AIR BOX Question

LOL !!! I guess i will go back with the airbox i dont have the hoses they didnt come with the bike when i bought it jus the box no hoses !

I have to agree with Loco on most of his observations, except a couple.

For me, at least, I could notice a little more power on the highway. The tradeoff is that I lost torque leaving from stoplights etc. This was most notable with a passenger. It needed more revs and clutch to get going.

I never noticed any affect of wind etc. on the pods. I definitely rejetted, though, so that probably helped.

The other thing, I think the cheap pods ARE the good pods. I now use the cheap emgo paper pods and love the fact that they are disposable. I hated cleaning and oiling the K&N's and Uni pods. They also only lasted a few years because they would start to fall apart or deteriorate. At least with the Emgos, there is no maintenance or chemicals to buy. I've had my Emgos for over a year and they look as good as new in construction. Obviously the filters show some dirt, but that's it.

I only have one bike with pods now. It never had the aibox or the tabs for the airbox since I bought it.

Mainly because of the rain issue, I put the pain-in-the-ass airbox back on the other bikes. I then set up the carbs so I could take the bowls off while they are still on the bike. Basically you just have to put in allen screws for the bowls and make a shrt allen tool. Also, put a thin layer of antiseize on the gasket and they will never be a problem to take apart.

You hit the pin on the head with a Sledge. Thats the best Truth so far why pods"SUCK" not just air and water.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Goes along the line growing up we were told Not to play with our food.Just eat it. and enjoy...:laugh:

If you do decide to go with the airbox (and it is YOUR decision) get the new hoses. You can do this with nice new pliable hoses and it will make getting the carbs out and in a breeze.


Then about once a year(or more) silicone the boots to keep them soft. Note: Do not keep them folded over for a long time.

Open the damn pod bay doors HAL!!!! :blink:

I'm sorry Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.

I have heard the loss of initial acceleration due to pods is that a good designed intake has at least a volume of air bigger than the displacement of the cylinder/engine inside of the filter medium, otherwise your have to suck air in through the filter and it causes a leaning condition when starting out. I also believe that the stock tubes are used as tuned velocity stacks is a small way.

I am not that much of a fan of pods, I have one on my thumper and plan on replacing it in the near future.

Oh and you also have to listen to that sucking sound through the pod at idle...

The Garbone wrote:

Oh and you also have to listen to that sucking sound through the pod at idle...

Forgot to add that one to the list.

oxcadillacxo wrote:

LOL !!! I guess i will go back with the airbox i dont have the hoses they didnt come with the bike when i bought it jus the box no hoses !

Likely the old hoses had been hacksawed off. :laugh:

As to the sucking sound, remember
Loud Pods Save Lives! :lol:

Good Luck!

Yes.... I forgot if you do decide to go with pods there are a whole slew of attachments you can get to make shop life a little easier.

Just remember to never stick the crevice device into your pants to free up your hands......don't ask..... :woohoo:

Damn didn't know there was so many pod haters aboard here.:blink:

I guess that everyone who runs pods on their bike must be stupid.

I think all the negatives attributed to pods are highly exaggerated at best (carb support maybe), non-existent at worst (cross-wind problem?, sucking sound? flat spots? I've never experienced any of those problems), nevertheless choosing between pods or stock airbox is not the OMG-you can't be seriously thinking of doing that you dumbass-issue that some here would seem to purport.

The main reason I went with pods is because 1)The bike was bought with the airbox missing and had already been setup for pods (i.e. jetting, had a couple of ratty pods left on the carbs) and judging by the condition of the plugs (a perfect uniform tan color), had been set up right and 2)After hearing all the exaggerated horror stories about pods on the forums from guys like you, I initially decided to replace the stock airbox, but after much searching, I couldn't find a used airbox off ebay for my '77 KZ650. Going with pods was simply more cost effective and easier-no jetting change required. And other than the minor inconvenience of oiling the Unifilters, they've worked great. The bike screams, and so far I haven't experienced any of the negatives that some people associate with them. I've been very happy with the way they perform. And they'll always make pulling/installing the carbs a helluva lot easier. Oh yeah, they look pretty cool as well.

But I guess I'm just an ignorant buffoon with intake busting, performance robbing, sucky sounding pods and a loud obnoxious header on my bike, so what do I know?:silly:

Well first of all I don't hate pods at all. Why would I hate pods? Why are you calling people stupid and dumbasses? I didn't see any of these things in the whole post. I realize there are many who run and love pods. Good for them. I am truly happy. But if you look deeper you will also find those who have gone through hell getting their machine to run right. To some it left a bad taste in their mouth and I'd rather see people happy with their machines. It actually helps the sport. Second point is I am also speaking from experience. I put on the pods and experienced the lean out to the point I bit the bullet and put the box back on after trying to fix it. I don't like feeling a power drop when passing a truck and if you think that is exaggeration so be it. Why shouldn't people have access to both sides of the coin and be able to make their own decisions? Do you just want them to hear oh yeah pods are great. Slap them on and no worries? As for you calling yourself an ignorant baffoon for having pods and having in your own works an obnoxious exhaust you said it I didn't. But I really don't think the pods have anything to do with it.

I'm really not trying to light a flame here, anything we talk about in this forum is really not important enough to get that upset about. That being said, my inward pointed sarcasm (

I guess that everyone who runs pods on their bike must be stupid.

and

But I guess I'm just an ignorant buffoon with intake busting, performance robbing, sucky sounding pods and a loud obnoxious header on my bike, so what do I know?

) was meant to poke a little fun (at my own expense) at the one-sided, mean-spirited, pile-on sarcastic nature of the anti-pod posters on this thread. It's pretty obvious when you read between the lines that these people seem to have a pointed, biased view of what (in their opinion) should be on a motorcycle, and what shouldn't. And that's fine, everyone is entitled to express their own opinion, but what upsets me is how that opinion is expressed, with immature exaggerated hyperbole (the vacuum cleaner bit, for instance) that does nothing but perpetuate a negative myth about pods that I've yet to see as a problem in my bike. I've seen it in this thread and others, and it's kinda reminiscent of the juvenile, cliquish behavior found in high school adolescents. You're not "cool" unless you're like me. Having that kind of attitude is detrimental to "the sport", as you call it. And that is more obnoxious than any exhaust system I can put on my bike.

There are usually advantages and drawbacks to everything, and people are helped out the best by having good, non-biased information presented to them, and then making their decision based on that. In a perfect world, of course. In the real world, there is often an abundance of mis-information out there. If you read all the posts for and against pods, it's almost 50-50. But the negative horror stories and myths one hears about them inevitably makes a guy cautious about installing them. I know that's how I felt when I was doing my research. Based on all the horror stories I wanted an airbox. But that wasn't economically feasible. When I bought my pods from a local bike shop, the clerk was totally negative about them. "You'll always have a flat spot with 'em", he said matter of factly "either on the high end or low end". I got the feeling he was trying to persuade me not to buy. Well I haven't experienced the dreaded flat spot he talked about, nor any of the other negatives that have been associated with them. I've had the bike well above 100 MPH, and the sidecover didn't fall off. Ridden in 30 MPH wind gusts, didn't experience any "lean-out". Are they right for everybody and and every situation? No. Should everybody get pods? Absolutely not. Do I have any complaints about them. None so far, but I haven't put many miles on them yet.

I think sometimes when people have a bad experience with something, it tends to be more memorable and gets passed down more than the good experiences. Seems like with pods either you love them or hate them, but it's doing a real disservice to the OP by just presenting one side of the story.