Topic: Pod Mod - It actually works...

[edbikerii]

Derek has also rejetted.

[seaweb11]

138's

[BobbyR]

120s with stock airbox. Ya beat me. But, does size really matter?

[paulages]

It boggles my mind that people go to great lengths to re engineer what has already been engineered. I am sure the Honda folks did wind tunnel testing to study airflow around the bike and position the air intake in the proper spot for good overall performance. Yes, ignition systems can be upgraded with newer technology, tires have been improved, progressive springs and better shocks. Those are the things to focus on. Pods are cute, but fairly useless.

It depends on what you're going for and how much you want to tune...or for that matter, it's important to understand what honda was going for. I think for plain reliability on a stock bike, the airbox makes sense. If, like ed (if I'm remembering right), one is just sick of dealing with the airbox during R&I, then it is possible to tune carbs with pods. It's pretty silly to plain say that pods are useless... most high performance CBs you'll find are using running pods. and that's not because they're "cute."  

[BobbyR]

It boggles my mind that people go to great lengths to re engineer what has already been engineered. I am sure the Honda folks did wind tunnel testing to study airflow around the bike and position the air intake in the proper spot for good overall performance. Yes, ignition systems can be upgraded with newer technology, tires have been improved, progressive springs and better shocks. Those are the things to focus on. Pods are cute, but fairly useless.

It depends on what you're going for and how much you want to tune...or for that matter, it's important to understand what honda was going for. I think for plain reliability on a stock bike, the airbox makes sense. If, like ed (if I'm remembering right), one is just sick of dealing with the airbox during R&I, then it is possible to tune carbs with pods. It's pretty silly to plain say that pods are useless... most high performance CBs you'll find are using running pods. and that's not because they're "cute."  

Paul, I spent an evening at Mike's shop and we both know he is not a hobbyist/tinkerer. Yuor engine and my engine are two different animals and that is a good thing for both of us. Your bike and the Million Dollar CB both have pods. Those motors were rengineered with ported heads, cams  and other serious mods, and you made a serious investment. You have far more air flowing through engine than a stock motor. Everything has been designed to work together.
I was comenting on is people taking some stock old beater and smacking some Pods on it, and then thinking something wonderful is going to happen. Then tinkering with tin and tape to make them work.

[paulages]

It boggles my mind that people go to great lengths to re engineer what has already been engineered. I am sure the Honda folks did wind tunnel testing to study airflow around the bike and position the air intake in the proper spot for good overall performance. Yes, ignition systems can be upgraded with newer technology, tires have been improved, progressive springs and better shocks. Those are the things to focus on. Pods are cute, but fairly useless.

It depends on what you're going for and how much you want to tune...or for that matter, it's important to understand what honda was going for. I think for plain reliability on a stock bike, the airbox makes sense. If, like ed (if I'm remembering right), one is just sick of dealing with the airbox during R&I, then it is possible to tune carbs with pods. It's pretty silly to plain say that pods are useless... most high performance CBs you'll find are using running pods. and that's not because they're "cute." 

I was comenting on is people taking some stock old beater and smacking some Pods on it, and then thinking something wonderful is going to happen. Then tinkering with tin and tape to make them work.

i'm feeling you there.

[Terry in Australia]

138's

That doesn't seem right either Derek, the later carbs were dessigned to run lean to satisfy EPA requirements, (hence the accelerator pumps) so were fitted with 105's or 110's (depending on the country the bike was sold in) but 138's seem waaay too big for an otherwise stock engine, have you done a plug chop mate? Cheers, Terry.

[seaweb11]

Terry, It runs great. (3 years now) I don't go looking for problems.  Pipes look fine, runs good cold or hot......... windy or not.
It does sputter a bit when I get caught in a rain downpour, but that dosn't happen very often.

Thing could blow up any day I suppose   But it sure has been a fun bike

Sorry I can't help more than that

Sorry for all the others that didn't make them work, can't make them work, have windy day issues etc.
 All I can give you is ass wisdom   My ass is glad I have a bump at the rear of my seat

P.S. It might corner a bit better with a fork brace

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah, no worries Derek, and you might just be lucky and have nothing go wrong with it, I'm constantly amazed at how two identical bikes can be so different for no logical reason, looks like you just got a good one. Don't worry about the spluttering on wet days, that's an ignition issue, some CB750's will just about run underwater, and others will start missing in a light mist.

It could actually be your actual ignition key switch, the later ones had a problem with water ingress apparently, my first F2 would miss and fart as soon as it got into contact with moisture, I changed out the ignition (for a Dyna 3) the coils (Dyna) Leads, etc etc, with no improvement, when I eventually sold it the new owner took it to a dealer, they replaced the whole key switch assembly, and it was fine. Who'd have guessed that? Cheers, Terry.

[seaweb11]

No, the sputtering seemed to be water not wanting to combust

It only happened once and the rain was bouncing off the road, down my coat, on to my leg and directly into the pods

[Terry in Australia]

Fair enough mate, sorry, I didn't think about that scenario, it doesn't rain around here often enough for that to be a consideration, but I do remember a mate of mine building some alloy "shields" around the outside of his pods when it rained once back in the late 1970's, that seemed to work well. I wonder what happened to that bike? It was a Moto Guzzi 850 Le mans, what a great bike!

[BobbyR]

Well, I guess we have motors that work with Pods with minimal tinkering and some that won't. Since I have the stock airbox and new rubbers I will stay put. There is plenty of tinkering for me to do on other stuff. I will try to cobble together one of those bearing removers. Now that I am highway riding for longer periods I think about what those 30 year old bearings are up to.

[Terry in Australia]

That's it Bobby, Pods are only really useful for racers and racer wannabes, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with using your stock airbox. If the stock airbox would fit on my 29mm Keihin CR carbs, I'd use it rather than pods any day. It wouldn't look as "cool", but would probably work better. Cheers, Terry.

[BobbyR]

Too Right Mate, working better is what it is all about. Today I have had the closest call I have had in 10 years or more. Some old biddie came onto the highway and swung directly into the left lane (your right lane). Granted I was moving a bit briskly, but she wasn't moving much at all. I had to grab a handful and 1/2 of brake and I was not sure this was gonna end well. The main reason it ended well was I had installed a SS line and I had decided to rebuild the MC with all new OEM parts. I had more pressure than last year. Now I am mulling over a dual disc. The point is, having the important stuff work well. I wanted to give that old #$%* a piece of my mind, but not only am I a gentleman, I am not sure I can afford to give any pieces away.

PS. with a 78K I have the mounting points on the fork leg, the wheel is offset. I wonder what parts I would need to add that second rotor and caliper.   

[Terry in Australia]

G'Day Bobby, well I'm glad you're ok mate, it'd be terrible if some brain-dead old bag snuffed out such a good bloke. My Dad is 81 and I'm trying to convince him to give up driving, most of the time he's sharper than me, but every now and then he just goes very vague.

A couple of months ago I told him he had to give driving away for awhile and he retorted, "I've been driving for 30 years!", to which I replied, "No Dad, I've been driving for 30 years, you've been driving for 50". He's been a bit sheepish of late after he knocked the side gate off it's hinges when reversing out of the driveway...............   

Here's a pic of my bike with K8 front forks, with dual front discs running K1-K6 calipers. You can use another K8 caliper mate, you'll just need to reverse it. I use an F2 MC, it's designed for dual discs, and with the braided lines, pulls it up nicely from 120+ MPH. Cheers, Terry.

[edbikerii]

It wasn't just removal and installation that made me sick.  I had lots of lean running conditions with the stock airbox with MAC exhaust and UNI foam filter.  It was impossible to justify the price of stock Honda replacement parts to correct that situation.

R&I, HP boost, cool sound, "cuteness", etc. were all just side benefits, but my primary goal was not to run so hot and destroy my cylinder head o-rings anymore.

If, like ed (if I'm remembering right), one is just sick of dealing with the airbox during R&I, then it is possible to tune carbs with pods. It's pretty silly to plain say that pods are useless... most high performance CBs you'll find are using running pods. and that's not because they're "cute."  

[BobbyR]

A motor is a system, each part designed to work with another. When you change one component you effect those around it. Sometimes those changes make it better, some worse, sometimes better, and sometimes it does nothing at all. 

[754]

I ran a K2 and a K3 with K&N straight side aircleaners, that is like the pods but not tapered.

I could feel difference in the wind or by moving my legs, but overall performance and gas mileage went up. Stock valves and ports and I ran Hooker 4-1. I did rejet and ran fine with 120,s. On the K3 I got mileage as high as 62 mpUSg.

Feedback I got from others I raced against, suggest I made much better power than the stock setups..

[stueveone]

You get used to cross wind turbulence. It's not that big of a deal. I have k&n pods and a 4 into 1 on a K4. I rode for miles and miles with a 125. Then, as I started to do more highway driving, noticed the lean WOT condition of the engine slightly speeding up upon letting off the throttle. So I went to a 130. The bike pulled like a SOB. So then, wanting to find the ceiling limit of too rich, before coming back down, decided to upjet to a 140 main. Giant, I know. But the bike still doesn't appear overly rich. I'm going to tune some more and get a few more miles on it and then read the plugs. I think the 138 might be a bit closer.
The needle setting is 1 away from being totally raised.