Weekly Quiz

January may be Motorcycle Maintenance Awareness Month but here in the Daytona Beach area it is also some of the best riding weather. Right now it's Biketober Fest and at 8am it's 71 degrees in the middle of Oct. I think I just need to get a spare bike so I can ride one while I wrench on the other. Don't get me wrong I keep her maintained but I find myself putting off anything that would take more than an hour or so to accomplish.

Because in a heavy rain like we get here in Florida it is basically unridable. I have been caught in the rain a few times and I basically had to limp the bike home because any change in throttle position to accelerate would cause the bike to sputter and cough and a just not want to run well.

hmm, I haven't even oiled my filters since I got them and rain really has no effect on my bikes running, and I have been stuck in some duesies! Same with crosswinds, I can barely detect it leaning out in a really strong wind, but it's nothing to stay home over...maybe my legs are just covering it all up?

See what you started Ed?.... :pinch: :whistle:

OK, maybe my re-build/rear set Mod places my legs perfectly over the POD air filters where I don't have the same issues being described... Not saying it can't happen but come on now...

Dirt bikes and rain, yeah baby fun... Road bike and rain, oh no not good... And yes, here in AZ it doesn't rain much but I have been caught in the rain and she drove home soaking wet with no issues.. Unless water is directly over the pod filter material thus sucking in water should at least get you home out of the rain....

Regarding Side winds, as depicted in the image, your legs are blocking side wind forces... and if the wind is that strong :blink:, why the hell are you riding anyways is beyond me due to safety among nothing else...

Again Ed, bad boy for stiring the poo-poo....
:laugh:

I'm running rear sets but don't have the factory side covers so I don't know if that makes a difference. It will tolerate light rain but the typical Florida downpours are an issue. I've never been stranded it just doesn't want to run right. If others can run pods in the rain with no problems. Great, I wish I could but since I can't I just check the forecast before I leave the house.

Well, one thing you could try....

ACE. lowe or Home De-Pot.... They sell aluminum thin plate.... Fab up an enclosure/shield of sorts... Think oval "C" sideways "U" bend shape around pods....

Wouldn't be that difficult to accomplish and it could be molded, braced and buffed out to low good as well....

Would still allow for ideal air flow and would protect against rain...

Or go back to OEM air box....

If you come up with something cool, do share for others have mentioned this numerous times as well....

OMR

Old Man Rock wrote:

See what you started Ed?.... :pinch: :whistle:

Again Ed, bad boy for stiring the poo-poo....
:laugh:

Oh yeah, well you have pointy green knees and flat feet! Judging by those carbs and other goodies on your bike I'm quite sure your engine is dialed in nicely for pods. Before buying my KZ650 I used pods for 11 years on my BSA. However, it had a factory prepared flattrack racing engine with big Amals, cam, high comp pistons, headers, and other factory goodies. I bought it from Gary Nixon and it was a joy to run on the street, expect it was only happy at WOT. My point being that pods are great when when the rest of the engine is set up for them, but sticking them on a box stock engine without making any other changes and expecting them to work well is bound to lead to dissapointing results.

larrycavan wrote:

hocbj23 wrote:

What was the number?At any given time,only 25% of the peeps on this forum have bikes that are actually running?Sh--, this is a forum for people that own 25-30 year old motorcycles in various states of repair /disrepair.U wanna run pods? Run em--except in the rain.Just realize that u will spend some time tweaking the A/F mixture in ur carbs.U wanna more reliable bike?Run the factory airbox,and be prepared to cuss every time u have to take it off to service something else.Its a trade off,folks.Dont be whacking on each other for a matter of (mostly) personal choice.Geez.BJ

Where did you get that 25% number BJ ?

There's nothing I can think of that you service for normal maintenance that requires removal of the airbox except the carbs or cam chain tensioner.

Hey Larry,go back and count the posts here in the last 3 months or so that had to do with carb problems..We(Im including myself as I have a pilot circuit on #1 that needs attention) have a plethora (good word) of carb issues--so off come the pods,airboxes or whatever.

"I'm quite sure your engine is dialed in nicely for pods."...

Yes indeed but that should be the same for any build, performance or not... No?

Stock OEM carbs, filters, cams, manifolds etc.... If not jetted & sync'd "dialed in" for whatever build then don't care what you have, will run like crap or at least not respond (lags, idle, flat spot, popping/back firing etc...) as expected and run like a turd...

That goes for valve clearance, valve timing, ignition timing and electrical system as well... Not dialed in, well shame on you then...

POD's or stock air box can and will work just fine if tuned/dialed in no matter of the configurations. Sure, you most likely have to re-jet due to increased air flow but big deal, get off your ass and re-jet them...

Same with a 4-1 exhaust.... to truly benefit the pipes performance design, re-jetting required otherwise, why bother...

hocbj23 wrote:

What was the number?At any given time,only 25% of the peeps on this forum have bikes that are actually running?Sh--, this is a forum for people that own 25-30 year old motorcycles in various states of repair /disrepair.U wanna run pods? Run em--except in the rain.Just realize that u will spend some time tweaking the A/F mixture in ur carbs.U wanna more reliable bike?Run the factory airbox,and be prepared to cuss every time u have to take it off to service something else.Its a trade off,folks.Dont be whacking on each other for a matter of (mostly) personal choice.Geez.BJ

I dunno are people whacking on each other? I thought it was some people saying how fantastic pods are, and others saying they aren't fantastic and have a bunch of issues.. chuckle

I don't know where I fit in either. I've ridden and wrenched most of my life, I'll be 50 in April, and I ride every day. I was down for almost 3 months this year while I put a 77 motor and wiring in my 83 ride.

Why so long? Well I'm old and tired and I'd rather spend 3 hrs in a shop making sure things are right, than trying to find a failed part or setup in a 33 year old system at the side of the road, lol.

Does that make me a looser, non rider this year??

Oh yeah on topic stuff.. grin
BTW: for those who say there are no issues with pods let me whack on em...

I'm tall, I have long legs and they protect my pods somewhat from the elements. Rain doesn't care, even shrouded up a motorcycle is still surrounded in a fine mist as it travels along in the rain. Now add to that suction... I call a long ride in the rain 100 miles or so and pods don't like it.. across town, 20 miles to work.. no biggy.

I've even seen prolonged exposure to moisture effect the stock setup. Moisture effects on vehicles aren't a fallacy, it can effect several things and those problems are dealt with all the time by manufacturers.

Pods are useable, there's is no denying it, but they aren't inexperience people friendly. They aren't an easy tune on CV carbs like they are on sliders, and many inexperience people can't get tuning down pat when dealing with the most forgiving setup, which is the stock box.

Telling them to "Go get pods it'll make your bike more powerful and make it run better!" is just irresponsible, it almost borders on mean, laugh. Pods aren't much of a HP gain to be worth the nightmare it can cause an inexperience wrench who is trying to learn.

Stir, Stir...:silly: Wait what, did someone from Arizona claim to know what rain is... roflmao

"Telling them to "Go get pods it'll make your bike more powerful and make it run better!" is just irresponsible,"...

I don't recall anyone stating that.... :S I must have missed that.... :blush: I'll have to go re-read all the replies...

As for rain here in AZ.... never been here during Monsoon season have ya....?

Short lived no doubt but rains just the same all of which as mentioned, prefer not riding in for other reasons such as safety...

b]Old Man Rock wrote:[/b]

"Telling them to "Go get pods it'll make your bike more powerful and make it run better!" is just irresponsible,"...

I don't recall anyone stating that.... :S I must have missed that.... :blush: I'll have to go re-read all the replies...

As for rain here in AZ.... never been here during Monsoon season have ya....?

Short lived no doubt but rains just the same all of which as mentioned, prefer not riding in for other reasons such as safety...

If someone had said it, I'd have quoted it. It was just a generalization of the kind of statements I've heard people make to others over the years.

So when it does rain in AZ you're not out in it... gotcha.. laugh :lol: