Removing the airbox

Note: This article is undergoing a major revision, and we don't have good documentation on either process. You'll be on your own a little bit, but with a good amount of patience you should be able to figure it out.

The old airbox removal article stated that you would have to break your airbox to get it out. This is not true. You should be able to remove it undamaged if you are patient and careful enough. It shouldn't be necessary to rip it into pieces in order to remove it. And make sure you don't; if you put any extra holes in the airbox, you'll let too much air in and the bike won't run right.

Removal from the rear

This is probably the preferred method, but we don't have a lot of documentation on it. Remove the rear wheel, both rear under-fender pieces, and the side fairings. Then, disconnect the airbox from the carbs and pull it all the way out through the back. You can get the airbox out intact this way.

Removal from the side

To get started, you need to remove a lot of pieces from the bike. Follow the directions for removing the carbs, including removing the carbs.

Before:

Remove the two bolts at the inside front of the rear fender and pull the fender back a bit. Remove the battery, then the two bolts that hold the back of the box to the frame under the battery. Then remove the 10 screws that hold the two halves of the box together. When you've got them all out, you should be able to break the two halves apart. If you have trouble doing this, then you missed a screw; they're hidden all over the perimeter of the box.

Remove the plastics and filter element from inside the box at this time. Slide one side of the airbox forward and one side back. Work the left half of the box out of the frame, then the right. Be very patient.

Now what?

If you are removing the airbox to make it easier to remove your carbs and work on them, you have two choices: You can do the battery box mod to make it easier to remove the carbs while keeping things close to stock, or you can add air filter pods. Of these two, we recommend modifying the stock battery box and putting the airbox back in.

If you leave the airbox out and add pods, removing the carbs is as easy as loosening a few intake screws and popping them out. This is good, because removing the airbox is going to force you to remove the carbs pretty often in order to get the jetting right. If you're a new rider, it is not recommended that you mess with the intake system. Go out and ride.

Pods are much more fiddly than the stock arrangement, and they're also louder. If you want a bike to ride, rather than one to work on, you should really avoid going to pods.