3/14/24
It’s been a while since we have made any changes to my Rickman, but this new pair of carburetor modifications has blown us away. Last Christmas, Eric gave me 2 products from the same company, thunderproducts.com which made some hard to believe claims. The first product is called a Quad-Flow Torque Wing, which has horizontal and vertical air flow stabilizers and the company claims it increases air flow, air speed, and fuel atomization, thereby increasing performance. The second product is a U.F.O. (Ultimate Flow Optimizer), which they claim provides extended temperature and altitude range along with unmatched throttle response. They can be used separately or together, and after installing them recently on the 34 mm Mikuini on the Rickman, we were more than pleased. The U.F.O. fits most round slide Mikuini’s and the Quad –Flow Torque Wing fits the larger round and flat slide carburetors. We really are blown away with the results.
Essentially, what the Quad-flow does is reduce the size of the carb bore at slower speeds (when the slide is below half throttle), yet lets the full flow of air/fuel enter the engine as the slide raises above half way. It is a simple device that is pressed into the rear of the carburetor, extends out the back side, and held in place by tabs, small slots cut into the rear of the carb, and the intake manifold. The horizontal stabilizer prevents a drop in air velocity, producing much quicker throttle response and a substantial increase in torque. Also, as an unexpected additional benefit, the rough idle not only soothed out, but dropped a couple of hundred RPM.
In conjunction with Quad-Flow Torque Wing, the U.F.O. is another simple device that smoothens out the air flowing past the underside of the slide. This plastic disc “plug” has a aerodynamic shape and attaches to the bottom of the slide. It effectively removes the lip on the slide bottom, which causes undesarible turbulence. The device is held in place by a screw from the inside of the slide. Neither device is visible unless the carb is off the bike. As they say in their brochure, “Install for maximum performance, then HANG ON!” They are not kidding.
Because of my disabilities, I am not able to ride the Rickman safely in the City so Eric was the one to test the results. I’ll have to wait until we take it out on some back roads in the country for my test rides. The company recommended using a smaller pilot jet, which we did, but no other adjustment was made other than idle adjustments. After sitting under a cover for the last few winter months, the bike fired up easily and Eric took it out for a test ride. He came back a few minutes later almost shaken from the experience. He says he has never felt acceleration like this before on any motorcycle, The Rickman is a light bike at about 300 lbs. with a short wheelbase, making acceleration seem unreal. Keeping the front end down on hard acceleration is difficult, now made even harder! Anyone using Mukuni, Lectron or Keihin carburetors (but NOT vacuum style carbs) will get an amazing boost for their buck.
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