| Author | Message | ||
     Aldaytona |
Has anyone tried a drilled airbox cover on a XB12 with the stock air filter, ecm, and muffler? Just wondering if this might enhance the performance of a stock XB, keeping the interactive exhaust system. Can't recall any threads without ecm and race/aftermarket muffler. | ||
| Odie |
Cut mine totally away and have a K&N, stock ECM, snorkle removed, and mod'ed pipe. Runs super smooth with tons o' power!! Techlusion is next....Odie | ||
| Signguyxb12 |
tried it...worked ok....big difference when i put the K&N and removed the snorkel | ||
| Odie |
Here's a pic-  | ||
| Hogs |
Hey Odie you got any straight down phots of that ...How do you fasten it down? | ||
| Odie |
Hogs, no I don't. Look in the KV under intake, etc. in the archive thru Sep 15 2004. I describe how I did it and there's a few more ideas....Later, Odie | ||
| Aldaytona |
Signguyxb12, and you kept the stock muffler and it's hooked up to the motor? | ||
| Rooster2168 |
I have a modded stock muffler and its still hooked up. The combo works great! I have the same airbox mod as Odie. | ||
| Trenchtractor |
Yes indeedy... one of the best mods for the XB's. Costs nothing (unless you stuff it up)... I think I might have used the remnants of the lid to make a sheild at the back... A lot of heat comes out there... | ||
| Black_sunshine |
Aldaytona...I think by just drilling the airbox and keeping the stock air filter your not accomplishing much. The stock filter still won't let more air in. Go ahead a get the K&N and install before you cut holes. I promise you will feel the difference. Then cut your holes. My .02 | ||
| Aldaytona |
Rooster2168, how is the stock muffler modded, does it still operate in the interactive mode? | ||
| Aldaytona |
Black sunshine, K&N for sure, good point. | ||
| Lovematt |
Internal combustion motors typically have a problem with getting enough air when performance versions are built. One way to deal with this is to use a blower, super charger, or intercooler (or some combination of these) to essentially get more air packed into the motor. The first two compress the air mechanically while the intercooler makes it more dense by lowering the temperature. However I have found the best performance (and mileage ironcially) whenever the largest air filter is used with the best flow. This has been K&N in most cases at least for hot rods. I have seen 1/4 mile times improve greatly by just swapping out a K&N for a stocker and leaving everything else alone. I have even seen this occur when walking up to someone who has 1" tall K&N filters on their V8 and handing them a much taller one (4-6"  from my car...in one case it was worth nearly 3/4 of a second just in that alone! So...the point is on these bikes I would at least run a K&N filter, next would be an XB12R air filter cover (believe that is the right name), and finally just cap off the filter and cut away the rest of the filter cover so there is still something holiding it down like Odie did (I am getting ready to do the same myself as I know this will help). A good analogy is super gluing your nose shut, super glue your lips to a straw and then run full speed until you keel over...that is how your motor feels when it is being pushed with no way to get the air it needs... Keep in mind if you are trying to put in more air it will need a way to get out too via the exhaust. But simply trying to get more air into the motor with a stock exhaust will be optimizing the enging as much as possible for that combination. | ||
| Xbolt12 |
I am still wondering how drilling the airbox cover allows more air in unless you also open up the outer cover as well? Odies pic looks like he has holes in the bottom of the box as well, which would work, but it seems like it would let in a lot of hot air from the cylinders. Are you guys actually running without the outer cover, or have you modified it as well? Can you post some pics? xbolt12 | ||
| Lovematt |
Odie has a "heat blanket" that goes under the filter and is basically the same shape as the base of the airbox..this tries to keep the air cooler before going into the motor. I am looking into ways of opening the outer box but the bottom line is that with the stock setup the air only comes in one way which I see as a bit limiting. Thankfully I still have my stock air filter cover and will mess with that before making up my mind...something tells me that allowing air to get in all around the filter should help somewhat. | ||
| Rigga |
if you look at where the outer shell of the airbox....the painted one....sits there is a gap between it and the frame rails....with the drilled airbox or cutaway version air can also reach the filter this way as well as through the frame intake on the l/h side | ||
| Odie |
If I could ever get someone to sell me their actual "cheese grater" piece (just the silver grater piece, not the whole tail section) from a tail section of an S I have an idea that I think will look very cool and be functional as well. I'm still looking though.......I know other people besides me have mod'ed theirs or taken them off and replaced them completely....Odie | ||
| Rigga |
thinking of using one as an intake on the outer shell odie?? | ||
| Odie |
Lovematt- here you go....Later, Odie  | ||
| Rigga |
this is mine.....made from the heat shields you see in car windscreems in hot climates.......made of aluminium foil,twp pieces sandwiched together........not tried it yet but hoping it will stand up to the heat off the engine  | ||
| Glitch |
I tried something like that. I melted some of the mylar and when it got wet that finished it. Got one from Odie, it's the same stuff that insulates headers. Held up fine in the rain storm yesterday. Odie, what holds down your air (Message edited by glitch on October 20, 2004) | ||
| Odie |
Glitch, I drilled a hole in the bottom airbox and in the top just under the rear of the servo motor and used threaded rod and nylocs. Works great....Odie | ||
| Odie |
Actually, you could get away with just using the airbox cover to hold it down as the foam padding for the servo motor compresses on the the cover and the cut airbox piece also....Odie | ||
| Rooster2168 |
Aldaytona, yes the interactive valve is sill operational. For the specifics you might want to contact Odie. I will tell you this, it is shorter, lighter, and flows way better than stock. Steve | ||
| Aldaytona |
Odie, would you care to share the details of your home mod'ed muffler, it sounds interesting even without hearing it. Al | ||
| Glitch |
Al, I envy your Buell collection. | ||
| Aldaytona |
Glitch, thanks, wish my wife shared your enthusiasm although she kinda refrains from bitch'in too much about too many bikes fearing that I might trim the fleet with my 83 FXRS shovelhead first (her favorite). Anyway I just got the XB12R and don't want to put the factory race kit on it as my XB9R has it. Thought I'd try something more stealthy this time as I have just moved to SPEED TRAP CITY. Just trying to find out if someone has just done the airbox and K&N only. I'm not interested in getting max performance, just a smoother,straighter power delivery. Al | ||
| Glitch |
I'd think it'd help, most of that is for noise control anyway. Go ahead and try it. At worst you're out $35 for a new box. We all know a K&N will help. | ||
| Henrik |
my 83 FXRS shovelhead I had a 1982 FXRS Shovel - now you made me miss it  Henrik (that was the bike that taught me the value of bringing tools on any ride) | ||
| Aldaytona |
Henrik, I bought it new and it still has the original 2 tone blue and silver paint and the bread box air cleaner and pipes. Never rebuilt and still runs great. So far anyway. Al |
