Ditch the airbox on my 450 T?

[RobJ]

Hey guys,

New to the forum, already used some of the considerable knowledge on here to aid with my carb cleaning. I just brought the bike home last week, and it has the typical "hanging throttle". I'm currently working through that, no point in bringing it up here, it's a well discussed issue.

It seems that the airbox leads to problems like the hanging throttle, and makes work on the carbs a pain. I know that this bike isn't going to be a speed demon even with pods, but I have no interest in messing with the airbox if its going to cause problems.

My question is this: is it worth going to pod filters (K&Ns?) and a Dynojet kit?

 

[cowboyup3371]

The airbox doesn't cause the hanging idle problems but rather the fact your intake boots are old and cracked or the orings don't seal it up anymore. You'd be better off on replacing those as well as resealing the airbox with a new air filter (can get weatherstripping at auto parts or Lowes).

If you are going to go with pods, just know there'll be a lot of trial and error rejetting you will need to do although I've read the Dynojet kit will help with some of that.

 

[Nessism]

The airbox doesn't cause problems, not performing basic maintenance is what causes problems.

Easiest and cheapest way to avoid problems is perform all the bikes needed maintenance. That includes cleaning the carbs, new O-rings in the carbs, new O-rings on the intake boots, and a properly sealed airbox. Do this, including a vacuum sync, and you won't have a hanging idle.

 

[Guest]

Welcome to the forums Rob! Any pic's of your score?

+1 to Cowboy and Nessism above, although if you follow my build I'm going with pods...

I have heard also that a vacuum leak will contribute to the hanging idle, so probably best to check out the vacuum line from your fuel tap as well as the rest of the intake system.

 

[RobJ]

Hey guys, thanks for the responses. I'll put some pics up some time, bone stock '82 GS450T, Blue.

I couldn't find any leaks in the air box itself, and the air box boots seem to be sealing well, which leaves the o-rings as the most obvious culprit. These are on order from cycleorings.com (got the combo pack), hopefully they cure my problem.

I just can't seem to be able to pull the trigger on going to pods... from what I read on the boards here it's a toss up, depending on your wants/desires. Considering this bike will be used to save $$ on gas, it doesn't make sense to make a change that will decrease gas mileage.

 

[Guest]

If you do it right pods shouldn't decrease mileage... however the easiest thing is to just get it going well in the stock configuration first.

Then, if you want to go pods you have a known good starting point to work from.

Let us know how you go for sure.

 

[RobJ]

That was my thought, get it going with the stock configuration, then tinker from there if I want to. To be honest, my other bike is the one to play with anyway, it's a '75 Kawasaki H2 (Triple). That thing should make the GS feel like a moped.

 

[Guest]

That was my thought, get it going with the stock configuration, then tinker from there if I want to. To be honest, my other bike is the one to play with anyway, it's a '75 Kawasaki H2 (Triple). That thing should make the GS feel like a moped.

Mate if it doesn't you're doing something wrong

 

[RobJ]

I got my o-ring kit recently, so I went to replace the rings in the air/mixture screw. It screws out until a certain point, then it just stops, and won't completely come out. What gives? Is there a special trick?

If needed, I can use a screw extractor and yank it out, but I don't want to trash it (and have to buy a new one). Any suggestions or tricks would be much appreciated, I haven't seen any so far on the board.

 

[Nessism]

I got my o-ring kit recently, so I went to replace the rings in the air/mixture screw. It screws out until a certain point, then it just stops, and won't completely come out. What gives? Is there a special trick?

If needed, I can use a screw extractor and yank it out, but I don't want to trash it (and have to buy a new one). Any suggestions or tricks would be much appreciated, I haven't seen any so far on the board.

From the archives (actually, not old at all)...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=176905

 

[RobJ]

From the archives (actually, not old at all)...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=176905

Good info in that post, looks like I need to check out the tunnel when I get home and see if there are threads all the way to the top. If there aren't, like i'm thinking, then I'll give my screw extractor a shot. Hopefully the screw will pull out of the tunnel without having to cut the tunnel off or anything more serious like that.

 

[Guest]

Good info in that post, looks like I need to check out the tunnel when I get home and see if there are threads all the way to the top. If there aren't, like i'm thinking, then I'll give my screw extractor a shot. Hopefully the screw will pull out of the tunnel without having to cut the tunnel off or anything more serious like that.

Nooo! On our 450 carbs the screw will stop unthreading before it comes out, and the O ring will hold it in place.

I haven't reviewed the thread Ed linked to, but I was able to use a small flat blade to lever the screw the rest of the way out.

Sorry for not replying sooner, hope you haven't hit it with the extractor yet!

 

[RobJ]

Nooo! On our 450 carbs the screw will stop unthreading before it comes out, and the O ring will hold it in place.

I haven't reviewed the thread Ed linked to, but I was able to use a small flat blade to lever the screw the rest of the way out.

Sorry for not replying sooner, hope you haven't hit it with the extractor yet!

No worries, I haven't touched it yet! Won't get a chance to wrench again untill tomororw at the earliest. I'm itching to get this thing out on the road, but I don't want to ride untill this hanging idle issue is resolved.

 

[frozenfish66]

clean the carbs replace the boots and $5 said the air box lid doesn't seal properly, put some Vaseline on the sealing lip all around the lid and see if that helps. i had the hanging idle for a while before i sealed up the airbox and that cured it instantly

 

[RobJ]

clean the carbs replace the boots and $5 said the air box lid doesn't seal properly, put some Vaseline on the sealing lip all around the lid and see if that helps. i had the hanging idle for a while before i sealed up the airbox and that cured it instantly

Ordered new boots, the ones I have now are cracking at the base. The last time I pulled them off I didn't see this, I'm thinking they cracked when I really tightened down the clamps. Can't blame them, the suckers are 30 years old most likely.

By the way, I did wind up using a screw extractor to get out the mixture screws. I couldn't pry them out once they were unthreaded, so I gave it a shot. Worked pretty well. It doesn't take a deep or big hole, so the flat head still works fine.

Surprisingly, this is the best picture I have of the bike, fully assembled... guess I've had it in pieces since I had it

- Rob

 

[RobJ]

Is there any special trick to getting the airbox back into a 450? I got it out with much effort, and I really don't want to take the motor top end down just to put the airbox back in.

Rob

 

[tthayer]

I took the electronics tray off (which involved unplugging a few things), took out the battery, and removed the intake boots on the head. Was finally able to get it squeezed in through the back but I probably did it the wrong way. The only way I can imagine it going in smoothly is with the engine pulled out. I kind of wish there was a youtube video of someone re-installing one.