Dyno kit or Air box

[850GT_Rider]

The PO or one of the PO's on my bike installed pod filters and a VH 4 into 1. The pods are not K&N

I've had the bike about a year, but work and other stuff has kept me off of it until just recently. I discover now that it seems to stumble and flatten out above 4500 rpm. Below that, it's just fine - pulls well. So I can keep up all the way to 65 mph, but not do much more than that. It could be carbs or the igniter, haven't really looked into it yet.

This winter I'm gonna do a lot of projects, including going thru the carbs with a full clean and rebuild. One of the possible reasons for the way the bike is running is that whoever put the pods on did not change anything in the carbs to account for the increased airflow.

I'm definitely keeping the V&H 4-1. Beyond that, should I plan and budget for a Dynojet Stage 3, or try to get all the parts to return to the stock airbox?

Just askin' for the collective wisdom and opinions....

[blowerbike]

st. 3 isn't much over a hundred bucks...
kinda up to you i guess.

[tkent02]

How do you want it to run?
Maximum power at top RPM?
Nice and smooth everywhere?
Take your pick.

[850GT_Rider]

How do you want it to run?
Maximum power at top RPM?
Nice and smooth everywhere?
Take your pick.

I'd prefer the smooth. It's one of the reasons I'm not riding a Hardley.

But just out of curiousity, why do we need to pick one or the other?

[blowerbike]

the 850's i have done..80 and later ran fine every where and had a few more HP with a pipe and stage 3.

[wera racer]

Here's a short vid of my recently completed GS1000 that is going vintage racing. VH4/1, stage 3 kit and velocity stacks. Properly synching the carbs is critical. It sure is nice to be rid of the air box with its inherent air leaks. I never could get the idle to hold because of poorly fitting boots and airbox connector. Now it idles fine. Try the stage three and synch the carbs before giving up on the pods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qIH3eoscxc

[Billy Ricks]

I've run the same set of K&Ns for 24 years now on the stock CVs and with my current RS flatslides. With the CVs I ran a DJ Stage 3 kit and it was pretty much spot on after the kit install. I would never go back to the airbox just due to the ease of pulling the carbs. Properly cleaned and jetted carbs will make power everywhere.

[rideOn]

i've been thinking about the stage 3 and pods. i sealed up the airbox when i rebuilt the carbs and she runs better. the boots between the carbs and airbox have become so hard and inflexible that the box will not move high enough to bolt up to the frame. i have styrofoam jammed between the back side of the box and the vertical frame member.

i mean 100 buck to replace the boots or a 100 bucks plus a few for stage 3 and pods? y'all's testimony sounds good. a good sync tool is on the list, the TOP of the list, anyway and i have a 4-n-1. not sure of brand, though.

[Guest]

I run a 4 into 1, K&N's and a stage three kit on my 82 850.
Took a little tinkering but all in all it was a lot easier than foolin with the stock airbox. Not to mention the pods just look better.
More than likely if the PO did the filters and pipes on your bike and its running at all then the jets and needles have been "adjusted". In my limited experience and understanding the CV's dont like to work at all with intake adjustments.
Mine wouldnt run at all till I did the rejet.

Oh, and if you cant run yours above 4500 RPM's you're missing out on a helluva treat and might as well be riding a "Hardly".

[salty_monk]

I ran both stock airbox & K&N's on my 1000G. Both stock exhaust & 4:1.

In my opinion the G bikes are better with the stock airbox (& maybe an Inbox K&N). Smoother, more torque etc & you don't have the airbox problem, G bikes are super easy on that front.

With the 4:1 & K&N inbox you can use the stock needles, raise them a bit using some washers (say 1 step) & throw in a main jet that is 2.5-5 over stock & you'll be fine.

Dan

[850GT_Rider]

I run a 4 into 1, K&N's and a stage three kit on my 82 850.
Took a little tinkering but all in all it was a lot easier than foolin with the stock airbox. Not to mention the pods just look better.
More than likely if the PO did the filters and pipes on your bike and its running at all then the jets and needles have been "adjusted". In my limited experience and understanding the CV's dont like to work at all with intake adjustments.
Mine wouldnt run at all till I did the rejet.

Oh, and if you cant run yours above 4500 RPM's you're missing out on a helluva treat and might as well be riding a "Hardly".

I had it out again tonight. The way it's acting, it may well be electrical, as in the igniter, coils, plug wires, or the plugs themselves. No, I haven't pulled plugs yet.

Above 3K, it will start to spit and sputter a bit. Feels like a cylinder or two are dropping out. Then, around the magical 4500 rpm mark, it really flattens out. HOWEVER, if I hold steady throttle at that point, it will gradually get smoother, and the rpms (& speed) increases accordingly. To state it another way, X% throttle does not produce the same rpms.

It LIKES acceleration, especially thru the 1st thru 3rd, not so much holding a steady throttle. Wierd

Like I said here and on other threads, I'm going thru it stem to stern this winter, so we'll see what turns up.

[tkent02]

Find out what jets you have. Look inside and see what's going on. It's all just a big guess without this.
Does sound like poor jetting though, or clogged passages somewhere in the carbs, or slowly sliding slides, holey diaphragms, air leaking somewhere, or something else you will easily find by looking inside....

It's supposed to smoothly pull harder and harder until about 7,000 or so, then take off like a shot.

[Steve]

Here's a short vid of my recently completed GS1000 that is going vintage racing. VH4/1, stage 3 kit and velocity stacks. .... Try the stage three and synch the carbs before giving up on the pods.

Nice bike, but it would be nicer if you were comparing apples to apples in your attempt to convince him.

You have a 1000 with VM carbs, he has an 850 with CV carbs.

I would never go back to the airbox just due to the ease of pulling the carbs.

I just love this statement.

But please tell me, why do your carbs have to come out so often?

I cleaned the carbs (strip, dip, o-rings, etc.) on my wife's bike 5 years ago. Since then, the carbs have come off the bike exactly ONCE, so I could change the cam chain adjuster gasket.

I know you guys brag about how easy it is to remove the carbs, but the last time I removed carbs on an 850 (I did "Junior" in early July), From the time I lifted the bike onto the centerstand, I had the carbs in-hand in 3 1/2 minutes (yes, I actually timed it). How much quicker does it need to be?

... the boots between the carbs and airbox have become so hard and inflexible that the box will not move high enough to bolt up to the frame. ... i mean 100 buck to replace the boots or a 100 bucks plus a few for stage 3 and pods?

You are obviously shopping at the wrong places.
The boots from the carbs to the airbox are $22.50 each (total of $90, free shipping from G&S Suzuki
The boots from the airbox to the carbs are $9.51 each (total of $38.04), again, from G&S.

I had it out again tonight. ... Above 3K, it will start to spit and sputter a bit. Feels like a cylinder or two are dropping out. Then, around the magical 4500 rpm mark, it really flattens out. HOWEVER, if I hold steady throttle at that point, it will gradually get smoother, and the rpms (& speed) increases accordingly. To state it another way, X% throttle does not produce the same rpms. ...

You may be right, it's electrical, but not really.

Check the centrifugal advance mechanism on the right end of the crank. You should be able to twist it in one direction (I forget which way, but I think it's to the right) and it will spring back into place. If that is not able to move and advance the spark (that's the electrical part), it will start to flatten out just about where you say yours is.

.

[850GT_Rider]

You may be right, it's electrical, but not really.

Check the centrifugal advance mechanism on the right end of the crank. You should be able to twist it in one direction (I forget which way, but I think it's to the right) and it will spring back into place. If that is not able to move and advance the spark (that's the electrical part), it will start to flatten out just about where you say yours is.

Yep - my 3 a.m. brain spasm told me to check the spark advance. (my middle-of-the-night seem to coincide with the bladder call )

One other possibility - I was thinking about the symptoms: Acceleration produces a higher vacuum level than just steady throttle. Do the petcocks on our bikes open a variable amount based upon vacuum, thereby acting as a fuel supply regulator, or are they just on-off? (Vacuum petcocks are new to me. I understand the principle, just never played with one much) Could the petcock be 'sluggish' at the lower vacuum level?

[Guest]

[QUOTE=wisgolfer59;1291700One other possibility - I was thinking about the symptoms: Acceleration produces a higher vacuum level than just steady throttle. Do the petcocks on our bikes open a variable amount based upon vacuum, thereby acting as a fuel supply regulator, or are they just on-off? (Vacuum petcocks are new to me. I understand the principle, just never played with one much) Could the petcock be 'sluggish' at the lower vacuum level?[/QUOTE]

Simple on - off function...