UPDATE - New K&N Filter, Emgo Muffler, and Carburator Mods

[music man]

Originally Posted by David Bo

. I am certainly not an expert but I do know enough about carburators to know that if you have a greater quantity of air and gas of going into the cylinder, more power it will produce.

I don't really have an opinion on way or the other about your "mods" but the above statement is not even remotely true, if your engine is tuned for optimal performance with a certain amount of air,fuel, AND back pressure in the exhaust, and you change any one of those things to a less than optimal level, than you are not going to get more performance out of your engine, you are just gonna waste gas, because your engine will not use fuel/air it does not need and it will just go out the tailpipe.

That being said, I am not in any way saying that I don't think you got an increase in performance on your GZ, I am just one of those people that doesn't believe that adding at most 2-3 horses to it is gonna make me use it any better for what I use it for than it is now (and I ride my GZ EVERYWHERE.) And is damn sure not worth the money, IMHO.

[David Bo]

Musicman - The name of this link is called PERFORMANCE MODS. I believe it was created for members to communicate to one another on how to perform these modifications. Have you done any of these carburator or exhaust modifications on your bike? By the way, what makes you think that these GZ's are tuned for optimal performance when they leave the factory? Are you saying that every car, bike, or truck is tuned to it's optimal performance when it sits on the showroom floor?

Optimal is defined (by Webster) as "most favorable or desirable". Who decides what is most favorable or desirable?

I had a 2000 Suzuki Marauder 800 a few years ago and had a new Cobra exhaust system put on and had the two carburators re-jetted. A friend of my had the same year bike at the same time as me but chose not to have anything done to enhance his bike's performance. All I can tell you is that those engine modifications on my bike turned that 805cc engine into a rocket! He could never beat me off of a start and I am sure my top speed was higher than his or, at the very least, I could get there much faster.

Are you really telling me that adding more fuel (or rather more fuel mixture) into the cylinder of this single cylinder 249cc motorcycle will NOT increase the engine's power? BTW, you stated

"if you change any one of those things to a less than optimal level, than you are not going to get more performance out of your engine, you are just gonna waste gas, because your engine will not use fuel/air it does not need and it will just go out the tailpipe."

I didn't change "any one" of those things, I changed ALL THREE of those things (K&N air filter with no air flow restricter, carb mods to increase the amount of gasoline mixing with the increased amount of air, and a less restrictive exhaust system to lessen the back pressure).

As a result, I honestly feel that I have gained "some power" from this little engine. Or maybe a better term would be "throttle response"... It has made the bike a little more desirable to me :cool: .

[music man]

You VERY OBVIOUSLY did not closely read my post because first of all I NEVER questioned whether or not your bike performed better after you did those mods (not one time), not only that I said "IF" your engine is tuned to an optimal level not "the GZ is tuned to an optimal level already dont mess with it".

And I also did not say that you only changed one of those things, I realize that you changed all three, and if you had changed ONE of them to a less/more than desirable/optimal/ideal/tolerable(insert your term here) level you would be actually hurting the performance of your engine not helping. So there again I never said that you only changed ONE.

Last but not least, All I was doing is responding to your "if you dump more gas and air into the cylinder you WILL GET MORE POWER" statement, because that is just not the case, if that is true then go out to any engine you have access to that actually has a carb with adjustments on it and open up the fuel and the air screws as wide open as they will go and then come back and tell me how POWERFUL it was when you did that.

That is all I was doing, i was not questioning your bikes added performance or the futility of doing that to your GZ.

And yes I really am telling you that JUST simply adding fuel mixture to the cylinder of this 249cc motorcycle will not just MAGICALLY increase the performance of it, adding just the right amount of fuel/air mixture to it could, but to just "dump more gas and air in" and expect it to automatically get more power is not accurate information.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

Would be a great selling point to have that increase in power at no real downside cost.

While I agree with what you said 100% [GASP]......making an issue of it here is pointless, unless you are just wanting to stir up an arguement.

:bang:

While it might be useful to point out the contrary opinion to a real newbie in a polite and consise fashion, trying to convince someone that it might be a waste of time AFTER they have made up their mind is, at best, a waste or YOUR time. :biggrin:

Placebo effect or not, most who have done it are happy and a few are not. At least one screwed it up and had to have someone else fix it.

P.S. Most of the power loss due to design is done to comply with emission standards in the US in general and California in particular. Suzuki CAN and does tune the engine differently for different countries. The exhaust and air filter mods are contrary to federal noise laws and the carb mods might cause it to fail a mandatory emission test.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by marmar1982

Ok.. so I just got my GZ and it REALLY needs some sound.... help me with a loud exhaust for it!

SIGH! It IS just a 250 CC motor. It will NEVER sound like a "real" motorcycle.

Whatever you do will probably either: Not make much difference OR just make it obnoxiously loud.

Doesn't anybody buy a bike to just RIDE anymore ??????

:facepalm:

[caroledee1]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

Doesn't anybody buy a bike to just RIDE anymore ??????

:facepalm:

Exactly! :2tup:

[masterkeosk]

I bought mine mostly just to ride and have fun. Unfortunately this is my first bike and am already wanting something a bit bigger and faster but I don't want to drop like $6k or $7k on a HD or pretty high end cruizer. Something middle of the line like if there was a gz350 or 400 that would be just perfect for me.

[David Bo]

I agree... It is too bad they stopped making those displacement engines. They would be perfect for me too. I guess the next step up from our bikes would be a Kawasaki Vulcan 500.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by David Bo

I agree... It is too bad they stopped making those displacement engines. They would be perfect for me too. I guess the next step up from our bikes would be a Kawasaki Vulcan 500.

Or a Honda Shadow VT600......alas, '07 was the last year for them too.
Or a Suzuki S40 or S50....
OR........
Wait, haven't we HAD this discussion just recently...........and many times before too !! :roll: :biggrin:

[mrlmd1]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

While I agree with what you said 100% [GASP]......making an issue of it here is pointless, unless you are just wanting to stir up an arguement.

:bang:

While it might be useful to point out the contrary opinion to a real newbie in a polite and consise fashion, trying to convince someone that it might be a waste of time AFTER they have made up their mind is, at best, a waste or YOUR time. :biggrin:

Placebo effect or not, most who have done it are happy and a few are not. At least one screwed it up and had to have someone else fix it.

P.S. Most of the power loss due to design is done to comply with emission standards in the US in general and California in particular. Suzuki CAN and does tune the engine differently for different countries. The exhaust and air filter mods are contrary to federal noise laws and the carb mods might cause it to fail a mandatory emission test.

I said I am not trying to stir up an argument, I am not criticizing anyone doing anything to their bike, especially if it makes them happy. I never criticized anyone nor implied this was a waste of time, except for why are we doing THIS again? If I have to explain myself one more time, I wanted to know if any of these things can be shown to produce a measurable effect in performance when measured objectively and I guess that question will never be answered in any logical fashion. If I wanted to do any of these things posted on here or elsewhere I would like to know if there is any real benefit, in addition to or even other than making you happy which is a benefit, but do they really work to improve performance in any significant way? And I agree with your last P.S. statement.