pods vs. stock airbox

I'm trying to get my bike ready without much hassle. The boots inbetween the carb and the airbox are all fouled up, so should I replace those, or put pods on it? I'd rather not rejet if I don't have to, tryin to keep it simple for now. Would I definitely have to rejet? I'm kind of leaning towards the pods because it would be alot easier to break it down in the future, and i'd have to do some minor patching where the old boots have worn down the airbox a little bit (not sure if new boots would even give me a good seal) It seems like the pods would cost about the same as a set of new boots, so there's really no difference there. Any help would be great, thanx

I like K&Ns versus the OEM box. I like the performance, look, and easier carb accessibility.

Re-jetting is one of the easiest jobs you can do yourself. I'm sure there is info here on the exact jet size you need for your set-up. Believe me, if I can do it anyone can do it. While you have the carbs off you can replace the crappie screws with allen heads too.

Oh boy, here goes another can of worms...:woohoo:

I have pods and I like them. Yes I did rejet. If you search around the archives you will find many threads on rejetting and pods. You will also get many thoughts of using pods vs. the airbox. I can tell you mine havent given men any trouble. If I have the bike at work and see that its going to rain soon I always take a plastic grocery bag and cover the pods. The one time I did ride with them wet the bike did run poorly. Of course, the bag has to come off for the ride home, but I guess my legs keep the rain off when Im moving.

DanOz7Five0 wrote:

Oh boy, here goes another can of worms...:woohoo:

okay, I'll bite!

I never had a problem with my 750 (in-line 4, 4-2 Mac exhaust). Or the 1000. Or the 900. Ridden in rain so bad we couldn't the front tires. Stupid, yes, but the bikes preformed well.

I was going to put an individual pod on an 82' CSR 250 and was talked out of it by the local shop owner/head mechanic. He said the smaller engines should be left alone. Even a cross wind can mess them up. This was confirmed by two different mechanics from two different places.

That's all I think I know. I'm not a Doctor, nor do I play one on TV.

I personally don't think it matters one way or another whether the pods are wet or not, my bike runs just fine with the outter pods SOAKED, and equally well when all 4 pods are soaked from a trip to the carwash and getting a little careless with the wand. Somtimes I remember to squish the left one dry (Uni pods are foam and wrapped around a spring, so you can squish em dry), my far right pod is an Emgo that I had sitting around from the PO, I threw it on a few months ago when a freak backfire melted the right UNI pod. :blink:


Jetting isn't hard at all. Removing my carbs, taking the old jets out and putting the new ones in took me a whole 10-15 min. I'd just get the pods and put em on n do a plug chop. I ran around for 10 months on stock jets with pods, knowing I was a LITTLE lean. If a plug chop shows you a bit lean, order a size or 2 larger main jets and hang on to them til a rainy day comes along and you can put em in..

I like my pods, they seem to work well in most weather for me. Rejetting is a must, and changing the jets (like everyone else said) is an easy job.
Some ppl like the stock airbox, and because it is reliable in more situations than pods, I do agree with them to some point.
The reason I went to pods is the same reason you are thinking of. I can get to my carbs easier and I have found some "free" space where the stock airbox used to be since getting pods.
Both have their pro's and con's, but if ya don't mind rejetting, then pods are the way to go!

Good luck

Geesh... Last year I tested about 300 sets of carburetors. Some were tested with pods and some were tested with a factory airbox. I CAN tell the difference in that the factory airbox doesn't produce the slight surging from the wind that the pods allow. I suspect once you get used to riding with pods, you don't notice this surging since many owners are happy with them and don't seem to notice. On my PERSONAL KZ, I would never use pods since I notice the difference. The pods DO make it easy to pull your carbs. I will say that it takes me no longer to pull a set of carbs with the factory airboxes I use since the rubber is very soft on the intakes but your situation may not be the same. Also, keep in mind that all the folks who have told you how easy it is to rejet don't have Tekei carbs. You will need to go up about 3 sizes in main jets and use Keihin small headed main jets as these have the same thread as your Tekei (Tekei main jets are not available). You will also have to reclip the jet needle to the 4th slot to compensate for the lack of replacement pilot jets somewhat. There are NO replacement Tekei pilot jets otherwise you really should go up one size there as well. You can make the pods work but it takes a bit more effort with the Tekei carbs. This isn't really a "can of worms" unless folks argue about pods vs stock airbox and there are some small advantages either way in my most very humble opinion. If you don't want to reclip your jet needles which require sync-ing the carbs afterwards, the stock airbox seems like a good idea with new intake runners but if you don't mind, the pods offer some ease of install advantage. Also keep in mind that Emgo pods are basically disposable. At about $40-50 a set, they can get expensive if you swap them every year or two. K&N pods are lifetime but expensive. Check out UNI pods... you can get them from JC Whitney. They are washable and re-oilable and much less expensive than K&Ns and last a LOT longer than Emgo pods (paper elements).

wiredgeorge
please tell more of this surging that pods allow.

its when you get hit by a crosswind with pods.

it only happens in cross winds?

say your coming down between two hills or around a semi the sudden gust of wind will push the air away from carbs for a second through the big open area there behind carbs ,i wouldnt be suprised if it actually creates a vacuam for a split second and tries to suck fuel through air cleaner as well.

I have Tekei carbs. Main jet change was a snap, finding out what size of jet took some more thought.

I also didn't move my needle clips, although I think I could get a little better performance, but following a car whom I know was running 85 for 15 miles on the highway, I was able to keep up with a bit of power to spare, even with my big head serving as additional wind drag.

Post edited by: Werewolfx, at: 2006/06/02 03:03