| Author | Message | ||
     Silas_clone |
Has anyone tried this air box set-up? http://www.americanthunderbike.org/techtips/ Any comments? Is it worth it? | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
It's not worth it with an X1 since the bottom of the airbox won't seal and it will allow rocks and birds to enter. (Boston H-D did that for me before I bought the bike) I'm not sure if the M2 will seal correctly or not. | ||
| Phatkidwit1eye |
I did it to mine twice. Once before I wrecked it and again when I rebuilt it. The first time I used the stock rubber gasket and it did let in some small rocks and such. This time around, I pulled the rubber gasket and used a non-hardening gasket sealer. That seems to have stopped the problem. At least that way you aren't pressing the sealing edge against a rubber gasket. With the Non-hardening sealer the sealing edge will go into the gap and seal up pretty well. When fully dry the sealer is a bit thicker than tar. You can buy it from just about any auto parts store. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Did mine that way but I cut a bunch of plastic out of the stock cover that the snorkle feeds from. Stock seal on mine worked just fine. Only problem I have had is one of the two small screws that secures the box to the brace from the motor mount shook loose, sucked into my front cylinder, bent the intake valve and bunged up the piston and head a bit. Gonna go with a forcewinder intake so I have some knee room and no more hidden screws to shake loose. Anyone notice how these bikes shake?  | ||
| Blks1l |
I did it on my S3, and haven't had any problems like the ones above. When the screw came out had it been loc-tited, and also have the nut below the mount? | ||
| Silas_clone |
Is the mod as beneficial as running the CF oval set-up? I do not understand the "still air" benefit. | ||
| Jayvee |
He doesn't even run the 'extended' Venturi ring, as sold by American Sport Bike. From what I gather the still air was easier to get moving in the direction you want it to (down the venturi) than turbulent air that already has it's own momentum in a less useful direction. What I don't get, is which is better, "still air" or the "forced air" of the Forcewinder. Since the front of the K&N is blocked off, is there really any 'ram air' effect happening? This question comes up often when testing the Forcewinder on a dyno. You can't measure any effect of the "forced air", because the bike is sitting still on the dyno, and no air is being forced. | ||
| Bomber |
Jayvee's got the still air thing down pat -- it's much easier to change the direction when thje air is not moving (or not moving at a high rate of speed) Forced air can certainly have a benefit, but I doubt if the Force has much of that going on -- one reason is the blocked front portion of the filter, again, as Jayvee mentions -- the other is simply the speed at which most of us spend our time. Tests of Ram Air affect in many sport bikes so designed revealed little if any forced air affect below triple digit speeds, and not a great deal above that -- unless you spend a lot of time at a salt lake, you're just not moving fast enough to generate a great deal of force | ||
| Djkaplan |
"it's much easier to change the direction when the air is not moving" It's more than that. A large plenum volume (the volume of air between the intake and filter) dampens pressure changes when the engine takes its sizeable gulps of air for a given filter area. The more plenum area, the smaller you can make the filter and the hole for the air to come in (up to a point). This also makes a smaller hole for noise to come out of, to put it simply. The "more cylinders you have, the less plenum area you need" is a general rule I've always heard, but I've also heard "more volume is always better". The Forcewinder doesn't have a large plenum area, but it has more than twice the filter area of a stock filter. It would probably run horribly with a filter that had the same area as the stock one. I also doubt there is much 'ram air' effect from it. It is, however, the filter of choice for me. | ||
| Silas_clone |
The CF Buell setup vs The Modified Bread Box Which is a better setup in terms of performance? I have the CF Oval filter now. | ||
| Aesquire |
I had a modded box much like above. Worked great. I went to a CF race kit rig more for pretty than anything else, ( and it came with the race kit header which was what I really wanted ) and assumed that I needed to richen things up to compensate. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I went from a 195 main back to the stock 200. ( 45 idle- 2 1/2 turns, .015 washer )& rode 60 miles to Dansville. The M2 wouldn't take full throttle, and bogged out like it was super lean. Lean was my bud the ex-pro race tuners opinion also, so off we went to the local H-D shop to buy a new jet. The dealer in Hornel N.Y. had ALL the jets, idle, main, mikuni, snomobile, etc. random, loose, in 1 cardboard box. 20 minutes later, I found a 205, the parts guy is "like, I never sold one that big, dude" and my buddy's saying "I'd fire the mechanics", and not under his breath either. Back to his house, in a massive rainstorm & I rejet in a medieval pavilion by candlelight. That's where his 5'4" 90 lb. girl pushed my Cyclone when it started to rain. ( I have fun friends ) I get home with the bike acting like I have hydraulic lockup with shudders every time I go past 1/2 throttle. ( ask anyone with a worn out automatic petcock what that means ) Back to old jetting, bike runs like top. In shorter terms. IMHO the modded airbox flows at least as good as anything else including the Race Kit CF cleaner. Do it. ( only worth it to silas if your knee hits CF ham can, since you already have one ) See Knowledge vault for jetting advice, and run a catch can/filter on the crank vents, and you're golden. | ||
| Silas_clone |
My knee doesn't hit the can [only 6'3"?] I have all the stock parts. I cleaned and oiled the K&N today and decided that I did not like the chore. The thread about paper vs cloth/oil filters got me thinking. I really like what I did to my gutted stock muffler, good power, sounds and no repacking! Why not try the modded air box? I like the looks of the CF setup, but if the modded box works as well [better?] with NO cleaning and oiling {PITA] why not go back to semi-stock? | ||
| Djkaplan |
Your knee doesn't hit the CF hamcan? I'm 6' and my knee interfered with the CF cover so badly, it cracked the cover when I came down from a wheelie. I only used the CF hamcan because it came with the race kit. I went back to the Forcewinder I was using. Dyno tests in the archives shows a Forcewinder stacking up pretty good against the race kit filter on a fairly stock M2. It would have been great if Court had done a test on a gutted box too. | ||
| Cyclonecharlie |
Silas, Even with the gutted box,they still call for the KN filter.How often due you clean & oil your KN? Maybe too often? I only do mine once, maybe twice a year. Just a thought.........Charlie | ||
| Cyclonecharlie |
My thinking on the paper versus cloth/oil filter is this.I thought that was an XB thread. Put a stock M2 filter alongside a stock XB filter and you have twice the filter for (basically) the same motor.The M2 was crying for a bigger filter(more flow)the XB wasn't(as far as filter size). Now if you want to enlarge the filter in the bread box,paper might get the job done.IMO...........Charlie | ||
| Silas_clone |
Picture a Sumo wrestler and that's my riding position. My knee goes past the center of the carb, so technically it does foul the AC, but since I straddle the AC, I don't notice it. I put the Ham Can back on for now. I would like to run the paper filter/bread box, but I will wait on it. Truth be known, the thread posting by Sloppy re: oil v paper got this whole wax ball rollin'. I just re-read that thread and it seemed inconclusive. I am leaning towards the bread box for the same reasons I went to the gutted muffler, consistency and NO maintenance. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I sounds crazy, but I'm starting to like the look of the breadbox. I guess it's because I hardly ever see them now. It was the first thing I replaced when I got my bike... glad I kept it. I may try using it again myself, oneday... maybe. | ||
| Bomber |
I, too, removed the luggage from the side of the M2 within days of buying it, for all the standard reasons (knee clearance, looks) . . . I always felt kinda bad for the clearly very bright fella that designed it - from an engineering standpoint, it's a great piece of work (lightweight, increased power {over the original sporty AC}, elegant solution to a throny problem {and doubles as a pretty good frame protector for right-side getoffs), but it was the first thing everyone deepsixed . . . . . | ||
| Road_thing |
I've still got mine. It was on the S1 when I bought it, but my knee bumps into it. The Forcewinder gives me knee clearance. rt | ||
| Aesquire |
The gutted breadbox seems just as loud as a CF ham can. You can clearly hear the valves. Just shows how well the Helmholtz tube in the stock one works to curb noise. Good work. I'm 6' and my knee hits the ham can on hard braking. |
