You may be right, but until I see the dyno charts from the same bike, same dyno, same day, jetted right with and without snorkel, I'm reserving judgement.

The theory on the resonant airbox is that it does flow more air, with less restriction, at a certain RPM range. Changing the resonant frequency of the airbox will change the RPM range where that boost in airflow happens. Taking the lid off, removing the snorkel or replacing it with one from another bike may move that RPM range where the airflow is increased outside of of the rev range (think 10,000RPM) our bikes are capable of.

Over on ADVRider, only a few people have taken the time to get the jetting right with the stock snorkel and posted the results. All (myself included) are happy with the results.

But, as I stated, without real proof, i.e. a dyno, all we have to go by is seat-of-the-pants feel, or top speed measurements, which is only one data point. Who knows, maybe we're putting too much faith in Kawasaki, assuming that they designed the airbox for performance. Maybe they designed a perfect airbox and then plugged it up with a tiny snorkel because they thought it had too much power. Maybe they said "hey, let's make it so the KDX snorkel fits, and we can sell all those left-over KDX parts and make an extra $30 per bike". I'm only half-kidding here.

Here's some more info on resonant airboxes:

http://www.saltmine.org.uk/randy/airboxdesign.html

 

Everyone hates on EFI bikes, but all you have to do is whip out a laptop to get all the bike settings right. Carb might be cheaper and easier to work on, but the only real way to know what kind of power you are getting is with the bike hooked up to a dyno. Too much guess work. It all comes down to, more fuel, more air and the faster exhaust is let out = More Horsepower.

 

IMO - there's too much that can go wrong with EFI - especially if you ride remote areas. Carbs are easy to troubleshoot and fix, EFI is not. I guess if you always carry a laptop with you on the trail, you'll be okay...

 

There will soon be an IPhone app to fix the lap top dilemma too. : )

 

The helmholz resonator is for EPA noise regs. Not your resonant airbox performance theory. I don't know why you would think that restricting your intake would make more power. I do agree that proper jetting is key, a properly jetted bike with a stock snorkel will run better than a badly jetted bike without an airbox lid. CV carbs are sensitive to airbox changes which is why i stuck with the KDX snorkel, also a helmholtz resonator, flowing better and keeping noise down.

 

Is that why I saw a change with my idol after I removed my smog crap?

 

NO, Did you drastically alter your airbox? Like taking the lid off. Plugging the holes in your airbox from smog removal is not what I was getting at. Did you try running your bike with the gas cap open yet?

 

And it is IDLE, not idol. Unless we are refering to Billy.

 

LOL!!!! I was thinking he was referring to Kelly, Carrie or that David guy.

I've seen Billy in Concert.

 

Billy rocks!! Not so much the others mentioned above..