Pod filters on my '76 CB750

[wbradshaw6]

Hey guys,

I got my first CB750 about a month ago and my mechanic wants to take off the stock air box and put on pods. I told him that I have read horror stories about people switching to pods but most of them come from DOHC and mine is a SOHC. He told me that my carbs are already not jetted properly, and since he needs to rejet them he might as well switch to pods because it will give me a bump in performance. I like the look of pods and am leaning towards doing it. He assures me that rejetting and syncing the carbs will not be an issue. He has years of experience rebuilding 750s and converting them to bobbers, cafes, etc. Before I decide, I figure I would get some opinions on the matter. I don't ride in the rain, so that is not an issue with the pods. What do you guys think about pods over the stock air box? If you knew that it would be jetted right, would you make the switch as well? What are the pros and cons of both pods and the air box? Thank you guys for your input, I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

[Lucky 1]

I would talk to some of the people that he has
built bikes for and ask them how he is at tuning Honda CB750's.

I think that bike looks great right now with no changes.

BTW...
Ask that mechanic how he knows that your bike is not jetted right.
I would like to hear his answer.

[shinyribs]

I had pods on my '76 F. It took very little tuning to get them running well. I rode like that for....probably 2 years and about 10k miles. I was happy with them and the only time they acted up was cold weather-45* F or colder. In that weather a cross wind would just about kill the bike. I got tired of that (minor) issue and decided to try a stock airbox since I had only ever had pods.

Huge difference!

Admittedly,my extreme top end suffered dramatically. My 130+mph bike had now turned into a 110-115 mph tops. And that is struggling. BUT,part throttle acceleration and mid rpm power is greatly,GREATLY,improved with an airbox vs. pods.

Do I miss the looks and top end performance of my pods? Yes.

Would I trade off the huge increase of midrange power to get it back. No. Definitely not. And I'm a horsepower/speed junkie,if that tells you anything.

Pods can be made to work well,but I prefer the airbox. Good luck with whatever you choose and welcome to the forum!

[Butcherblock]

I like the stock appearence of the bike myself.  I have no experience with sohc's, but if i had that beautiful bike, I would leave it as is!

[wbradshaw6]

The bike had a really hard time starting when cold, would bog down with heavy acceleration, and would bog down when held at about 3500 RPMs in neutral. Based off of that he was convinced that it was a jetting issue.

[wbradshaw6]

Picked my bike up today and MAN O MAN WHAT A DIFFERENCE! I don't know if it was the rejetting or the pods, but the performance difference is like day and night. No more bogging, starts a lot easier when cold, don't have to use the choke at all. This winter we are going to upgrade the electronic ignition, I started a new thread asking for recommendations between the three that I have found, anyone who is reading this and wants to chime in please do!