Air box removal/refit 1200 Sport 8V

Hi.  In my garage is a new air box (OE), plus drain hose, plug and clamp for my 1200 Sport 8V.  Usefully it has the nipple for the drain hose, which somehow got broken off the original and went missing along with the hose.

Is there a recommended technique for removing and refitting the air box?  I recall a time in the past when just needing to lift the back to fit a new drain hose it was a bit of a pig to work with.

Thanks.

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Patience and benevolence is your friend here, Mr Flattappeter.

I have performed this act many times.

- Start by disconnecting the electrical connector to the fuel tank - after disconnection, try and start the bike - it will cough and splutter but the pressure is insufficient to supply fuel (there is none);

- Disconnect the quick connect fuel line

- Lift off the tank

- Undo the hose clamps from the throttle bodies

- Disconnect the oil condenser chamber from the front of the airbox

- take all of the screws from the top of the airbox and removed the filter

- once this is all done, wiggle the airbox backwards (while lifting) until the rubber hoses start coming off the throttle bodies

- when ready, give it a big old heave-ho, lifting the rear - the rubber intakes will get caught on the frame, so not too much heave-ho. Make sure you have all your hose clamps.

Now you have the airbox out - while there, consider doing anything else in the V that needs doing

Re-assembly is the reverse of disassembly - remembering you will have to thread your drain tube done into the bowels of your bike at the same time as everything else - another three hands/arms will be handy, consider starting to grow these now. A word of caution though, make sure you have your hose clamps in the right position on the rubber "velocity stacks" - they are a PITA if you forget them - not much room to split them, get them around the hose and re-joined - don't ask how I know this.

Perhaps some rubber lubricant might be beneficial on al the rubbery bits?

Consider removing and cleaning your throttle body assembly at the same time.

Any other issue just post here

Cheers, Tony.  You make it sound so easy!  I'll see what I can do about extra arms .

I'm okay with the fuel tank removal, having done it a few times.

You refer to "velocity stacks".  To the uninitiated i.e. me, are these the rubber boots from the throttle bodies, that I will transfer (along with the condenser chamber) to the new air box, and are they a simple (and reliable) press fit into the holes?  It's not very clear to me from the exploded view.

If I were to go ahead and clean the throttle bodies, firstly is this a sensible time on a 2010 bike with 32K miles and, if so, is there a recommended procedure for this, too?

One other thing while I think of it that you might be able to advise me on, please.  In the UK we've recently had E10 petrol introduced.  Might I be asking for trouble if I didn't continue using E5?

Thanks again.

Colin

Hi Colin,

Avoid anything Ethanol if you can - if stuck with it, go the lowest % you can.

Velocity Stacks === Rubber Boots and yes they fit into the holes of the airbox - the hard part is getting them back on the throttle bodies.

With the throttle bodies, they collect gunk, usually from over-filling the oil at service time - simply put 3.6 litres is too much oil. The guru tell us that prefill your filter, then add 3 litres to the sump. The downside is if there is too much oil in the system, the condenser cannot deal with it and the over flow ends up in the throttle bodies - if yours are clean all well and good. Carb cleaner is the go to product.

The stepper is the other casualty of too much oil - after a while it sticks and leads to high or (wildly) fluctuating idle. Additionally, it will hasten the wearing out of the pivots for the butterflies (as dirt and crud gets stuck in the oily bits and creates a grinding paste. If your throttle bodies are kaput, there needs to be many $$$$$$$$ replacing them.

Right-ho, Tony.

Would the throttle bodies need pulling from the inlet manifolds (an easy job??) to clean them, or can they be cleaned in situ....not sure how much squirting of carb cleaner would be needed?

Best to remove them, so you can see and access the internals. Remember the "do not touch" screw, shouldn't be touched.

Have a look first, Colin, you may find they are clean. Have you been doing the oil changes yourself? Has the airbox oil drain been dripping oil (this is why you are going in there)?

Colin Hi
at 32k clean the throttle bodies - they need to be removed as the breather oil forms a gummy crud in the ports to and from the airscrews.  Once these channels are cleaned there is not much else to do - so it is frustratin.

Also the oil fill... with the oil filter filled before it is installed the engine takes 2.5l (ymmv) at first. then ride it and check again. The bottom mark on the (Really fucking badly designed) dipstick is correct everything else is too high!

Ethanol E5 max........
otherwise (even if no sealing o rings rot away) the 'petrol' tank will expand so that  if  you can remove it you wont get it back.
Sounds like a piss take ....... sadly it is true

Good news - i hear that you can drink ethanol. .... but probably not in petrol

You can easily get ethanol out of petrol - just add water - well at least it stratifies it

Thanks Tony...

hangover?

BtW if the airways are v gunky the air temp sensor ( top of the airbox ) may need carefull cleaning too

Tony, oil changes have been done by the dealer, but I keep an eye on the level post-service and drain some off if it gets above mid-way on the stick when warmed up.  However...

At one service I mentioned that more oil than usual had started to collect in the air box drain.  They found one cylinder was down on compression, due to some scoring of the barrel, which they reckoned would have over-pressurised the crankcase, leading to the excess oil in the air box drain.  So, ignoring the bike's mileage, it probably would be a great idea to check the throttle bodies - but maybe not for the reason you originally had in mind!

To end the saga...  So now, with a new cylinder and piston, the air box drain nipple has got busted off.  Since the bike was with the dealer when this happened they coughed up for the new air box, but I've opted to fit it myself.  For months (and months) they've been trying to cure an oil leak, which they finally admitted was down to the phase sensor on engine left side (and not a faulty mating of cylinder and engine casing).  In the process they must have put on quite a few test miles after the nipple broke off, as the back of the gearbox and much of the wiring behind the air box are now covered with oil while it has been dripping out.

I've yet to prove to myself that the oil leak has finally been fixed.  I just haven't been able to do the necessary miles since I've had the bike back and been waiting another month for the parts.

Colin

Jon G, thanks for the extra advice .

Colin

Ah yes, Colin, I remember that saga. In that case clean them - well worth the time spent. They are a pain in the arse but still worth it - you have to take off the long thin side plastics as well as the throttle cables - it does come out but only if you hold your tongue the right way (don't bite it off).

For re-assembly I always put the rubber intakes in very hot water to make them more flexible; makes the job less painful.

BrianD wrote:

For re-assembly I always put the rubber intakes in very hot water to make them more flexible; makes the job less painful.

Yep, good idea, Brian, especially since we're just now down to single digit temperatures!