Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
Carburetion is arguably more mechanically-complex than fuel injection and, based on what I see in Carb Talk, isn't exactly a paragon of being problem-free, either. It's also a ham-handed way to fuel an engine since any jetting configuration is a compromise with no way to compensate for changes in pressure, temperature or ignition timing while the engine is running. Don't even get me started on what a nightmare it becomes when trying to keep a lid on emissions.I love my simple carbureted 1100!
A stuck-open thermostat on an 1100 will cause just as many problems as it does on a 1300. An engine running cool with an intake system set up based on the assumption that everything's up to temperature isn't going to come anywhere close to fueling the engine ideally. If you compensate for it manually with the choke, you're burning more gas. Meanwhile, in 1300 land, the fuel injection system is doing exactly the same thing because it wants the engine running at the correct temperature. Where the two diverge is when the rider twists the go-fast knob. The carburetors in the 1100, which are totally ignorant of the fact that the engine isn't up to temperature, will continue fueling the engine in an off-nominal way and the rider, not getting full smoke out of the engine, will twist it a bit harder to get what he wants. Meanwhile, the 1300's FI system, which is aware of its surroundings, can supply a mixture that's ideal for conditions during acceleration and go back to running rich during cruising to try and pull the temperature up.
Overall, FI is a much more complex process than carburetion, but the additional complexity results in better fueling and a healthier engine that will last a lot longer. The physical parts of the system that are more complex are also a lot more reliable because they're not mechanical and don't require adjustment. The 1300's FI system has twelve types of things that can go wrong, none of which will leave you with an fully-functional motorcycle. The remaining three (loss of connection to the cam or ignition pulse generators or a fuel injector) result in a no-run condition. For any of them, the ECM will tell you that there's something wrong exactly what it thinks is wrong in less time than you'd spend scratching your head over what might be wrong in a carbureted system. I don't miss that stuff a bit.
--Mark