Weekly Quiz

Nunzi wrote

Alright, jesus FINE I won't put pods on my bike. But the airbox is such a pain in the ass to deal with and I was rrreally looking forward to NOT having to wrestle it back up in there when I'm done trying to figure out how to clean and rebuild my carbs. What about a K&N filter? where do I find one of them for an '80 KZ550?

If you want pods go ahead and put pods on. They do make it easier to get the carbs on and off and even with new airbox ducts its still a bit of a struggle. I cant say I found any noticeable difference in performance between pods and airbox. It's not a big deal. You just need to know what jets to install. I'm sure there are members here who have pods on a 550 and can advise on the best way to go. And I repeat : the only problem I had in 8 years with pods was when riding a 100 km in torrential rain.

I make no apologies for having used pods with CV carbs or for having done the coil mod or for having a repainted tank.

If we all had the same original bike(s) it would be boring here.

Oh great, way to go JR... Bring up the coil mod ... again... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

There you go Ed, next weeks topic....

Should be a hoot.... :blink: :laugh:

Thought that would get ya :laugh:

Damn the nay sayers for pods mods and paint.
:laugh:

650ed wrote:

larrycavan wrote:
"Which begs the question...

How come we managed to jet our bikes in the 70s for pods and they ran good but so many people today can't seem to get that figured out?"

That's a great question. Do you think it might be a problem with the reformulated fuels? Ed

Back on track..... ahhhhhh at last.

Honestly I can't see that being such a big problem. I live in Pa and for a while this summer we were not subjected to the 10% alcohol fuel. But I often ride in NY and there that's all you could get. I had zero problems switching back and forth between the two fuel sources.

It affects thing a little but certainly won't account for the horrendous problems I see guys reporting. Like it or not, it's a matter of ability to tune more than anything else IMO.

In the 70's you didn't have the Internet to run to. You sat down and figured out how the carburetors worked by advice, trial & error.

I see posts where guys go bonkers on jetting yet the carburetors are not EVEN GETTING FUEL TO THEM! Oh..let's jump to step 27 before we're assured step one is even functional..

My point is to a large extent, forums are a crutch that diminishes actual learning....

That's why I posted the blind men and the elephant photo in chit chat...some got it...it went over a lot of heads I expect...

How many problems do you see posted that could be resolved by reading a service manual? Then, if questions need to be asked because of something not being understood...great..fire away.

I see forums as a supplement to rather than a replacement for a service manual...but hey..I'm old school

To me, from what I see....this only supports the statistics for the american education system for reading and comprehension......it's pretty much in the crapper

Then we have the other end of the spectrum. Kids like KT. Unbelievable what that young man accomplishes. I'd give that kid anything to help his cause in a heart beat.

Always respectful. Always listens....always gaining ground.

larrycavan wrote:

...I see posts where guys go bonkers on jetting yet the carburetors are not EVEN GETTING FUEL TO THEM! Oh..let's jump to step 27 before we're assured step one is even functional....

And by all means never, ever, under any circumstances, first assure ignition timing, spark quality, advancer function, adequate compression, correct valve clearances, ample clean fuel supply, and spark plug readings, before stampeding full speed ahead with carb settings and adjustments. :laugh:

Good Fortune!

650ed wrote:

OK folks, time for the weekly quiz. What is the one thing the 5 different bikes with 5 different problems shown below (posted within the past week) have in common? Don’t be shy, you could win a Twinkie.

A. ...i couldn't start the bike without squirting gas into the carbs first and need the choke all the way out. it runs rough and only at high rpms. will not idle...

B. Engine Popping

C. ...still running like shxt. ….cant even get up to 1/4 throttle with out it just dying. even if it is warmed up. it does it ever time, you can throttle slow or gun it and it still just dies.

D. ...the only issue was a little backfiring under deceleration. Yesterday I took it out, and it was running good while in neutral, very responsive to the throttle... But when I took off, it would need alot of throttle to get going, and as soon as I let the clutch completely out the engine would really struggle...

E. ...just cant seem to find the right combination of carb settings to run properly. I’ve gone bigger jets, smaller jets, different needle position, synced, idle air/fuel screws, check float levels.......repeat process a 100 times. Too rich too lean, no power, no idle etc...


(Here’s the answer written upside down) spod :silly:

none of them are mine...? did i win the twinkie?

650ed wrote:

trianglelaguna wrote:
"Larry please...these folks KNOW pods dont work ,so why try and bother them with the truth"

I'm shocked that you missed the point. Pods don't work IF you simply rip out the air box and stick on pods, or if you fiddle with the carb jetting without a clue using simple trial and error rather than an understanding of flow dynamics -- Do they??? Maybe in your world, but here on Planet Earth it takes a bit more than that to tune the bike and make them work across the power band, and when you're done, unless there have been other mods made to take advantage of the increased flow, you still haven't improved overall performance. If so, show me the dyno sheets.

Regarding:
"ooh and the answer is....one or more idel circuits is clogged......" what did i win

Thanks for playing, but you win no Twinkie. Do you really believe that all the folks who stuck pods on their bikes and experienced performance problems somehow clogged up their idle circuits in the process of installing the pods. The 5 examples I gave were all from the past week. Over the past months/years there have been many many such problems when pods are installed. I doubt that these bikes coincidentally had idle circuit clogs strike when pods were installed. There's got to be more to it that that. Ed
You DOUBT that these bikes had idle circuit problems? Since when was doubt a reliable factor in determining a fault? I could likewise say I believe the circuits are plugged but it doesn't mean they are. Better question, what carbs are they anyway? Pods work as long as the coil mod has been performed :woohoo:







larrycavan wrote:

650ed wrote:

OK folks, time for the weekly quiz. What is the one thing the 5 different bikes with 5 different problems shown below (posted within the past week) have in common? Don’t be shy, you could win a Twinkie.

A. ...i couldn't start the bike without squirting gas into the carbs first and need the choke all the way out. it runs rough and only at high rpms. will not idle...

B. Engine Popping

C. ...still running like shxt. ….cant even get up to 1/4 throttle with out it just dying. even if it is warmed up. it does it ever time, you can throttle slow or gun it and it still just dies.

D. ...the only issue was a little backfiring under deceleration. Yesterday I took it out, and it was running good while in neutral, very responsive to the throttle... But when I took off, it would need alot of throttle to get going, and as soon as I let the clutch completely out the engine would really struggle...

E. ...just cant seem to find the right combination of carb settings to run properly. I’ve gone bigger jets, smaller jets, different needle position, synced, idle air/fuel screws, check float levels.......repeat process a 100 times. Too rich too lean, no power, no idle etc...


(Here’s the answer written upside down) spod :silly:

Which begs the question...

How come we managed to jet our bikes in the 70s for pods and they ran good but so many people today can't seem to get that figured out?

[/quote]

Please. You folks who know how to make pods work well please reply to the following request for help. Here's your chance to help another pod user. No joke here. I'm sure he will appreciate your advice.

Carb/Pod help Needed

72 mopar rebuilt great compression. Holley carb jetted by a 5 gas analizer. Brand new ignition system. Has black plugs and 3 jet sizes down did nota. Timing good. Nothing wrong with the carb. The two known things were one, too much gas, two maybe not burning all the fuel. Has hesitation and flat spot like dead spot if the throttle is opened fast, jerks at speed. All summer long the car did this, NO SERVICE MANUAL AVAILABLE HERE. Throw the thing away? NO. Look at the first and most known factor that comes into play. That's black plugs. Either ask or start tinkering. That's how u find stuff. Does the manual ever tell you exactely why and engine misses? When lost in the woods u don't run. You don't look at the service manual,you don't have one! So your whacked. Good start, perfect. Now your on par. I've never spent time looking for a problem and not found it, unless I gave up. Service manuals dont teach that. The 360 engine had an aftermarket air cleaner that looked good but was too small. Took that off and the car ran perfect. Thought was applied, show me part in a service manual that thinks for you. Service manuals do not explain pods and mods. They do not explain alot of things. They are a tool to get smart. Then take over from there, just don't throw the book away, not yet. I couldn't even afford a book, let alone know where to get it.

Old Man Rock wrote:

Nope, tuck my tail and haul ass home.... :blush: :laugh:

Actually high country (Northern AZ) even get's snow... Yeah I know, didn't believe it myself.... We actually have a couple smaller ski resorts a couple hours out of Phoenix... :blink:

Same time, have been in Florida where when driving, rained so damn hard me and every other driver had to pull over for couldn't see a damn thing.... and this was in a truck.... No why would anyone drive a cycle in something as such... whoa! :blink: but that's me....

I was trying to be funny, but I seem to suck at it in text. Forgive me, but you gotta see the humor in this.

I envy were you live, an average of 6 inches of rainfall in a year, omg I'd be in Heaven. It's roughly 40 inches a year where I live, and believe me it's not by any choice that I end up riding in the crap like you were seeing in Florida.
I can leave home in pure sunshine and find myself in a crazy downpour 25 miles from home, and wouldn't ya know it the rain just happens to be headed that way. Tuck wet tail, fear the physical drain... ah to be young again.

sorry off topic, my apologies.

No offense taken seriously...

Actually one thing about cold/wet climate areas.... Such as Washington State for example.... Miserable wet fog/rain throughout the year right...

Brings up a valid point, open (no shield of sorts) POD's no freaking way or in using shielded outer POD cover work like a charm....Hmmm, me wonder...

Any of our members in Seattle way to confirm this?
Or have other solutions they found works well....
Or screw that, left on the airbox...

I lived North of Seattle for 7 years and never had problems with my Yamaha XS750 (with 850 eng) and pods + Mac exhaust, in the rain. Had to do the damn driving test in the #POURING# rain. Got a perfect score btw. I have put over 45K mi on the pods and never had any rain trouble with it in NC or WA. And no rain shield. But I tried a Uni foam pod on my '84 KDX250, and the first puddle, fouled my plug and swamped the intake. Certianly not a good idea on the dirt. Since then I got a stock airbox for the KDX, runs dreamy
It did take alot of work to get the Yammy to run right with the pods, including a higher flow float needle and seat.