Airbox / Filter and other mods very successful

[ScooterBJ]

I have been setting up my '09 for the Big Ass Scooter tour http://bigassscooter.weebly.com coming up. Some of the things I did were:
• Cutdown the GIVI windshield 2.5" and add a 1" vent hole.
• Wire in a pigtail to the brake/tail light (for additional light with brake flasher).
• Wire a lead through the body panels to a 12V plug in the mini dash glove box (for GPS).
• Mod the airbox.
• Repair a couple of broken body panel tabs.
• Install headlight modulator.
• Increase angle of the sidestand when down.
and misc other stuff. In order to get this done I had to remove the whole rear body section for access. This allowed me to get to the airbox. The mod I did was to de-snorkel the airbox and then drill 2 holes 7/8" dia in the top of the air box. Months back I had remade a high flow air filter (process I posted on the forum). i am pleased to say the mods allow the scoot to accelerate much quicker and it runs about 500-800 rpm less at 60mph.

The airbox snorkel is the rubber tube that slightly sticks out of the air box and runs about 2/3 of the internal length. The purpose of these are typically to quieten the intake noise. removing it allows the air to flow faster and in a bit more volume. The two additional holes in the top allow much more air to come in. The scooter runs much better and I expect to see better MPG (if I can ride reasonably).

[desliderman]

Is your 09 fuel injected?  I would think allowing more airflow might require upjetting the carb.  For fuel injected, something else?  Though it probably isn't THAT much extra air. 

Just curious how it runs with these mods.  Please sent pics so we can all be jealous... :-)

Don in KC.

[ScooterBJ]

Yes, fuel injected. If it were carbed it would most likely need rejetting here (5300ft elev), but for sure if closer to sea level. Most vehicles starve for air here with stock air intake setups. As I will be riding Pikes Peak soon (14,000+), and other high elevations, the extra airflow was sorely needed.

[sissy mary]

Been a month. How's the mpg?

[BigOrange]

2000 to 9000 feet here in southern az.  How is the mileage?  I am afraid of the extra dust.

[sissy mary]

?

[ScooterBJ]

Well I completed the Big Ass Scooter Rockin The Rockies Tour, in all, about 1K miles. We climbed Pikes Peak at 14K and other passes at over 9K. The engine pulls much more freely with better power and acceleration. As the modifications to the airbox are before the filter all air entering the engine is still filtered so no additional dust, etc is getting in. As for mileage, i had not checked it  but feel it does a bit better.

Riding south on the very winding curves of US550 we caught up with a group of Harley riders and tailed them a few miles to a scenic overlook pullout. There, they mostly avoided us but one rider came over with tons of questions about how a bunch of scooters could ride so fast and handle so well.

The only issues I had were personal comfort (which most riders would be fine) and vacuum locking the fuel tank if I overfilled. The vacumm lock only happened a couple times. Since returning i now have the scoot strippped down. I am working on adding highway highway bars so I can stretch out a bit (I am 6'3") and getting the handlebars to a more comfortable angle. I will be setting up a vent for the fuel filler as well

I scrapped the CVT cover a few times when riding fast in the tight  Mountain curves. After that, i made sure to get my weight inside the curve to keep the scooter at a better angle (thanks Total Control).

Overall, the Xciting 500 makes a pretty darn good mountain touring scooter.