Bang-for-the-buck mod
 

Hi,

I very much feel like modding my 08 xt-x a bit, but since money isn't growing on trees currently I've been thinking about how to start out cheap but still have some noticeable result, and then have a base to build on.

My idea is:

o Remove snorkel
o DNA stage 1 + 2
o Kev fuel mod

Cans and pcIII can then be added when funding is in place :)

I was thinking to skip drilling holes in the airbox.

What do you reckon: 3 or 4 extra hp? Will I actually feel any difference/improvement? Or is it better to save up and just do it all at the same time?

Anyone that did these mods, if so what did you experience?

I've run a standard bike and one with a Stage 1,2 and snorkel/PC3... IMO you'll barely notice the difference.

I'm currently running an R with co upped by 10, air box drilled, snorkel removed, stage 1 and 2 filters, kev fuel mod and a set of mtc cans. I think theres a lot more pull in it from lower in the rev range right through to the limiter, it picks the front wheel up on throttle alone in 1st and second and even in third sometimes if you get it right on a hump. Its also smoother now with these mods.
The biggest power gain came from the stage 1 and 2 filters together, thats your best hp for � improvement as this is where these bikes are most restricted.
The cans didnt make much difference to power, they just make a sweet sound!!

DNA Stage 1+2, not K&N.....The K&N may be a few pounds cheaper, but it seems a false economy, reading the forum. And the Kev fuel Mod, which you need to get the best out of the DNA increased airflow.
The rest of the mods will cost you nothing.....:ytiller:

It sounds like you have the right idea.....you can always add the cans later, which is a relatively expensive purchase, but you could find some nice used ones when the time comes.

correct me if I'm wrong guys, but you would need to adjust your Air/Fuel mixture, to stop your bike running too lean, if you started with just the DNA's. So, first the Kev Mod, then later the filters.

If you don't want to drill your own air box I have a complete air box from my '04 XTX I may be willing to part with. ��??

Ok, well I asked for your opinion, I just hoped the opinion would be different ;)

Have you done additional mods that you think actually made a difference?

Get in touch with me by pm if you want a quote on Stage 1 & 2 plus a 10% discount for being a forum member, you know it makes sense. :024:

And immediately someone that really think it's a substantial difference! 1 - 1.

Do you have original size sprockets? Otherwise that's what would really give you extra acceleration and front wheel lifts.

Right, but I don't think it would be dangerous to run it for a while with only filters. When the bike's to lean you would get an error code in the dash. Anyways I was thinking to getting both filters and fuel mod at the same time.

Thanks for the offer, I will think about it.

You must be joking for sure weeksy. You would be the only person I have ever heard say there is no gain with a stage 1 & 2 filter & fuel mod.

There is a big difference between a standard XT & a XT with a stage 1 & 2 air filter & fuel mod, dyno results below.

We have proven this so many times on the dyno, this setup works really well. Blue line a standard XT660, red line stage 1 & 2 filters with a PCIII, CCC cans.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...rsCCCPCIII.jpg

I'm not saying the difference isn't there mate, not at all. However the feel and perception to me personally isn't really that significant.

As you know, i'm on my 2nd XTX now, this one has the same mods as the first, but with the addition of a PC3. I also rode the frist xtx in standard trim for the first few weeks of ownership.

But from a riding perspective, i just don't think they 'feel' much different at all, with or without the mods.

I feel to answer the guys question, the sprocket (2 up rear) was a cheap and effective mod more so than any of the others.

I've often seen peoples reports of "fitted this and WOW..." and i just don't get it..

That is because with all due respect, you are missing the point. The XT's have a very torquey single cyl engine which is heavily restricted from factory to comply with emissione regulations and all that bollx. Modding an XT is not for the purpose of doing 160mph on the clock, but is done so you can render the full performance which it was designed for, without the intrinsecate cats restrictors in the cans (have you ever seen a standard can cut open? Well let me tell you you couldn't fit a pen in there so much is the layout of deflectors and the space taken by the cat converter), and then there is a very choked up air box to deal with that reduces the air intake, hence fitting the DNA stage one & two and the removal of the snorkel alone makes your front wheel come up at the throttle. The gearing is another different issue, but also that factor means that the bike is designed to be powerful on low regimes and not on full pelt.

Altering the sprocket sizes might change things but the overall result would enhance one aspect and compromise another. Click on the attached excel file and then experiment with changing sprocket sizes and see what the result is in speed vs torque, then you will be able to understand what does what.

I did actually also ask for personal opinion on experienced difference with this mod, which is what weeksy provided, so thanks for that weeksy.

Please don't get me wrong, this is an open forum & all views are very welcome, I am just shocked as this is the first time I have ever heard some make this statement, there might be others who knows. I welcome all views on this topic.

I am not trying to prove who is right or wrong here, just trying to provide the facts for you nazurro.

In your defence mate, i'm not known for 'feel' on a bike LOL.

Back in the day when racing, the suspension expert would make 10 changes to the bike and i'd think "still feels the same".... ride it and lap in the exact same times.... Change it again... still the same... LOL.

Nope, i'm afraid YOU are missing my point....

To me... the bike in either stock trim or modified trim is excellent.... However i struggle to feel/tell the difference. It has nothing to do with "the airbox ...." or "big torquey single" etc. It's all to do with how the bike seems to the individual riding it.

oooook whatever floats your boat. Happy days!

The sprockets are original on my bike from new both front and rear.
When I first got the bike (new from showroom) it would lift in 1st but 2nd you had to dip the clutch and youd no chance at all in 3rd.
The extra lift it has now has come purely from the mods mentioned. I have to add though it may also be helped by it loosening up a bit?

Glad to see you've sparked a discussion nazurro :)

Snorkel removal and upping the Co are free and easily reversible modifications, so to start with why not give give them a go. These were the first things I did while awaiting the cash for my MTC exhausts and I was pleasantly surprised. Although a proportion (large or small I'm not sure?) was due to the improved induction noise as much as a real difference in power output. Be interesting to see your feedback as you do various mods. I now have Stage 1 and 2 filters and a PCIII in addition to the above mentioned.
Have fun,
Selina

Right, mine is just like that: it easily lifts on pure throttle on 1st, then on 2nd you feel like it might just do it, but it doesn't really lift on pure power.

Nice! :026:

Perhaps, but mine has done over 400 kilometers now, it should have settled by now I think.

No fire without a spark, right? ;)

Right, that effect shouldn't be underestimated.

Thanks, I will keep you posted when I have tested the dna 1 + 2 and the kev fuel mod that I ordered earlier today.

i have two XT's at the moment. An 09 XTX (scooby) totally standard, and a XTR 2006 with snorkle removed, CO up'ed... a bit, Kev mod and a K&N. there is a big difference in low mid range power delivery, but most of all, is the ridability. the 06 XTR is soooo much smoother. I have had a few XT's now and have always kept to standard cans due to the running smoother with them without a PC. i have had more powerfull singles and have gone back to the XT's due to the fact they are relible and great fun. My advice to anyone wanting to go faster on an XT is, ride it faster/harder.... take it lower, they handle very well. i have has the XTR over to the pegs....thats what supermotos are all about.....they are fast enough.

:-)

That might also be because of the 05-06 ECU that according to Kev is the best one at the moment for smooth riding. (eagerly awaiting a functioning O2 eliminator)

I agree, they are fast enough :)

I actually didn't think I would go back to riding on the street after spending the last couple of years on the race track, but if knew that if I did, it would be on something like the XT.

Lots of horsepower and superhandling in around 200 km/h does not equal fun on the road. On the road it's about the general feeling, bike control, tourqe etc, areas where the xt:s excel. They are also great quality and cheap to own.

But regardless of needing extra hp or not - I can't help myself to at least let my xt breath in and out as it was supposed to :)
And of course I would definitely would like it to be smoother at cruising conditions.

as Kev has said lots... the XT's need more air and fuel, and they make a world of difference when they get it. my old 05 was bad, really bad, so jerky it was almost unridable, but the 06 is much better after the mods, so much so i would say its almost no jerking at all... I feel the same about HP on the road, it just doesnt interest me anymore, torque is where its at...

I'm very eagerly awaiting the new O2 Mod for the bikes with lambda sensors...


Currently working on my own stage 3 and hope to get it sorted sometime during this month coming, may not end up looking very pretty, but will have to see what the results are like.

I spoke with Dynojet today, the R&D dept. has been working on it for the last four months they told me. They weren't willing to divulge any more info though.

Good luck with that..having attempted several similar projects in the past, some of which have been none too successful..I thought it was better that I just swallowed hard and stumped up the money. But I hope you succeed in that...

When I got home today my neighbour handed me the stage 1+2 DNA filters that I had ordered. He had seen a confused UPS guy trying to find somewhere to put them when they did not fit in the mailbox :)

Then when I turned around and opened my mailbox I found the Kev fuel mod. How's that for timing :)

I'll need to wait for some good weather, then the plan is to ride the bike, put in the filters and fuel mod and then immediately take a ride for easy comparison.

Good weekend fun!

But currently it is..... :weathermanf4[1]:

Today I fitted the DNA filters and Kev fuel mod, which was a piece of cake. I found it quite cool to turn the knob and watch the temp reading decrease on the dash :)
My only problem was that the air temp sender wire was to short, so I barely managed to get it together, but I'll just have to lenghten one of the wires (solder?)

Before the mod I did some test runs on different gears at certain speeds to try and get a reference.

The biggest improvement I felt was engine smoothness at low speeds, i.e the infamous surgin and throttle jerkiness is so much better. This improvement alones makes the mod worth doing for me.

In the top end I'm not sure I really feel a big difference in power. Mid range there's a better power improvement, in the low range I don't feel any difference.

The only downside of this mod is the air induction sound which I don't really fancy. But was gonna get a couple of earplugs anyway, so that's not a big deal.

So all in all I am pleased: the low speed smoothness improved way more than I had hoped, but the power increase felt less than I hoped for. I did not feel like it wanted to wheelie in 2nd gear. On the other hand, if there is one thing I would like to sort out it was the smoothness issue, and this did it for me.

Kev, do you have some tip how to optimize the fuel setting? I started out with the knob at about 4, then tried myself up to 9 but then it started to feel a bit blurry in the throttle response, and I ended up at around 6, which gives an air temp offset of about 32 (25 degrees in the dash with zero knob setting, -7 degrees in the dash with the knob at 6).

Youre not riding hard enough my friend !!!!!! :hahaha[1]:

or it could be due to my 16 stone sat back on the seat!!!!bigwink

Lightweight !!

That's probably it Sherlock :bunny:

Best thing to do is find the smoothest ridding setting & don't worry to much what the dash says.

I would also recommend you to block off the AIS pipe this will also reduce the intake noise from the airbox.

Ok will do, thanks for the advice.

Nazurro....why dont ye run the bike fur what its worth,,, a fun bike that feels like a supermoto,, but really it only has a supermoto T shirt wrapped around it.. its not a full blown supermoto,,,its not quick enough an its not light enough... it does what it says on teh tin..or the manual furthat matter...

the stage 1 an 2 an kev mod will see ye wi more mid range grunt... but C`mon who are we kidding its a heavy weight trail bike wi fat tyres onit.. wi 6000miles services an a comfyish seat, decent lighting an gives ye decent gas consumption... i have had standard xt`s...Modded Xt`s..an its all in the hands o the rider.. the whole thing about these xt`s as so many have said before,, they have grunt an Tourque....the whole shaking about jerkiness is poart an parcel wi the kind of bike that yamaha put out,, they should have been ball wipped fur letting an engine go wi so many hangups in the jerkiness region.... but Hey,, its jist a trail bike...660cc single..ifye want real decent power fae a trail bike or supermoto...start saving an get yersel a Aprilia Dorso duro... or a Husky,, or a KTM.... or jist Rode it like ye stole it,,as it will take all the abuse ye can give it,,,I know I kid not....they are very very hardy engines.... its not about speed,,its about Tourque an Smiles,,, thats it in a nutshell... See Yaa.......

mate im also interested in 'bang for your buck' mods as Im in Asia and most people wont ship to where I am, and If I did manage to get any mod gear sent it would probably go missing in the mail!

I did post a question (in exhausts) regarding fitting straight thru cans (pro-circuit T4's), to the bike and what I would experience from it but didnt get any answers.

My exhaust mods started with removing the end caps and chopping out the small angled pipe. I left about a 10mm 'ring' around the inside of the can to accomodate for the perforated baffle there.

The bike sounded heaps better and 'felt' like it had a little more oomph, but this could be just due to the better sound(?).

anyway tonight I went one stage further. I just couldnt help myself! I removed the end caps again and chopped out 2 of the 3 pipes sticking out of the first plate. the third pipe ran right through to another plate (just before the cat, so i just chiseled around it leaving it intact.

still not happy and having an inquisitive mind i really wanted to look at the cat and try to remove it. so I then chopped out the remaining plate that had the 3rd pipe still connected.

ha- now i could see the cat staring up at me! one of my tools I used to chop out around the plates is a stainless steel rod that i ground down the end to resemble a chisel. I then punched 3 holes about 1/2" round straight thru the cat. the cat seems to be about 4" thick so required alot of pounding with a heavy hammer. I noticed the cats outer ring had moved somewhat so im thinking with some more pounding tomorrow ill be able to remove it completely.

then start on the other pipe.

I did start the bike after punching the 3 holes through the cat and it sounds quite meaty. the way a single thumper should sound.

of course many wouldnt attempt this as they may be in a country where such mods are governed by emission laws and noise restrictions, ha-not me!

anyway I took a heap of pics as I went and will post them to this site (in the exhaust section I presume?) after I complete the exhaust mods and give her a good test run.

next step will be to check out the air filter. I've already removed the snorkel, but will look at the design and maybe have to try to get some filters and the fuel mod at a later date.