TECHNOLOGY ELEVATED'S SMARTCARB
P80
Feature
SmartCarb vs.
Lectron:
What's The
Difference?
For this report, we tested the
SmartCarb against the stock
Keihin so we cannot say how
it compares to the Lectron in
action. If you do some research,
you will find that the Lectron
carburetor uses some similar
technology, so people often ask
how they compare. Both carbs
use metering rods in lieu of jets
and needles, and both manu-
facturers make similar claims in
terms of performance, air density
compensation, and ease of use.
Interestingly, they were both
designed by the same person.
SmartCarb has an article on their
website that explains the history
of both carburetors and the dif-
ferences in design, so we pulled
highlights from that. You can read
the complete article here.
The late William "Red" Edmon-
ston invented the Lectron car-
buretor after he first pioneered
the metering rod carburetor
concept with the Posa-Fuel and
Lake Injector in 1967 and 1971,
respectively. The Lectron came
to market in 1974. Red sold Lec-
tron to General Motors in 1978,
and he continued to work on an
evolution of that original design,
and the SmartCarb came out in
the early 2000s. Technology Ele-
vated's Chief Technology Officer
and Founder Corey Dyess had
the privilege of working with Red
during his final years and has
led advanced development of
the SmartCarb, winning multiple
patents for feature improvements
over time.
While the Lectron and Smart-
Carb share some design ele-
ments, there are several differ-
ences. Below are some of those
differences:
•The Lectron uses a tradition-
al round bore, while the Smart-
Carb uses a patented "inverted
egg" venturi shape to improve the
velocity and fuel pickup.
•The SmartCarb uses no float
bowl venting. It instead uses a
"scoop/port" inside the ven-
ture to vent the carburetor, and
this is how it compensates for
atmospheric conditions. More air
means more fuel pickup and vice
versa. The Lectron still requires
tuning of the power jet to com-
pensate for elevation and large
changes in temperature. The
SmartCarb has just one external
adjuster for fine tuning and an
idle screw.
•The SmartCarb is a little
easier to interchange with the
stock Keihin and Mikuni carbure-
tors. It uses the stock throttle
cable and is the same end-to-end
length, while the Lectron is 6mm
longer and requires a different
cable. The Lectron also does not
offer a throttle position sensor
(TPS), which is necessary for
many bikes, including the Beta
we used for testing.
•Because it has no external
venting, the SmartCarb releases
less evaporative emissions and
will not leak fuel if the bike tips
at an odd angle (this partially
contributes to the improved fuel
mileage).
The SmartCarb
and Lectron
carburetor are
closely related.
