K & N questions
 

Are these air filters really worth the money and would I notice the differance? Bike is standard at the mo but should be getting a CCC can in a few days and was thinking about sticking one of these in while I was at it.

Cheers,
Pauly

Yes, they are. (Above the fact that the are LIFETIME GUARANTEED!!!)

Let's look at the dynamics of a bike. Air and fuel in, exhaust out. Simple. However, people seem to assume the more exhaust out, the more power. That seems to be peoples logic behind buying a aftermarket exhaust. "Will that Yoshimura pipe really give me 3 extra horsepower?"

Well, you can't put extra air out unless you're taking extra air in. This is where the K&N comes in. The arrangement and materials of the filter allows more air to enter the intake. In addition, it lowers the turbulence of the air, sending it into the intake more manageably.

To break it down.. two things in a bike make power... air and fuel. It makes sense that the more dominate of these two (air) should be a major focus when considering how to make more power. (After all, that's basically all a turbocharger is! Just faster air at a higher volume).

And I'm reasonably sure that it probably cleans the air better than a crappy stock filter Suzuki would have put in. Cleaner air never hurt anyone.

These are just the basics, simplified, if you will; but I hope this helps in your decision. :wink:

Is it an injected or carbed SV?

In balance. So if you get more air in but not more fuel, you get lean running conditions. Luckily, none of the K&Ns for the SV are good enough for this to be a huge problem ;) But that's also why the benefit (if you get one) doesn't justify the cost.

Its a curvy. I've heard that K & N's aren't all that though.

Well, yeah, the FI SV automatically adjusts (to a point, after which an aftermarket computer, i.e., power commander; is necesary.). I don't know about the carbed ones. I am not familiar with how much of an effect the K&N has on the intake and whether or not jetting it would be necessary.

But if you're looking for an aftermarket exhaust to squeeze out that extra two or three horsepower (I've never had it dyno'd or seen definitive numbers so I can't be sure), I would venture to say it would behoove you to invest in the $45 filter to complement the exhaust. But... to each his own.

Beyond personal pride of having the extra two horsepower, however, it really won't make that much difference in your daily riding (unless you're on a track maybe or struggling to get that extra 1/10 of a second out of your ride to work.:P

That said, however, many little changes do make a difference in the long run. So it's basically your preference. I'm not sure what you mean by "all that," but, as far as air filters go (which isn't far, I guess:wink: ), they are pretty much the as good as they come. (Not to say others may not be as good, but they are as good as, if not better than, most.) But were talking air filters here so...

BTW, balance IS key, as Northwind said. In and out must be proportionate. When I said air is predominate, I simply meant you use a larger VOLUME of air compared to the volume of fuel. That does not mean boost the air and let your bike sputter and putter around in the misery of leaness. [/b]

I'd say, personally, that the K&N for the curvy's a bit rubbish. It flows only slightly better than standard- just enough to want a rejet, not enough to get a decent boost :roll: If you do want to play with direct-replacement filters, go to JHS and get a BMC Race RS. If you want to make it simple, get the whole jet kit, nice piece of work that. But to be honest, even with a full system, spacers, RS filter, and jetted right the gains aren't massive. If you want to add power into a curvy, I'd say start with the cam swap- it's a wee bit harder to do, but you get similiar results for less money. Result :)

The SV doesn't have a lambda sensor unfortunately- it doesn't adjust for mixture. Very few bikes can, even now.

I'd say start with the cam swap- it's a wee bit harder to do, but you get similiar results for less money. Result :)

And what would I be swaping it for? What kind of work is involved in this swapping business? :oops:

A search for "cam swap and intake and exhaust" should reveal all :) Basically you're putting injected model intake camshafts into the engine, then using your old intake camshafts as exhaust cams. For a fairly stock bike, it gives a good peak kick but it's also got a good effect on the power curve overall- you spend more time near to peak power, and it doesn't just drop off like a stone afterwards. Excellent for real-world drivability. You can get more power from cams, but this costs about £130 ;) "Proper" race cams are way more expensive and don't give much more benefit on a bike in low tune.

it's basically "take off top of engine, rummage around, put top of engine back on" ;) Not for the inexperienced or faint of heart, but at the same time not especially difficult, if you can follow instructions and you're fairly competent with tools and such. There's the potential for disasterous failure if you screw up though ;)

Wow, I didn't know that. I always thought it adjusted mixture to a point. Hmmph. In that case... it would seem the air filter and can would be kinda pointless without an aftermarket ECU. Or is that way off base?

Getting a wee bit off my chosen subject, I'm not so good on the pointy SVs... You can have the stock ECU remapped with a Yoshi or Teka box, and also there's sometimes leeway- you often hear people say that stock bikes run rich, if that's right then there's space to lean them. That'd help economy too.

End cans don't give much power anyway, they're all growl and no go. Not sure how effective the pointy filter swaps are though.