airbox mods for pods that worked for me

howdy guys,have been trying some airbox mods and this is what ive come up with.a short spin last night showed some promise.the amount of clutch slip and not bogging at higher rpm MAY indicate that im getting closer without rejetting.used original boots to 75mmx50mm rhs.then welded exhaust tube on to mount pods and fitted restrictors which are close in total area of opening in factory air box.i think there will still be quite a bit of tinkering to get it right and i may not.so far the tailshaft extention is working well and im changing a few things that i didnt like.cheers scruff

 

Re: airbox

Did you read the bit where retaining the velocity stack's shape helps eliminate "turbulence" ,
quoting you - "used original boots to 75mmx50mm rhs"
I think you're on the right track !!

 

have been for a test ride this morning and have decided that this will do for my bike.the acewell digital tacho showed a max of 8600rpm and top speed of 139kph with no hesitation.starts well and idles well.this is best this motor has run while i have owned it.when i purchased it ,it was running 4into1 exhaust,k&n filter with multiple holes drilled in air box.i was surprised by the pickup!good luck to anyone else fitting pods.cheers scruff

 

I did a similar thing with 50mm PVC pipe but as I was retaining the side covers i only used one pod on the intake side for filtering, I did not have any sort of baffling but the bike runs as good as with the original air box. I recon you could block a couple of the pods off and just have them for looks to help get the right air restriction if you have a look at the factory air box the intake ain't that big.

 

you can say that again ! I refitted mine recently and was surprised to see how small the intake slot is . You have me wondering now if I need to make mods for the 600 engine I'm planning..

 

I think for normal jetting a 50mm opening is all you need I do notice that after a service where the filter is dirty you notice the improvement after cleaning it. The difference in performance in the motor with this custom air box to pods was chalk and cheese the bike had no power bogged down on acceleration I cut my original air box up getting it out so I had to make eventually make one but for the custom bike and pod look I think scruff is onto something with his fabrication if he gets the air flow right. Incidentally the extensions or Velocity stacks from the carbs on my box are about 30mm which is about what the standatd boots are I think .

 

howdy paul,i think i can remember your set up and i think one pod is close to the size of the original opening.i had thought about using two pods or four with two blocked off but decided to try and keep the air flow as straight as possible.went for another ride tonight and reached 9200rpm then backed off.with the frame set up i have its unlikely that i will bother using rpms like this often or at all.i do have a spare motor but dont really want to put it in yet. have been thinking about fitting some type of vacuum gauge into the box to see what happens and if some could fit one to a factory box via the engine bypass pipe this MAY give us some useful information.im thinking if there is some difference between internal and external pressure of the standard box we may beable to replicate this by using restictors.cheers scruff

 

Also I did not mention my plugs show a light tan colour with my set up as well.

 

The best thing I ever did with my set of pods is to have never put them on.

 

The best thing I did with pods, was put them on my 2 round slide carb conversion.
My son in laws bike needed the carbs cleaned. After taking the carbs off/on for 10 times trying to get them right, I got fed up and switched my setup to his bike. Runs great after a couple of adjustments on first try.
I HATE CV CARBS.

Of course he did all the work since I can't, but it was still frustrating as hell.

 

To pod or not to pod, that is the question...I'm a noob at all this, but trying to.get the airbox off the bike seems impossible. It needs the airfilter changed, which means putting the box back in equally challenging. Pods seem like an easier way to go.
However, ppl love them or hate them, at about an even split.
Any feedback on how to get the box in & out, or pod types to use, going 2/4 or 4/4,,,all opinions appreciated Axis

 

No comment either way on pods, but if you just need to change the stock air filter, remove your seat, and remove the top of the airbox (4 phillips screws). Voila!


You didnt say what bike youve got, but if its anything like the xj650s, youll be fine following the steps above.

 

If it's a 550, the airbox "lid" is the LH side of the airbox. But it's also just 4 screws to access the air filter.

 

Thanks for your prompt replies, Slackard and BigFitz52!
I've got the 82 Maxim XJ1100J.
It's a fixer and I knew that going in to this. My repair manual is a printed pdf so some of its hard to see. I wanted a project bike and I sure got one! It's pretty rough looking.
Anyways I have a buddy I'm shuffling some $ to come up Sunday and help me a bit.

 

With pods you get real good at pulling carbs on and off of the bike. Carburetor headaches are like golf headaches, don't take the whole bottle of aspirin. Just a little adjustment makes a big difference.

 

Clean up the clunkiness and you could sell a lot of these.

Easy fix.

 

How do you take the Airbox out to replace with Pods...?

 

I got real good with remove/replace with the original setup.Takes a lot just to get the original setup to run right.

Different procedure for different models. On my 700 max, it was simple: remove carb rack, airboots, starter and cluch cable bracket. Then shove airbox to the front and out the left side. Some models require moving the motor forward or out completely. Some have used a heat gun on the airbox to distort the shape and slip it out.

 

Preferably, you don't. If you really must there are two methods. 1. Pull the engine (yes, really). 2. Heat the air box to soften it and collapse the front so that it is shorter.

 

I created an account on this forum purely for this thread. I hate the stock airbox. And I was thinking about this very thing. However, I was thinking of only 1 pod vs your 4. that should in theory have the same opening as the stock without adding restrictions. the other possibility is running 2 pods. But I like the single Pod approach with it going down at an angle into the Airbox's area under my seat.

Also, sorry for resurrecting an OLD post. I'm a new-old owner of an XJ700 xD