Motorcycle carburetor and fuel injection have the same task to do, and that is delivering the proper air-fuel mixture ratio to your engine to perform the proper combustion. With that being said, we will cover the pros and cons of both of these motorcycle components and give our thoughts about which one is better, but it will be up to you to decide which one suits you best.
This article will cover all the characteristics of motorcycle carburetor and fuel injection, so stay with us to learn many useful and interesting things about these two parts.
Table of Contents
How Does a Motorcycle Carburetor Work?
Carburetors are old-school analog devices that send the air-fuel mixture to your motorcycle engine. They are cheap and easy to install on your bike; that is, of course, if we speak about motorcycles with a carburetor system.
Although carburetors may look complex at first, in reality, they are pretty easy to understand, and if you have any experience with carburetors, you know what I am talking about.
So how does a motorcycle carburetor work? As a general rule, the piston moves down in the cylinder and creates a vacuum which then draws the perfect air-fuel combination from the float bowl and sends it into the combustion chamber and the engine, where it gets ignited.
This is a simples explanation of a motorcycle carburetor and how it works. A carburetor has a mechanical function that can be both good and bad at the same time.
If you want to learn How to Fix and Service Your Carburetors, click on this link, where we explain the easiest and most detailed step-by-step guide on how it needs to be done.
The good thing about it is that carburetors don’t need electrical power to do what they need to do, and that is delivering the proper air-fuel ratio mixture to the combustion chamber and engine. The bad thing about carburetors is that many factors affect your carburetors’ working quality, such as engine temperature, elevation, air, and many more outside elements that can happen during a ride.
Here is a nice video about motorcycle Carburetors and their working principle:
How Does Electronic Fuel Injection Work?
Motorcycle electronic fuel injection is a newer system than carburetors are. If we compare it to the carburetors, we can notice many benefits that it has for your bike. The electronic fuel injection system works perfectly in both cold and warm weather, and it doesn’t care about what altitude you are at; you can be on sea level or riding through mountains it will still run perfectly.
So how does electronic fuel injection work? An electronic fuel injection measures the amount of air sent into your motorcycle engine, and it does it with Electronic Control Unit (ECU). After calculating the air amount, it then sends the proper amount of fuel needed for the engine to work correctly.
Comparing a fuel-injected motorcycles throttle body and a carburetor, it may seem at first that EFIs throttle body is simpler and not so complicated as a carburetor, but to tell you the truth, EFI has many separate systems that consist from many circuit boards, and there are sensors that assist EFI to do what it needs to do. That’s why the EFI is a little more complex than the carburetor from the standpoint of the components of which it is made.
If you want to learn How to Clean Your Motorcycle Fuel Injectors, click on this link, where we explain the easiest and most detailed step-by-step guide on how it needs to be done.
The main difference that separates EFI and a carburetor is that the EFI creates its own pressure with a fuel pump. That way, it sends the fuel to the motorcycle engine just when needed, and EFI doesn’t react to pressure changes as carburetors do.
Fuel injection has sophisticated components and is much more precise in sending the fuel to your motorcycle engine, which makes your bike run better than it would be compared to a carburetor system. You don’t need to worry about the choke lever and think about it on cold winter days. There is no problem with gummed-up jets or leaking float bowls.
Modern electronic fuel injection is very reliable, and this means that you will probably never have any problems with your fuel system. Unfortunately, a new fuel pump or any other replacement parts like a throttle position sensor are expensive. The bad thing about it is that if somehow your EFI system gets some kind of malfunction, you won’t be able to deal with that problem on the road.
You can, however, maintain the injector itself and clean it with cleaner tools such as Motion Pro Fuel Injector Cleaner Kit that we recommend.
There is a big chance that you will have to work and repair your carburetors sometimes, unfortunately, and to reduce it to the minimum possible; you need to maintain and service your carburetors. Luckily carburetor maintaining and service process is not so hard, although it will take you some time, and it can be inconvenient. On the other side, carburetor parts are pretty cheap compared to EFI parts prices.
Another good thing about carburetors is that you can fix them with basic tools that almost every motorcycle rider has at his home or garage (at least should have).
Other than the fact that the EFI system is more reliable and better operating, this inconvenience that a rider can have with his carburetors is another reason why carburetors are rare these days. However, they can be found on the majority of scooters.
Here is a nice video about motorcycle Electronic Fuel Injection working principle:
Electronic Fuel Injection Systems Benefits over Carbureted Engines
Fuel Efficiency
Motorcycles with EFI have better fuel efficiency because the fuel gets delivered much better than in carburetor bikes. EFI system provides a better and more precise air-fuel mixture, and a lesser amount of gasoline gets burned and wasted as an emission that is also better for the environment.
Better Acceleration
Motorcycles with EFI systems have much better acceleration, and this is one of the most significant benefits of EFI compared to carburetors. The reason for that is the EFI system delivers consistent and in much better ratio combination of air-fuel while in the case of carbureted engines, a lot of outside elements like altitude, temperature, and others affect carbureted engines.
Environmental Friendly
Electronic fuel injection systems are much more environmentally friendly since they produce far less toxic emissions than carbureted engines do.
Carbureted Engines Benefits over Electronic Fuel Injection Systems
Better Power at High RPMs
Carbureted engines make the most of your motorcycle’s engine at higher RPMs which means that they provide better and more power when you keep your bike at high RPMs. Although it is mostly the case, there may be situations where this is not quite the truth.
The Sound of Your Bike
Although this reason is subjective and has nothing to do with the performance of your engine, many riders that I have spoken to think that carbureted motorcycles have better sound over the ones with the EFI system, but I will leave this up to you since everyone has different taste.
Can a Carbureted Engine Be Turned Into a Fuel Injected?
I have met many riders who have asked me this question, and when I speak to fellow motorcycle enthusiasts and friends, I hear that many are interested in this question.
So can a carbureted engine be turned into a fuel injected engine? As a general rule, carbureted engines can be turned into fuel-injected ones. There are many fuel injection conversion kits available on the market for many types of motorcycles with carbureted engines. You just need the proper kit for your bike’s make and model to convert it to EFI.
You need to know one thing if you plan to convert your motorcycle, and that is that this process can be very expensive. Another important thing is to check if your bike can even switch carburetor to EFI.
Every rider has reasons for replacing carburetor with EFI, which may not always be possible, or even if possible, it can be challenging, so I advise you to think about it twice and see if you really need it.
Note: I have ridden both carbureted and EFI motorcycles, and my previous motorcycle was Gilera Runner VXR 200 scooter from 2003 and had carbureted engine. I had that scooter from the very beginning when my dad bought it in 2003 (but I didn’t ride it immediately since I was 7 years old at the time). I started riding it around 2011, but I have been with motorcycles since an early age, like when I was 5-6 years old, and this is why I know so much about them.
After selling my Gilera, I bought Kawasaki Z750 from 2004, a year younger bike. Still, it has the EFI system and what I want to say is that with Gilera (carbureted engine), I had some issues with the carburetor since it wasn’t accelerating as it used to. When I got Kawasaki (if we ignore the fact that it has around 113 HP while Gilera has approximately 20 HP), I never had any trouble with the EFI system.
Why Don’t They Use Carburetors Anymore?
There are many reasons why manufacturers don’t use carburetors anymore. The biggest reason is that EFI systems provide better performance than carburetors, and EFI systems are more reliable. Another reason is to meet the necessary emission requirements that EFI meets while carburetors don’t.
Which One Is Better, Electronic Fuel Injection or Carburetors?
EFI system is very dynamic and can operate with a narrow air-fuel ratio, and that way reduce tailpipe emission and, at the same time, improve fuel efficiency. On the other hand, carburetors have fixed jets and aren’t adaptable or precise and create more exhaust emissions and harm the environment more than EFI does.
More unburned gas and soot goes out of the exhaust and harms a catalytic converter in a carburetor case. Carburetor motorcycles emission gas vapors out of their gas tanks and the open vents on their float bowls even in a parked condition.
Today’s strict emission demands don’t like that kind of stuff, and this is another reason why the manufacturers have turned to fuel injection systems.
Here is a nice video explaining what is better between Carburetors or Electronic Fuel Injection:
Conclusion
It all depends on subjective preferences. Every rider has a different taste, and I have spoken with riders who like carbureted engines and those who find electronic fuel-injected systems much better. Like I said previously in this article, I have owned and ridden both types of motorcycles, and for me, the ones with the EFI system are better for my taste, and I have never had problems with that motorcycle type.
You need to do your own analysis and decide, depending on the factors I have written above, what type of bikes you like better and which one meets your needs.