Are Pods worth the effort and cost? GS550L

[scott808]

It is time to clean my carbs. After the humbug of removing and replacing my airbox when I did some other work, I and thinking of going to pods / clamp on K&N air filters. I am not really looking for more performance and don't want to add any complications to my bike. But if I want to "upgrade" now is the time. Is it worth the re-jetting and extra cost? Is the bike any more or less reliable with pods?

[Larry D]

Not really any more or less reliable.....It can be a pain to get the jetting correct and performance gains will be small.

I like to stick to how the bike was designed,, I therefore, retain the airboxes in my bikes.

[chef1366]

Replace all the airbox boots, the o-rings under the intake boots and your job will be much easier. Probably cheaper than K&N pods and jet kit to make it run correctly.

[Steve]

Those who prefer pods say that they enjoy the ease of removing the carbs.

Those of us who have cleaned the carbs properly and have left the stock airbox and exhaust enjoy the ease of not having to remove the carbs.

As LarryD mentioned, it can be a hassle to re-jet and get it proper. How easy it is to re-jet your carbs will depend on what year your bike is. Different years have different carbs.
Your particular model had three different carbs available over the years.

Keep in mind that pods are a maintenance item, like any other air filter. Most of the cheap pods are paper units, meant to be thrown away and replaced when they get dirty. Paper units also tend to attract water, and wet paper filters don't flow much air, which messes up jetting more than any amount of dirt you can throw on there. It will cost more to get a quality pod that can be cleaned and re-used, but that will be offset by a single purchase price and more-consistent airflow.

Personallly, I prefer a K&N insert in the stock airbox. It's about the same cost as a stock paper filter, but can be cleaned and re-used. Inside the airbox, it won't get wet.

.

[spyug]

What the other guys have said but also note that most no name or Emgo type pods are all show and no go. They are not restrictive enough nor do they filter. You will end up running too lean and chasing your tail to get the jets right.

If you are going to do it stick with the K&N, APE or Unifilter types. More expensive for sure but you get what you pay for.

In the long run, as mentioned a stock set up does the job best IMHO.

Good luck with it.
Spyug

[barnbiketom]

read my signature hahahaha

[chuck hahn]

Waste of time, efforts, and money in my opinion as well.

[scott808]

Stock is best

Thanks All. I will stick with the stock system. I am running with a little carb cleaner in the tank hoping to avoid a rebuild. I had a great ride into work today. It is a state holiday here in Honolulu. No traffic, 80 mph running smooth, 70 and sunny. How's the weather in the mainland?

[chucksuki]

Dude, don't avoid the "rebuild." there are about 5 o-rings per carb. oring kits from cycleorings.com ...tip, use only OEM top and bottom gaskets, the cheaper ones leak bad. learned that from experience. if there are no other problems like having to replace a idle fuel mixture screws with broken tips then your looking at a couple of hours and a couple of beers. even if one of the tips is broken, replace the screw and order a new one from z1. you can still drive it until the screw comes in considering it only affects the idle. seriously easy job that has tremendously noticeable gains once your tuned back up.

[Gonzo]

What Chuck said. If you avoid the rebuild, you are only delaying it and in the meantime, you will just be suffering the consequences. If you were even considering the effort of going pods, then the effort of a proper clean and rebuild should be a no brainer.

[barnbiketom]

It is a state holiday here in Honolulu. No traffic, 80 mph running smooth, 70 and sunny. How's the weather in the mainland?

nothing personal and no offense but YOU SUCK hahahhahha..[IMG][/IMG]

how bout snow on the ground in spots and 37 degrees and MUD

[chucksuki]

got a cool front blow through a couple days ago. lows dropped almost to freezing. highs in the 60s. we should be back to the normal 80's by the end of the week. So many northern GSers, I don't know how yall do it.

[barnbiketom]

got a cool front blow through a couple days ago. lows dropped almost to freezing. highs in the 60s. we should be back to the normal 80's by the end of the week. So many northern GSers, I don't know how yall do it.

we don't

today i lubed the lock cylinder on my gs400 , drank some beer and 'thought about' painting the fender lol