DON'T underestimate the affect of Oiling your Pods!!

[Darin Jordan]

A while back, I had the jetting JUST about right on my '80 GS850G... Thinking I was doing the "right thing", I decided that it was time to re-oil the K&N Pods...

Been fighting jetting issues ever since.

After making some changes to lean out the mains, which is something that DID need to be done, I was still having issues that made the bike appear to be too rich at certain points.

Well, I pulled the pods one day before heading home from work, and was AMAZED at how much nicer everything worked!

Got home, filled a bucket with hot water and Simple Green, and soaked the pods in there. Rinsed them, put a VERY light coating of K&N Oil on them, and put back on the bike...

Jetting has felt spot-on ever since!

If you are fighting issues with jetting on your Pod equipped bike, might want to consider this. Chances are, if you have any amount of oil dripping from the Pods... you've over-oiled them!

[MAC10]

Over oiling any filter, not just pods, has the same effect. Too much oil means not enough air, which means a rich condition. K&N website has a good video on how to do it right.

[Darin Jordan]

Over oiling any filter, not just pods, has the same effect. Too much oil means not enough air, which means a rich condition. K&N wensite has a good video on how to do it right.

Yup...

One thing to watch for is the K&N Oil can itself... Mine has been around for quite some time, and it doesn't atomize the oil into a fine mist like it used to. It sprays on pretty heavily.

Was simple to fix, and could have easily been a very frustrating source of chasing ones tail trying to get the jetting set. Life is much better today!!

[nikosg]

Thanks for the tips!

Want to eventually go to pods at some stage down the track, however my bikes not listed on compatible models on K&N website the thing annoying me is I've seen my model for sale with K&N pods but can no longer find the seller oh well!

[wirelessguy]

I recently put a set of K&Ns on my bike but forgot to oil them. At present the bike runs high on choke but then dies off when I remove it.

In the next few days I will oil the pods up and try to see exactly how much it brings down my rpms when on choke. I'll report back on what I find.

I'm assuming that my newly rejetted main and pilot jets are fine right now and that I'm likely not rich enough with the choke off, so next step will be to raise the needles a bit and check float height.

[5150/gs]

we'll git'r right on wednesday.have no fear.Yes oiling pods makes things change very easily.I rejetted after oiling.Amazing how touchy things can be with pods.

[wirelessguy]

Thanks.

I've also read here that some folks find the outer pods get more air flow than inner ones. For me, it seems worth the setback simply to avoid getting the stock air box back in there. I'm not sure who designed that but I bet they had tiny fingers.

[JimmyR]

I had a heck of a time jetting for my pods when I first installed them because I forgot to oil them. Once oiled jetting was a lot easier.

BTW K+N give instructions on how to oil the pods but it is REALLY HARD not to over oil if you follow their instructions. I ended up over-oiling, found red oil dripping out slowly so took them of and let them sit on some paper towels for a couple of days. They seem ok now.

[5150/gs]

I had a heck of a time jetting for my pods when I first installed them because I forgot to oil them. Once oiled jetting was a lot easier.


BTW K+N give instructions on how to oil the pods but it is REALLY HARD not to over oil if you follow their instructions. I ended up over-oiling, found red oil dripping out slowly so took them of and let them sit on some paper towels for a couple of days. They seem ok now.

LOL i did the same thing first few times..................

[CocoTiTs]

I will almost guarrentee you ur float height isn't a problem. Not often are they altered that means they are where the factory set them which is good. If you need to choke to run then you must be to lean and have small jets. The pods move way more air so definately need to richin up.

[5150/gs]

he had the right pilots,the right mains,wrong air jets, i brought them with me and put those in,got it running ok but he really needs the right needles to smooth out the low end.
carbs got synced.1/3 throttle and up is really smooth.and his carbs were gummed up some for sitting for a year,took some time to clean them on spot without dipping again.And the floats were out of adjustment,24.5mm now they are set closer to factory.
it was a great ride, and ken is a super nice dude.
The bike is rideable now, but really needs some dynojet needles or similiar.
then he would be set for sure.

[wirelessguy]

Thanks. Hats off to John
A. For making a crazy long trip both to and from me
B. For sharing his knowledge and experience with me
And
C. For sticking at it and not throwing in the towel when answers weren't apparent.

You were also a bit modest about all the work you put in. We really accomplished quite a lot.

Quick rundown...
Reset valve height adjustment and cured the ticking (seems the heights were low rather than high)
Removed broken oil cover screw, changed oil filters, fixed gasket and swapped out oil.
Also found out that the bike was flooded and removed old oil which was loaded with gas. Good catch!
Replaced pilot air jets with correct size, sanded down plastic needle spacers and adjusted float heights.
Flushed with carb cleaner more than once to remove gunk and finally did the sync of carbs.

The fact that I can even get the bike started without issue and that she stays on without the choke is still amazing to me. Best of all, After two years I'm finally at a point where insuring it (required in NYS) and registering finally makes sense.

For now, I think I'm done with posting in the Carb/fuel/exhaust section.
:-)