How-To: Crank Case Breather Mod (with pics)

[daponik]

Does anyone think it will hurt anything to just unplug the breather hoses from the airbox and run them without a filter or all that extra hoses? Then just plug the two holes in the airbox.

 

[MickD]

Another cheap alternative catch can is a small air line water separator. You can find them at lowes or home depot for less then $20.
I know its been posted before, lots of people have done it.
Just unscrew the glass piece take the filter part out and your good to go. The valve on the bottom isnt worth crap, so you need to either get a better one or plug it up. I just ran a 1/2 tap through it and used a set screw with some locktite red.
The inlet side comes from the crank case, and on the outlet put the small filter.
Its nice because you can see how much is in there. You then just unscrew the cup and dump it out.
Its amazing how much gunk comes out after a nice spirited ride.

Sorry I dont have a better pic, but you can see it right under my air scoop behind the oil cooler.

In my opinion, that is by far the best way to do it.
I looked into the same solution but couldn't come up with a good place to mount the separator. (although I never actually bought one and tried)
Can you give some detail on how you mounted it?
Thanks

 

[Stevenc150]

I didn't use a catchcan, just left the end of the hose open. I do have an air breather filter on it though, the purpose being to allow drainage while the crankcase "breathes".

 

[ramjr55]

Can this be done on an 05 firebolt xb12?

 

[Stevenc150]

It can/should be done on All XB's.

 

[ruggerus]

First of all thanks to Urban Assault for posting the instructions and the pictures. Great write up.
Second, if you have not done this mod already, get off your butt and go do it...NOW!!!
I just did a 180 mile ride with some friends. I did this mod last night. I immediately noticed the difference. It was especially pleasant during a 12 mile stretch of S turn switchbacks and low RPM's. The bike was so much smoother.
This is by far one of the easiest, cheapest and most productive mods for the bike. I added some pics, since I did my setup a bit different. Seems to be working great. I will post if anything changes.
Ken

 

[Vabbott]

This is a great mod.

I did this mod. and have changed the spark plugs and spark plug wires but i am still having an issue with sputtering when I first start the bike. Oh, I have also tried going to different gas station and use at least 91 octane for the fuel and have changed the air filter.

Does anyone have any suggestion as how to correct this issue?

 

[TerryS1980]

I had to do a TPS reset after doing this mod.

My setup is similar to ruggerus's.

 

[konarider94]

i did this mod and still have a decent surge, idle seems to have smoothed out a little though. im waiting on my ecm spy cable to show up in the mail so i can do a tps reset to see how that affects things.

also where did you guys find the breather filters? i could not get one at napa or carquest. they looked at me like i was dumb. thats what i get for living on the dark side of the moon though

 

[50dro]

Pep Boys...$11.99

 

[marko138]

Advance Auto...10 bucks.

 

[konarider94]

thanks 50dro and marko, maybe ill pick one up next time im in civilization.

right now im using a stainless steel filter from HOKE. it has a sintered stainless filter internal. maybe ill keep it, it cleans easily and has a very small pore size. http://www.hoke.com/products/instrumentation/6300/index.html

 

[bronjeremy]

Mine has the "pop" in first and doesn't idle good at all that is the next mod I am doing!!!

 

[bronjeremy]

out of sight out of mind.... kinda hid mine cuase i really dont like they way the filter looks

 

[indy84]

hey guys, thanks for the posts, i did the breather mod to my 07 xb12R, easy and quick, took some advice from a few of you, Im in Australia so the parts cost a bit more. The whole setup is fully hidden, cant even tell the mod is done

 

[indy84]

just took the firebolt for a ride, it idled smoother, accelerated better, no coughs or splutters, well worth doing, i recomend it to all the buell owners out there

 

[PegasusXB9R]

Awesome write up! The pictures are a huge help for visual people like myself as well. I recognize that this is a little first grade but I'm new to this sort of thing and was curious exactly what the crankcase breather accomplishes and if it is worth doing on a 2003 XB9R? I appreciate the explanation since I'm just learning. Thanks again.

 

[green_head20]

I just took delivery of my new buell this weekend and i notice it sputters and stalls at low rpms. I was hoping it was the low mileage and the ecm wasnt adapted yet...Now i think ill just do this mod right out of the box. thanks for the insight [up]

 

[driftingswiftly]

There is some pretty great info here, but i still have a question. Why Is everyone using so much hose and running everything all over the place? Can't the hose the runs down simply T off to a filter and have a few inches for collection. This way the whole mod would terminate right around where the air scoop is. Is there any need for all the excess?

 

[Kplus12]

Ive noticed that i get a good amount of moisture buildup over a short period of time. If i had a shorter length of hose after the filter I would have to drain it everyday (roughly).[smirk]