Will a K&N Air Filter (Only Mod) Effect Idle & ColorTuning?

We are having a bit of trouble getting Blue on the Colortuning of an 85 Maxim 7.

The Carbs are Clean as a whistle.
There's No Air Leaks.
The Carbs are Synced.

But there's something going on that won't let us get a Blue.
Close ... but No Cigar.

Anybody has this happen?
What did you do?
Should we go and get a Stock Air Filrter?

Who's been here and done that?

 

Re: Will a K&N Air Filter (Only Mod) Effect Idle & ColorTuni

Not sure about the K&N, but when I dropped in a well-oiled UNI I didn't have to do any tuning.

K&N probably flows better though, so you never know.

Hey! You're supposed to be the expert here.

 

Re: Will a K&N Air Filter (Only Mod) Effect Idle & ColorTuni

I had someone tell me that the K&N filter will give you between 5 and 7 extra Horsepower.

I can't imagine the Stock Filter being that restrictive that it causes that much difference.

We got the Bike running. The Carbs arrived totally knocked-down. While we were working a terrible accident knocked-out power for the better part of the day. We still managed to build the Carbs and put the Float Levels right on the money.

Tweaking was a mystery. We wound-up pulling the Carbs off again and checking for something binding. It was the #-4 Carb. Got that Carb back in the game and added a washer to the back of the Spring on the Idle Adjustment Rod. After that, the Carbs Synced-up perfectly!

Just the addition of that washer (you have to grind two windings off the Spring) made it a heck of alot easer to Tweak the Idle.

We ran out of time to do the the last Road Test ... so, we just buffed-out the haze on the Gas Tank ... loaded the Bike up for the "Running-bike" trailer back to home.

Ninety-two to 95-Percent successful.
Do the last bit of tweaking in the comfort of your own surroundings.
Beats being a few hundred miles away when you need to be with your kids.
I needed a nap; anyway!

 

I will try to ride to where Rick lives to get my bike fine tuned. I will also enjoy a nice ride from Vancouver, WA

 

you couldn't get blue which means you were running rich? interesting. I had the opposite effect with the K&N on stock jetting. I could never get it to run rich, it seemed lean at all times (perhaps needed a re-jet). I installed a stock filter again. I have yet to check the plugs and mixture yet to see if it improved. My idle speed adjustment is a little odd behaving sometimes as well. I think I will look into adding a washer to the spring on mine. Which end of the spring did you add this? The knob end or the business end?

 

Re: Will a K&N Air Filter (Only Mod) Effect Idle & ColorTuni

Weird, 5-7 hp? That is what my K&N FIPK for my Dodge 4.7 V8 claimed too. If I had known it was such a small gain I woud have saved my money. Realistic gains with a K&N drop in filter on our bikes would be maybe 1 or 2 hp. I know on my 1982 Virago 750 i picked up 1.5 hp on the dyno, but the old filter may have been in need of a change. Sounds like the filter may have been over oiled. Good to see it running good too. cruzerjd

 

Props to Rick over and over - he did a great job working with me on the 700N, even with a power outage due to a terrible accident nearby.

I think I am going to install a new stock air filter and go from there. Not for nothing, but for another 1-2 horsepower, it seems more trouble than it's worth - cleaning and recharging, etc. Especially if it is also affecting the Colortune dial-in.

Now, onto the petcock!!!

 

Re: Will a K&N Air Filter (Only Mod) Effect Idle & ColorTuni

You add that washer to the Knob end. You have to grind a winding or two off the Spring. The Knob end rotates on the washer ,,, not the spring and the net result is easier adjusting of the Idle Rod.

Want to make it "Special" ... do a Nylon Washer!

 

Sorry I was out of town and away from a pc. But I have a K&N and it doesn't affect the colortune. The main jet should be upped one size but the mixture screw should take up the small leaning at idle. I have been able to get the yellow rich color and then drop back to blue with stock idle jets.
I would first suspect the seal on the K&N filter. If it drops back and is not flush against the airbox then it will leak quite a bit of air. Make sure the top of the air box is holding the filter forward to seal it against the airbox. There is a tab along the top of the airbox top that holds it in position. I would also check the vacuum ports for leaking if you had a sync attached. Make sure the breather tube is attached and that the airbox isn't cracked.
If all that checks good then tight valves may be the problem.

 

Re: Will a K&N Air Filter (Only Mod) Effect Idle & ColorTuni

We were just beginning to have some success doing Special Tuning Laps around the quarter-mile Stafford Lane -- Belmont Loop when qualifying time expired and my rider needed to head home.

We started having success losing the "Too-rich bogg-out" at BELOW the Factory Preset of 2-1/2 Turns. I tweaked-'em-in at 2-1/4 and we started having success. Another 20-minutes and we'd have been ready for a Time Trial.

I got to believe that we solved the problem that put the bike on the selling block ... fur shirr!

Dagg-nabb-itt for somebody taking-out a Power Pole right when we were at the Zenith of working together.

I set the Float Heights with a Guage I had in my Drawer from way-back-when.

A HOLLEY Float Height Guage.

Worked like a charm!