Cool Air Induction for an FZ1

WABBMW

Well-Known Member
As most of you know, the front fairing on an R1 has air openings near the headlights, with ducts that lead back to the holes in the frame where intake air is drawn into the air box & engine. The benefit being cool air instead of hot air coming off the radiator, and some ram-air effect at higher speeds.

Has anyone dealt with a mod to the FZ1 that might make this possible? Is there any appreciable benefit? Thanks.
 
As most of you know, the front fairing on an R1 has air openings near the headlights, with ducts that lead back to the holes in the frame where intake air is drawn into the air box & engine. The benefit being cool air instead of hot air coming off the radiator, and some ram-air effect at higher speeds.

Has anyone dealt with a mod to the FZ1 that might make this possible? Is there any appreciable benefit? Thanks.

You can do what they call the "extreme airbox mod" whick includes removing all the plastic in front of the filter for better flow.
 
thought about this 1 for the gen2 myself but lack the skill to make it happen. Id "imagine" that if you open up the airbox around the filter and made 2 ducts like the r1 but made them replace the rad side cover to let air in next to not behind. Guna need to direct the air from the rad down or heat shield the duct to insulate..
The only reason why it ever came to mind is i ride in the spring and fall where the temp outside is at about 35-40 and the sensor in the box says 55 or so. makes a noticeable change and seems like the bike has a touch more spunk.. im not tech it might be the cold air and the smell of ppl burning wood that puts me in the hell ya mood
 
I cut the plastic from in front of my filter, but with the way the frame is around the airbox, and there is plastic covering the underside between it and the motor , don't know how it would work. the best thing you can do is arrange the wires going through the holes in the frame and keep them them blocking the holes as bad. seems to be the only place the box can draw air from. i did think about a tube just going to the frame opening on the right side.
 
The greatest obstacle I see in building air ducts, is that the forks move right over the holes in the frame when the handlebars are turned all the way to the stops. When going straight ahead there would be space to build a duct, but it would get crushed when turning around in a parking lot.

When looking straight at the front of an FZ1, there is room for ducting on both sides of the motorcycle, just inside the radiator ends and just outside the forks. They could be tall and rectangular shaped, and then lead upward and inward toward the inlet holes in the frame. But then the interference problem with the forks.

Perhaps it would be partially effective if the air ducts were just aimed at the inlet holes in the frame, but not so close that the forks will interfere. Probably not worth the trouble. That's why I was asking how much advantage there might be.
 
I think Waldo is right on the money here. If it would really be beneficial to put different or more ducting in I think Yamaha would have changed it by now. Plus, remember that fuel atomization is better with warm air. Maybe not necessarily hot, hot air, but warm air is much better than real cold air when it comes to propper fueling. That's why in FI systems the mixture is richened until the engine warms and it's using sensors in the airbox as part of the calculation.
 
Thanks for all the input everybody. Yeah, the FZ1 was designed as more of an all purpose sport bike, as compared to the R1. Also, I would think it to be a disadvantage when the air is cold outside. I was just intrigued with what I saw on the R1. It would not only have cold air, but ram-air as well.

I had some very positive results with cars when I was young. Hell, they didn't even have cold air packages on cars back then.

I installed a hood scoop from a Ford Super Duty-850 truck onto my 1957 Chevy. For special events, I built a cone that went from the top of the carburetor up to the 8" diameter hole in the hood, just below the scoop. It was sealed off at the hood with rubber. In the hot summer the car ran noticably better, drawing in 90 degree air, as compared to the 170 degree air coming off the radiator.

The car had a pretty hot cam, and a loping idle. One Saturday night I discovered that if you are in high gear, with the engine RPM at only about 1,500, and gave the car wide open throttle, it would shoot a huge flame out the hood scoop. It died out just before hitting the windshield. I immediately pulled over, expecting to see a fire under the hood. But nothing was even warm. So afterward, I would drive by the local hang-out at night, where people were sitting out on the hoods of their cars. At just the right moment, I would stomp the throttle and shoot out the flame. The crowds would roar with cheer. It was identical to many of the scenes in the movie "American Grafitti". We even listened to Wolfman Jack on the radio.
 
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Correct me if I'm wrong but I thonk the FZ1 lacks an air pressure sensor in the intake so it wouldn't be able to compensate for any ram-air and would just run lean at higher speeds.
 
That video really isn't relevant to our bikes though. That test was based on an intercooled turbo which is designed to keep air inlet temps consistent. I say go for it and post up results. If it doesn't work i bet it looks pretty sweet.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCi2yo4UqPI

Not worth it. The engineers that design the bike have a pretty good idea what works.



I agree that the Yama engineers know what works best but our bikes (Both FZ1's) were tuned down from the R1 platform to be a sport touring bike.
I will be the 1st to say that I have NO idea if this will make the engine run "Better" but I do think that it's possible to run more air into the air box of any bike. Now whether or not this is the best move..........LOL..........That is a whole other topic.
Whatever the answer is - I have have thought about this because R1's have a Ram Air System. Since most of us spend a TON of time and money making our FZ1's MORE R1-ish - this would be a great time to talk about the possibilities.

Here is an very creative idea. LOL I totally understand that it's not a motorcycle video but that is the way you come up with creative ideas - by looking at other systems.


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAY9LcICy5g]How to make a headlight in to a ram air system - YouTube[/ame]


Here is a pretty good - informative video about making your own Ram Air Intake:


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YACaKYPlJ28"]How to make a Professional Ram Air Intake Part 1 - YouTube[/ame]


[url][ame][Url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biIah3vEFoM[/ame][/url][/url]


So again - I'm not sure if this is a good move for our bikes or not but that is what these forums are for - to discuss ideas and figure out new things.


...
 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCi2yo4UqPI

Not worth it. The engineers that design the bike have a pretty good idea what works.

At BEST that video shows that the Honda CAR has a decent factory airbox design. There is just too much evidence out there that proves alot of airbox designs are not tuned for performance or max HP, and gains can be made with a freer flowing design.

For what it is worth,,, heres a video showing that the modded airbox is worth more HP on a Ninja 650. Does it prove anything about the FZ1? No. You can jump to 2:35 in the video to skip the install of the pipe, and get to the airbox mod dyno run.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2Pj2L_qo-w]Leo Vince Motorcycle Exhaust High performance sportbike - YouTube[/ame]
 
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Air Box

I have an 08 FZ1S and I did the Lars airbox mod, gutted the cat, Cut down GYTR carbon fiber can, removed the AIS and custom smog block off plates, as well as removed the secondary flies and fly spindle, put a KnN air filter in her as well as a cpl other mods and she is pulling like a freight train. Also good idea to put a manual fan switch in. The fz does like to run hot bt with the manual fan switch its much cooler and easier on the machine.
 
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