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Motohooligan air box

20K views 52 replies 16 participants last post by  FABSTER 
#1 ·
Happy New Year to all. Santa was generous this year and dropped some Benjamins to me so that I could play. :dance:
I'm thinking of going with the Motohooligan air filter set-up (yes I know, gain of only 2-5 hp), but the thing is a work of art. Anyway, on my 08 DX, I"m currently running topless with drilled holes along the bottom tray, S.E. Stage II cams, stock T-bodies, Rinehart 2-1, and dyno tuned with SEPST.

My question for those in the know: Do you think, and/or recommend that I would need to re-tune after installing the Motohooligan setup?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
I would say probably not, the changes would not be very large - but if you did re-tune you will probably see the rear cylinder fueling change a little more than the front due to the stacks being equal length in the MHAB.
 
#3 ·
That's what I thought, just trying to err on the side of caution by asking you guys in the know. Thanks Pete. Not to get off topic, but, hows the beast running....gone against any big cubes air cool engines? Anyway, since this thing (Motobox) came out, I've been wanting one...if anything, just to admire it for the craftsmanship whenever the clam shell comes off. I believe I'm going to pull the trigger on it.
 
#5 ·
Not sure....I'm fuc...up when it comes to stuff like this...i'll check, and knowing me being a chicken shite (for stuff like this), I'll probably take the V back to the dyno and get it re-tuned. I know it's a lot of money for this apparatus, but damn, it sure looks nice. Certainly, it's not going to gain much; however, it seems to add small power across the rpm scale. It seems not to retract power either. I appreciate you "guys" jumping on this when it came out and took a calculated and educated chance on it. It certainly makes people like me easier to make a decision. Thanks
 
#6 ·
On my 1402, when I went from topless to Motohooligan I needed to add fuel to my map.
 
#11 ·
From what I read the gains are small and it tends to transfer some engine heat up towards... um well lets say private parts. Would be great to keep the boys toasty in cooler weather riding. I bought one any damn way but have not had time to fool with it, the winter mods start this weekend. It is a well made piece, looks cool and it seems a shame to cover it up. So I bought a dented up tin and started cutting it out so the air cleaner sticks out, like an old muscle car with blower or tunnel ram. I plan on a retune once I get all my mods done. JMO but unless you are using auto tune or can DIY then I would get it tuned. If you find a friendly tuner that will let you do some base line before the retune, post up the results for the rest of the class to see.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, I'm going to retune it, just for piece of mind and to see the difference, if any, from my previous dyno tune. Previous tune with the same combo as current yielded 126 hp / 82 tq SAE. With the exception of twice, I use the same dyno and technician. The dyno seems "not" to be a happy one, and the tech knows what he's doing. I will post up with the previous dyno sheet, and the one after the Motobox.
 
#19 ·
Alright! Received the Motobox today and will be installing it accordingly. And, the bike will be off to the dyno on Tuesday or Wednesday for tuning. I seem to recall a few years back Max suggesting to put the IAT sensor somewhere above the the battery in the air stream. Do you guys think it'll make a difference pro or con installing it at the bottom of the Moto Box? Vtron, I noticed in your first picture the sensor is installed above the battery.
 
#21 ·
Thanks Vtron. Just finished installing the Moto box and I must say, this thing is beautiful. It really makes the bike look like a true HOTROD when you open the "hood". If you guys ever find $500 bucks burning a hole in your pocket, I highly recommend it just for looks. I'm going to run the IAT down at the bottom for now and see how it affects it if any. I can always relocate it up above the battery. Will let you guys know how she did on the dyno.
 
#22 ·
Ok, as a follow up to this thread, I had the bike tuned on the dyno with the Moto box. I know that the dyno comparison were done on different dates, but similar conditions, same dyno and technician. The tech was tuning it for five hours. I, to say the least, was disappointed with the results as you can see. The blue line is the Moto box. The tech felt that the lose in power was due to the large diameter stacks, thus slowing the incoming air velocity. Any of you guys with running Stage II cams, stock TB, 2-1 pipe, and Moto box get better result than this? Maybe my tech guy is not as good on tuning the V as I thought. Any opinions on this?
 

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#23 ·
seat of the pants?
numbers mean nothing,
and their weren't exactly the same conditions.
tire pressure can change the results as having a new versus old tire.
all i know is that you know when its running right.
the A/F doesnt seem right to me
who's the tuner?
 
#24 ·
Seat of the pants: a little less responsive lower rpm

As for tire: prior to dyno, the tech pointed out a horizontal 1" gash going down to the cord on my half worn Avon, smack center of the tire. He didn't want to dyno with a tire like that for fear of a blow out. So, it was replaced with a new Dunlop. Prior dyno was done on the Avon.
Conditions not the same, but close. The tuner was same technician at the steelership as before. I'm using the SEPST. What's wrong with the AFR?
I'd be curious to see someone else dyno sheet with same setup as me, and see if it's my guy couldn't tune it right, or its what he said about the stacks being too wide in diameter. Something doesn't seem right; wasn't expecting to gain much, but certainly not loose. I also emailed Aaron to see what his thoughts are on this.
 
#26 ·
Yeah, maybe I need to find another technician that knows Vrods. Easier said than done. I don't know of any down here. Took the bike out for a ride today, and definitely has a "soft" spot down from 3k to around 5k rpms, which I didn't feel before. It'll be awhile before I could do this again. The funds have been depleted. This sucks.
 
#27 ·
Emailed Aaron at Motohooligan and he advised me that I'm the first to his knowledge, based on fifty test, that have lost power with the motobox. That's good news and bad. Good for everyone out there that have gained, and for me. Thinking that it might be the tech not knowing enough to tune this setup. Bad for me in the sense that I won't know till the funds are around again to give it another go-round.
 
#30 ·
I have stage II cams and dyno'd 127 prior to the moto-box. I did not have it tuned after but the seat-of-the-pants gains are extremely noticable for me all the way through the RPM range, even down low. My pre-moto-box config consisted of the stock air box, topless of course with a SE paper filter. I run the V&H 2->1 Comp pipe which I had baffled, baffle in each head pipe and one in the muffler. When I installed the Moto box, I also removed the added muffler baffle. I did not re-tune and all I can say is that my bike has never run better, extremely responsive with a ton of power. It is running so much better, I will not retune. No popping and the proper carbon deposit at the exit of the pipe, and the cooling fans are not coming on prematurely... I also have my F-vent covers removed, not sure how much of a difference that actually makes with the Motobox but might be worth mentioning...
 
#31 ·
What is the delivert time no this unit? Definitely getting one!
 
#33 ·
For the life of me, I don't understand why anyone would think that an airbox is going to give you some magical horsepower increase.

When you look at a company, like Air Raid that make high performance airboxes for cars, they advertise a 10-15hp increase on a V-8 engine of 6 liters that makes around 400 hp.

Now here, you have a 1.1 liter engine, and expect the same increase? Not gonna happen. Proportionately to engine displacement, you're gonna get about 1/6th the increase.. so let's say 2-3 hp.

Now isn't that what you get when you go topless and remove the restrictive airbox lid?

Think about it, and keep your money in your pocket. What you have here is a pretty airbox that looks cool when you want to show it off by removing your airbox cover. Otherwise, nobody's gonna see it... but it does look good.
 
#34 ·
#37 ·
On a 1487 I will need every bit of air I can get. The filter surface on this unit surpasses the original setup by quite a bit. I am not expecting huge gains from this alone...but in combination with all the other improvements, this will be a nice fit.
 
#42 ·
Based on my measurements, the "filter surface area" is less than say a SE, Amsoil, or K&N air filters. The big difference are the velocity stacks, they're much wider than stock, about the same as a 58mm stacks or maybe even a little more. The Motobox might be just the right ticket for your application. Certainly didn't work for me. My bike is back to running strong. BTW, I'm running topless and bottomless with a K&N filter. Maybe that's why I saw a loss with the Motobox. Just don't know for sure. Anyway, good luck with you build, it's going to be killer.
 
#38 ·
heres a pic of my dyno results.

top line is with motobox, bottom without. 5.5hp gain

my muscle is running Tab Auto Tuner with drilled out cats, pipes equivalent to V&H comp slip ons, on 98 octane fuel
 

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#39 ·
#40 ·
k+n filter, full airbox
 
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