Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1517946
April 2024 31 Having a empted carb swaps in the past on a few old Sachs-powered bikes, I was familiar with physical size limita ons when trying to replace a Bing Carb with another brand. Most op ons are either too tall and interfere with the exhaust pipe or too long and cause airbox/boot issues. A er some thought, I decided to place a call to Kevin Gilham at Lectron to see if they would be willing to work together on a cus- tom-machined Bing replacement Billetron Mini. Gilham enjoys a challenge and was on board. He had me fill out a worksheet lis ng all the dimensions of the stock Bing and just like that, within a week, we received a new Billetron Mini including a new intake adapter that replaced the stock Bing perfectly. Even the original throt- tle and cable were retained. With everything installed and snugged up, we poured in a fresh batch of mix, turned on the petcocks, watched the clear fuel bowl fill, pulled the choke knob and the old Penton fired on the third kick. Within seconds, it se led into a nice idle and I let it warm up a bit. Once underway, the difference in how well that old Sachs ran was remarkable. Gone was the loading up down low and burbling un l it was on the pipe. The power is linear in delivery while running crisp and clean from idle to full scream. The huge bonus is the bike now has a bit of useable low-end grunt with steep climbs crested easily and without drama. Now of course I'm not talking big-bore torque here, just a clean running small-bore that doesn't lay down and bog at higher thro le openings at low revs. As of this wri ng, I've logged about 20 miles of rip- ping the local dirt roads and I'm thoroughly impressed at how Lectron's Billetron Mini has transformed my li le Penton. The bike flat-out rips and makes useable power everywhere. When twisted, it seems to pull a lot stronger up top too. The investment wasn't cheap at $650 including the intake adapter and stock thro le cable adjuster, but rarely is anything cheap worth buy- ing. If you're one to enjoy your vintage ride while get- ng the most out of it, I think you too will be pleased with the purchase. We feel its good money spent if you like to ride and spend me on your vintage bike. Huge thanks to Kevin Gilham at Lectron Fuel Systems for working with me on this project. They've now got the measurements sorted out and those running Sachs power can now order this fine carb with no long wait, delay, or headaches to install. Fore more info visit www.lectronfuelsystems.com