Charon
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I don't have any source of "inside information" unavailable to anyone else. Carburetors will not be outlawed, just as they have not been outlawed in the past. But the next tier of emission controls will be impossible to meet using carburetors, as happened years ago with cars. Almost all larger motorcycles are already fuel-injected. Partly, I think, the larger ones got tighter emission restrictions already. Partly the larger ones are more expensive, so it is easier to "build in" the cost of FI equipment.
Suzuki already introduced the TU250, a 250 cc injected Single. I seem to have read the LS650 is already unavailable in Europe, because of emissions. Kawasaki introduced two models of their 250 Ninja, a fuel injected model for Europe and a carbureted version for the USA. Kawasaki claimed a necessary $500 price increase for FI.
What will change to fuel-inject the LS650? It will need a fuel pump, no doubt tank mounted for cooling. That will decrease the tank volume, already complained about. The vacuum petcock will go away. But so will the Reserve, and it will be replaced by some sort of LOW FUEL warning, either a gauge or a blinking light. The carburetor will vanish, but there will still be a throttle body for air control. A mass airflow sensor, an O2 sensor, a throttle position sensor, a computer, a fuel injector, and at least two temperature sensors (air temp and engine temp) will appear. The new computer will probably call for a new ignition box. The new computer may take over for the decompression controller, too. Frankly, I think Suzuki is more likely to drop the model than put the money into it to make it meet new standards.
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