My 99.9% success story with pod filters

I'm confident enough now that my story is worth sharing, not to mention a member requested I start a thread. This is not to advocate anyone to ditch an airbox, simply a source of information for those considering pods to take in. I would like to preface this further by saying if you haven't been to the church of clean, or taken care of every performance detail (Compression, Valve clearances, syncing carbs, proper AF ratios, ect) than don't even bother venturing into the world of pod filters!

What worked for me may not work for you, but it's served me well for over 3 months now without fail. Also, I'd like to leave the practicality jargon out of this thread if possible, I will quickly mention a few issues that are 100% to arise with any pod setup.

1. Water is your enemy. If this is your daily driver you must consider the downfalls of open air pods, you run the possibility of water getting in through the boots and into the carbs, this will 100% cause issues for you down the road.
   
2. In theory, yes it makes sense the outer two pods will receive more air than the inner two, due to location. It may be possible to slightly adjust the AF to accommodate but don't count on that what so ever.
3. Longevity of the engine performance could end up out of sync. If infact, it is true that the outer two receive more air than this also brings up the fact that they will clog with dirt faster, causing the sync to go out a bit.
4. Insert your reason here.

Now that we've got that out of the way, lets get down to it. The bike in question that I have working pods on is: 1981 XJ550 (with YICS)
Compression all between 120-125 last I checked.
Valve clearances were all properly set well within spec.
Exhaust is stock, outside of mufflers being removed.
No rejetting was done.

The Boots:
Purchased off fleabay, notice the orientation and size and off center hole.


Theory for use: the off center hole and oblong filter would lead to a slightly more stable air flow.


Once I bolted these on, I had a slight mid range stumble. Very slight, enough that I knew this was not going to work so I needed to figure out a way to help distribute the air more consistently. At least, this was my approach instead of jumping to jetting.

The solution:
Removing the stock boots from the airbox and utilizing them in the filters instead of the boot that came with the filter.


Simple as that. After applying these its a much tighter fit, well, beyond a tight fit. The pay off was 100% response throughout the RPM range. No longer was their a dead spot at any point of the RPM range, so surely i must be running lean now.

I've done a dozen or so plug chops at various points in the rpm range, full throttle, mid range, idle, i checked it all, the color comes back exactly as it did with the stock airbox. A slightly tan color, nothing suggests that i need to go up a jet size or adjust anything further.

"Yeah but everyone says the get pods 'working', but its hard to believe... "

Yes, i get that, and well enough for me may not be well enough for you, and you can't see it you haven't rode it, so its hard to say. I feel the response i did from the airbox, it pulls hard, i can feel the power as i did with the airbox. Did i lose any power? possibly, i don't feel a difference and I rode airbox in the am fixed pods pm so I had a fresh reference. Did I gain power? Absolutely not, nor did i ever think i would. I converted my bike to monoshock and the room was needed, so airbox just wouldn't work for me.


Please feel free to observe this video of a few test runs of the pod filter set up. Warning: its LOUD.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-Y_jWMkNxJcalExOHdjVElQbEE


Final notes:
Take this for what its worth, a piece of information. I'll gladly try and help anyone replicate the results. I cannot guarantee the same results for anyone. I'm constantly checking my plugs because I cannot understand why I don't need to rejet. Plugs tell the story, and I haven't seen anything that would lead me to believe that I'm running too lean or need to jet up. I never expected pods to work out this well on a CV carb, its just not in its nature from what I've read before I did the conversion. Since I've set them up, I have not had to tinker with it once accept for my own insurance, and to keep an eye on things.

Disclaimer:
I'm in no way responsible for any damage caused to altering your motorcycle. I will aid anyone who commits to making the change, but I cannot take responsibility for any short comings.

With that, I wish you good luck! Enjoy the ride!

 

What was the main reason that motivated you to switch to pods?

 

I like the video. Were you running open pipes? I often wonder how my bike sounds from behind. Might have to swap with someone on a ride one of these days.

 

thanks for posting the info was there a brand name associated with the pods?
the reason i ask about the shims is because of the spec.
it is the only spec on the bike that is from here to here .
not a plus or minus spec based on a centerpoint.
i utilize bmw shims because it gives me more control of the clearences

 

I did find my old post. I'm so swamped and most of my free time is spent working on the bike currently. The way i worded the thread i gave my measurements of where i was, and then i see what shims i went with. So i have to add the shims in on paper and run the correct numbers to get what the clearances are at now. I did not go with BMW shims, at the time I know the valves were sitting way to tight and I wanted to get everything back in spec. As soon as I can find some time, I'll sit down with paper and pen and calculate whats in there.

 

The pipes are simply stock besides the mufflers. Just exits from the collector box tail, not a horrible sound, it is pretty loud though. I'm not sure what i'll end up with. Would like to keep it similar to what it is, maybe add some small mufflers or make my own.

 

Sorry, missed this the first time around.

Here's a link to the ones I bought.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/391037938616?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

Assuming i could just go with pods without doing any research was not the move, i cut up my air box today and logged onto the site and kicked myself in the butt. This thread gives me hope. i will be ordering my pods tomorrow. wish me luck and i will send some positive vibes if it goes well. thanks for this thread btw

 

Whats the year and model of your bike?

 

I like that you mention WATER = RAIN = no riding Making your own airbox is an alternative . I've worked on bike, cars and my main Career Aircraft maintenance seen lots of friends hack up bikes putting pods on , only to see lots of "tinkering " with carbs ( flat spots, popping , back firing etc ) . I had a friend bought a new Harley 1200 sportser ...sounded ok to me , not to him put a Vance and Hinds exhaust on it VERY Loud , and popping , back firing , flat spots ... he finally upped the jets 2 sizes larger ,was a little better , he went up 2 more was worse and bad fuel mileage ...dropped back ....my point sometimes making one little change can cause other problems.

 

I still stand by i wouldn't do it if i didn't have to. I gained nothing but very crucially needed room. I think it runs awesome with the pods, i also think i got very lucky to have some things work out so well. Their was no way i could have gone the route i did if i kept the airbox, it was the only reason i switched to pods.

 

81 XJ 550 seca I believe

 

That mono shock looks intense. Watching an episode of wrench against the machine they tried it on one episode and after that I said NOPE, looks good tho