Carb pods good idea or bad idea???

I just recently purchased air filter pods for my seca, but after looking thru some of the forums they seem like a nightmare to deal with. i seen good things about them and bad. i need some input. but they do look great on it. ill post pics later, home computer crashed.

 

They are only a good idea if you like messing with your bike. I only have them because I pull my carbs off alot, and they just make it easier to do so then the stock airbox.

 

If you want a good running commuter bike then pods are a bad idea. If you are building a bobber or other custom then pods look good but still run bad unless you can get the tuning right. Be prepared to spend countless hours changing jets. Even then a stock airbox runs better. CV carbs don't like having all that air available. If you are looking for a preformance upgrade, install a K&N style airfilter. If you really got to have that pod look then cut one in half and glue it to the carb.

 

Pods?

When you put Pods on, ...
You begin taking the Carbs off. Repeatedly.
The Pods require extensive re-jetting according to the condition of your Engine.

For the amount of work and aggravation involved getting the Engine tuned to accept the Pods; they are not worth all that trouble.
Not when the Bike can be brought to a better state of Fine Tuning if left stock.

If you get talked into putting those Pods on that Bike; DON'T destroy the Airbox nor sell it to someone else.

"They look great"!
Yep. They do.

 

okay thanks, lets say i dont go with the pods. i also seen the PVC method with one pod attached at the end. is that better than individual pods. i was looking at another post someone was explaining the difference between how the air reacts with pods and with the PVC method. im also waiting for my service manual to get the stock air box out. dont want to destroy it if i change my mind.

 

The PVC intake poses the same problems as pods do. I tried several variations of a PVC intake on my Max X, I was never happy with the way it ran. I wanted to put the stock airbox back in but could never find one.

 

My bike with pods runs just as good as the one thats stock, but you do have to be prepared to learn how to tune it.

 

Yes they look great, but it is a royal pain to tune the carbs afterward. be prepared to spend a LOT of time on getting the bike tuned. Also you'll need to do the same thing if you change the exhaust. I got pods and went with open exhaust on mine. It took me a long time tuning and rejetting to get it to run right. It worked out great in the end but it was a lot of work to get there.

 

ZZZZzzzzzzzzz.......

 

if you have to ask about pods you should NOT run them. Simple as that :wink:

 

The problem with pods is putting them on CV carbs. Get rid of the CV carbs and go with flat slide carbs but be ready to spend some bucks. :?

 

well from all the negative info ive received i guess ill stick with the stock air box. looks like i have a set of pods up for grabs if anyone is interested. they are from sportingforless.com

 

well this doesnt really apply to the pods anymore, but i want to get rid of the awful looking speedo and tach with the display. if i get a universal cable driven speedo would that forcise without messing up any of the electronics? i know i would lose the display but all i need it to say is when its in neutral. any ideas?

 

Look for a speedo with all the little indicator lights at the bottom, but be prepared to do some wire tracing. Look for a detailed wiring schematic.
Most things aren't as bad as they seem,dive in! :lol:

 

I have a decent electriacl schematic from the service manual that arrived today... yeah.. but is there any perticular suggestions on which one?? im looking on ebay but most dont have the indicators on the bottom unless i want to go digital, which i dont.

 

Try Bikebandit,J&P Cycles,JCWhitney or Oldbikebarn.

 

ill give em a shot. preciate it.

 

does a guage ratio mater when considering an aftermarket speedo for my ride.

 

NO. As long as it's compatible with '70s-'90s Jap bikes it will work. The beauty of it is that virtually all Jap bikes during that era with mechanical speedos used the same drive gear ratio., so if it fits it will work.

 

Usually the advertised part will list compatabilities but may have to ask.

 

I'm new to the XJ1100 world, last one was in college, but I do have some experience with Mikuni carbs both flatside and roundslide versions. I will have to disagree, for the most part, yes they are tough at first, but after a while you get the hang of tuning them and what jets to look for. Once again, I'm a novice but absolutely love the aftermarket K&N style filters but haven't yet experienced them with my XJ1100.

I will soon be installing a Wiseco 1179cc kit along with the K&N style (pod) filters to let the engine get more air, also thinking about an oil cooler. Believe me, there have been many, and I mean many thrown screwdrivers and cussing carbs, but when you get them tuned in, it's a thing of beauty. Whatever one chooses, have fun, it shouldn't be alot of work and frustration to ride these bikes. Good luck

 

You can get this one in the Jap ratio.

It's got lower-face Idiot Lites.

http://www.choppersurplus.com/np/instru ... peedo.html

 

Check Mikesxs (google it) he has alot of gauges and tachs. Make sure you know what type of tach you need though as there are 2 types. Oh i was also considering pods, not sure what i want to go with now. ill probably man it out and tune for the pods..

 

It's not a matter of flatslide vs. roundslide Mikunis, these are CVs.

CVs do not like an infinite air supply; they CAN be tuned to run OK but it will never equal the performance of the stock setup, trust me. I'm not talking about top end or blinding acceleration performance; I'm talking about everyday "rideability." With pods you will only ever be close.

 

I MUST HAVE GOTTEN LUCKY WITH MY PODS.I USED A 1.2 MM MINI DRILL BIT FROM HARBOR FREIGHT TO DRILL OUT MY 110 JETS TO 120 JETS, SHIMS MY NEEDLES WITH A 5 CENT WASHER AND COLOTUNED THEM. SHE IS RUNNING DAM GOOD. THIS SEEMED LIKE A POOR MAN'S ALTERNATIVE TO DYNOJETTING
1980 XJ650

 

I was also wondering about going to pods, this thread was very useful. Thanks everyone!

 

Hi I'm new to this forum and overall very new to motorcycles! I bought my first motorcycle a month ago which was a 1980 Yamaha xj650....I'm basically learning from step one and putting a good amount of hours on YouTube...asking people and websites....right now im inthe process of taking every thing down to pieces (all tthat's left is taking of the drive shaft so I can remove the engine off the frame to paint it which is a pain in the ass getting those bolts loose under the rubber boot -__-) right now I'm at the carburator taking it all apart andcleaning the ish out of it ....previous owner must of never cleaned them cause they're ridiculously gunky and full of rust....but anyways....they are clean now and even painted! Just waiting for the carb rebuild kit of the gasket seals and jet screws...I was thinking of adding air pods to my carbs as well just simply because the looks...but based on what I been reading I'd prefer to leave the stock airbox ....my question is this....is there a way maybe I can add the pod filters just for looks? I'm sure there must be a way maybe like cutting off the actual pod filter or something....also the exhaust is basically garbage lol I wanted to add like a straight exhaust to the bike but don't know if that would give me problems or do I need a specific exhaust? Any information is helpful and can't wait to begin this journey with the xj

 

Hold on now - you used "engine enamel, brake caliper paint," or a 2-part epoxy paint, right?? if not, that paint is gonna wrinkle and peel off in a month. You should also bake the paint in an old toaster oven, then replace the throttle shaft seals.

Never thought of that - just buy 2 PODS and fit them over the 2 outer intake boots. You'd have to fit them over the clamps so you'd need a size larger.

If the "collector" section is shot, you buy the $249 MAC system.
If just the mufflers are toast, you buy them off E-Bay when they pop up.
If you want to get creative, you buy "throw-away" Harley Sporster mufflers or 2 tractor mufflers, and fit them by having a collar welded on.

 

Thanks for the info! Yes I basically sprayed everything with rustroleum for now justto oprevent further rusting..thus is temporary till I buy the compressor I need and the epoxy I'm going to use
As for the pods yeah I was thinking only adding two on the other boots
Just didn't know if I attached them to the boots if it'll mess with the air/fuel mixture
As for the exhaust its basically just the mufflers that are beat up dented rusted and even have some holes in it lmao I was thing of buying the megaphone 4-2 exhaust but if I'm going to have to mess with the carburetor needles then Im going to have to think of another option

 

hello all! im working on an 81 650...
only problems i've had have been from the carbs.
first one poured gas so i readjusted floats when i cleaned them out..

went to pods because the stock rubber that went to airbox had shrunken a bit... i saw above that some suggested drilling the jets wondering if that would be the me=ain or pilot jet. drill from bowl side?

and as a side note..... i read here somewhere on the forums that the air/fuel screws were under a brass cap near the choke pin...... NOT TRUE so DO NOT DRILL THAT....

i almost (*&$&* myself up with that.....


air fuel on the 4x32 Hitachi is on the air side. two screws left is fuel right is air... correct me if im wrong but thought i would share that here two as i see a bunch of carb newbies like myself

 

If you DRILL jets you ruin them as far as ever putting things back to stock plus if drilled too much then they're just ruined period.

Better to REPLACE them since it's going to take some "doing" to get it tuned to run halfway decently with pod filters and an open exhaust.

The mixture screws were originally capped off at the factory; but a majority of our bikes have already had them "uncapped" long ago.

 

Sounds to me like you don't have stock Hitachi carbs. The idle air screw is on top next to the enrichment plunger and that's the only fuel/air adjustment screw there is. Maybe you're talking about the air jets that live on either side of the intake horn.

This is a diagram of the HSC33, but the 32 has the same arrangment of parts.

 

THAT IS INCORRECT..... The mixture screws ARE UNDER THE BRASS CAPS AND YOU MUST DRILL THEM TO REMOVE THEM SO YOU CAN ACCESS THE SCREWS. XJ carbs have the mixture screw under the brass plug that is on the top of the rear portion of the carb. If you have the plugs still in, you must drill them to remove them.. There are threads here explaining just how to do that.if the caps have not been removed, the mixture screws and passages have never been cleaned, etc.....

If your mixture screw are anywhere else, you don't have the right carbs on your XJ.