manifold EFI conversion?

[bjamesw]

Now before anyone piles on and tells me to "search", since I know this must have been discussed previously, I did try this site's search engine and came up with nothing at all.

Has anyone successfully implemented EFI on a 'vintage' R65?  That is to say,, replacing the carbs with units and parts from another similarly configured twin with EFI?

Of course I'm talking some early form of manifold fuel injection and not direct FI.  

I'm at the point where I'm just waiting for the old Bings to require service and am anticipating Mikuni replacements.   But if I could swap in EFI from some (brand does not matter) part-out on EBAY I'd be very interested in following someone's lead.

Anyone done it?

[Bob_Roller]

One of our members here, can't remember his name, put throttle bodies from a BMW R850 on his '81 R65, still trying to get the problems worked out .

It's in the Restoration Progress Log, about halfway down the first page .

[Semper Gumby]

But the Bings work just fine... (Typical R65 Lament).  Some day I may try a set on a BSA Lightning.  

Once you replace the floats with with ethanol resistant materials (black) the carbs become quite ethanol tolerant.

[nhmaf]

A few times I have contemplated trying to develop such a kit that could work for a multitude of old bike platforms.   Ideally, it would include an O2 sensor as well as at least 1 knock sensor.  It does seem a bit like heresy, though, but on the other hand, if it enabled some old iron to continue to navigate the streets, maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing.

[Luca]

It does seem a bit like heresy, though, but on the other hand, if it enabled some old iron to continue to navigate the streets, maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing.

I sorta felt that way even when I put in my LED taillight.  But hey, that's what cardboard boxes full of the original bits are for.

Ever watch Jay Leno's Garage (his youtube channel)?  He does some things that people would consider heretical (ring gear and electric starter in a early 1900's Packard, for example).  But hey, he brings em out on the street and uses em.  I suppose that's better than letting em rot in a museum.

[Julio A.]

Being a show bike and a daily ride are two very different things. These things were built to be used, not displayed. I'd rather break my BMW R65 through use rather than have it break due to disuse. As long as an upgrade permits the bike to run longer, why not?

But honestly, me and my dad have constant debates whether or not the airhead would benefit from EFI conversions. For him, it was purely for reliability as EFI rarely need maintenance compared to carbs. For me, it was uneccessary technology and complications for the bike. We do agree however, that performance gains are too little to make your troubles worth while when you manage to do the conversion in the first place.
This is based on our opinion though. A fuel injected airhead would be cool too see nevertheless.

[georgesgiralt]

Hello !
All bikes which had a switch from one year carbs to next year EFI had the mileage lowered. And it was often substantial.
For example, in my shop lies a Honda CBF600SA6 with a set of 4 carbs. A friend of mine has the model with injection, which state the same horsepower and which new a good 1.2 to 1.5 litre more per 100 km...
Given the cost of the transformation, and the availability of bing carbs, I stay with the Bings !
Last but not least, now that Freescale is gone, a lot of these EFI computer are junk as all the integrated circuits are unobtainium. So they will become rare and expensive.
Just my 2cents.