Stock airbox/ K&N setup /Crankcase breather setup

When done correctly there is no drop in mpg using pod filters. My red KZ650 got about 40 mpg stock and it gets 40 mpg with the pipe and pod filters. Most people who install pod filters do not make the effort to get their carbs dialed in correctly. They tune until they get it to the point where it runs decent then stop. So their gas mileage drops or when it rains, gets windy or the weather gets cooler / hotter their bikes do not run right. If you take the time and dial the carbs in perfectly then you have no issues and the bike will run better than stock.

Yeah but in the case of a stock kz550 getting 60mpg and having decent power stock there doesnt seem to be any real gain to be gotten from pods.

My .02, but I will admit, every airbox on any bike I have had (minus the hondas, check out their setups sometime, they actually come out easy) are a PITA to get out the first time or two.

My pod-wearing KZ550 gets better gas mileage than stock , and may even be better mileage than my airbox bikes. But they have all been rejetted. And it definitely feels more enthusiastic on the highway than the airbox bikes. But it took a lot of jetting to get there, especially getting better than 10 mpg more than stock. That required running a pretty lean cruise setting. Only using the wideband o2 system let me get that kind of precision. I suppose through many iterations of trial and error I may have eventually got close, but the wideband made it easy.

Your TK22 carbs are very simple and respond well to rejetting.

That said, if you want convenience, restoring everything to stock jetting with an airbox will be easier in the short run than trying to get everything together for rejetting. Plus if you ride in the rain, the airbox is pretty nice to have.

There are details for jetting options in my signature in the link for TK22 carbs.

The ports on top of the valve cover are not breathers for the crankcase, so your buddy can rest easy. They will need to be capped off somehow to prevent backfiring if the rest of the air-suction-system is gone. The only crankcase vent you need to worry about is the one on the transmission. That can be routed through a big hose to the ground. Make sure it does not get kinked.

If you are really not into working on bikes, ie look at it as a chore, I'd go back to the stock air box etc... But if you are mechanically inclined and think tinkering on your ride is fun, then pods are not an issue, I think like Baldy a little work here and there can provide alot of pleasure..... But I built my first mini bike 47 years ago and have been wrenching ever since.
And don't put a filter on the hose from the crankcase vent,just run it towards the ground, and don't let it get kinked closed........ On the cam cover I'd get block off plates, to me a hose connecting those 2 ports just looks shade-tree mechanicing :ohmy: to me, I guess that would be personal preference .... Enjoy

ezrider714 wrote: If you are really not into working on bikes, ie look at it as a chore, I'd go back to the stock air box etc... But if you are mechanically inclined and think tinkering on your ride is fun, then pods are not an issue, I think like Baldy a little work here and there can provide alot of pleasure..... But I built my first mini bike 47 years ago and have been wrenching ever since.
And don't put a filter on the hose from the crankcase vent,just run it towards the ground, and don't let it get kinked closed........ On the cam cover I'd get block off plates, to me a hose connecting those 2 ports just looks shade-tree mechanicing :ohmy: to me, I guess that would be personal preference .... Enjoy

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