Another pod question

I'm debating switching over to pod filters this winter (my bike's a daily driver, so it'll have to be when it's too cold and I'm taking the bus...). I've read on here that they can be problematic in rainy weather because of wanting to pull in moisture. Being that my bike is my main source of transportation, I get caught in the rain more than I'd like to admit. Is it worth it? Or am I better off keeping the stock airbox?

 

I've got pods on my V Star and I've ridden through some serious downpours without an issue.

I should qualify that: the pods on that bike are up under the gas tank and fairly well protected. But there were a few times when every inch of me and the bike were soaked pretty good.

I think the bigger issue in going to pods on the XJ would be getting the jetting right.

Back in the day when XJ's were new, a buddy tried to put pods on his '82 650 Maxim. He could never get it to run right with them.

I had the same bike (we bought them together) and after I beat him in a drag race with my stock setup, he dumped the pods and went back to stock.

There's been a lot of jetting research done for pods on the V Star, so all I had to do was install the air kit (MaxAir). There was no guess work with the jet sizes.

If you can find someone that's gone through all of the trial and error to get the jetting figured out and has the setup running correctly, I'd say go for the pods. But if you have to do all of the testing yourself, IMO it's not worth the headache.

 

But the stock airbox is so ugly!

Seriously, though, thanks for the info. I was thinking about getting them, but the horsepower and jetting issues sound like too much.

Sean

 

Yeah, it's solely aesthetic preference here. Performance gains are totally nice, but not really my goal in this case. I'll just wait and see I guess... it's going to be a few months anyway. Thanks!

 

If you take the time to get the Carbs CLEAN, Synced right and the Mixture Dialed-in just right ... You'll overall run better STOCK than with the look of Pods and all the headaches that come with them.

 

There are pros and cons to everything. Pods take me about a minute to take off if you have to pull your carbs. But the con would be i have to cover them up when i arrive at work. If it rains #4 would get soaked. They also look alot cooler. Like Rick says their are lots of people who has problems with them. Thankfully i'm Not one of them.

 

I leave$ my pods on when I pull the carbs. Rejetting or adjustments can be done and tested in 15 minutes.

There is nothing wrong with pods so long as it's one correctly. The key to switching over is to have the carbs clean and the bike tuned perfectly BEFORE going to pods. Don't expect pods to fix tat nagging bogging problem or miss at top end.

Get it right first the tune for pods. I have a program which works on a formula that takes most of the guesswork out of it that works for me every time.

The only time I have had any trouble with water in the pods is when I have washed the bike.