I have gotten alot of PM's about the intake on my 11 Yz 450f from other snowbikers wondering about how I have it set up. This is just a run down of how mine is, not by any means the "only" way to do it or the "right" way, it is just what works for me. It has taken lots of trial and error, and was not something I came up with in one sitting, more of a finding each weak spot kind of process.
So....to begin with I have the Outerwears prefilter that is just for the 10+ Yz's, it fits snug.
I run the T-Sled prefilter over that just for a little extra.
I took my stock airbox off completely and used hot glue in every nook and cranny I could find.
I run the stock backfire screen and the small foam filter that is on it underneath the cage with the two prefilters on it.
I also have some outerwears filters over my intakes on the front of the shrouds. They are not installed all pretty like, but they work and have been through a ton of abuse, so no complaints here. This keeps snow from packing the shrouds full of snow.
Another problem I found was as you bust through deep drifts the shrouds like to flex outward from the chassis. This lets snow in from underneath the shrouds and is the next main concern. My fix was to run this flexible plastic strip I had from one shroud, around the frame, to the other shroud. It helped make the shrouds alot more firm and keeps them in where they need to be.
All of the above helped a lot, but didn't completely fix snow from getting in the airbox. I had tried many different things, but I still had a feeling snow was getting in from underneath the shrouds, between the top of the radiators and the bottom seal from shroud to airbox. There is just a flimsy piece of plastic "fin" in there and it will easily flex when pushed on from underneath(i.e. deep day when the snow can push up from below).
So my next thought was how can I seal this area off? Yep silicone would work but it was a PITA to get just right unless you took the whole airbox off again....no.
My solution was redneck as all hell(and i kind of like it that way), but it worked for me, and most people who know me know that i prefer function over looks.
The spray foam was sitting on the counter and I couldnt help myself, I sprayed a bead up the underside of the shroud and let it sit overnight. It obviously expanded way more than I anticipated so I trimmed it a bit with a knife and tried it for a ride. It was deep the next day, really deep. I checked my airbox at the end of the day expecting it to be full as usual, but to my surprise it was nice and clean. After a dozen or so more rides with excellent snow days, my airbox is still clean, and that was the goal. The pics suck, I will try to get better ones later.
Could you do a pod style set up, ya probably, but then you have this huge gaping hole where your airbox used to be, your fuel tank wouldnt have much support when sitting on the bike, and you have to buy more parts and figure out how to tune your fuel map for the change in flow. Also, I was advised by some folks(folks with much more experience than myself on the matter) that it was not a good idea to do that since the airbox is designed to feed the engine the right amount of air as far as "turbulence and velocity" is concerned. Why reinvent the wheel?
Im good, I paid enough for the bike, and its not a sled, it doesnt need another 2k in parts to run well.
So there you go, thats how I did it. It works well, and I have no complaints. Is it pretty? Not as nice as some people would have it, but that doesnt bother me, I never really did enjoy polishing the tunnel on my sleds either.
I keep seeing alot of somewhat naysayers on the new Yammy platform and it makes me wonder if these folks have ridden/wrenched on the bike in the dirt and snow. I dont see any difference in performance from a kawi, to a honda, to a ktm in the 450 class so far, so I am happy. I will admit I have been dissapointed a few times with this bike when I was stopped out in the mountains to clean my airbox out. That sucks, and its not like you just take the seat off and clean it out, theres 4 more bolts just to get to the airbox.
Now, with a snow free airbox I can ride all day in handlebar deep snow and come home to find a clean airbox. I do like all of the 450 class bikes, and they all have their pros and cons, but to me it is personal preference and they all do the same thing, and none of them "blow eachother out of the water" peformance wise.
Another suggestion is the tuning, ask your local Yammy dealer if they have the Yamaha GYTR tuner(if you dont want to buy it), if they do, get the Jay Marmont Race Map from ThumperTalk. It leans out the bike ande makes it pull way harder from bottom to top!
Hopefully this will give the Yamaha guys some more ideas. Thanks for reading my long winded post. If you other yamaha guys have your own recipe, lets see it, I would love to see what works for everyone.
Im gonna go have a beer now
So....to begin with I have the Outerwears prefilter that is just for the 10+ Yz's, it fits snug.
I run the T-Sled prefilter over that just for a little extra.
I took my stock airbox off completely and used hot glue in every nook and cranny I could find.
I run the stock backfire screen and the small foam filter that is on it underneath the cage with the two prefilters on it.
I also have some outerwears filters over my intakes on the front of the shrouds. They are not installed all pretty like, but they work and have been through a ton of abuse, so no complaints here. This keeps snow from packing the shrouds full of snow.
Another problem I found was as you bust through deep drifts the shrouds like to flex outward from the chassis. This lets snow in from underneath the shrouds and is the next main concern. My fix was to run this flexible plastic strip I had from one shroud, around the frame, to the other shroud. It helped make the shrouds alot more firm and keeps them in where they need to be.
All of the above helped a lot, but didn't completely fix snow from getting in the airbox. I had tried many different things, but I still had a feeling snow was getting in from underneath the shrouds, between the top of the radiators and the bottom seal from shroud to airbox. There is just a flimsy piece of plastic "fin" in there and it will easily flex when pushed on from underneath(i.e. deep day when the snow can push up from below).
So my next thought was how can I seal this area off? Yep silicone would work but it was a PITA to get just right unless you took the whole airbox off again....no.
My solution was redneck as all hell(and i kind of like it that way), but it worked for me, and most people who know me know that i prefer function over looks.
The spray foam was sitting on the counter and I couldnt help myself, I sprayed a bead up the underside of the shroud and let it sit overnight. It obviously expanded way more than I anticipated so I trimmed it a bit with a knife and tried it for a ride. It was deep the next day, really deep. I checked my airbox at the end of the day expecting it to be full as usual, but to my surprise it was nice and clean. After a dozen or so more rides with excellent snow days, my airbox is still clean, and that was the goal. The pics suck, I will try to get better ones later.
Could you do a pod style set up, ya probably, but then you have this huge gaping hole where your airbox used to be, your fuel tank wouldnt have much support when sitting on the bike, and you have to buy more parts and figure out how to tune your fuel map for the change in flow. Also, I was advised by some folks(folks with much more experience than myself on the matter) that it was not a good idea to do that since the airbox is designed to feed the engine the right amount of air as far as "turbulence and velocity" is concerned. Why reinvent the wheel?
Im good, I paid enough for the bike, and its not a sled, it doesnt need another 2k in parts to run well.
So there you go, thats how I did it. It works well, and I have no complaints. Is it pretty? Not as nice as some people would have it, but that doesnt bother me, I never really did enjoy polishing the tunnel on my sleds either.
I keep seeing alot of somewhat naysayers on the new Yammy platform and it makes me wonder if these folks have ridden/wrenched on the bike in the dirt and snow. I dont see any difference in performance from a kawi, to a honda, to a ktm in the 450 class so far, so I am happy. I will admit I have been dissapointed a few times with this bike when I was stopped out in the mountains to clean my airbox out. That sucks, and its not like you just take the seat off and clean it out, theres 4 more bolts just to get to the airbox.
Now, with a snow free airbox I can ride all day in handlebar deep snow and come home to find a clean airbox. I do like all of the 450 class bikes, and they all have their pros and cons, but to me it is personal preference and they all do the same thing, and none of them "blow eachother out of the water" peformance wise.
Another suggestion is the tuning, ask your local Yammy dealer if they have the Yamaha GYTR tuner(if you dont want to buy it), if they do, get the Jay Marmont Race Map from ThumperTalk. It leans out the bike ande makes it pull way harder from bottom to top!
Hopefully this will give the Yamaha guys some more ideas. Thanks for reading my long winded post. If you other yamaha guys have your own recipe, lets see it, I would love to see what works for everyone.
Im gonna go have a beer now
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