pods vs single air filters?

[justmount1]

ok just want to get everyones opinion on this one. i know they are kind of the same thing but i dont think i can put pods on my 80 gs550L the frame is too close to the carbs but maybe single filters would fit and would it be better for performance than the standard airbox? if i were to get ahold of some singles how would i have to rejet the carbs? and how much of a difference would i get?

[lordcannon88]

well technically, when you are at speed you will never have a full sync between the carbs when using pods. this is simply because of the differences of airflow and swirls etc. created by the bike. too many people use them to completely discredit them though. not to mention issues with water getting in them when raining. i like my nice dry easily syncable stock box.

[hampshirehog]

Swapping to airfilters alone I guess you'd lose quite a bit, even allowing for getting the carbs tuned in spot on. Pods, at least decent ones, and the original airbox, use velocity stacks in their design (or something akin to velocity stacks). The purpose of a velocity stack ( I prefer 'bellmouth' bu the way - I am in the UK!) is to capture, hold and return fuel/air mix that bounces back out of the intake when the valves close. No bellmouth = lost fuel/air mix = less power.

Personally I've never had much success with putting pods on CV carbs - no matter what I do I always seem to get some 'fluffiness' somewhere. Pods on slide carbs work well though, if you know what you're doing. (Some people have had success with pods on CVs though, and well done to them for persisting).

If you're really committed to junk the original airbox though I'm sure you will find pods that'll fit.

[atchbo]

Hi. Sorry to jump in on this thread, but I've been thinking about doing this as well, as I'm kicking off some changes to my GS 400 that will look better without the air box. I posted this thought on another thread but people didn't seem to like it: what if you put about 2" of 2" (52 mm) hose on the intake of the carb and then installed the pod on the end of that hose as a way of recreating the velocity stack/tuned length intake for the carbs? This may require a piece of 2" exhaust tubing at the mouth as a mender so the pods have something to clamp onto. Does this make any sense?

Also, if I do this, I was thinking that I could plumb the breather hose back into this intake extension tube, burning the blowby vapours but also possibly helping to scavenge crankcase air (because of the negative pressure on the intake side of the carb), and reducing oil leaks in the process.

What do you think?

Atchbo

[justmount1]

ok u lost me lol

[jabberjoe87]

It all depends on what kind of carbs you have. I'm pretty sure your 550 has vm26's or 29's i could be wrong. anyway if you have the vm slide throttle carbs than pods work fine. I have vm26's on my 77 750 and have pods. I rejeted my main jets by 10 percent. there were 100 main jets and i put in 110's. To get you in the right direction aim for a 10-15 percent bigger main jet and you could more than likely raise your needle clip a notch to lower the needle. The needle is for your 5-7 and ahalf thousand rpm range, while the main is for your 7-9 thousand rpm range. If your keeping the stock exhaust you may only want to jet the mains 10 percent bigger. The pods on my bike work fine, they arent even expensive ones, i ride in the cold and everything and they work fine. In the end it depends on what type of carb you have. I hope this helps you

[76FJ55]

I believe every thing post 1979 should have CV style carbs. the VMs are slide valve carbs. I beleive in 80 it should have BS32SS carbs.

[atchbo]

For Justmount:

Yeah, that description was a little strange. Imagine stretching the boots on the intake side of the carb to create a bit of a velocity stack, and then install the pods. For the breather, what I meant was that it normally runs into the airbox, both so that you re-burn the gases coming from that hose (blowby vapours) but also because there's suction (negative pressure) in the airbox, and so that hose actually helps to suck crankcase air from the engine, and that helps to reduce oil leaks a bit as well as being environmentally friendly by burning the blowby.

Because I won't have an airbox, I was thinking that the breather hose could run to a T and then plumb each end of the T into one of the pods, so you still have the suction principle working. I bet it doesn't work as well in practice as in theory though, because the pods are less restrictive, and unless the T was plumbed in close to the carb, there wouldn't be much suction (negative pressure) inside the pod because they breathe so easy.

I don't know how to draw a picture on the computer, but maybe some symbols will work. Imagine you are looking down on the engine, and HH is the head. C is the carburetor. D is the air filter. The = are hose or boots between components. In the first 'picture' you see the air filters hooked up like you'd expect. In the second, the thin lines are the breather hose, which is plumbed into the hose/boot between the carb and air filter.

HH=C=D
HH
HH=C=D

C=D
HH |
HH--+
HH |
C=D

Maybe that was more confusing, I'm not sure.

Atchbo.

[atchbo]

Bugger, the computer ignored spaces, so the second 'picture' is screwed up.

[atchbo]

Oh, and my carb is the BS34, so I think that's a slide valve or VM type. Is that right?

[76FJ55]

BS series carbs are CV style. they will have a throttle plate acuated bythe cable and the slide will be actuated by the lowpressure (vacuum) generated in the throte of the carb.

VM carbs have the slide connected dirrectly to the cable via linkage and ave no throttle plate.

[nisom512]

It all depends on what kind of carbs you have. I'm pretty sure your 550 has vm26's or 29's i could be wrong. anyway if you have the vm slide throttle carbs than pods work fine. I have vm26's on my 77 750 and have pods. I rejeted my main jets by 10 percent. there were 100 main jets and i put in 110's. To get you in the right direction aim for a 10-15 percent bigger main jet and you could more than likely raise your needle clip a notch to lower the needle. The needle is for your 5-7 and ahalf thousand rpm range, while the main is for your 7-9 thousand rpm range. If your keeping the stock exhaust you may only want to jet the mains 10 percent bigger. The pods on my bike work fine, they arent even expensive ones, i ride in the cold and everything and they work fine. In the end it depends on what type of carb you have. I hope this helps you

Sorry he's got CV

[nisom512]

Oh, and my carb is the BS34, so I think that's a slide valve or VM type. Is that right?

no its the cv type I think before you out pods on it would be a good idea to know your bike a little better that way you wont have as much confusion when it comes putting on pods. not to be a jerk but im kinda just trying to save you from getting really mad and punching and kicking something like me

PShere is a good place to start your research.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/GSR_Greeting.html

This is the mega welcome it will tell you a lot of stuff and you can also search for lots of questions.

I know I didnt want to but it is very helpful and kinda frusturating when people keep on asking the same questions over and over again when it is all right there that is why basscliff(a guy you should know) has his mega welcome which I posted on here for you.

im not saying your being frustrating but just trying to put the info out there.

[jabberjoe87]

I don't know which carbs exactly, but mine the pods work fine. I know with some later models 16 valve motors especially, those style of carbs don't do particularly well with pods

[justmount1]

carbs

my carbs are the bs32mm on my gs550L so yeah i knew i couldnt pod it but what if i was gonnd put some carbs off of a bigger bike which are vm's how much tinkering would i have to do to get the bike to run right?