Pod Filters?

And I clean and oil them regularly with a K&N recharge kit. 1 kit usually does about 3 cleanings.

 

They had no style

 

Who ever does buy pods, the one thing i recommend to buy are water repellent pre filters. https://www.outerwears.com/products.asp?cat=12582 is where i get mine. I leave them on all the time to give extra protection from dirt. When i wash the bike my UNI filters are bone dry afterwards. its awesome. I used to only put them on when i went to work in case there was a surprised shower, then i got lazy.

 

what jets did you use?

 

I still have the stock jets in......or at least the ones that were in the carbs when I got the bike. I'd have to check what size for sure on my next cleaning. Did a carb rebuild, running sync, and tuned in my mixing screws and that's it. No issues whatsoever. Except of course when it rains.

 

And what happens when it rains? Bear in mind water is used as an in cylinder coolant and nox reducer generally, and that it takes qite a lot to actually quench a burn enough to cause a misfire?
Someone I knew once used to race a Renault v6, turbocharged to 30 psi. His answer to detonation - water injection, "p**s it in" was his phrase I recall....

 

It gets in the passages in the carbs and causes a state of really crappy running until I clean the carbs. They really have to get drenched for this to happen mind you......but it has happened to me.

 

And if the coils pick up a little moisture through a crack, you’re gonna be really stuck

 

Yeah, it's true, there might be some niggling losses that we might not notice, but in the end, if you're happy with it, and it works well enough to get around on it, then they work.

I just found an ebay store called sigma 6 racing that does jet kits for custom setups. I messaged them my setup, and they've already shipped my kit. Will report. Will note that I am dealing with an xs400 j maxim, which has offset jets, left bigger than the right, so I was VERY uncertain about where to start. For $80 canadian and allegedly a lot of time saved, I reckon I'll be happy.

Mobius, I'm so glad you're saying it's your daily. That's my plan, too. These bikes seem like they could run forever. How many miles you got?

I just did a bunch of niggling tinkering (like rebuilding the brake caliper) because the bike sat for at least 4 years after last start. carbs looked interesting. So it's a little rough still, but another carb clean should do it. Will pre-emptively get throttle shaft seals just in case, but she rides for now.

 

I don't have the original odo on the bike. But when I got the bike it originally had over 75,000 miles on it. Was set up for touring and had the original factory manual with every service since it was new jotted down in the back. So with the 3 years I've been riding it I know it's gotta be well over 100,000 by now. Had 2 different clusters on so I can't add up a completely accurate answer unfortunately.

 

Thanks for easing my worries, mate. I'm setting mine up as a scrambler with a big tank, aimed at adventure. Not the most ideal, sure a drz would've worked better, but when you have limited funds and lots of time, this is the preferred route.

 

Dont forget to replace your carb boots. They end up leaking over time and screw up your sync. If you haven't already. You can get a set on ebay now for like 25.00 usd.

 

there were some intake manifolds from ebay that have fallen apart. don't know if their still around or not.
just say'en

 

That's the same ones.
Utter crap.

 

Fair enough. I just saw them when I was doing some browsing. Got a little upset because when I bought mine the only ones I could find cost me 90 I believe. If that's the case though I guess I'm glad I got the pricey ones. Good to know.

 

"And I clean and oil them regularly with a K&N recharge kit. 1 kit usually does about 3 cleanings."
Have you read the K&N recommendations on cleaning intervals? Almost funny really clean every 50,000 miles
for highway use. K&N are virtually a lifetime air filter system, better for the environment than throw-aways
Cheers, 50gary

 

Yea I clean them way more frequently than that. When I do they are filthy too. My pods aren't K&N's though. They are however made to run dry or oiled. I find it convenient to use the K&N recharge kit because it has everything together already.

 

Invest in pre filters for the pods. If it rains you put them on. No water problem. takes two seconds. You can even get away with just putting then on the 2 outside filters.

 

I'll definately have to look into those. Would you happen to have a link?

 

If you have a K&N air filter they make their own and is available on their site. If you need a custom size or ones for uni filters you can get them at the two links below
https://filterwears.com/ or https://www.outerwears.com/search.asp?nobox=&scat=&stext=pre+filter&stype=&sprice=&pg=3

 

Just want to mention, direct water from a hose onto the filters with the wraps, will allow some water to go through. This is for rain and splashes of water. when i wash my bike i never spray the wraps directly

 

Agreed. I actually cover mine completely with a bag or something and take care not to spray directly at them as well.

 

So mamy people replied to this post and nobody mentioned that CV carbs + pods usually ends up in dissapointment. I have seen a few Xj600 and 750 custom bikes that went pods and each of the projects had the same issues. It usually started with cheap pods from China and some modifications using some kind of additional filtering material and after hours of checking different jets setups people would end up with the bike running ok either in low or mid/high range. One of my friends went with K&N pods and this seemed to be a nice improvement. However, to achieve this result my friend had to visit a tunning shop and they used a color tune spark plug, professional dyno and a 02 sensor. The only reason my friend did not go bancrupt was the fact that his brother in law was an employee of the shop
Also, I remeber talking to a bike builder during some customs bike show about pods and CV carbs and he said that he came up with a solution for getting rid of the stock airbox - it was a custom stainless airbox with cylindrical foam filters, but again this involved some time to get the jetting right + it is definitely not beginner friendly process.

 

posted on first page, no point to beating a dead horse

 

We've been beating that horse for over a decade. It's saved people (well some people) a lot of frustration.

 

So I bought an 81 xj550j maxim that came with pods on it no air box also it has a straight pipe exhaust (4 individual pipes). What jet changes will I need to make for this to work right? I am new to this so sorry for my ignorance.

 

Is their a specific jet kit to use for this mod? I recently bought an 81 xj550j maxim and it already had pods on it (didn't come with airbox) and I want to make these pods work.

 

I am a little late to this party...

Pods, especially the cheap eBay ones, are terrible filters. They will keep out sand and gravel, but they let in far more dust than foam filters.

UNI foam pods filter well, and are generally better made. If you have to with pods, go with them.

Performance-wise, there is no rational way for pods to improve anything. "More airflow" is nonsense. The airflow can only possibly be limited by the air filter at wide open throttle. The rest of the time the limiting factor is the opening between the bore and butterfly. If you really want more airflow, you need bigger carbs, at least until you hit your intake port limitations.

Pods are extremely cheap, cheaper than airboxes and foam filters. Manufacturers would have been all over a cost savings like that, if they could actually make them work same or better. But... they spent money on airboxes instead.

Yes, they can be made to work, but you only gain in looks.

Yes. It's possible.

However, I haven't seen anyone complete such a project yet. There are a couple of threads here with people in various stages of doing it. One guy has been at it three years, I think, but he isn't working on it full time.

There are no ready made kits. There are a couple of ECM options, but you need to find a throttle body that fits, make your own wiring harnesses, and weld in a bung for O2 somewhere. You also need to make a crank trigger. Fortunately, on XJ the crank trigger part is relatively easy.

 

One point I have to comment on here -
"Performance-wise, there is no rational way for pods to improve anything. "More airflow" is nonsense. The airflow can only possibly be limited by the air filter at wide open throttle. The rest of the time the limiting factor is the opening between the bore and butterfly. If you really want more airflow, you need bigger carbs, at least until you hit your intake port limitations."

Mostly this is correct, but it assumes that the standard filter is not restrictive at wide open throttle at high rpms. If it is, then a good pod filter could gain you additional airflow. The problem is likely to be, that at this point the carburrettor settings are going to be exceeded, or at least the jetting will be. The problem is of course, that in order to gain wot airflow you have buggered up the jetting everywhere else the carburrettor operates, (as well as at wot). Hence it turns into an almighty job to get it all right.

 

I bought my 750 Maxim as a non-running but mostly complete bike. I say mostly because the PO sold the airbox and carbs off the bike. I will put on another four carbs other than the Stock CV set.
CV carbs are not performance carbs, not that it's a bad thing just saying.
Cheers, 50gary

 

What happens at WOT is mostly irrelevant to a street bike. Unless you are a racer on a track, you will pretty much never get there.

 

Aw, just FI it.

 

Really? Only if you live somewhere flat in my experience? And if it were true, why would Yamaha fit the X with a 16V engine, or build a 900, or anything more powerful? Exup 1000 anyone? My vmax opens a carb commoning pipe at 6000 rpm, all hell breaks loose...

 

1. X has 20 valves

2. Want an engine with more HP or displacement?—- much easier to just go buy another bike already designed and built that way from the factory

3. vmax... well, I have my 1984, and my 2002——

 

I must be some sort of weirdo then. I hit WOT fairly often when I merge onto a freeway with a short entrance ramp, or go to pass traffic on a 2-lane road. In both situations reliable power delivery becomes critical.
Remember, WOT can happen in any gear, and at most speeds.

 

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us fuel, amen.
Fuel injection is a factory level difficulty project. Substituting different carburetors
is maybe not easy but at least it's straight forward. my 750 is just 4 x 187cc it's not magic hocus pocus but a ICE that needs fuel and air.
Cheers, 50ary

 

for the 550 stock jetsMain FUEL Jet Size: #112.5 Pilot FUEL Jet Size: #35
with pods and open exhaust
up 6 main jet sizes
HCP6928 Aftermarket Mikuni MAIN FUEL JET #117.5 (not quite 6 steps)
HCP6929 Aftermarket Mikuni MAIN FUEL JET #120 ( 8 steps up)

up 2 sizes in the pilot jets


HCP6952 Aftermarket Mikuni PILOT FUEL JET #37.5. This jet does not have fuel passage holes within the jet shaft.

you may want to consider using the seca 550 spec slide needles too

read the catalog for discription on the seca550 pod
http://www.xj4ever.com/catalog/c-mikuni.html

you are looking at about 45 to 50$ for the initial jet change
then about 25$ per main jet size if you need to go up or down a set.

mains first then do tests then change pilots do tests and see where your at.

you will lose out on the 50 mpg a stock 550 gets.

 

I've been researching it for a fairly long time. The same long time I have worked on this FJ600 rack. Literally years. I gave up and sent it out to be rebuilt, but even after that I fought overflowing for months.

I think I got it, but if it doesn't run without leaks sometime this winter, I will start that project. Yes, I hate carburetors that much at this point.

The most difficult part is finding a throttle body to fit. Otherwise you are making manifolds, and I am not equipped for that.


There is nothing straightforward about replacing carburetors. There is a ton of guesswork, unless you have a gas analyzer, which most people don't. The constant need to remove-replace the rack to change anything. Pulling plugs. In the end, you still get a "close enough".

 

WOT = ??

 

Wide Open Throttle

 

Cool, you have to ride them to qualify though...

 

My ‘02 is on the road

 

I'll throw this in here now - I've never understood why the CV carburettor would not work on a pod filter.
I understand the potential negative effects - loss or reduction of filtration, loss of an elastic volume of air in the airbox, giving at least some resonation effect at some rpms, noisy intakes, reduction in upstream flow straightening, loss of somewhere to vent the crankase into, loss of a space to catch any fuel standoff, and possible loss of mpg.
What of the positive effects?
Well, if you are having carb issues, and need to remove them often, aesthetics - many would argue that a cafe racer style needs them? Power - less restriction at full power could mean more power - Note I typed "could". Lastly your airbox has frustrated you - or the PO so,much it was trashed....
So not many reasons to use them then?
Whatever, will they work? Well yes, people on here have managed it, with no ill effects apparently. Now, why do I think they would at least run with no rich or weak stumble effects? Beyond the obvious lack of reasoning why not - it's mostly a readjustment of the upstream/downstream pressures and the effects on callibration, the loss of a resonant box will not be overcome, so that will allways be a loss.
My own experience with a set of Mikunis off an xj600, stripped, cleaned and then directly bolted onto a 650 with NO filters at all, with absolutely no discernible ill effects would suggest that theory is correct. I'm not saying that the 650 wasn't down on power somewhere, but I couldn't feel any holes in the power curve. If this is sufficient then the experiment is a success, but really if not losing power anywhere is a requirement I would have to suggest a scientific test is needed. The 600 Mikunis on the xj650 working straight on was pure luck - surely?