Keihin 657A Carburetor Fuel Cycle

Introduction
Long before fuel injection, carburetors fed gasoline and oxygen to millions of motorcycles
around the world. Honda’s late 1960’s CB750 aka “the first superbike” which took the United
States by storm took advantage of the highest quality bank of carburetors ever designed up to
that point, the Keihin 657A model.
The Keihin 657A carburetor is essentially the link between the gas tank and the engine of the
motorcycle. It is in charge of balancing the amount of air and fuel that enters the engine in order
to produce the exact ratio of oxidizer and fuel to create an even burn. Too much air and the
engine will overheat and blowup. Too much fuel and the engine will cough black soot out of the
exhaust and break down mechanically from the interior. Therefore, understanding the repeating
cycle of how the carburetor projects air and fuel into the engine is possibly the most crucial
process one can know about their motorcycle.

Part Description

1. Injection outlet 7. Fuel Nipple

2. Fuel Float 8. Upper Bowl/Slide
3. Idle Jet 9. Choke Lever
4. Main Jet/Fuel Needle 10. Intake Inlet
5. Lower Bowl 11. Idle Adjust Screw
6. Overflow Valve 12. Fuel Drain Plug
Turning the fuel on
When the petcock is switched to the on position fuel is free to flow from the gas tank into the
fuel line and down into the carburetor. Fuel enters the carburetor via the fuel nipple and trickles
into the lower bowl through two small holes in the upper bowl. As the lower bowl fills up, a two
pronged fuel float floats on top of the fuel, when the fuel reaches the calibrated level the float
will close off the two flow holes cutting off flow. The carburetor is ready for the next step in its
running cycle.

Starting the Engine

When starting the engine cold, the choke must be applied. When the choke lever is pulled up, the
choke slide will slide down and cover the air intake side of the upper bowl only leaving a small
gap at the bottom. This heavily restricts the amount of air that can enter the engine at ignition
which will change the fuel mixture allowing much more fuel to enter. Upon ignition, fuel will get
sucked into the idle jet by a vacuum created by the engine turning over. Once fuel reaches the
top of the idle jet it will mix with the restricted air flow in the upper bowl and get sucked into the
engine by the same vacuum that started the process. This process will repeat until the engine
successfully starts, at that point the choke lever will be pushed down allowing normal amounts of
air to enter.

Idle Cycle

Typical Carburetor Cycle

The idle cycle is the process that the carburetor goes through when the [Grab your reader’s
attention with a great quote from the document or use this space to emphasize a key point. To place
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motorcycle is running without any throttle interaction. As the engine runs it creates a consistent
vacuum on the injection side of the carburetor. Due to this vacuum, air will consistently get
sucked into the air intake side of the carburetor. The vacuum also causes fuel to enter the idle jet
and into the upper bowl. Once the fuel reaches the upper bowl, it will mix with the air and get
pulled into the engine from the injection side of the carburetor. This is an autonomous non-
mechanical process that is performed only by the vacuum force coming from the engine. As fuel
leaves the lower bowl the fuel float will continue to regulate the amount of fuel that is drawn
from the gas tank like when the fuel was turned on originally so that the lower bowl does not
overflow leaking fuel out of the overflow port.

Idle Screw
The idle screw determines the amount of fuel that is able to pass through the idle jet at any given
time. When the idle screw is turned inward the screw twists inward and diminishes the path of
fuel flow through the idle jet which restricts the flow of fuel into the upper bowl from the lower
bowl. When the idle screw is turned out the screw loosens and allows a larger flow path for fuel
to enter the idle jet which allows more flow to enter the upper bowl.

Throttle Pull
When the throttle is pulled the throttle cable will pull the throttle lever which activates the main
fuel system inside the carburetor, the main jet, slide, and needle. The throttle lever lifts the slide
and fuel needle system from the base of the main jet inside of the lower bowl. The slide and fuel
needle system get lifted through the upper bowl which creates a major influx of air through the
air intake into the system. At idle the needle will sit inside of the main jet, blocking all fuel from
entering it which forces fuel to only enter the much smaller idle jet. When the needle is lifted up
during throttle activation, fuel is able to be sucked through the holes of the main jet and into the
upper bowl by the same vacuum force that sucks air through the air intake. The main jet has
different size holes from its base too its top and as the needle gets pulled out of the main jet,
more fuel will enter the system. Once the fuel reaches the upper bowl, it is atomized with the air
flow and sucked through the injection side of the carburetor. As long as the throttle is open this
process will remain consistent. The more that the throttle is pulled the higher the vacuum force
from the engine will be which will allow different amounts of fuel and oxidizer mixtures that
enter the engine.

Overflow
The process of carburetor flooding happens when the motorcycle will not start causing excess
amounts of fuel to be pumped into the carburetor which it cannot contain. When this happens,
fuel levels inside of the lower bowl will flood past the dual pronged float which will clog the idle
jet. When the idle jet clogs, fuel is automatically rerouted into the overflow valve which sits it
the top of the lower bowl. Fuel will enter the valve and drip into the overflow line. The overflow
line takes the fuel and disposes of it underneath of the motorcycle.
 Sources
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