Breakthrough: Fuel injection

Try telling most people these days you’re thinking about tuning your carbs and you might inadvertently get a referral to Weight Watchers or advice on the latest fad diet. It hasn’t always been this way.

I don’t know what the last new carburettor-equipped car sold in the UK was (if you do, please let us know…), but the beginning of the end came in the Eighties as catalytic converters became necessary to comply with tightening emissions legislation. The timeline stretched a bit further for motorbikes, as exhaust legislation tends to lag behind for those on two wheels, but even those have become rare beasts these days.