Dell'Orto 38 mm carb info wanted

[mbskeam]

hello
has any body run this carb? looking for info on this. Good or bad, let us know.
mbskeam
yes, yes....... I know I should run a linkert.

[Plain]

Well, well, well. THIS should be interesting.
Having recently been savaged, drug over the coals, and damn near run out of town on a rail at the mere mention of an S&S carb I can't wait to see the turn of events on this thread. I expect that shortly the Linkerterians will arise in mass and unload a big can of whup ass on you, Mbskeam. Sacrilege! Blasphemy! Treason! Or worse!
As barstool mechanic in residence of this forum, I will yet again risk the wrath of the Linkerterians and give you my half cent.
In my opinion, the Dell'orto is a good carb. It is on a level with the S&S and Mikuni. No better. No worse. Just any old barstool mechanic cannot probably work on one, but I hear that they do hang out in fair numbers in Italian restaurants. It can be a little persnickity to tune until you get the hang of working on it. I have not worked with one in some time. The downside used to be that they were quite expensive and parts and repair kits were expensive and hard to get. You will probably find the greatest amount of information about them by tracking down a Ducati website. While you are there, suggest that you are planning to hang a Linkert on your Ducati. That ought to set the hounds to baying.

Adios-----Plain BSM

[57Kicker]

Plain
I am not going to pick sides here. I run a S&S super E and love it. Buddy of mine has a double throte delOrto on his 55pan and swears by it. Great performance (HP) good starts but hard on fuel. Why he rides with a puny little peanut tank, I don't know? more beer breaks

My 2cents again...cheers!

[Plain]

57Kicker:
Not pick sides! Ha! You are dog meat, plain and simple. You mention S&S Super E and love in the same sentence. Dell'orto and swears by it in the next sentence. You have gone over to the dark side. The Mongols are coming.
The problem with discussing a carburetor by itself, other than that it will cause the Linkerterians to storm up the hill with pitchforks and staves, is that it is a discussion in a vacuum (pun intended). The carb is only one critical part of an entire system. You don't futz with one part without considering the effect on the other parts. What you intend to do with the engine and riding style have to figure in. I can generally say that if what you want to do is run crisply through the gears and putt at sixty on a tall geared machine, then a carb with a smaller throat is going to give you more pleasure in the lower and mid rpm range while robbing high rpm performance. If the idea is to come off the line with the throttle wide open and smoke through the quarter, then a larger throat carb tuned correctly will boost the high rpm performance at the expense of low to mid rpm performance. And then there are all the in betweens where tuning a carb to the engine come into play. It is as easy to kill performance in the low to mid range with too much carb as it is with too much cam.
I am with Cotten on this. I don't think that any of the carbs available are "bad" carbs. But, selection of a carb should be part of a carefully worked out plan which starts with "this is what I intend for the engine to do."
That ought to be worth at least a nickle, or you could join me on the adjacent barstool and buy me a beer before you are hauled off to the stocks.

[57Kicker]

Plain
The dark side is where I like it! hehehe! Com'on over and I'll buy you a beer while we negotiate which can of whoopass to open as they charge up the hill toward us with pitchforks and staves. Then we'll send them running from our caldrons of boiling oil and tar as we fling used and worn linkert diafragms at them! HA!
That ought to fire them up!

Cheers!

[DuoDave]

I have a Linkert on my Harley, Amals on my Norton and Mikunis and Keihins on my Jap bikes. They all work just fine. Bar stool? I think I will just sit on the fence!

[Plain]

Hummmmmmmmm. Does anyone besides me notice a curious silence on the part of the originator of this thread?
We've been set up boys! Fence sitters and non side takers alike. The man cast his fly and we rose to the bait. No good will come of this. No good indeed!

Plain

[mbskeam]

hello, I was waiting to get feed back before responding.I like to get my ducks inline before making any comments.I run a 38mm mikuni and have for years . the parts (jets) are every where. A guy I work with took of his dell'orto and put a S&S E on his bike . since the dell. has a acelerator pump , and I like to punish my self by tinkering with my bike. ;D untill perfection. you should here it when the engine weeps oil.#$RT%$#.this drives me crazy
mbskeam
yes........... pans can be oil tight

[sleeper]

The Dell'orto for me was a bit tempermental.
All the carbs mentioned are good carb's, just left out 2 other good ones. The SU always been a good carb.
& the carb that I now favor since 1992, after running the other carbs.
I have learned I can have my cake & Eat it too. ;D
With both low-end & Hi-performance w/ HD's CV, & it's ability to maintain High port velocity, thru-out the RPM range. Which is key to low/mid/& high performance.
And me massaging them a bit, as needed.

I convert them to true bolt-ons.
Proven on the Dyno [my bike] against an S&S E to make more HP & Torque thru-out the entire range. And about 10-15 mpg better than S&S E.
Yeah, I got my pick of the litter.

[Plain]

Mbskeam:
Lining up ducks my Aunt Minnie's tutu. You were lurking in the weeds waiting for the Linkerterians to pound our nads flat with a large wooden mallet whilst you viewed the carnage from the sidelines.

Billy:
I will not disagree with you on a CV carb. The concept is interesting. As I am an S&S man, I have not fiddled with the CV's enough yet to offer a decent opinion. I would, however, have liked to tune the S&S E that you tested against the CV. The E can suffer from a problem in the transition rpm where it moves from the intermediate jet to the main jet. To correct this various things are done. If the main jet is increased for top end power the intermediate range will be too rich. If intermediate is increased, top end will suffer. Both tend to make it a gas guzzler. Problems arise as neither circuit operates independently during the transition period. Modifying the main air bleed to use a replacable jet, effectively gives three tuning circuits. You can increase horsepower and also see better fuel economy. No more flat spot or over rich transition period.
Got a friend that is setting up a CV to run on a Shovel so I hope to get a better education. SU has always been a great carb. My only complaint with it is that it sticks way out to the right. My old legs are not nearly as nimble as they used to be.

Adios-----Plain

[mbskeam]

hello,
since I am a cheap ass I dont like to throw my money away , so as I wrote in the post above ,I am looking for info , such as parts , can you get them, tuning , real life of running them etc. I dont think that I am trying to get the guys who like to run linkerts all up in arms. or have them try to slam any body for posting what they think.
there are many diferent ways to get to the same point, and that is to make them run and ride. thanks to the fellows who have posted
mbskeam

improvise.... overcome........... adapt

[Plain]

Mbskeam:

It was a joke! Just tweaking the mustacios of the Linkert crowd.
That being said. If you can get the Dell'Orto cheap you will find it to be a good carb, but I do not think that it will be a huge improvement over your Mikuni. Parts mostly have to come from a Ducati dealership, or sometimes a foreign car dealership ($$). Older carb parts were very expensive, usually shipped from Italy. I don't know about later Dell'Orto's, parts availibility, or prices. Main problem that you will encounter is lack of information when/if it gives you trouble. Most of the guys that work on them are concerned with late model 30mm carbs. Somewhat different beast. Have you tried to find or price a complete rebuild kit for the one that you are considering?

Plain

[sleeper]

Plain-
No bad words out of my mouth about S&S.That was my first choice for many years. Still have a S&S dual throat.
I know a few from FHP that are running CV's. 2 are both on 90" knucks & 1 on a '38U, & a 45 running dual cv's. ;D You may know these folks. I helped a couple of them dial-in their cv's.
Internet tuning is a bit harder than doing it yourself.
I'm sure you know what I mean.
Even at "the Horse" this is becoming a more common topic.
I hope the hell it doesn't catch on. It'll drive up the cost of take-offs.
I also have one massaged for my Stroker SIDA...