Carb spacing and pod filter fitment

[Brazle]

Hey guys,

I have done quite a bit of searching, but can't find what the carburetor spacing is on the ZL900. I found this thread at concours.org
http://forum.concours.org/index.php?topic=45220
they say: "carb spacing is 77-85-77mm"

Is the ZL900 carb spacing the same as the ZL1000 and the Concours?

I am looking for the best cheap pod filter solution for my '85 and am leaning towards the UNI pod filters. They have 2 options for a 2" inlet.
a) The standard black UNI pod filter which has a 3" OD
b) The Dual Layer pod filter which has a 3 1/2 " OD

I want to make sure the Dual Layers will fit width-wise. So if I go off the 77-85-77mm spacing is that correct?

Also, the black ones are available in 5" length (same as K&N's) and 4" and 6". The red Dual Layer pods are only available in 4" and 6". I'd like to go as big as possible, but since the K&N's are only 5" I don't know if the 6" ones will fit OK or not.

Can anyone with K&N pods tell me if they have another 1" of space for a longer filter pod?

(ref: http://www.unifilter.com/online%20catalog/UNICAT09.PDF)

I like K&N, but it seems they don't filter as many particles as other filters AND the UNI's are quite a bit cheaper ($15 a piece instead of $140 for a set of 4).

Thanks for any info or insight you have.

- Brazle

 

[Brazle]

Just found this pic for a K&N reference, but those filters look a LOT shorter than the RC-2774 set that everyone sells. Can anyone tell if these are 5" tall K&Ns or if they might be shorter

 

[WillyD]

Those are shorter than the K&N's I had originally on my 900....Let me see if I can find a pic...

Willy

 

[Jarney]

Here are the big K&N's. I can take measurements when I get home later today if needed. Later.

 

[golddrakul]

I've got two sets of the K&N pods, they both look like Brazle's picture. Believe they are the RC-2774, which specs out at just under 4 inches:

www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?Prod=RC-2774

I've definitely got another inch of clearance behind them.

One thing I've noticed, it's fairly easy [at least for me ] to accidently knock the outer pods loose or even off. Only managed to do it in the driveway so far, but it is something to think about.

 

[WillyD]

If you look at Jarney's pics you can see he has a bracket that holds them in place..The lip of the rear of the carbs is very very shallow..You slide the pod on and then you tighten the hose clamp..It is very easy to tighten the clamp to the point of pushing the pod off...Put them on a little looser and they move around...Add that and vibration and they will easily come off...If you run a bar or rod down the back side of the pods and put a bracket like Jarney it will work ...When I had mine, each pod had a hole drilled with a small machine screw holding a "P" clamp. There was a rod that would run through all the clamps and there was springs that hooked into places on the front side of the carbs and helped keep pressure on the pods towards the carbs...

Jarney....if you have any pics showing the attachment of your bracket to the pods, that would be cool...Just curious as to how yours attach..

 

[Brazle]

Yes, I've been looking at specs on the different filters. I think the dimension you found is actually how wide the base is, the rectangular part near the clamp is 2.75" x 3.943". The "length" of the filter is actual listed as the height at 5".

Thanks for the input on loose pods.

I've got two sets of the K&N pods, they both look like Brazle's picture. Believe they are the RC-2774, which specs out at just under 4 inches:

www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?Prod=RC-2774

I've definitely got another inch of clearance behind them.

One thing I've noticed, it's fairly easy [at least for me ] to accidently knock the outer pods loose or even off. Only managed to do it in the driveway so far, but it is something to think about.

 

[Brazle]

WillyD, It would be great to see some pics of what you did too.

Jarney, If you could post a few more closeups of your filter retaining mechanism, that would be great.

Thanks for all the input guys, anybody know about the carb spacing?
Even with a 3.5" wide filter, if the carb spacing is 77-85-77, that's only 73 or 74mm width per filter, so that should be barely enough room to fit them in with 2 or 3 mm to spare. If the carb spacing is less than 75mm, it would be a tight fit.

...When I had mine, each pod had a hole drilled with a small machine screw holding a "P" clamp. There was a rod that would run through all the clamps and there was springs that hooked into places on the front side of the carbs and helped keep pressure on the pods towards the carbs...

Jarney....if you have any pics showing the attachment of your bracket to the pods, that would be cool...Just curious as to how yours attach..

 

[zlMark]

If they say the zg1000 is spaced like so then so is ours because it's the same head

 

[Jarney]

Mine doesn't actually attach to the pods. It mounts to the frame, you slide it forward and tighten the bolts, this pinches or sandwiches the filters between the bracket and the carbs. It's been setup like this for a very long time and I've never lost any pods - knock on wood. For extra safety you can do what ZLMark did and just thread some small wire or strong fishing line through the mesh of each filter - tying them all together. Here are some more pics of mine - easy to make and install. Later.

 

[Brazle]

It looks like there may or may not be enough room for a 6" long, 3.5" OD filter. Especially the way the frame curves down, I think it'll hit/rub the frame on top of the filter, if not at the end. Of course, they sell filters with a 15 degree angle at the boot. Could point them down, sort of parallel with the frame. Hmm, that might be cool. Maybe I'll buy one and see if it fits, of course if I'm taking the airbox off, I won't want to put it back on.
I'll probably just stick with the 4". It still shouldn't be a restriction whatsoever.

Thanks for the extra pics, Jarney, that simple little bar is a cool idea. I will definitely do something like that. I found another pic in this thread where marki made something similar:
http://www.zl-oa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6324

I will just assume that carb spacing is correct then, unless I hear otherwise from anyone else. Will try to take a measurement when I take my airbox off.

 

[Brazle]

Pod filters

Here's some info, just to give you guys an idea of what I'm looking at.

These are the "original" UNI Pod filters available in 2x4", 2x5" and 2x6" (all 3" OD):

---------------------------------------------

These are the UNI Dual Layer Pod filters available in 2x4" and 2x6' (3.5"OD). It is a two part filter and the red part is removable. I believe it looks like the originals above without the red cover, but I'm not sure.

------------------------------------------

They also carry the Dual Layer Pod filter with an angled rubber hose section so the length of the hose runs at a 15 degree angle from perpendicular to the surface of the carb inlet. They are 3.5" OD and 4" or 6" long.
Here is a pic of some black snowmobile-only angled filters and a bad pic of the red one: (the black one will give you an idea of the angle)

I think with the angle is the only way I could fit one of the 3.5" OD 6" long Dual Layer filters. I'm not a big fan of the red since my bike is mostly all black, but I kind of like the idea of a little sort of accent coloring.

Here's the catalog info from UNI:
http://www.unifilter.com/online catalog/universal.html

This is the cheapest place I found to buy them online:
http://www.powersportsuperstore.com/

So what do you guys think? 4" straight or 6" angled?