Open K&N filter ok?

[MiLawyer]

I’ve seen lots of air intake improvement ideas. My bike lacks a bit of power I feel like (‘08 Road Star) - if I remember right, it just doesn’t have the get-up-and-go that my ‘03 V-Star 1100 did. So I wondered if it might go better with improved air intake. Can I just throw on a cone filter (like an RC-9700 foe example)? All the kits are $hundreds and I don’t understand the need.

[Shores]

You can put on any filter that you want and the stock ECU will adjust. There is no way to get better performance than your 1100..

[MiLawyer]

Incidentally and slightly off topic - why do you say there's no way to get better performance than my 1100? Too heavy? Lots more engine though...

[Father Pobasturd]

1100 has 2 carbs I believe.

[Father Pobasturd]

I run the K&N RC-1624, (pic below) cost around $50. Don't know if it'll fit your bike as mine is carbureted and yours ain't.

[Lug Nut]

I've done the K&N ra066v round universal clap
Mp on air filter on 5 carb Road Stars. Works great and cost $60

[Shores]

Here are the ones that fit a carbonated Roadstar, but the fuelies don’t have enough room between the throttle body and the fuel tank for all of them. I had success only fitting the 066 and the 067 on my 2008 fuelie because of the larger offset.

Air Filters (K&N)

RA-066V - Round, .813" offset, 2" deep, 6" diameter
RA-067V - Round, .813” offset, 3" deep, 5.875" diameter
RC-1980 - Oval, centered, 2" deep, 7"x4.5"
RA-076V - Oval, .5" offset, 2" deep, 7"x4.5"
RA-077V - Oval, .5” offset, 3" deep, 7"x4.5"

[6door7r]

disregard....

[MiLawyer]

Thanks! I’ll play around with the dimensions.

[Shores]

Incidentally and slightly off topic - why do you say there's no way to get better performance than my 1100? Too heavy? Lots more engine though...

I personally don't have any experience with the 1100, but there have been lots of comments on this forum regarding the speed and acceleration of the 1100. I would assume it has a lot to do with the reduced weight, overhead cams, etc.

[brianmac]

I currently have both of those machines, and the road star 0-70 is fast and effortless, can't say that for the v Star 1100. 70 mph on the 1100 engine screams at you. I'm thinking he just had a memory. Now there are those that are willing to put on loud pipes and open air filters and put huge Jets on them with pods to make them go faster, and they will. but I'm not one for a really loud bike. It is a more nimble bike and a few hundred pounds lighter. It's a shafty, nowhere near as smooth as the Honda shafties, and the rear end sounds like a Jeep. IMHO. Fun factor on that bike pretty good as it leans over nicely.

[Lug Nut]

Vstar 1100 will beat the ever loving shit out of a Road Star... Not even close. Quarter mile times are vastly different (like mid to high 12 second range for vstar 1100 and low to mid 14 second range for Road Star).

[davej]

It must be due to the weight because the dyno results show less power than the R*. Now I have seen other dyno results with lower stock numbers but have also seen some with just a cam swap and a little tuning and they got great increases in HP.

[Blackcloud12]

That would have to be a unicorn of an 1100 to run 12's. Or it was being pulled being a Z06. The Virago 1100 is well known to be faster and itself only would run high 12's on a good day. Mid 12's is where a Victory Octane is running.
That said- we had a 2000 R* 1600 come through the shop that had just about everything you could get- pipes, jets, hypercharger- best I could get it to pull was 95 from on ramp to off ramp; the 1100 would hit 105. I never thought that guys R* was anything to write home about though- we had others that ran better.

[Blackbeard]

So, are you all happy with the K&Ns? How are they in the rain? Is there a rain cover?

I was entertaining the idea of replacing my MaxxAir Intake since the foam keeps falling apart. I'm having some carb issues (I need to clean it) and discovered a bunch of foam missing from the middle of my air filter. I assume it has been sucked into the carb. That RA-076V looks like a similar profile which I liked. I didn't want to pay hundreds for a B/A or something like that.

How would the air flow compare? Would I need to re-jet the bike again?

This sounds like it could be a great alternative.

[Shores]

The 067V has more surface area than the bak. They work great, improved performance a little bit, are easy to clean and recharge but definitely allow you to hear more sucking noise. Rain can definitely be an issue. I cut an aluminum beer can to create a shield for the front of my k&n when riding in rain and lots of bugs. I bent the two ends of the piece so that it just slips in between the folds in the filter to hold it in place. The advantage of a fuel injected Road Star is that you can switch out to the standard air box if you think you'll be riding in rain. I do that frequently. No need to reject with a fuelie.

[MiLawyer]

I do have a fuelie so I can’t speak for the carbs issue. But one ride in, I feel like there’s more power (and lots more engine noise!). I hope rain doesn’t end up a problem because I’m headed to NC tomorrow and on the way back the forecast includes some chance of rain. I’ll have to drink a beer on the way, so the can’s empty by the time the rain comes.

[MiLawyer]

And as to the V-Star, it had straight pipes and modified air intake. I didn’t know at the time but it must have been unique. It was screaming fast and I had to really hold on when I spun the throttle.

[Blackcloud12]

I’ve got the Baron XXX intake on mine. It’s different than their BAK.
Definitely more money that a universal fit K&N but I’m happy with it.

[MiLawyer]

That’s awesome looking! And nice paint. That’s the color my V-Star was. Always liked the white on cream.

[RRS_07RdStar]

I kind of thought that the Vstar 1100 running in the 12's seems like a stretch. I have a buddy with a 2002 Vstar 1100 custom, and my 2007 Vstar 1300 beats his hands down every time. My 1300 is way quicker than my Roadstar. I was curious so I found this site with 1/4 mile times for a bunch of Yamaha's. These seem pretty reasonable to me. Obviously there are a lot of variables from rider, to bike mods and track conditions, but this is a good basis for those interested.
https://www.zeroto60times.com/vehicl...-60-mph-times/

[Father Pobasturd]

Didn't list any times for the 1700 Roadstar.

[RRS_07RdStar]

Shores, yes you are correct, both the 1100 and the 1300 are over square and have a redline above 6k, but the higher compression, larger displacement and fuel injection on the 1300 make the biggest difference. Compare that to an under square Roadstar (stroke longer than bore diameter), lower compression motor with a redline under 5K, has higher torque but doesn't like to spin up so fast.

[RRS_07RdStar]

I think the 1700 Roadstar times aren't that different from the 1600. The 1700 has a little higher redline, and are 100cc larger, but I thought I remember 1/4 mile time from Motorcycle Cruiser magazine in the 14's, maybe high 13's.

[brianmac]

That freaking VMAX, what a freaking screamer huh. Now that is one cult bike bike. It's too bad it looks like it ready for vacuum cleaner attachments

[MiLawyer]

Sorry to took a while to reply but I thought I’d report back on my ride (MI to NC and back). We had driving rain for hours on the way back. The filter front got very wet but didn’t seem to affect performance. I guess I don’t really see much difference between wet filter material and a beer can (water inside would be a potential problem obviously but that doesn’t seem to have happened). And I’ll never ride in more water than we had on that trip.

Incidentally, my friend was riding ahead of me in W. VA in heavy traffic when a big huge bolt or something flew into the air and hit his bike and punched a hole into the oil pan (his Valkyrie has a front mounted pan piece). I saw the whole thing happen and got oil all over myself and my bike from his engine. He heard it obviously but couldn’t see what happened. Kept riding. It took a couple miles before the rain and traffic allowed me to roar ahead of everyone and steer the gang off the freeway. He went home in a UHaul and fixed his bike for $50 and was none the worse. Debris that will drive through steel will drive through a helmet I would guess.

Ride safe!