Thorsten Ihlo's carburetor manufactory breathes new life into old carburetors. He is now a globally recognized specialist in his field. Privately, Thorsten rides a Late Shovel. Naturally, we take a look at their carburetor. Carburetor maintenance in an ultrasonic bath” was the title of a technical article in our September 2014 issue that dealt with the overhaul of carburetors. At that time, it was not foreseeable that Thorsten Ihlo, the protagonist of our article, would develop into a globally sought-after specialist for tricky carburetor-related issues within just two years. His work is represented at pretty much every popular event. They could be found at the Born Free Show in the USA, the Wave and Wheels in France, the Art and Wheels in Switzerland, the Kustom Kulture in the Ruhrpott or at our own CUSTOMBIKE-SHOW in Germany. This was a small but significant contribution to the show successes of numerous custom bikes from Hamburg. So it makes perfect sense to take another look at the head of Vergaser Manufaktur. And because our magazine is first and foremost about bikes, we asked Thorsten to roll his own bike in front of the lens to explain what he finds particularly appealing about working on a carburetor. No matter how perfectly designed an engine may be, it is nothing without an equally perfectly tuned carburetor. So if the engine can be regarded as the heart of a machine, then in Thorsten's understanding the carburetor is the soul of the whole. “And the soul needs empathy,” Thorsten is certain. His own machine, consisting of a Late Shovel engine modified to just under 1400 cubic meters in a 52 Wishbone rigid frame, is a good example of his attitude. Over a period of two years, he built his Harley with a lot of passion and in a classic style - unobtrusive, but perfect in every detail. As you can see from the technical data, the engine was fitted with the finest internals in order to reliably transmit its power to the rear wheel. To produce the necessary brackets and rods, Thorsten consistently used stainless steel as the base material, which was used with a high standard of craftsmanship and a satin-brushed surface. “You can't just put a kit on your bike and assume that it will fit straight away. I have unscrewed and re-screwed the carburetor countless times for tuning” However, the absolute highlight of the machine is the Sudco Nos carburetor kit, which was specially manufactured for use on Shovelhead engines. The original kit is extremely rare and is based on two Mikuni VM-29 carburetors. As there are plenty of these on the market, there are always kits that are thrown together and offered as Sudco kits but are not. Thorsten was correspondingly enthusiastic when he had the opportunity a few years ago to secure one of the kits in its original condition and packaging. It goes without saying that you don't just screw something like this onto the engine and then assume that the two will harmonize with each other straight away. But before Thorsten could even think about the set-up, the problem of the kit's considerable weight had to be solved. He was rather critical of the traditional brackets and preferred to construct his own stainless steel bracket, which now securely supports the kit via three carefully selected mounting points. The subsequent fine-tuning took three full working days. In the end, Thorsten can no longer say exactly how many times he screwed the kit on and off to swap jets, check fits and perfect the set-up. The only thing he remembers fondly is the first extensive trip to the Hamburg area, “I was simply deeply satisfied.” In conversation Name : Thorsten Ihlo Year of birth: 1970 Profession: Trained wholesale and foreign trade merchant, as well as communications and graphic designer Company : Vergaser Manufaktur Hamburg CB: How long have you been working with carburetors and when did you make them your profession? Thorsten Ihlo: In 1994, I began to take a close look at classic cars and their technology. At first it was four-wheelers, but then two-wheeled vintage bikes soon followed. As I was a BMX rider from 1983 to 1992 and was already building my own bikes back then, the motorized two-wheelers were only a logical consequence. I somehow had a screwdriver fetish - and when I overhauled the first Solex 28 PCI carburetor for my VW Karmann Ghia in around 1996, my screwdriver fetish turned into a carburetor fetish. I had found my own comfort zone in the screwdriver area without ever having thought about it. I have been working professionally in the trade since 2014 and have also been registered with the Hamburg Chamber of Crafts since 2016 in the craft requiring authorization for: Motor vehicle technician trade, partial activity: Restoration and general overhaul of mixture preparation systems. CB: Where does your love of carburetors come from? Thorsten Ihlo: Just like an engine or gearbox, a carburetor “lives”. This is probably why there are people who develop a special love for these components. It breathes, drinks, “beats” in a rhythm, it stinks, leaks and sometimes makes strange noises - that's where sympathy and love come from if you have an affinity for machines. CB: What influence does the choice of carburetor have on a motorcycle - technically and visually? Thorsten Ihlo: The same great influence as in other vehicles such as automobiles, old airplanes, old gasoline-powered ships, etc. Simply put, the carburetor is actually an atomizer. The carburetor atomizes the fuel and mixes the correct ratio with air. It must also adapt the required mixture quantity to the respective operating state of the engine. To list all the related theoretical values, data and factors here would be too technical and your readers would fall asleep while reading. From a visual point of view, carburetors have always played a role in the chopper and custom sector, albeit a subordinate one. Unfortunately, the carburetors on custom bikes are often simply mounted unseen and hidden behind something creative like an old coffee grinder from the flea market. The custom bikes from the 1970s by Arlen Ness show the influence of custom carburetors. On these bikes, every component - including the carburetor - was consistently processed and further developed down to the last detail in terms of its function and appearance. When I saw one of these bikes on display at the Born Free Show in California in 2015, it gave me goosebumps. “When it comes to custom bikes and choppers, creativity usually stops at the carburetor. If the handlebars, the tank, the paintwork or the custom-made leather saddle are a special style element, why don't we look at the carburetor with the same eyes? ” CB: What are the most common mistakes that can be made in connection with carburetors? Thorsten Ihlo: That the carburetor environment is ignored. Around two thirds of so-called “carburetor problems” can be traced back to the carburetor environment or other engine components. Sluggish throttle cables or lack of lubrication, defective or incorrectly adjusted ignition, centrifugal governor and ignition box, old or dirty fuel filters, swollen fuel hoses and tank seals or fuel additives are just some of the points that need to be mentioned at this point. Even the best carburetor restoration/general overhaul is useless if, for example, the ignition and valves are not set correctly. Especially for the old Harleys - although, actually, always - the issue of secondary air/false air is an eternal companion. I can only ever repeat one piece of advice: The carburetor on Harley models such as Knuckle, Pan, Ironhead, Shovel etc. should always be supported, even if it doesn't look good. Simply supporting the manifold is not sufficient in the long term. Harley-Davidson still does this today with its mixture preparation systems ex works - and they know why. No clamp or clip in the world is sufficient to support the carburetor correctly in the long term. Incorrect air/side air is the quick consequence. Sources of error are basically also settings, jetting and the correct dimension of carburetor and jet. These are always individual to the engine and the selected setup of ignition, exhaust, air filter, valve control and other engines. CB: What are the most common problems you have to deal with when restoring carburetors? Thorsten Ihlo: With “broken” carburetors and worn carburetor housings in the throttle valve area. Unfortunately, there are also repeated cases of carburetor batteries from cafe racers, where the customer wanted to save money on the carburetor overhaul and thought that a 4-carburetor battery could be immersed in an ultrasonic cleaner in one piece and after half an hour of “soaking time” all would be right with the world again. Unfortunately, such dubious offers for general carburetor overhauls/cleanings are also available online and are offered for less than 100 euros. After that, the problems are only worse and carburetor workshops have even more work to do with the carburetor battery than before. Another funny example was the wife of a customer. She had opened the package for her husband after I had sent her the finished and fully adjusted carburetor. He was still at work. She liked the carburetor so much that she turned all the brass adjustment screws she could find - that was a nice problem. CB: Which is your favorite carburetor? Thorsten Ihlo: Like other specialist carburetor workshops, I also have my special areas and preferences. For me, these include air-cooled Volkswagens and German automobile manufacturers and the carburetors they use. And of course the Indians and Harley-Davidsons. So I don't have ONE favorite carburetor, but I am fascinated by the Schebler, Linkert and all pre-war carburetors up to the year 1900. I also have a strong passion for motorcycle racing carburetors, especially from the 60s and 70s. The oldest carburetor I was allowed to restore was from 1907 - you never forget one of those. CB: How much longer will we be riding carbureted mopeds? Thorsten Ihlo: As long as there is gasoline. “For over 100 years, even seasoned bikers have been kicking a handle on their legs from time to time. Accept the lack as an integral part of old technology and gain experience. The rest will come naturally at some point.”

In the workshop of the German Thorsten Ihlo, toxic carburettors are treated like top models in a wellness oasis! Visit a workshop where time has stood still before the age of injection. Texts Charlie Lecach, Photos Götz Göppert "Corbus chose me, not the other way around," Thorsten says when asked how he came to specialize in restoring carburettors. "I have been tinkering with vintage cars for over twenty years, and at some point I had to replace the anti-corrosion devices. And I developed a kind of affection for these parts, for these often neglected pieces. I reworked them with love and care, first for myself, then for my colleagues and finally for customers. And so it came about that one day he opened his studio in Hamburg, for which he ultimately gave up his job as a graphic designer in the advertising industry. Although Thorsten Ihlo has only been on the market for a short time, he already counts several big American names among his regular customers. The success of his "Vergaser Manufaktur" - his manufacturer of high-quality carburettors - is impressive. And this despite the fact that Thorsten has not yet advertised, as he has only become known through word of mouth. He even goes beyond the borders of his home country, as he already counts some big American names among his regular customers. One of his many specialties is - upon express request - purely technical restorations in which the valuable patina that has accumulated over the decades remains intact. One of his Swiss customers, for example, owns vehicles from the 1910s that are still in their original condition. Equipping them with a polished carburettor or a micro-bead carburettor would therefore be heresy. Another strength of the "carburettor manufacturer" is the possibility of customizing a carburettor. Thorsten is paying tribute to the tenth anniversary of Indian Larry's death by polishing and engraving a large SU Rivera, which today drives a RevTech engine with a displacement of just over two liters, which responds perfectly to the kick. Even though he has his preferences, the Hamburg magician likes to repeat what an old man who taught him the trade told him: "Every carburettor is the best there is if it has the right jets and is well adjusted." This is even more true when prehistoric parts are replaced by modern technology, as Thorsten does when, for example, he equips an old Linkert from the 1940s with a new composite float and gaskets that are better than the old, relatively leaky paper discs. Other parts that cannot be found are made to measure, preferably from stainless steel to ensure a long service life. With a share of around 70% motorcycle construction sites and 30% automobile construction sites, the "Vergaser-Manufaktur.com is the address to turn to if you have any questions about carburetors.

Carburettor? That makes many people tremble. Not Thorsten Ihlo. "The heart of the engine," he says. If that's true, he's nothing less than a heart surgeon of a special kind. And of course it's true. It is always difficult to find a beginning when there is none. Or several. One beginning of this story is as follows: The agreed appointment is only in half an hour. Thorsten Ihlo opens the door anyway, he smiles, he shakes your hand and invites you into his house. Rock music is playing, Thorsten is still having breakfast, he is spooning oatmeal with Nesquik, and little by little a conversation starts that feels as if you have not just met, but have known each other for years. Sometimes it's much less about carburettors than it should be about carburettors, and that's not because Thorsten himself is more important than his work. He says: "My work is the focus, not me." But without him, his work wouldn't be his work, it would be just any work. It would be arbitrary. And Thorsten Ihlo's work is just as little like that as its result. You can tell that from the way he talks about it, calmly and always with equal measure of enthusiasm and modesty. It makes no difference whether he overhauls a Dell'Orto, cleans a Weber, Mikuni or Keihin, or tunes a New Old Stock S&S so that it harmonizes with a machine it was never intended for. Whether he restores an old carburetor so that it works like new but retains the dignity of age. Whether he builds a custom carburetor, like he did for Uwe Ehinger's Speedster, a crazy feat because he had to get the old Linkert M74B in such a way that he could cleanly breathe this hybrid of flathead and knucklehead with its open valve control. So it doesn't matter how complicated, how expensive, how comprehensive, how special or how unique the task is that Thorsten, whom others - not himself - like to call the Wizard of Flow or Guru of Carbs, devotes himself to. What matters is how he approaches these carburettors, how he reproduces parts for hundred-year-old mechanics, for example. He does it as if it weren't just mechanics and as if it weren't just parts. "It's become a fetish," says Thorsten, grabbing his beard with one hand. "But I don't know why I developed such a thing for carburettors." That brings us to the second beginning of the story, the beginning that isn't really a beginning, but rather a transition, a development. Because the day when Thorsten lhlo would have said: "I'm going to make carburettors now" never happened. "I didn't make a decision," he says, and "I didn't have any ideas." But after years of tinkering, he has a feeling: "People often say that the engine is the heart of the motorcycle. That could be. For me, at least, the carburettor is the heart of the engine." A matter of the heart, then. But not sentimental nonsense. Otherwise, they would hardly come to him from the USA and ask: "Thorsten, we're making a show bike, can you get the carburetor fixed for us?" He can. Even if it's often difficult. "I think most people," says Thorsten, "are afraid of the carburetor. They want to install it and have nothing more to do with it." This could be because problems with the carburetor don't necessarily have to come from the carburetor. "It's usually the ignition." Secondly, problems are never that easy to fix unless it's a standard overhaul. "There are so many rules you have to follow - or get around - so many variables. Dimensions, jets, settings, intake tract, mechanics. It takes time until everything is in harmony and works. Often you go two steps forward and then three steps back. Or four. You have to want something like that." He wants to. Or can he not do anything else? Probably both. "If you overhaul a 100-year-old carburettor, for example, there are no parts left for it. You have to rebuild two thirds of it. These are immense challenges." For example: turning and milling jet needles, jets or jet blocks, or putting a worn throttle valve shaft back into the housing so precisely that the valve moves freely, but the carburettor doesn't take in any extra air. "I'm meticulous about that," says Thorsten. "It shows how good you really are. A nerdy topic," he calls it, and he's also making fun of himself.

In the workshop of the German Thorsten Ihlo, toxic carburettors are treated like top models in a wellness oasis! Visit a workshop where time has stood still before the age of injection. Texts Charlie Lecach, photos Götz Göppert "Corbus chose me, not the other way around," Thorsten says when asked how he came to specialize in restoring carburettors. "I have been tinkering with vintage cars for over twenty years, and at some point I had to replace the anti-corrosion devices. And I developed a kind of affection for these parts, for these often neglected pieces. I reworked them with love and care, first for myself, then for my colleagues and finally for customers. And so it came about that one day he opened his studio in Hamburg, for which he ultimately gave up his job as a graphic designer in the advertising industry. Although Thorsten Ihlo has only been on the market for a short time, he already counts several big American names among his regular customers. The success of his "Vergaser Manufaktur" - his manufacturer of high-quality carburettors - is impressive. And this despite the fact that Thorsten has not yet advertised, as he has only become known through word of mouth. He even goes beyond the borders of his home country, as he already counts some big American names among his regular customers. One of his many specialties is - upon express request - purely technical restorations in which the valuable patina that has accumulated over the decades remains intact. One of his Swiss customers, for example, owns vehicles from the 1910s that are still in their original condition. Equipping them with a polished carburettor or a micro-bead carburettor would therefore be heresy. Another strength of the "carburettor manufacturer" is the possibility of customizing a carburettor. Thorsten is paying tribute to the tenth anniversary of Indian Larry's death by polishing and engraving a large SU Rivera, which today drives a RevTech engine with a displacement of just over two liters, which responds perfectly to the kick. Even though he has his preferences, the Hamburg magician likes to repeat what an old man who taught him the trade told him: "Every carburettor is the best there is if it has the right jets and is well adjusted." This is even more true when prehistoric parts are replaced by modern technology, as Thorsten does when, for example, he equips an old Linkert from the 1940s with a new composite float and gaskets that are better than the old, relatively leaky paper discs. Other parts that cannot be found are made to measure, preferably from stainless steel to ensure a long service life. With a share of around 70% motorcycle construction sites and 30% automobile construction sites, the "Vergaser-Manufaktur.com is the address to turn to if you have any questions about carburetors.