Has anyone taken their airbox off?

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BigDaddy SnakeOiler
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Has anyone taken their airbox off?

Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

I just got a RamAir filter. I want to install it and get rid of the stock airbox, but my dealer says the inside rear fender is attached to it. Has this been a problem for anyone? What did you do?
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Post by mfavata »

I left my airbox in place and installed a pod filter. I had to take the carb off, put the filter on, and then slide the whole assembly back in place to make it easier.
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Post by Johnny O »

What I ended up doing was chopping up the air box in order to utilize the bottom of the box as a "mudguard".

If you have a Dremel or other multi-tool its pretty easy. I also removed all the emissions crap when I did this plugging the gas vent with vacuum plug. You'll have to take the rear tire off and take the air filter out prior to removal. There are 3 screws (I think) that hold the whole assembly in place. I won't lie, its a bit tight to wiggle out. Once you get it out trace along the bottom and figure out where you need to cut to keep the mounting points intact for use as a "mudguard". Then cut away.

After that I re-mounted the "guard" i.e. bottom of airbox. I've been very happy with it.

I also ordered a new crank case vent and mounted it up near the top of the frame to prevent any water intrusion. You will lose your crank vent mounting spot when you chop the box. Just get a new hose at the parts store and a generic Crank vent. With all the extra space I'm thinking extra large fuel tank!

On another topic BigDaddy, I think you replied to an earlier post about the SIP wheels and tires, do yours rub at all? Mine rub on the oil cover. I'm going back to stock until I can figure out how best to fix the offset. I used your recommendation of tire size and brand but they are just too big.
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Post by Yalzin »

I chopped my airbox and put a Unifilter on it. For the airbox:

Image

Measuring and lining up the cut.

Image
Image

Post-cut.

You have to make sure you keep all of your mounting spots for the fender. But it makes SO MUCH ROOM in the engine compartment.

I also have the SIP Tubeless rims. No rub here!
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Post by Johnny O »

Nice pics....yea thats exactly how I did mine too.
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

Thanks for the great advice and pix dudes.
Johnny O wrote: With all the extra space I'm thinking extra large fuel tank!
Yes! That's the point. I've been talking to my Stella pro about maybe a 2T gas tank. They say there would have to be a fuel pump as the bottom of the tank would be below the carb. Maybe a vacuum powered one.
Johnny O wrote: ...about the SIP wheels and tires, do yours rub at all? Mine rub on the oil cover.
I don't think so, tomorrow when I tear it apart will be the first time I've really looked. They said they didn't have to shift the wheel over and I've never heard or felt any rubbing. What kind of tire did you use? I have Vee rubber.
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Post by Neurotic-Hapi-Snak »

I cut up my airbox for a mudguard, too, and used the rubber hose elbow to mount a large Uni pod filter above the rear wheel.
BigDaddy SnakeOiler wrote:
Johnny O wrote: With all the extra space I'm thinking extra large fuel tank!
Yes! That's the point. I've been talking to my Stella pro about maybe a 2T gas tank. They say there would have to be a fuel pump as the bottom of the tank would be below the carb. Maybe a vacuum powered one.
I don't think the 2T gas tank would be lower than the carb at all. Remember the Dell'orto SI sits on top of the engine of a 2T, so if anything I think the 4T carb sits about the same level. The problem with fitting the 2T gas tank is that it is too wide to fit between the frame tubes without modification. A guy on LMLOCGB tried fitting one and that's what he ran in to, he was going to try modifying the 2T tank to fit but he never posted anything about.
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Post by az_slynch »

I have spare 2T tanks and Stella's back from first service. I'll investigate this once the tank is almost empty. Half a tank to go...
At what point does a hobby become an addiction? I'm uncertain, but after the twelfth scooter, it sorta feels like the latter...

Seriously...I've lost count...

Seven mopeds ...that's still manageable...
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

Today when I had the wheel off I noticed that there was a little rubbing on the engine case. Barely tho'.
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Post by Yalzin »

Are you running the 3.50's?
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

Yalzin wrote:Are you running the 3.50's?
Actually100/90. But it's pretty much the same thing.
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Post by az_slynch »

BigDaddy SnakeOiler wrote:
Yalzin wrote:Are you running the 3.50's?
Actually100/90. But it's pretty much the same thing.
Actually, a 90/90-10 tire is pretty much the same thing. An evaluation of tire width shows that 90 millimeters is about 3.54 inches wide, while 100 millimeters is 3.94 inches wide. The tire you're rockin' is almost a half inch wider than stock. This all assumes that the tires are produced to the described dimensions, which doesn't seem to work out too often.
Last edited by az_slynch on Sun Jul 05, 2015 3:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
At what point does a hobby become an addiction? I'm uncertain, but after the twelfth scooter, it sorta feels like the latter...

Seriously...I've lost count...

Seven mopeds ...that's still manageable...
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

Math says you are correct, but for some reason Vee Rubber disagrees.

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Post by az_slynch »

BigDaddy SnakeOiler wrote:Math says you are correct, but for some reason Vee Rubber disagrees.

Image
They must be using "new math", then. Do you have a way to measure the width? A big dial or digital caliper? Maybe a c-clamp or bar clamp, some marking tape and a ruler could work to get a width.
At what point does a hobby become an addiction? I'm uncertain, but after the twelfth scooter, it sorta feels like the latter...

Seriously...I've lost count...

Seven mopeds ...that's still manageable...
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Post by Yalzin »

I *think* I'm running 90/90's, and have no rub. Maybe I should check, and on my next set, go back to 3.50's :)
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Post by Neurotic-Hapi-Snak »

Heideinau K38 3.50-10 are really wide, wider than 3.50, and usually rub on 2Ts, and they rubbed on my 4T so I had to use spacers.
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Post by Johnny O »

Sorry I hijacked the thread with tire talk.....yes, I have the Heideinau K61's 100/90 - 10 and they rubbed bad. I tried all the quick fixes online; shaving the tread, grinding the oil filter cover, spacers. The spacers worked until I hit some hard turns on a warm day and the tires swelled up and started rubbing again. My solution will be new tires. I'm tired of trimming my engine metal, just seems like a bad idea.

I put some tiny tack welds on my hub inner race to try to bump it out a little and that worked ok, but still had some contact after heat up. This came with other issues, had a heck of a time getting the run out of the wheel and I know the spline of the output shaft wasn't fully engaged, if only by a few millimeters less and I just wasn't comfortable leaving like this. I ground the welds and put the stocks back on for now.

Looking around on the euro sites I think SIP sells a hub spacer you can use to bump out the tire a smidge, but what the issue really seems to be is that tire manufactures are not beholden to exact dimensions on the outside of the tire. There appears to be a lot of "slop" in manufacturing and one tire might be ok the first time you order it, but an exact replacement might be too wide.

I read lots of post from the UK and this seems to be a common issue. New tires will be my fix. I'll contact SIP before I order new ones to make sure I have plenty of room with the new set. Thanks for all the info!
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Post by srbbnd »

If any of you guys have time could you post a pic of what it looks like with the air box off just for perspective?
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Post by Yalzin »

Image
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Post by srbbnd »

Thank you! That would make cleaning my whitewalls a lot simpler. Maybe when my warranty is up might try that.
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Post by Yalzin »

Just to be clear, the tire in the back is the Spare.

Now, the question I've been thinking about:

How have you all adjusted the carb? Playing with the air/fuel mix? Upjetting? Washer under the needle?

I have not put on a new pipe, so I don't think I need to do any jetting. Plug looks fine, but I don't really have the top end I had before the motor rebuild. Then again, it could be just breaking in...
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Post by Johnny O »

I installed the Polini (Mikuni) 22mm kit along with this K&N Filter. I'm not a fan of the UNI:

http://www.powersportsplace.com/parts/knn-rc-0840

It fits directly to the mikuni carb and doesn't interfere too much with the ignition pack. in the pic you kept the stock elbow, so it turns into that space. Mine's not like that, I have all that area for whatever. I got it all tuned just prior to Amerivespa and its been running great since.

I think all I ended up doing was moving the c-clip of the Mikuni VM22 down one notch on the main jet needle. Otherwise its running pretty good. I do plan to go up one size in the pilot jet. If I twist open real quick it hesitates a bit, but top end is wonderful. I was just down in Tybee GA in 95 Deg heat and she was running like a champ. Sea level made the difference there I believe, but still a big improvement over stock. The real trick with the small mikuni's is getting the air screw adjusted right. If I recall, mines out most of the way recommended by the Mikuni manual (2.5 or 3 turns I think) and that seemed to be the trick.

I'm thinking about making a custom x-tra capacity tank and storage area back there now, but I'm going to try and hash out a better fuel level float setup to improve the accuracy so it will be a little more time before I get to it. Maybe next spring.
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Post by slotrod65 »

Thanks for posting this. I was thinking of ripping out my airbox as well and using the space to store a set of tools, freeing up room in my glovebox.
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

slotrod65 wrote:Thanks for posting this. I was thinking of ripping out my airbox as well and using the space to store a set of tools, freeing up room in my glovebox.
How's your been running with the RAMAir? That's the one I got and my mechanic thinks it might be too small.
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Post by jimmbomb »

Johnny O wrote:I installed the Polini (Mikuni) 22mm kit along wt I'm going to try and hash out a better fuel level float setup to improve the accuracy so it will be a little more time before I get to it. Maybe next spring.
I reached into the fuel tank with 2 needle nose pliers and kept bending the stiff wire rod that holds the float. Bent it to do a concave or convex (? Right word) arc till i got the accuracy that i could live with.
good luck
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

So I finally did the deed. Came out awesome...
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Post by Johnny O »

Looks exactly like the way I did mine. Nice Work!
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Post by avescoots1134 »

Yalzin wrote:Image
Just don't ride in the rain! :P
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

I hadn't thought of that. Is it really an issue? I figure it would have to be raining pretty bad.
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Post by avescoots1134 »

If yours is like that without a fender, then any moisture on the road is going to fling up and soak that air filter.

I'd put the airbox back on.
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Post by Yalzin »

Fender is still intact. I haven't had any issues running in the rain - no water gets up there!
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

There is a fender. I made it out of the airbox and mudguard.
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Post by Johnny O »

BigDaddy SnakeOiler wrote:There is a fender. I made it out of the airbox and mudguard.
Agreed. If you cut off the top of the air box and reattach the bottom as BigDaddy has shown its technically no different. My air filter is actually more exposed being on the side. If you include an elbow from the carb its out of the line of fire from splashing water a little more.

I've been in all forms of rain and splashing and not had any issues. I'm not one of those guys who aims for puddles either though. If you typically drive through 6-8 inches of water it might be a problem. Big then again, I don't think the stock airbox could handle that much water either.
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

Done. RamAir in.
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Post by slotrod65 »

Thanks for the pics guys, I may just have to add the air box chop to the list for this year's mods.
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

Just want to remind everyone to make sure to take care of the crankcase vent. I put a filter on it and zip-tied it to the coil. Don't want anything to fall in there.
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Post by slotrod65 »

Where did you get that neat little filter and the elbow?
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

I found the filter from a thread here. Can't remember which one, but I think you were on it as well. They're on eBay and in stores. This one's good because it has a little loop to secure it with a zip-tie.
The elbow is just the stock hose, which runs frm the CC to the airbox, cut in half.
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

Hey SR, I'm trying hard to get to the Albany rally. Hope we can meet up.
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Post by slotrod65 »

Thanks, I'll start searching. I hope to see you at the Rumble.
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Post by slotrod65 »

I think we are talking apples and oranges. I was asking about the little filter in the crankcase vent.
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Post by BigDaddy SnakeOiler »

A group of friends and I go to Saranac Lake every summer. This year it's The week of July 10th. I'm thinking I'll ride to the rumble and then continue to Saranac.
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Post by slotrod65 »

Thanks Buddy, I just ordered one.
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Post by Neurotic-Hapi-Snak »

slotrod65 wrote:Where did you get that neat little filter and the elbow?
It's a Uni crankcase breather filter, don't remember the size, I'm running one as well.
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