No air box to filter or not?

I am thinking about removing the air box and getting these because I love the look.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DHY0DI/ref ... KMJFOP0903

What can I expect once these are hooked up?
Will the bike still run the way it does now or will I need to do something to compensate for the different setup?

Have any of you made the switch? do you like it?

Is gas mileage same worse or better?

 

You will have to tune the carbs accordingly. Jetting and such. Might want to think about running velocity stacks. Read up on running pods, there are plenty of discussions about them. If done right they will be fine. But plan for a tedious time tuning it.

 

Alright thanks.

 

Short answer: no, it won't. And it will take quite a bit of "doing" to get it back to even close to having the performance it did stock; if you ever manage to.

Looks ain't everything.

 

I will not be switching to PODS. I wish however that that box was more easily removed so I could sandblast a new finish into the plastic...without removing the engine.

 

Bigfitz52 is giving you the best advice( Note the XJwixard bit) the air box is not just a thing to hold the air filter. it is an integral part of the carb system and significantly affects how the carbs work. If you do chose to ignore the advice on PODs and try and run them, a second bit of advice, don't destroy you air box when removing it you most likely will want to put it back on later, or some will give you good money for it.

 

I am curious, can you remove the air box on any of the other XJ series bikes without removing the engine first (and without cutting it up), cause you sure cannot on the XJ700. I tried every which way, even removing the entire top end first, but it fouled on the generator "hump".

 

I have removed an airbox from a XJ700 without removing the engine.
Simply remove the carb rack, airbox boots and top lid, side chrome trim if you still have it, remove the starter and the clutch cable bracket above the clutch basket housing. You have to apply some force, but the box will come out on the left side of the bike.

 

CV style carbs are a PITA to tune NORMALLY, but can be tuned to run pods with the correct jetting if you don't mind pulling your hair out trying to tune it. Velocity stacking the pods will help. Also not a good idea to have any firearms around. :lol:
Will the performance be the same? NO, you'll find some increase on the low end with a probable decrease on the high end. Since you have a Maxim, you probably don't run it like a sport bike anyway and won't notice the high end loss like you would with a Seca. Depends on your riding style(bat out of hell or cruising).
You could also look into changing the carbs for some round slide style or go with some EFI throttle bodies. That will run you from about 500 to 1000 dollars by the time you pay for the carbs/throttle bodies and all the required parts and mods. Just depends on what you want to achieve and how much you want to spend and put yourself through. 8)