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Kawasaki 1300 Pod Filters | ||
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Last Update 1/5/10
Fitting the Pod style air filters on a Z1300 or KZ1300 with carburetors.
PODS are discontinued as of 6/09!
My intention when I had these made, was to have a filter that would be flexible enough on the mounting flange, that it would easily stretch to fit the carbs, and the throttle bodies both. There's about 1/2" difference in the outside diameter of the mounting flange area on the carbs versus throttle bodies, with the carbs being 1/2" larger than the throttle bodies. The problem that we ran into is that as you can see from the pictures, the two left carbs or throttle bodies either one you look at, are actually closer together on the left and center carb (or throttle body), than on the right and center carb (or throttle body).
These pods are at the maximum diameter we can make them, because they're slightly touching each other now as you can see. Accordingly, the mounting flange on the back of the filter is also at it's maximum size. However, they have managed to increase the flange diameter slightly from the 1st set they did a few years ago. Keeping that in mind, the filters fit tight on the throttle bodies, but they can be installed with the throttle bodies on the bike by using some silicone spray as lubricant to help them on.
However, on a set of carbs which are larger in diameter than the throttle bodies, I don't know of any way you can install them without having the carbs off the bike and laying on the table. The big question is, once you clamp them on will they stay on long term? Just be sure you tighten the clamps as much as you can. As of 7/09 I've sold 300 sets of these, and 99% of the people that bought them didn't have any real problems that I've heard of.
One person pushed too hard on the end of the filter and crushed the pleat trying to push them on without using the silicone spray as I mention. So be careful, and don't apply too much pressure to these PODS by trying to jam them on. And by the way, I will sell you an extra filter if you damage one. One person split the rubber flange on one. You really need to use the silicone spray as I advise, and a similar product is available from any auto parts store - worldwide, as well as the velcro straps.
I think the best way to install them is to use some heat, and heat the rubber flange with a hair dryer to make it more pliable. Heat and install them one at a time. Heat the rubber flange, spray some silicone on the inside of the rubber flange and around the carb flange. Install it with the clamp removed. Wrap a velcro strap around it to hold it down. Then fish the clamp round and tighten it. You want to wait a minute before you clamp it anyway to let that silicone spray dry out some so it will hold tighter to the carb and not try to slip back off. It's much easier to put the center filter on first, then the 2 outside filters last. Since the mouth is round, they can be installed crooked if you're not paying attention when you tighten the clamps. You should be careful to install them as straight as possible so they have a good installed appearance.
A couple of guys said the clamps were too small, and they had to buy larger clamps. I don't think the clamps are actually too small, but I think you should pull the clamps off, install the filters on the carbs, and then fish the clamps back around the flanges, and tighten them that way. If you leave the clamps on the filter, and try to squeeze them on with the clamps installed, they may keep the filter flange from stretching far enough to get them on. Then you'll end up putting too much pressure on the filter, and you'll bend the pleats.
I don't see a solution to making the flange any bigger so as to make them fit easier, because as I said, we're at the maximum size we can go now. Even if they could make the flange on the back of the pod slightly larger in diameter, we have to be careful not to interfere with the air bleeds on the outside edge of the carbs. Those can't be covered up by the filter. If you want a set of these, and you want to mount them on a bike with carbs, plan to have to pull your carbs off and mount the filters, and put the carbs back on. My manufacturer has looked at this issue to see if there's any way to improve the design. They have a set of carbs to test fit filters on, but they think that what we have here is as best they can do for the particular oval design carb's our bike uses.
The one thing we did do is switch to a more flexible rubber material which all new filters are being made out of. Also, once they mold it, and while the rubber is still hot, they stretch the mouth of the filter out some. So that's why they look like they they have a round flange, and they do, but they're very flexible overall. The extra flexibility makes them a lot easier to install than my original prototypes. The downside is that when you put them on a set of carbs, they want to pop right back off. When you push one on, you have to hold it on pretty tight, and then to screw the clamp down with only one free hand; ...I couldn't do it myself. I had to resort to getting a set of Velcro straps, and strapping the filter down tight on the carb with the Velcro, while I positioned the clamp properly, and tightened the clamp down as tight as I could.
You'll see what I mean when you try to do it, and if you can get them on without having the carbs off the bike, then you're a better mechanic than I am. Maybe after they've been used for awhile they'll take a set in their stretched out state, and when you have to pull them off to clean the filters later on, they'll go back on easier the second time around. It shouldn't be an issue that you have your carbs off the first time you install these anyway, because you have to pull your carbs off to get your stock airbox out. So your carbs will already be off the bike the first time around.
Disclaimer:
Since this is a modification you're making to your bike, and these parts are not as ideally suited to this application as I would like them to be, I'm not offering a refund except for a warranty of 90 days on materials and workmanship. I've thoroughly explained the limitations of this product in the text and pictures on this page, so you're buying these "as-is" with no other implied warranty or guarantee that you'll like them. All I can say for sure is that I've used them over the last few years, and I've tested the waters so to speak.
You will have a little more induction noise versus the stock airbox, but that's a given with all open style filters like this regardless of the bike you put them on. You can see from the pictures how they fit. They should be clamped on as tight as you can clamp them, especially if putting them on carbs. I haven't done much long term testing on carbs at this time, only on throttle bodies, but many members have installed them on carbs over the last 36 months with almost no complaints. If you buy these, essentially you're going to be the 'Beta tester' for this new product. Will you have to retune your carbs? Bottom line is, I can't say for sure until people like you try them and report back your experiences.
I can tell you that our 1300's were set a little rich from the factory, even the bikes with factory fuel injection. Usually when you add an aftermarket exhaust like a DG 6 into 1 exhaust system for example, you need to go to SMALLER jet sizes in your carbs to keep it from running too rich. Most people assume you'd have to re-jet richer, but that's not true on our bikes since they were way too rich to begin with. Also, our stock airbox was very restrictive to airflow. I would like to know what effect adding an aftermarket exhaust system, and adding these pod filters will have to the mixture. But keep in mind, I've only tested them long term on my bike with the custom DFI kit installed. I haven't done any long term tests with carb bikes. I haven't gotten enough feedback from the previous filter sales to make a positive determination on all the issues of re-jetting. That's why I'm making this disclaimer.
One thing you need to remember is that you oil these filters with filter oil prior to installing them. They're just like K&N filters for example, and you can use K&N filter oil which can usually be bought in Blue or Red color oil. Some of my pictures show a red color to them because I personally use red filter oil. Any motorcycle shop in any country will have some brand of filter oil they sell for this purpose. They also sell a cleaner to clean them with. These are washable filters just like K&N for example, and you follow the same procedure to clean and re-oil as they recommend. End of disclaimer.
One other thing you need to keep in mind is your crankcase vent, and your air intake for the air injection system shown in the pictures below (if you still have the air injection on your motor). If you remove your stock airbox, and put these pod filters on your bike, you'll need either one or two of these small, and I think everyone basically just calls them 'crankcase' filters, for your bike. I usually buy a few of these from my manufacturer at the same time I buy the PODS. I'll be able to offer you a good price on these also, so just check my other auctions, and see if I have some on ebay right now. But you can buy these from any motorcycle shop. You need a 5/8" size which is .0625 or 16mm if you're buying them overseas.
It seems the Harley dealers only have 3/8" (.0375 or 10mm) crankcase filters because that's what they use. Probably every air filter manufacturer that makes bike filters makes these small crankcase filters. I bought a couple of different brands off ebay in the past but K&N makes them, Vibrant makes them, and many other manufacturers as well. If I don't have any listed, do a search for 'crankcase vent' or 'crankcase filter' on ebay. If you find a dealer selling the smaller ones, email them and ask if they have the bigger 5/8" size. 1/2", 9/16" or 5/8" - any one should work, but 1/2" will be more of a stretch.
These are the first set of mass produced filters to fit the Kawasaki 1300 bikes that to my knowledge, have ever been made. Keep in mind that this was a 10 month project trying to come up with a design that would work, and there are no other filters of this type available worldwide that are specifically made for our bike! These can fit all Kawasaki 1300 models including: Z1300, KZ1300, ZN1300 (Voyager 1300), or ZG1300 subject to the limitations noted above.
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Fitting the filters on a ZG1300 or ZN1300 with throttle bodies:
The problem with making such filters is that our Z1300 models, and there was an old Suzuki GS550cc bike as I recall; these were the only bikes out there with an oval shaped carb. As far as I know, filters like this with oval flanges have never been manufactured. So I had them custom made as you see below.
Here's a stripped down set of throttle bodies where you can see that there's a difference in the distance between the left and the center bodies, versus the right and the center bodies. Even the old three two-barrel carburetor sets our bikes use have this same spacing difference between the 3 carbs.
You notice that the filters fit so tight between the throttle bodies that they actually touch, but they do fit OK and without them being made with an offset flange. I discussed with the manufacturer about making the filter flanges slightly offset to one side because the difference in the distance between the 3 throttle bodies as I show just above. Trying to make the filters with an offset flange is probably more complicated than it appears, at least from a manufacturing standpoint. They didn't want to do it that way assuming it would work with a normal centered filter flange, so this is how all my original prototypes were made including the finished product you see here.
Looking at how they fit on a KZ1300 in these pictures with throttle bodies, I'd say these are a success as far as fitting to the throttle bodies with no clearance issues! Carburetors are an inch wider than these throttle bodies, so they will almost be touching the frame if you install them on a bike with carbs. I can tell you though, that when you put these on, it's much easier to put the center filter on first, then the 2 outside filters last. You'll see what I mean when you actually get around to installing a set. Since the mouth is round, they can be installed crooked if you're not paying attention when you tighten the clamps. You should be careful to install them as straight as possible so they have a good installed appearance.
In the picture below, I drilled the proper size hole in the metal end of a filter to fit the air temp sensor that was originally mounted to the stock ZN1300 Voyager airbox. Then I put some 3M weatherstrip adhesive (available at your local auto parts store) around the sensor to make a good seal and secured it with the 2 small sheet metal screws just like the sensor was mounted in the original airbox, but now it's just mounted to the back of the center air filter. This idea holds true for my custom KZ1300 DFI kits which is what you're looking at above, or for a Voyager 1300 if you choose to use these on one of those bikes. If you come up with a better way to fit the temp sensor to a filter I'd like to hear about it.
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You're looking at a center mounted filter on a set of carbs versus one on a set of throttle bodies.
NOTE: One thing I neglected to mention in earlier auctions, and this applies to all models except the bikes that are using my custom DFI kit, is that the stock airbox holds the radiator overflow bottle in place on the backside. Plus you have a big open area behind the motor that needs to be closed back off once you pull the airbox. It would be ugly just to leave it open where you can see right through to the ground below. I realize that a lot of people buying these already have heavily modified bikes, or they're interested in modifying them now.
But this is one more thing you'll want to do. I need to come up with a bracket I can provide at an added cost to address this issue, and maybe by default I'll make it in such a way so we can mount the aftermarket Nology ignition coils to it. My existing custom DFI bracket is way too heavy duty to sell it for that purpose. In that kit I moved the battery down from its original position, and I make a bracket to hold everything so I can have the fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator and computer where the battery was. So it covers that spot behind the engine, it holds the back of the overflow bottle, and it allows me to mount all my DFI parts out of sight.
