To air box or pod filters

[Rasputin]

Meaning it ran like a nice stock XS with the 4-2 and runs like a very quick XS with the 4-1. Do what ya want, I am just saying not everyone seems to have as much difficulty as you do getting a bike to run with pod filters.

Yes you are right Harry. I just hate pods!

[dbeardslee]

Meaning it ran like a nice stock XS with the 4-2 and runs like a very quick XS with the 4-1. Do what ya want, I am just saying not everyone seems to have as much difficulty as you do getting a bike to run with pod filters.

I'm with you. I put 'em on Betsy, followed the Jetting Recommendations, and it was a piece of cake. More ponies and a much more aggressive sounding bike. Frankly I had a LOT more trouble out of Mikes XS coils. I'll never go back to that stock air box.

[Roncoach70]

Thanks eveyone, I'm not sure what I'll end up doing yet, I guess it depends on how painful putting the carbs back on with the air box.

I can't say enough good thing about the handling improvements in my 79SF after I put a set of Metzlers on the bike huge upgrade can't recommend them highly enough.
Thanks everyone.

[dbeardslee]

Thanks eveyone, I'm not sure what I'll end up doing yet, I guess it depends on how painful putting the carbs back on with the air box.

I can't say enough good thing about the handling improvements in my 79SF after I put a set of Metzlers on the bike huge upgrade can't recommend them highly enough.
Thanks everyone.

Good tires do make a huge difference. When I first got Betsy she was wearing a set of Chicken Skins, and the center tread on the front tire was raised higher than the treads on either side. She'd follow a crack in the road like a slot car. I'm thankful for the Bridgestones she's wearing now every time I get on her.

[ViperRon]

Different people see things different ways they change the original looking for something and as soon as they hear or think they feel something different they feel they have made improvement. Harley riders many of them spend lots of money replacing the pipes because the louder the hotter the bike. Get it out of tune and it shakes like hell and Oh man this thing is hot now!!!!!!!

I say get what you are looking for and be happy but a well tuned original system on the 1100 proves very hard to improve upon as far as overall performance. You can put different carbs and if all you do is drag sure its better. but does it cruse well start well in winter etc etc.

[Schming]

different people see things different ways they change the original looking for something and as soon as they hear or think they feel something different they feel they have made improvement. Harley riders many of them spend lots of money replacing the pipes because the louder the hotter the bike. Get it out of tune and it shakes like hell and oh man this thing is hot now!!!!!!!

I say get what you are looking for and be happy but a well tuned original system on the 1100 proves very hard to improve upon as far as overall performance. You can put different carbs and if all you do is drag sure its better. But does it cruse well start well in winter etc etc.

xsactly!!!

[MPittma100]

Pods

If pods, different jetting, and another exhaust really made that much difference, I suppose Yamaha may have done all the 11s that way originally.

Putting pods on because of the air box being in the way is not a good enough reason.

None of us knows for sure what these "mods" really accomplish (if anything) unless you put the bike on a dyno before and after each mod.

Putting more fuel to any engine will make it "feel" like it is more powerful. But in the overall fuel curve, it may be more detrimental than helpful. The usual direct result of additional fuel is that it blackens (dilutes) the engine oil.

But, hey, it's your bike, knock yourself out.

[dbeardslee]

So how many of y'all that poo-poo pods have actually installed them and tuned the carbs correctly for them?

I've got a REALLY steep hill that I used to test my bikes for low-end grunt, and I can take Betsy down there and walk up that hill at 1200 rpms - and that's with a 750 FD on the backside. She'll also hit 140 mph on the highway - and she'll do everything in between. She'll start on the coldest SW Ohio day, and she runs like a sewing machine. And when you twist the throttle hard she'll suck your brains out and throw them on the road behind you.

And as far as a loud bike - a lot of folks consider that a safety feature. So the cagers, who are notorious for not looking for motorcycles, will at least hear you and hopefully not try to change lanes on top of you.

I've run XS1100's with the stock air box and exhaust, and I've run them with pods and 4/1's. I like 'em both ways, but I much prefer the modified variety.

[Boneswig]

Odd enough, with my bobber project the first thing I sourced was the original airbox. Actually ended up with two different types. I am assuming one is for an older model. The one I decided on using is narrower and not a pain to remove. Slips in between the carbs and rear brace no problem and bolts onto the top. I prefer the original box to the pods and will give my explination, but whether I am right I cannot say. Inside your original box you have ram tubes on each carb. On newer bikes, the bike has a rough idle without them, so am assuming it has todo with airflow to your carbs. Over here a set of pods sets me back 480 bucks, where as the original box set me back 50 bucks. Might be worth your while to just buy the slimmer version of the original airbox. I wil try and find cast numbers on both and then the XS masters can tell us from which models they are from.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Bones and Ron,

Those $480 pods you spoke of must be K&N's...and they are pricey, but there are other much less expensive versions available also. We have learned over the years that the EMGO pods with the prominent lip caused a great deal of the tuning problems....too rich due to restriction of air flow of both air jets and vac. slide slot.

Along with doing mods like Pods, folks were also using aftermarket carb parts, and we have also learned that they also caused tuning problems, too rich, poor throttle responses, flooding, etc., and even though they had better quality ie. XS brand pods, tuning problems continued...and they blamed it on the PODS.

We have also learned that the VELOCITY stacks inside the OEM airbox were designed to help quieten and straighten out the air flow before it got to the carb inlets, reduced turbulence and such. And so the Velocity Stack Mounting Mod for the Pods was created, to bypass the problems of the restrictive mounting lip and still allowed folks to stay within a modest budget vs. $$ for the K&N's or even the MikesXS brand, and to help maintain similar performance of the OEM airbox.

And more recent threads by Schming have revealed the pitfalls of NON-Genuine Mikuni carb parts....not just the JETS, but also the float needles/seats, both contribute to difficult tuning and performance issues.

SO...with that said...I think some of POD naysayers may be lumping in the experiences of poor performance and tunability with the previously mentioned other faults of generic jets/carb parts and no velocity stack style mount.

As DB has experienced, I, too, have been running PODS...with Velocity Stacks, genuine mikuni jets, 4-1 pipes, and have had no issues with tuning, idles, starts quickly, runs great to redline but is also well mannered in town.

SO...with tuning issues negated IMHO with proper mounting and jets, then it can boil down to either ease of R&R, or Aesthetics...both visual and auditory. We have reports that neither pipes nor pods provide any real beneificial performance enhancement...but I also feel with the aforementioned proper use/installation, they also do not cause any detrimental performance either. 4-1 pipes MOVE the power curve a bit farther up in the rpm band vs the OEM pipes, and so this is part of why folks report a loss of low rpm grunt.

With regards to the dimensional widths of the OEM airboxes..perhaps there is a variance in the early models vs. the later ones?? The early ones had OPEN nipples for the carbs vent tubes, the later ones still had the nipples, but they were blocked off, and if used with early carbs...need to be drilled/opened to function properly. Hopefully you didn't get an XJ box...they use a totally different filter design!

T.C.

[motoman]

Late gettin' here after my heredious wreck on my Steed, qhich is another story most here already are aware of. Having owned my Venturer from new qnd have a raft of knowlwdge about thse scoots, I CAN say the stock airbox IS the way to go! Easy removal and installation in 12min. maximan is all thats required. Plus the vacuum slides and associated springs ARE specificly designed to work WITH stock airbox and filter. Single air pods WILL have runnin circles with proper jetting AND tuning nigit and daymares! Specially thru ALL rpm ranges and cruising rpm ranges! Leave it stock........or chase your tale with frustration.......period. But having 34yrs. of experience with these scoots, take it for what its worth......then report back your success leaving it stock.......all jetting included. Being CV carbs that make their OWN adjustment according to altitude, you WILL thank us olies' here that have WAY more knowlwdge with these ole' scoots and their CV carbs that the majority do.

[Radioguylogs]

Welcome back!!!

Nice to have you back Motoman!

[MPittma100]

Welcome Back!

Late gettin' here after my heredious wreck on my Steed, qhich is another story most here already are aware of. Having owned my Venturer from new qnd have a raft of knowlwdge about thse scoots, I CAN say the stock airbox IS the way to go! Easy removal and installation in 12min. maximan is all thats required. Plus the vacuum slides and associated springs ARE specificly designed to work WITH stock airbox and filter. Single air pods WILL have runnin circles with proper jetting AND tuning nigit and daymares! Specially thru ALL rpm ranges and cruising rpm ranges! Leave it stock........or chase your tale with frustration.......period. But having 34yrs. of experience with these scoots, take it for what its worth......then report back your success leaving it stock.......all jetting included. Being CV carbs that make their OWN adjustment according to altitude, you WILL thank us olies' here that have WAY more knowlwdge with these ole' scoots and their CV carbs that the majority do.

+1 Do agree 100%.

[trbig]

Everyone's making this too complicated. I have good pod filters from Ape Racing Products.. $60 plus shipping. Can't tell them apart from K&N. No velocity stacks, no tuning nightmares. I went up one size on mains. That's it. I've ridden with many people here, raced several, and I haven't found it to be lacking anywhere and have beaten many that run with the stock airbox. No stumbles at any rpm. It runs great at sea level, or the highest elevations. Single digit temps or the hottest deserts. Bone dry or monsoon rains. I can have the carbs out faster than most of you can get out of your riding gear, and back in and running before you can get it back on.

Not sure why some on here just hate pods about as much as someone chopping a nice stock bike... but it is what it is. Haters just gonna hate, as they say. The ease of install/removal alone has made me a firm believer that the stock airbox will never be put back on my bike, but with no apparent loss of performance, along with the awesome growl you get under acceleration.. it's a no-brainer to me.

Just my 2 cents.

Oh, and welcome back, Brant!

[Bigfoot]

Trbig (among others) have seen how my bike performs with the pods and 4-1.

You can tell me how much of a nightmare in tuning I will have and how it will fall all over itself and not run right but I have the real world results that people have seen.