not gonna go there

No such thing as a stage 2 for this bike . It's either 1 or 3 . I'll read the rest later .....

A post like that doesn't really help much now does it? Come on, I am looking for specific answers to specific questions.

I am looking for something like, "Look, if you install the Pods you are going to have to mess with XXX part" or "Your performance gains will be minimal, just take the carbs off and install the factory box and putting electronics in that area is a bad idea."

On the other side something like, "I have installed them, it really isn't that big of a deal but you will have to play around with the carbs to make it work" would be nice to hear also.

I am really not trying to be an ***, I am just looking for some answers from someone who has been down this road.

That is one of the things that I have noticed from reading and one of the reasons why I should really take those suckers off and see what is going on in there. At this time I really don't want to take the carbs off because I have 0 experience with it but if I need to will learn.

You really should do that anyway, so you have something of a baseline to go from, and hopefully move forward with.

exactly
If you took like 5 minutes to research your question, there are threads about how bad ANY K&N filter is all over this board.

The search term you specified (K&N) is under the minimum word length (4) and therefore will not be found. Please make this term longer. If this term contains a wildcard, please make this term more specific.

you have to be a bit creative on the search.

Here's a few threads

And teh correct answer is...

Taken fron this post:


(G) The problem on the extreme end (such as V&H's Katana headers, with something in the neighborhood of a 76% increase in cross-sectional area) is that the exhaust opening goes so large that the primary constriction point can become the air filter opening to the outside world -- and it's in cases like this where a higher-flowing air filter starts to pay dividends (and also, noteably, the point where you stop using the smaller-opening donut with the K&N and move to the larger opening donut or to pod-style filters). But the higher-flowing, less restrictive air filter still reduces the vacuum levels going through the carbs, so rejetting to avoid being excessively lean again becomes mandatory. But here's where we hit the trouble-point: it can be extremely difficult or even impossible to ideally fine-tune all the different fueling circuits individually with this set-up. Pressure waves bouncing around can induce problems fueling correctly in specific RPM ranges, and it's common for this kind of set-up to have a narrow (usually 600 to 1200 RPM wide) band where it simply doesn't fuel well and the engine either goes way to rich or leans way out. And after throwing money at an exhaust header, aftermarket can, K&N filters, jet kits and a bunch of dyno-tuning time, many people get really frustrated by this fact. Some manage to move that problem band out to an RPM range they regularly never use (so it's not significant), or learn to avoid a specific RPM range (simply power through it and then keep the RPM's up to avoid hitting it again). But many give up in frustration and start asking for solutions, depending on how bad it is and how much money they've been willing to toss that the upgrade...

(H) Which leads us to the most common answer when things simply can't be tuned well and people are bashing their heads against the wall: return to a known-good combination. And the best defined known-good combination is bone-stock, as the bike came from the factory. Which oddly enough, is the configuration that virtually every manufacturer tests their aftermarket equipment with. V&H didn't sit down with a Kat that already had an ignition advancer, K&N pod filters, a DynoJet or FactoryPro jet kit and design their exhaust -- they sat down with a bone-stock Kat and built an exhaust system that would work. And DynoJet didn't grab a Kat with a V&H exhaust to design their initial jetkit for the bike -- they started with a Kat that was bone stock again. Etc.
Some of the firms with larger research arms (or just more dedicated product developers) may have come up with solutions for a wider variety of circumstances (such as K&N including two different donut sizes with their airbox filter), while others learned the hard way by getting reports from the field on what worked (DynoJet is a perfect example here -- their tech database has information on what configurations work with *some* particular combinations of equipment, but these answers were gotten from dyno-tuner operators in the field after the initial jetkit was designed).

(I) Which leads us full circle to the johnny-come-lately in the Katana fueling game: Ivan. By the time Ivan started building his katana jetkit in late 2005 or so, every breathing accessory on the market for the Kats was already out. So he sat down with a bone-stock Kat (well, a Kat that was returned to bone stock) and designed a jetkit to maximize the performance (trying to hit that perfect 13.2:1 fuel-air ratio that maximizes the torque out of any gasoline engine). And after cutting needles and swapping jets, running the dyno & exhaust, taking readings, then milling fresh needles & changing settings (in a loop that was approximately 7 weeks long of doing this every day of the week his shop was open), he had a highly optimized kit for the stock 98+ Kat 600 that was head-and-shoulders above everyone else's kit (I know because I field tested his kit that week back to back with both the stock jetting and the dynojet kit). But he also had the other accessories on hand, so he slapped in the K&N airbox filter, and started testing again. And then an aftermarket muffler, nd started testing again. And both together. And an advancer, and the aftermarket header from some company that I forget.. And after three weeks of this, he emerged from his workshops and declared definitively:
1. The stock airbox & filter will let you produce more power with my kit than any aftermarket filter. That there was no power-benefit and sometimes there was a loss of power compared to the stock airfilter if you were using the K&N airbox or Uni-Fam filters, -- but that if you insisted on running the K&N anyway, he would send you the correct jets to run the K&N (instead of the right ones for the stock filter) to make you happy. Which, oddly enough, was exactly the same answer Marc over at FactoryPro had seaid many years ago in regards to his Katana kits (both pre- and post-98 kits).

2. Ivan continued, saying the constriction point in the system was in the collector/midpipe area, and that all the aftermarket headers for the 98+ kats actually used the stock midpipe gasket, so they all retained at least some of that same constriction point. And again, that he would send you the right jets if you insisted on going that route, but to be very wary of going to an excessively large header, because you would end up with potential problems in being able to tune correctly for them (which matched what everyone at KR, and prior to that, KP, knew from reports from people who had tried it).

3. And finally he said, they're ready. Come n' get 'em. And they came... and many people were very happy, because unlike DynoJet's kit, Ivan's came with exactly the right jets and needles to install (no guessing which of the 5 different sized jets you should use, as is the case with DynoJet's solution, or which needle clip position).

Answered your own question, did you, Chris? As it should be, and you have the guts to post it here. You are my hero of the day- really, I mean that, not messing with you.

As it has been said: You will go far, if only back to whince you came.

Actually ctandc answered it with his creative search idea. Hopefully the next guy who buys a Kat and starts thinking about the ITB Pods can find this post a little easier.

Ummm.. I am not trying to say anything here, but I have had a K&N on all my bikes with NO ill affects. Here is what I have done on all of them.

- Irridium Plugs
- +1 on the jet kit
- Synched carbs
- removed baffle or installed a more open exhaust
- On other bikes I had to remove the smog controls - V-Twins

The only issue I have had with the Kat is just cold starts. I always have to use the choke.

The only reason I am back to stock on my '06 750 is just that the K&N got screwed up and I did not want to spend the $$ for a new one.

If you want a better idea of how it runs.. Take your bike for a short ride to get it warmed up, then in a clean area such as your "open" garage, remove the current filter and then fire the bike up. Roll on the throttle a couple of times and see if the there is any lag in response or popping when rolling off of the throttle. Note... this is just to get an idea. Without the other mods, it may not work well.

This has just been my experience... This is not meant to be a flame towards anyone. Thanks.

well, I'm glad that you have no problems with them. My job is to work on these bikes, I tune them everyday. So you've managed to miracle yourself the right combination, congratulates. However telling someone a K&N on a Katana is a good idea is far from what I would EVER do.

I said it before and will say it again Cris.
the Dynojet-kit WILL work on a Katana, I did run the dual pods stage-3 and it worked fine.

I am going to get some pieces primed and sanded tonight and when that is finished I am going to start taking a look at the jet kit that is already installed on here. Does anyone know of any reference images of the different kits or a way to tell one kit from another?

Maybe I can post some pics of what I find and you guys can tell me which kit it is.