Well, in order to satisfy the engineer in me, and in accordance with the Scientific Method, I just had to complete the "control" portion of this experiment.
......snipped......
Dammit, TT, why'd you have to go and make me put that damned stock airbox back on?
First, let me say how gratified I am that something I wrote had some small contribution to your ride enjoyment. Appreciating these bikes for what they can be, and trying to reduce the level of frustration in the world is why I post to this forum.
Second, I must admit your post had me laughing out loud. You have a fun writing style. I had no idea I could twist an arm so effectively over the internet.
Third, can you imagine how it would run with stock exhaust, too? Were you using the stock paper element filter?
The only operational area where pods have a possibility of performance improvement is at or near WOT and near or above redline operations of the engine. Ask yourself how often you plan to operate in that regime. That reqime also wears the engine out much faster. Is it worth more frequent piston replacement and sleeve boring? How is that extra power going to benefit you? At the track? Surprising the CBR drivers on the street? Will your riding grin be THAT much wider when the engine makes a few extra HP?
Me, I look at all the other bikes on the street, and although I know plenty of the machines can outdistance mine on any given day, I wonder if they will even exist 30 years from now, let alone run the same way as they do now. Mine do. Perhaps because I haven't eeked out an extra 10-20 HP at 10,000 RPM to try a keep up with the sport bikes. I also appreciate the fact that I can get on and ride the bike 20 minutes or 3 hours and not be physically beaten or ache for days by doing so. I like to know that I CAN ride on past that next cafe without stopping to recuperate. I'm not shy about using the power my machines do make, for certain. My 74 550 has seen way too many frequent excursions into point float, and hasn't even needed its head removed. I had a 750 tach (wrong) on it for years and couldn't reach redline despite how long I held the throttle open. Point float at about 10K likely saved the engine, I reckon. But, at that time, I never even considered that I'd still be operating the bike 25 years in the future. I no longer consider the bike a throw away.
I'm going to wax philosophical, now. It's okay if you want to tune out.
While I certainly appreciate certain talented solo artists and the pleasant sounds they can produce, the extra dimension of a band or orchestra can make for a truly thrilling experience.
Honda had a band or orchestra of engineers striving to make an all around street machine. The result was a machine that was better than the individual efforts could provide. When you think about it it, isn't it kind of arrogant to think an individual bike owner with little experience can actually surpass a team of talented engineers? While it can certainly be done, that talent is rare.
The racer look is attractive as that evokes a "special" conotation and we all want something special. However, few race bikes actually behave well on the street. These are often thoroughbred purpose built machines. Teams of engineers/mechanics make these machines pretty special, indeed. Street conditions are far more unpredicable than the track. And rider comforts are secondary if they don't directly contribute to reduced track times. How many tracks have sand spills, RR crossings, pot holes, and washboards to tax a stiff suspension and rider wrists and kidneys? Further, the actual traveled miles of these racers is very small in ratio to the time that the engineers/mechanics spent working out the fine details.
An individual owner/bike modifier often sees the obvious things that make a racer bike look uniquely "racer" and starts to apply them to his stocker. There are hundreds of subtle things not overtly visible that go along with the racer look; jetting, suspension tuning, valving, geometry changes, etc. that go along with the look, but aren't openly shared by the original builders. Race bikes have a high maintenance to miles driven ratio. Street bikes have just the opposite.
There is no doubt that working on and modifying bikes can be educational, fun, and rewarding in its own right. If being in the garage and learning how things work is what you wish to do, I wish you well with your endeavors, and hope that you can eventually acheive that well balanced street machine effect that Honda delivered. However, if getting more miles driven than work done to the bike is the goal, making it stock will achieve that faster than modifications and garage time spent.
Judging from how you describe issues with maintenance on the air box, it certainly seems to me that you get more enjoyment out of the ride than finageling parts on your bike. Personally, I found the airbox on the 400 far more challenging than the cb550. However, with both it's a matter of putting things back on in the proper methodical order.
I hope you derive all the enjoyment from your machine you deserve.
Cheers,
