Intake Mods: No "Lid" versus Pods

[al_roethlisberger]

So where are the shots Al

 

 

Heya Zeb, well......... just scroll "UP"

 

 

And iif you go to page "2" in this thread, there are about 4 more shots of my pod installation

 

al

[al_roethlisberger]

The breather hose, Al.

Did you just left it hanging?

 

 

Yep, I just routed it down under the bike with the other various vent hoses...

[gthyni]

At last the pods is in place,

some plastic also got lost

 

Filters are K&N RC-1200

[Guest John T]

Nice!

 

I thought these needed to be placed not directly to the TB but to a short piece of intake runner?

[al_roethlisberger]

Nice!

 

I thought these needed to be placed not directly to the TB but to a short piece of intake runner?

 

Indeed, I had always heard the same admonishment as well, but I've seen several bikes, usually in Europe, with these small cone-shaped K&Ns fixed... and haven't heard of any major problems. Perhaps this "it requires runners" advice is a bit of "urban legendry" ?? I have no idea.

 

But, interestingly, the K&Ns I used in the photo below, and that I've seen on many V11 Sports... includes this runner by it's design, and they are ribbed inside to grip our TB opening... and angled such that you can tuck the filters up inside and against the frame. I think these are made specifically for this application, or at least practically... they work as if they are.

 

And it's a very large filter, with lots of surface area It could probably only be "better" if the end-cap was also filter material As it is, only the the cylinder itself is filter, and the end-cap is solid rubber. However, I doubt that makes much difference. I would guesstimate that each K&N is roughly the same surface-area as the individual OEM flat filter, or darned close. They are that large.

 

The part number is: RU 1780

 

 

Here is my previous post summarizing this info:

 

Hi Rudy,

 

Well the pods I have are the newer models that have the "intake runner" already integral to the pod, as opposed to older pods that were simply cannister/cylinders that clamped onto the intake.

 

These filters have a about a 4 inch "runner" already molded into the filter, and have the runner angled such that the filter can be appropriately angled and adjusted to fit correctly by simply rotating the filter around.

 

The part number is:  RU 1780

 

Very nice, but pricey, filter.

 

I'll be fine-tuning and cleaning-up the installation tonight and tomorrow, and then I'll post some final photos.  I think that for what I'm looking for, this will work very well.

 

I was surprised how well it turned out if you want to know the truth    ...after all, it was just a "weekend hack project" that I was pretty sure would just end up being a mess, and I'd go back to my stock airbox with no lid 

 

al

 

 

....BTW, when it was all said-and-done, I still have no idea if installing the pods versus just using an "airbox lid eliminator" kit offers more or what kind(Torque vs HP) gains. At some point it would be a great test for someone to take a bike and put both solutions on(only takes a few minutes to swap out and test) and put it on a dyno and see the results. I think that would be very enlightening.

 

Personally though, even though I still have the side-covers, removing the airbox and freeing up all that room under the tank and around the frame was a real advantage. At the very least it was much easier to groom the cables/hoses, and work in that space without the box... and I'm convinced it has to have helped thermally... letting air circulate better with it gone. Even with my side-covers still in place(the removal of which is a big plus for pods in many people's opinion), it still looks a lot more open and "clean" in that area IMHO

 

So even if one day keeping the air-box with a lid-eliminator is shown to produce more power, I'm very happy with my hack-job

 

 

Maybe someone with a dyno and some free time can try this experiment one day? I'd think it would be to FBF's advantage to take a bike and do so since they sell a kit. Again, it would be a simple afternoon task.

 

al

[Mike Stewart]

Humm,

 

I was up at Winter's yesterday for the monthly gabfest (breakfast) and a 2002 Lemans pulls up. After breakfast I was able to check it out. It was red with a 5 inch. black strip going down the tank and flowing over the rear seat cowl and then tail piece. Looked very sharp! What caught my eye was the filter pods placed behind the front fairing and connecting with hoses to the airbox top. Humm, I think I know who's work this is. The owner, Jim had bought it used in Los Angles. I just got off the phone with Ken at Evoluzion Sports in LA and he was the one that did the work. The horse power increase was 3 hp over the whole rpm. range, I said great how much, the answer was I only did three because each one had to be hand fitted. Guzzie's are never the same. So now I need to make my own. Oh yeah, the bike also had the ignition amp which helps the Guzzi greatly.

 

Mike

[al_roethlisberger]

Yeah, my two filters and various hose-parts came from Ken's "last kit" he had on the shelf... and was incomplete. He decided to quit selling it because as he mentioned, it fit each bike differently and inconsistently. I tried to buy one from him for the longest time, but because of all the trouble fitting it to the bike, he refused to sell one "remotely" unless I could come in and he could fit it. Eventually this became too labor intensive for his business to support though...

 

And in fact when I tried to make the remnants of said kit fit my bike, I just don't know how they routed the hoses effectively and got the forks and steering damper to clear the filters... I couldn't. Further, the hoses and filters just "sit" up in the fairing, with no support, and I didn't like that at all. I'm sure one could rig up some sort of support, but...

 

And I don't know about those HP claims.... caveat emptor I like and trust Ken, but keep in mind that even with the additional volume the heater hose extensions provide, and increased surface area of the two filters.... the air still has to go through the restrictive OEM runners and airbox lid... who knows though

 

In the end, it looks... IMHO anyway... like a fairly raw solution just adding more "stuff" to an already crowded area. I think Ken would have eventually had a cleaner kit if the 2002 and 2003 bikes had been more consistent. For him, the hardest thing to work with was the "musical chairs" locations of the fuel-pump. He designed the original kit on a Tenni, so the pump was "out front" instead of under the tank. When he got hold of other 2002s with the under-tank pump, it threw the whole kit out of whack ...and he finally just gave up, which is really too bad since from 2003 onward, there's no fuel-pump issue at all

 

I have the only known photo of his kit installed somewhere on my PC in the boxes in the garage . If I get it unpacked soon, and remember, I'll post the pic so everyone know's what we are talking about.

 

I'm very happy with my "stealth" pods, and air-box just goooone

 

al

[Mike Stewart]

Al,

 

So you were the guy Ken was talking about that bought the parts. Damm, too late again.

 

Mike

[al_roethlisberger]

...well, if you really like the solution, I can give you the spare parts(hoses). I've got them in a box and won't ever be using them. It's just two heater hoses and a couple clamps if I recall(I used the filters already of course )

 

But really, all you need is a couple lengths of angled heater hose the same diameter as the snorkels, and the K&N filters I reference above. That's it... two hoses, and two filters. It wasn't much of a "kit" really

 

...so you could tinker it out in your garage yourself one weekend on the cheap... well other than the pricey K&N filters of course

 

I bet you could even rig up a true mounting solution that the original kit never had for the extended runners/hoses and filters so they don't just lie inside and upon the fairing

 

al

[al_roethlisberger]

For those installing pod filters, especially the smaller ones, check out these aftermarket "velocity tubes":

 

Sport Cycle Pacific Velocity Tubes

 

...pretty pricey, and not 100% sure if they'd bolt on to the V11 throttle bodies, but looks interesting

 

al

[Skeeve]

WRT Ram Air:

Destroys aerodynamics

7463[/snapback]

I'm not certain I understand this: how does stealing air from a high-pressure area to feed to the engine "destroy" the aerodynamics? If designed properly, it should help *reduce* drag, if anything...

[Guest davidb]

Well I guess I can't vote since there is not a box to check for RAM AIR intake such as ALL the jap race bikes on the track and in the show rooms use.

[robbiekb]

For whatever its worth though, living in the Pacifc Northwest, with the amount of rain, temperature changes thru mountain passes and the variable weather, I'm going to stay away from pods, and wouldn't they be drawing in warm air on a Guzzi anyway?

 

? I rode my Guzzi up in Seattle for 3 years and never experienced any issues. I've also been running Pods since my first service back in 2001. This all sounds a tad anal retentive to me, my advice is to go with the solution that you prefer aesthetically

[helicopterjim R.I.P.]

The MGS has a ram air intake under the triple clamps and uses the main spine of the frame to duct air to the airbox. The intake is barely visible in most pictures.

[robbiekb]

Does yer centauro have one yet Jim ?