installed factory air box today

I noticed a performance gain going from pods to a stock airbox on my 900. The engine just runs smoother/broader and more "in-tune" than before.

Great sound too.

o yeah i put new intake manifolds and new intake boots on it what a difference..takes half the time to warm up smoother off of idle wow..i am so happy right now

yeah just leave the air box

this will be an all together mute subject as the boots that go between the carbs and airbox get next to impossible to find. Mine were so rock hard that installation would have been impossible even if I did want to install the airbox. One 1881 KZ1000 airbox for sale (minus boots)

Bikebandit.com shows them available for an 81 LTD. They've recently upgraded their site with a button to check for availability.

13.54 each for them. Air Box Rubber Boots

Looks like same part number for standard J, M & K models.

That's still less than PODS

Polar_Bus wrote: It took me a while to find this article, but I did ! It's a great read from Cycle World circa 1983 on the true pros and cons of pods. (keep your airbox handy after reading this article) :laugh:

api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&drKe...f%20Free%20Lunch.pdf

Great article! I miss those days when the magazines did tests like that.

If you got Mickey Mouse taking up residence in your airbox over the winter you have more than airbox problems. Mice also eat wiring insulation. You better evict your Mickeys and not just because you are too lazy to seal up the box while you are not using it. Mice droppings festers quite a few diseases and anyone ever heard of the Black Plague? As for debating engineers worth in designing bikes I'm not so sure the debate would be credible as to not making a bike perform to customers preference. Filling a hole? Soooooo they just said look at all that space! Lets fill it with a black plastic box? Hmmmm. I'm pretty happy that some like pods. I like the looks of them. As long as they are on other peoples bike they rule. But I cannot see debating their merits while debating an airbox faults. If it starts and ends with cosmetics it's pods all the way. Parts to out 20-30 year old machines will surely become hard or impossible to acquire. Then the argument is moot. The choice has been made for you. But until then........

Proxy wrote: If you got Mickey Mouse taking up residence in your airbox over the winter you have more than airbox problems. Mice also eat wiring insulation. You better evict your Mickeys and not just because you are too lazy to seal up the box while you are not using it. Mice droppings festers quite a few diseases and anyone ever heard of the Black Plague? As for debating engineers worth in designing bikes I'm not so sure the debate would be credible as to not making a bike perform to customers preference. Filling a hole? Soooooo they just said look at all that space! Lets fill it with a black plastic box? Hmmmm. I'm pretty happy that some like pods. I like the looks of them. As long as they are on other peoples bike they rule. But I cannot see debating their merits while debating an airbox faults. If it starts and ends with cosmetics it's pods all the way. Parts to out 20-30 year old machines will surely become hard or impossible to acquire. Then the argument is moot. The choice has been made for you. But until then........

Oh yea! Mice do an awesome job of destroying engines. I had to rebuild a Yamaha snowmobile engine for a guy after mice made a home in his airbox and used the carburetor for a toilet. That's no joke. It required a complete teardown.

I think the fact that so many of these old bikes have lived so long is a compliment to both the Japanese stylists AND the engineers. I am sure the styling guys said "Ah so, large hole-must fill with something." The techies guys said "Ah so,large hole, will put air box there" or something similar and u can bet the boxes were meticulously designed for form and function.. I also know that as soon as these bikes were delivered new,air box came off and pods went on.4 into 4s came off, 4 into 1s went on and so on.Over time, the air boxes were scrapped and so were the stock pipes.PArts will get harder to find and thats why guys like us scarf them up when we find em.It is a debate that has been going on for over 30 years, and will continue to go on until the last KZ disappears from the planet.Sounds like a good book title--"The Last KZ".bj

shew funny thing is my friend talked me into not throwing that box away too!!!!

cavanaughracing wrote: Bikebandit.com shows them available for an 81 LTD. They've recently upgraded their site with a button to check for availability.

13.54 each for them. Air Box Rubber Boots

Looks like same part number for standard J, M & K models.

That's still less than PODS

14073-1048 $20 each. Spring Retainers $6 each. # are shown as active. $104 for the set. I will stay with my Emgo pods. I guess that if they had them on the police bikes until 2006, there would still be some around.