I would like to put pod air filters on my XJ650RJ

Hi all,
I am in the process of rebuilding my carbs (thanks Rick) and would like to put pod air filters on my XJ650. I have a few questions if anyone would like to help. Is there a way to remove the old air intake box with out cutting it out or removing the starter?? Is there anyone who can suggest a good quality pod filter that is not going to kill my pocket book?? If there is anyone who has done this modification and could provide me with some tips that would also be handy. thanks to all
Jdog

 

You have to pull the engine to get the air box out, unless you cut it up.

 

Which must be why I've seen mention of converting the old air box into a storage compartment. Dont remove it, convert it. Easier to convert back if need should arise.

 

Has anyone changed the stock airbox over to individual filters? I see where I can put 4 K&N filters on, but unsure if I have to re-jet or not. By the way, you can cut at the front seam and re-glue it back together. I did, and it's holding up well. (Yes, the reason I had to do this is because I did a frame-off resto and decided to put the airbox back on LAST. Wrong order.)

 

I swapped the air box for pod filters. I used emgo filters from bikebandit. A lot cheaper than the k&n pods. I just used a sawsall and cut my old air box to pieces. I also did some mods to the exhaust so I am basicly running straight pipes as well. I did the rejetting because those two mods made the bike way, way too lean. You can also get jets at a reasonable price from sudco.com. I found a basic "formula" on motorcyclecarbs.com to figue out what size jets I needed to buy based on mods I had performed.

Best of luck and get ready to do some tweaking. I like the pod look but I am convnced the airbox set-up is a more consistent setup. The pods function differently in a good wind or a good rain.

 

I think the emgo filters are very nice for the price($40)..You will definitely have to re-jet your carbs..Dynojet sells a jet kit just for this set-up, and is very easy to install.

 

The airbox can be removed without pulling the motor, at least on the Seca. You will have to remove the carbs, the manifolds and the mount for the clutch cable to do it. You also will have to flex the box out of place a bit to get it out. I removed mine without removing the manifolds, but had to have more clearance when i replaced it. I have a set of Emgo 52mm pods and Dynojet jets for sale on eBay right now, just listed them with a $9.99 starting price and no reserve. PM for details, or to make an offer, cruzerjd

 

can someone who has done this post pics of what it looks like now? thanks. im considering this mod and want to see it on there first!

 

Pods are not a Mod I would recommend to my worst enemy. Although some get "Tweaked and Dialed-in" running Pods; for every one guy who claims he's happy with the Mod ... there are a dozen that regret it.

To get the Bike to run; you'll need to Re-Jet.

Good luck with the Pods. Save the Boots and Airbox.

You can read more about Pods and De-Tuning by searching our Archives.

Just search: Running Lean, Won't Idle and Hate My Bike Now!

 

If you want to see pics look at my gallery or do a search for kevineleven and look at his gallery. I'm sure there are countless others on here with the same but I don't know any by name.

 

Somebody needs to invent a Pod System of Intake Air Control that comes with restriction plates; like NASCAR.

Once you get a handle on limiting the Air into the Carbs ... everybody who likes the Pod 'Look' ... but, wants to avoid the headache of all the Trial and error Jetting will be buying Pod and pimping-up their bikes.

 

I was tooling with the restrictor idea before I got mine dialed in. I heard someone on the KZ site put atheletic wristbands over a portion of the pods to restrict flow. Dosen't really help the look, but I guess it worked.

 

Looks?

Who cares about looks?

Performance!

Get the Bike running real good and you'll enjoy it a whole lot better than having it look cool.

 

Do you spend all of that time shining and polishing because you don't care about how your bike looks?

 

I have pods on my bike and love them. I did have to re-jet. They will pull more air and run your engine lean if you don't re-jet. As far as my old airbox i only removed my starter . My bike starts with pods in about 1 second. It runs great 75 mph coming outta second works for me. I'm happy.

 

Oh, no.

I care that the bike looks nice. Sure, I do. But, if I had to pick between looking good and running good ... I'd take running.

I'm not the average owner; either. I can do all my own maintenance and repairs and keep the bike tuned-up to the edge.
Once you get to the point where you don't have to wrench; you can work the cosmetic-end every day.

Pretty soon, you almost run out of stuff to do; so you change the oil for something to do to make you feel good about getting it ready to go for a long ride.

I don't have Pods, though. I ain't going there. I know the Cubic Feet per Minute passing through the Airbox is less than half what Pods do and I'm to old to do all that Tweak-it-some-more dance trying.

 

Rick, I'm not trying to give you crap---I'm just being me. I have been here almost a year and have a rough idea of who you are. I know you know your stuff on these bikes, and EVERYONE here appreciates it. I just like to keep people in check sometimes. If I were you I would have said---


"I like to have my bike in proper running order first, cosmetics come second to performance."

Perhaps that is what you said in not so many words.

 

That's what I meant. In other words ... prioritize the effort. I wouldn't add Pods. I'm against doing that. But I wouldn't get things out of order; either.

Before I did a cosmetic Mod ... I have all the brakes working right.

I guess I over-reacted to the trend of the recently newcomers whose first Posts were about dumping the stock pipes for louder ones and adding Pods without knowing about the delicate nature of having to get the Air~Fuel Ratio worked-out before shopping for aftermarket parts.

I didn't mean to imply I don't care about Cosmetics. I certainly do. And, I have the Polished-up, Painted-out, Over-pimped bike that owns-up to that.

I should have said something like ...: "Get all your running gear in order before you start running for a lot of other gear to order!"

Does that make sense?
I hope so.

 

Absolutely. I agree. What good is having a killer looking bike if it can't get out of the garage under it's own power? But I also have very little desire to own a stock bike.

Anyways, sorry to whoever for hi-jacking the thread.

I have pods on my bike and love them. Just bought a set for the Kaw too, and hopefully they will be as easy to dial in for me as they were on my XJ.

 

I bet she screams when you do her like that

All kidding aside what is the horse power gain from a modification like this?

 

8O

Power is increased in the upper rev range but lost from the lower end.
You use more fuel (bigger jets eh). Jetting right is as much a art as a science and can be fun for the experienced wrencher but potentually engine killing for the noob.

A dyno to test with can help (yeah we all have one!) to get the bike right on the edge but for most the spark plug chop is the way to go. read your spark plugs

The way the CV carbs work make them more of a PITA to get right than straight pull slide carbs.

I'm kind of lucky as the EFI will compensate for exahust modifications but have a airflow meter in the airbox so pods are out.

The link jetting help is a good place to start.

Looks? I like a Rat Bike!

 

Well....how about the jetting specifics from you guys that have successfully applied pods? I cheated and simply got a copy of the instructions for a DynoJet kit for my 1981 XJ650. I put on some pods and re-jetted from a 110 main to 118 and went to a 41 on the pilot. The instructions actually called for 122's, but that just seemed so ridiculous. Well, it ran like crap and I put the stock mains back in. My logic was that when I bought the bike it started and ran fairly well and it had the stock air box, but NO FILTER. It has an old RC Engineering 4-into-1 exhaust with the baffle installed.

It still starts hard when cold and runs pretty crappily....spitting an popping through the carbs, etc. Here's a real puzzler....see if anyone's ever heard of this.....to get it to start, I straddle the bike and rock it side to side, and I mean I really toss it back and forth, while cranking it. It finally starts and if I keep it running until it warms up, it'll pop right off every time after that. It still spits and pops though. The plugs are on the light side, leading me to think it's running lean.

I since realized that I didn't make the recommended pilot screw adjustment. SO today, after just leaving it parked most of the summer, I decided I'd put the 118's back in and turn the screws out to 3 or 3-1/2 turns and re-assemble. Once I located the screws, the tamper-resistant caps were still there, but had small (1/8?) drilled holes through them. I suppose you could grind a screw driver down enough to get in there, but I used screws to pull them out. Then I seated each screw and they were all about 3-1/4 turns out. I was anticipating them to be in the 1-1/2 to 2 turns range and that I'd turn them out to 3 or so. Logic being that the 118's allow more fuel, so you need to allow more air to keep the a/f ratio correct.

So.....what is the typical stock position (number of turns) on the pilot screw? I'm putting the 118 mains back in and going to set the screws somewhere and seeing what it runs like. I'm thinking that 2 to 2-1/4 or 2-1/2 may be a good place to start.

By the way, the float levels are all good, I've disassembled each carb and cleaned every jet and orifice I could find. I will pull each pilot screw out and ensure that that passage is clean before re-assembling. If I get improved performance with this effort, I may end up going with the 122 mains as suggested by DynoJet.

I live in upstate NY, less than 1,000 feet above sea level. I'd sure appreciate some base line jetting from some of you that are successfully running similar set up to mine. Thanks!

 

Cool idea. I've been just lately thinking of a way to restrict the air flow (my air box and associated parts are long gone and the space it occupied is now filled with other "stuff", so there's no going back....).

 

I have to say, it might have been pure luck or wo knows what but I got my bike running pretty with my pods. I haven't pulled the plugs yet but I just did a 200+ mile weekend and didn't even have a bit of a problem. Everything from highway speeds to climbing a windy mountain pass. In fact my only complaint was my seat. Going back to a springer as soon as possible.

 

When I installed pod filters I also installed a less restrictive Super Trap 4-1 exhaust system and while the less restrictive pod filters make the mixture leaner the less restrictive exhaust system makes it richer so they tend to cancel out at some RPM's. They don't cancel out at all RPM's though so I still had to rejet and I ended up making the pilot jets and main jets a size larger to take care of slow speed and wide open throttle conditions but it was too rich in the mid range so I had to LOWER the tapered needle in the slides to take care of the mid range. Every bike is different though and the exact jet size will depend on engine condition and tuning, muffler and air filter restriction, altitude and air density, temperature and humidity. That means the jet sizes have to be determined on a dyno or by trial and error and that's why EFI systems have so many sensors.