A well sealed air box

[hartleygs]

I have an 81 850L. The smallest things on these bikes make an amazing difference. My boots for my airbox were on half a$$ed and I thought that was good enough. I managed to coax them back on tightly and they seem to be completely sealed. I installed a new air filter and sealed my airbox off completely with some weatherstripping. Holy crap what a different bike. Pulls good at all rpms like NEVER before. Reading all your good advice on this site has really helped me troubleshoot with success!! Next is the intake boots and o rings, valve adjustment and possibly an electrical upgrade. Just thought you guys would want to know, thats all.

[Dave8338]

I have an 81 850L. The smallest things on these bikes make an amazing difference. My boots for my airbox were on half a$$ed and I thought that was good enough. I managed to coax them back on tightly and they seem to be completely sealed. I installed a new air filter and sealed my airbox off completely with some weatherstripping. Holy crap what a different bike. Pulls good at all rpms like NEVER before. Reading all your good advice on this site has really helped me troubleshoot with success!! Next is the intake boots and o rings, valve adjustment and possibly an electrical upgrade. Just thought you guys would want to know, thats all.

Having gone through the same situation, you can't stress enough, how important air flow (or limit the excess flow) makes a night and day difference on these bikes. :?

[49er]

I have an 81 850L. The smallest things on these bikes make an amazing difference. My boots for my airbox were on half a$$ed and I thought that was good enough. I managed to coax them back on tightly and they seem to be completely sealed. I installed a new air filter and sealed my airbox off completely with some weatherstripping. Holy crap what a different bike. Pulls good at all rpms like NEVER before. Reading all your good advice on this site has really helped me troubleshoot with success!! Next is the intake boots and o rings, valve adjustment and possibly an electrical upgrade. Just thought you guys would want to know, thats all.

Great to hear that your bike is running much better. Thanks for the feedback. There are many here who seek advise and never bother to feedback their results.
It might now be prudent to do some plug reads to confirm your carb tuning is right.

[marvinsc]

Having gone through the same situation, you can't stress enough, how important air flow (or limit the excess flow) makes a night and day difference on these bikes. :?

Especially on the 850's it seems!

[rphillips]

Great to hear things keep getting better. Did the sealing the air flow affect the starting & idleing?

[hartleygs]

No, this was not anything that I really noticed

[BassCliff]

Nice work!

Mr. hartlygs,

Good going! Sealing the airbox was the very first bit of maintenance I did to my bike when I got it home. Since then I've learned how to change the oil, installed a new deflector windshield, changed differential oil and bevel gear oil, put on new tires, bled the brakes, adjusted the valves, cleaned up the electrical connections, replaced the tach seal, and changed the plugs. Next on my list is installing Progressive fork springs. I have them, but ran out of time today after adjusting valves and bleeding brakes (pictures coming soon).

This is a great bunch of folks here who have taught me how to be a better motorcycle mechanic and a better motorcycle rider.

Mr. hartlygs, do you have a manual? If not, PM and I'll see what I can do.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff