Drilling holes in the airbox side cover of the pig

[frogman]

I'm about to put the drill to work and ventilate the beast, is it worth it? Whats the best pattern to use for the holes?

[jws]

here is how i did mine..........................

[frogman]

Was it worth it, what difference did it make in performance?

[frogman]

Those BD passenger footpegs are great, I got a set on mine too and I like em a lot.

[qadsan]

* Side Panel Cutout *

The side panel cutout will increase the HP from ~4,250 RPM on up and improve the torque from ~3,750 RPM on up without sacraficing much if anything on the low end once the bike is properly jetted. If you simply do this mod and don't take the time to dial in your jetting, then you will likely increase the off idle hesitation or your low end performance will feel weaker when you whack open the throttle from a low RPM. Careful tuning can minimize this, but a pumper carb will take care the off idle hesitation completely if properly setup. The negative issues from doing the side panel mod are that you'll hear more intake noise and you'll be more subject to getting the filter wet since the side panel will be open and your filter will get dirtier quicker. You may also have to fiddle with your tuning your carb to further minimize any increase in off idle hesitation, but since you have an Edelbrock carb, tuning will be a piece of cake and you may not have to touch your carb (try it first without any changes). If you don't mind these negatives, then this is the single biggest HP/Torque improvement mod you can do for the money. Don't expect to notice a huge improvement, but you can definitely instrument an honest increase in HP & torque on any dyno with this mod. If it's wet outside, you can cover up the holes or cut-outs with duct tape or buy another side cover to keep as a spare.

Here's an article I wrote a ways back about this topic that will have more info for you.

http://4strokes.com/tech/honda/airbox/

[frogman]

Thanks for the most excellent response.

[justicedone]

jws, just my humble oppinion, but I think it would look more uniform if you added one more hole to bottom of your second row. Nice job though. I have an XRL650 and I know this is normally done on XR650R models only ?

Anybody done something like this on an L model ???

I like the scheme with the 2 larger angled holes with the mesh.

[bikemadtim]

I drilled about 36 holes about 8mm diametre in mine. Be carefull to avoid the strengthening ribs on the inside. When drilled I roughend it up using a knife, then washed it, then used a fine mesh to cover it from the inside. I used an epoxy resin glue to hold the mesh in place. It works a treat.

Mine is drilled, then has a 68s pilot and a 175 main jet. The exhaust is open and the uncorking mods are done.

The bike is definitely more aggressive when this is done with a more ferocious delivery when you give the bike some welly.

[jws]

jws, just my humble oppinion, but I think it would look more uniform if you added one more hole to bottom of your second row. Nice job though. I have an XRL650 and I know this is normally done on XR650R models only ?

Anybody done something like this on an L model ???

I like the scheme with the 2 larger angled holes with the mesh.

Yeah that picture is old - here is one from yesterday ?

better?????????????

[Roll_it_on]

JWS - Much better now. What were you thinking before??? ? Nice bike ?

[justicedone]

Ha ha...write this date down !!!

I was right... yippeeeeee

looks damn tight now thumperbruddah !!!!

very fungshweeeeeeeeeet ?

[sonorawfo]

Nothing wrong with getting more air into your engine, (as long as you've got your jetting right??). Around here the stream crossings get pretty deep!!. depending on your riding conditions??, keep that in mind!!. ?

[NVFirefighter]

Yeah that picture is old - here is one from yesterday ?

better?????????????

How big are your feet?? ? Weird angle on your shifter......

[jws]

How big are your feet?? ? Weird angle on your shifter......

i wear a tech 8s size 15 ? broke my ankle 12 years ago (Glamis) have no movement so i have to lift my leg to shift ?

[grreatdog]

Duct tape over the holes solves in any stream crossing problems. But my experience is that the side cover keeps enough water off for a quick deep blast across a stream.

[bakeray]

I have been thinking of this for mine but same problem...stream crossings..(more like rivers)....I have also thought of sealing the box and building a "snorkel" set up that would be mounted under the rear fender...I figure in deep water the force of you going forward will keep an air pocket under the fender ? ..One problem with my idea though...dust and dirt ?

[CAM2R]

i wear a tech 8s size 15 ? broke my ankle 12 years ago (Glamis) have no movement so i have to lift my leg to shift ?

So you're the other XR650R rider who wears sz.15 T8's

I broke the left ankle 14 years ago. The doc wanted to cast over my toes he said if I had a 'good' reason to leave them open he'd consider it. When I told him that I needed to shift the bike - he told me that he raced superbikes and left them out ? I just didn't have anywhere to carry the crutches on the bike, but I rode it with the cast on many times.

... back on topic - when I stop finding puddles that go over the tank:eek:, I'll consider the open airbox cover

Ride on

[boondkr1]

I like your passenger foot pegs. After market kit? Require welding?

Boondkr1

[SMOKE]

hey 2 others that where size 15 nice to know if i ever need to "borrow" a pair of boots....

[jws]

I like your passenger foot pegs. After market kit? Require welding?

Boondkr1

baja designs used to sell them - no welding required ? i have herd that they stopped selling them because they were having problems with them hitting the swingarm ? they work perfect for taking my 5 year old to school and back ?