Carb re-jet?

wab

Been Around the Block
Hi I have a 1983 Honda CBX550 which i am giving the cafe treatment. My question is if I junk the ugly standard airbox set up and put pod type air filters on what do I need to do to the carbs? I have read various posts referring to rejetting after fitting them.Is this always necessary? or will the bike run fine without? I will be running standard down pipes and probably some sort of slip on mufflers.Thanks.
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Almost definitely need to rejet. More air from aftermarket filters means you need more gas. More gas means bigger jets.
 
Thanks Big Rich, being a newb I have to ask newb questions! Obviously they come in set sizes, do you go up one size or more? Or does it depend on the size of the pods?Thanks a lot for your help. :)
 
Thats another thing: nobody knows that answer for sure. Try two sizes at a time until it smooths out.
 
Best advice I can give you, keep the 'ugly stock airbox'
Your going to have more than enough 'fun' with the inboard disc brakes
That's a 130mph bike, (I was at Honda UK for a course when they were launched)
Unless you have a LOT of experience with carbs, you will only make it slower, it isn't as simple as just throwing bigger jets in there
You would be far better off learning to ride it well stock and find a 70's early 80's bike to modify
The other alternative which is pretty easy (but expensive), fit a bank of 27mm Kei-Hin CR carbs (probably about 1200 quid, you are in Britain?)
 
crazypj said:
Best advice I can give you, keep the 'ugly stock airbox'
Your going to have more than enough 'fun' with the inboard disc brakes
That's a 130mph bike, (I was at Honda UK for a course when they were launched)
Unless you have a LOT of experience with carbs, you will only make it slower, it isn't as simple as just throwing bigger jets in there
You would be far better off learning to ride it well stock and find a 70's early 80's bike to modify
The other alternative which is pretty easy (but expensive), fit a bank of 27mm Kei-Hin CR carbs (probably about 1200 quid, you are in Britain?)
To be honest i did'nt buy this bike with the idea of going fast, I can do that on my Daytona 900. It was more to do with the look more than anything, so I could drop the side panels etc. I suppose I could go with the stock one and try and fabricate some side panels to suit the cafe style rear end I want to fit.
Did you say 130 mph? Christ! Don't think I will be doing that on this one. Are the brakes really that bad? Will they be ok if I keep on top of them?
Thanks for your input.
 
The brakes are not bad, they work good when working right.
The problem is, they tend to have corrosion problems on the wheel stubs where rotors mount, plus they are a bugger to get apart when 'stuck'
The stainless steel wear shims cause corrosion, use specific anti seize (zinc based not copper based) and you'll only need to fix them once a year
The anti-dive link bolts tend to round out.
Get them apart and check everything before you have a problem so you know how they should be assembled
DO NOT FIT OVERSIZE FRONT TYRE
It makes the bike dangerous, friend tried it cos tyre was real cheap and she was broke
I could barely hold onto it at 35mph, she almost lost it as she was a lot smaller than me (about 5'5", 120lbs)
Bike was almost new at the time,never been dropped, first front tyre change so around 6~7,000miles
 
If you change to pod filters, the bike will be so lean that it will barely run, and could even cause engine damage.
 
crazypj said:
The brakes are not bad, they work good when working right.
The problem is, they tend to have corrosion problems on the wheel stubs where rotors mount, plus they are a bugger to get apart when 'stuck'
The stainless steel wear shims cause corrosion, use specific anti seize (zinc based not copper based) and you'll only need to fix them once a year
The anti-dive link bolts tend to round out.
Get them apart and check everything before you have a problem so you know how they should be assembled
DO NOT FIT OVERSIZE FRONT TYRE
It makes the bike dangerous, friend tried it cos tyre was real cheap and she was broke
I could barely hold onto it at 35mph, she almost lost it as she was a lot smaller than me (about 5'5", 120lbs)
Bike was almost new at the time,never been dropped, first front tyre change so around 6~7,000miles
Thanks for the info. Bike was outside this week for a few days, came back to it and the front wheel is locked solid! Took the wheel off but I have'nt examined inside yet.Looking forward to that.Not! :(
 
If you've got the wheel out you already have the 6mm bolts out of cover ring and rotors off plus the Allen for anti dive (or did you diconnect brake hoses?)
When you get rotors off you can remove the stainless wear pads on wheel hub and clean corrosion off the alloy posts.
The calipers are usually pretty good, the pistons don't usually seize up.
BTW, that bike has cast iron rotors, that may be why it stuck after a few days outside, rust between rotor/pad
 
crazypj said:
If you've got the wheel out you already have the 6mm bolts out of cover ring and rotors off plus the Allen for anti dive (or did you diconnect brake hoses?)
When you get rotors off you can remove the stainless wear pads on wheel hub and clean corrosion off the alloy posts.
The calipers are usually pretty good, the pistons don't usually seize up.
BTW, that bike has cast iron rotors, that may be why it stuck after a few days outside, rust between rotor/pad
Hi, yes I took the wheel off after disconnecting the brake hoses as I am stripping the bike completely anyway.Thanks for all the info I have a much better understanding of the brake system faults now.I agree with you about the rotors it's what I guessed had happenned.Soon as I get chance I will investigate inside the mysterious covers! :)
 
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