side, don't know if that makes a difference or not in damping .
It also looks like I use a larger diameter tubing than you have .
I use it on the Airheads and Guzzi, I will not go back to any other method than the oil manometer .

[captaincable]

I think you will need a additional setup to the manometer that requires two bottles this will rough calibrate , then switch to the manometer for a fine tune which you will notice the diff. CycleRob has a plan for this, we tried " Gatorade" plastic bottles but they collapsed under vacuum I have not built a new set from glass bottles , we were thinking " Snapple " bottles.My bike has been so close I have not needed it yet.
I will build one so I can help my other friends and pass on the info so willing shared by this forum.
Mike
Btw I use alcohol, water and food coloring , doesn't get nasty and wont freeze.
I dont think you can buy anything that is more accurate than the $5.00 homemade manometer.

[CycleRob]

Cohiba54,
Your manometer needs about 15cm more fluid height in both tubes so it will be just over 50% of full scale at rest and less likely to 'go over the hump' at the bottom tubing loop well before the other column reaches the top loop. The plastic tubes should also be touching each other so there is no judgement call needed.
I found that using oil had too sluggish a response to throttle setting changes or adjustments and it coated the tubing I.D. walls too much, which blurred the actual liquid level. A mix of a few drops of food coloring of yor choice added to water and 10% rubbing Alcohol on a white painted ungraduated stick works the best.
"Going Electronic" will not only be quite expensive, it will also be less accurate and less reliable than a differential water manometer (a "water stick"). The home made differential water manometer is absolutely the most accurate AND the least expensive tool for even firing 2/3/4 cylinder engines.

[CycleRob]

Last year I finally completed the TallBottleWaterManometer (TBWM) and it was needed at the 2015 Beakster Bash in Virginia that I attended. I remember quickly performing about 4 water manometer TB synchronizations for grateful members of our BMW group. They were standing around under the Motel's 2 lane seldom active carport at the front door and watched all this occur. One needed no adjustment, the next few, very little readjustments. The last bike's exhaust note kinda sounded to be very near "in" synch . . . was way out of synch and upon start-up it sucked in a little green water before I could quickly fold-over one of the synch hoses to stop it. Fortunately my newly constructed TBWM was nearby, ready to go.
I hooked it up, started the engine and one bottle immediately started to empty into the other one until it emptied completely and the now nearly full one violently bubbled away without loosing any fluid into the engine. That violent, rolling bubbling was a surprise to me and the group, where SmartPhones were video recording. No worries, I let it keep running/bubbling until I got the screwdriver to adjust the empty bottle's idle speed downward with the slotted BBAS (BigBrassAirScrew). Normally I'd be able to say it was quickly adjusted till both bottles were near half full at both idle and "on-throttle" (a steady 3,000+ RPM). Then the Water Manometer Stick would be used to set it perfect. Not this time, as there obviously was a problem that made it totally UNresponsive, with finger tested slack in both TB throttle cables. We did not have any carb cleaner to clean the BBAS passages and the blue painted throttle stop screws seemed undisturbed. Being we were pressed for time and he lived very close by, he decided to join forces with his bike savvy friend and take it all apart for a thorough cleaning and (TwinMax?) readjustment next week. Not having the time or 'tools' available to right this wrong really bothered me. A phone call with Wayne many days later confirmed it was fixed.

Here now is that Bash service area and that TBWM with text-in-pic instructions on how it was made.

[Biff's R]

I think that you and I checked my bike on the twinmax, and then on the manometer. If I recall, they both read almost exactly the same. Your manometer was a lot less $, but at least I only paid half on the Twinmax. No matter what it is always helpful to have a second set of hands so one person can deal with the throttle, and one person adjust. Then it is like an assembly line.