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82 GPZ750 BS34 cv Carbs Stock air box or K&N pods
- Jrider
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1982 Kawasaki KZ 750 R , Stock
2007 Harley Davidson Police Electraglide
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- TexasKZ
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It can be done. It usually is not easy. There are very few benefits, especially on an otherwise stock engine. heavy rain and strong cross winds can be problematic.
1982 KZ1000 LTD parts donor
1981 KZ1000 LTD awaiting resurrection
2000 ZRX1100 not ridden enough
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- 650ed
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- Pods cost more than the stock air filter and are more of a chore to maintain. The stock air filter can be replaced by a new one in one minute; not so with pods.
- Pods require rejetting and you are unlikely to hit the magic combination on the first try. Rejetting is not free - it costs money for jets, etc. and time to pull the carbs apart to install the parts.
- Pods can be affected by wind and by rain.
- Pod remove the rear support of the carbs which can lead to premature carb holder leak as the weight of the carbs pulls on the holders.
Some folks like the fact that pods make removing the carbs easier. Big deal? I think not. I have removed and reinstalled my carbs exactly twice in 38 years and the airbox adds 10-15 minutes to the task. That's 20-30 minutes in 38 years. I challenge anyone to rejet for pods in 20-30 minutes, so there is no time saving with pods.
All the above is my personal view. Here is the view of the Mikuni engineer who worked with the motorcycle companies to develop the air boxes. Below that is a detailed study on pods that was done back in the day by professionals. Ed
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1977 KZ650-C1 Original Owner - Stock (with additional invisible FIAMM horn)
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- Jrider
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1982 Kawasaki KZ 750 R , Stock
2007 Harley Davidson Police Electraglide
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- Nessism
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Regarding George Wired, the guys on GS Resources have posted photos of some of his work and all I can say is GOOD LUCK. You know what they say about a fool and his money...
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- SWest
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- 10 22 2014
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Steve
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- Tyrell Corp
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- "You were made as well as we could make you"
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There are some disadvantages I know, but for me I prefer pods. Clean looks, throaty sound and ease of maintenance being important for me. Unless you have the original linked 4-2 pipes I think you might lose some of the advantages of an airbox anyway.
I had an 81 GPz550 bolt standard with 4-2 and airbox and the bottom end was noticeably better, with good fuel consumption and 120 mph. Having owned quite a few over the years it was nice to at last try a bolt standard bike.
Interesting what the article said about 'spit back' at high speeds increasing fuel consumption, also about 'aftermarket products generally operate with more resonance tuning...it would be good to see the same test results but with hot cams and gas flowed heads plus a lot more set up time.
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1980 Gpz550 D1, 1981 GPz550 D1. 1982 GPz750R1. 1983 z1000R R2. all four aces
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- SWest
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- 10 22 2014
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Steve
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- SWest
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Steve
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- autotech2@tx.rr.com
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Something a lot of folks probably don't notice, but at least in my case, the K&N pods are over-oiled out of the box. And with them bolted right to the carbs, the oil is sucked into the engine. After some run-time I pulled the carbs and the bores were coated with the sticky filter oil. And to make things worse, it produced a black carbon film on the pistons and combustion chambers -- which will never come off without a tear-down. After that, I use a light coat of transmission fluid and service the filters more often.
The other biggie is the crankcase vent. Without the airbox the blow-by fumes/smoke are just dumped into the atmosphere (a little filter on the vent does nothing). It's annoying coming to a stop and getting a whiff of hydrocarbons, at the same time the blow-by is contaminating engine oil more so without any negative pressure drawing the fumes out of the crankcase. I built a custom PCV system to remedy that problem.
The airbox does support the rear of the OEM carbs, and over time they will sag in the back and produce unwanted stress on the intake tubes. As a matter of fact I'm going to find some springs to support the back of the carbs at the frame, or maybe some kind of post to prop them up from the crankcase.
I don't want to talk about jetting. But my situation was a bit more complex with the bore, compression, cams, porting, and flat slide carbs. It shouldn't be so bad with just intake and/or exhaust mods on a stock engine.
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- Randombeat
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autotech2@tx.rr.com wrote: I've been through the loop on Pods with my FCR35s, and hear's what I've learned.
Something a lot of folks probably don't notice, but at least in my case, the K&N pods are over-oiled out of the box. And with them bolted right to the carbs, the oil is sucked into the engine. After some run-time I pulled the carbs and the bores were coated with the sticky filter oil. And to make things worse, it produced a black carbon film on the pistons and combustion chambers -- which will never come off without a tear-down. After that, I use a light coat of transmission fluid and service the filters more often.
The other biggie is the crankcase vent. Without the airbox the blow-by fumes/smoke are just dumped into the atmosphere (a little filter on the vent does nothing). It's annoying coming to a stop and getting a whiff of hydrocarbons, at the same time the blow-by is contaminating engine oil more so without any negative pressure drawing the fumes out of the crankcase. I built a custom PCV system to remedy that problem.
The airbox does support the rear of the OEM carbs, and over time they will sag in the back and produce unwanted stress on the intake tubes. As a matter of fact I'm going to find some springs to support the back of the carbs at the frame, or maybe some kind of post to prop them up from the crankcase.
I don't want to talk about jetting. But my situation was a bit more complex with the bore, compression, cams, porting, and flat slide carbs. It shouldn't be so bad with just intake and/or exhaust mods on a stock engine.
Mind to share the details on your "custom PVC system"?
1980 KZ750H LTD-- pods-- vance & hines 4-1 --speedo/tach/blinker/switch deletes -- brat style
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- autotech2@tx.rr.com
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I take it you know where I'm coming from with the annoyance of an open crankcase vent?
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