Plugging AIS

[Guest tone100]

Does anyone know what size bubber stoppers to use when plugging the AIS? I wanted to go ahead and buy them now so I'll have them when I change the oil.

[Freebird]

Man...it's been so long ago that I really don't remember. I THINK they were 3/4".

[Eck]

I think Freebird is correct (3/4) ..

 

You can check real easy and fast by using a pair of pliers and lay on the floor on the passenger side of the bike while it is on its kickstand, and remove the rear rubber hose and measure the ID of it.

 

(The rear hose is easier to get to then the one in front of the oil filter ...just to check the hose ID size)

[Guest tx2sturgis]

I think Freebird is correct (3/4) ..

 

You can check real easy and fast by using a pair of pliers and lay on the floor on the passenger side of the bike while it is on its kickstand, and remove the rear rubber hose and measure the ID of it.

 

 

Hey Eck...unless your riding a sidecar rig, there IS no 'passenger side' of a bike.

 

 

 

[Guest tone100]

I guess I could get under it and measure but I'll admit it I'm lazy. Thanks for the replies.

[Reshired]

I just got done plugging mine with 3/4 rubber plugs but they kind of got lost in there and they really needed a size bigger. I could not fish them back out so I just left them in there. I think there is still air getting around the plugs some. About 90 % of the popping on decel is gone now. Most of the time I do not hear any popping but it seems like there is still a little which does not hurt anything. I still have not got my new slipons yet but that is just my first impression after just one ride. I did notice the current mufflers making noises after the bike is turned off which tells me they are getting hotter than before.

[Reshired]

I jacked up my bike today and removed the plugs because I could still hear some popping. the 3/4 inch rubber stoppers I got were a little loose so I wrapped them with some electrical tape to increase the diameter to make a tight fit. then gave the outside of the pipe with the stopper a couple of wraps with electric tape to seal it and hold it in place better. No air getting threw this time.

[autopilot]

A word of caution! Every electrical tape I've ever seen includng any of the Scotch Electrical tapes, let go in a hot environment and we won't even talk about what happens when it lays on hot things for very long. So, the external wrap part of your fix may cause trouble in fairly short order. I'd leave it as a stop-gap only until I got the right size plug, but no longer. just my humble opinion, nothing more.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Put a couple of zip-ties over the tape...it'll hold a long time.

 

 

[Reshired]

A word of caution! Every electrical tape I've ever seen includng any of the Scotch Electrical tapes, let go in a hot environment and we won't even talk about what happens when it lays on hot things for very long. So, the external wrap part of your fix may cause trouble in fairly short order. I'd leave it as a stop-gap only until I got the right size plug, but no longer. just my humble opinion, nothing more.

 

If I wrap the plug then stick it in the metal pipe, then I put a couple of wraps over that. On top of the whole thing goes the rubber hose and clamp. How is the tape under all that hose going to come off? It is not even visible under the hose and clamp. I do not think it gets that hot or they would not recommend a rubber stopper.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

I was referring to your statement that you covered the outside of the hose with tape.

 

 

[autopilot]

...........On top of the whole thing goes the rubber hose and clamp. ..................

 

Brain fart on my part. My bad! Nice bike, by the way!

[Reshired]

I was referring to your statement that you covered the outside of the hose with tape.

 

 

I did not say that. All the tape is under the hose and clamp carefully not showing any evidence of anything being altered. (warranty issues).

[Reshired]

I also did not plug the rear at the reed valve on the right side. I took another method that was posted and plugged it at the other end of that 1 inch hose, on the left side of the bike. It is attached to a small black breather box that has two bolts that hold it on. I had to remove the box to fish out the plug from it and redo it. Hind site being 20/20, that seems to be the best way to do it. remove the box, plug it with rubber stopper and electrical tape and reinstall it.

Same with the front side, remove the box, plug it the same way and re install it. 2 bolts as well. Both front and rear can be done a lot easier from the left side with the bike jacked up.

Edited May 15, 2008 by Reshired

[Reshired]

By the way, WOW the difference is amazing. The bike seems to run better and without all that popping on decel, much more enjoyable to ride.

[Guest JGorom]

Well all this talk about plugging the AIS got me to finally do mine for my Venture. I had done this for my RSTD the first year I purchased it (2005)...the Venture I have owned for about a year now and finally got around to doing it because she started to pop a bit this Spring.

 

Went to Home Depot and purchased a couple of 3/4 in plastic plugs...got home and tried one for the rear portion of the system and it would not even fit in the 3/4 inch hole...so much for quality control issues...the plug was packaged in a plastic bag and the plastic itself was stamped 3/4.

 

Went back to Home Depot and found some tapered Rubber stoppers...also wraped in a bag and marked 3/4". Purchased these and went out to the parking lot...pulled the rear hose off and checked out the size...still too small. So I went back into the store and purchased the next size up...13/16th. Checked the 13/16th size out in the parking lot and that seemed ok for the rear one. Front one I found out (see below) was a bit bigger in size.

 

When I got home I decided to do the front first...loosed the two allen head bolts to drop the AIS box and I found that hole to be larger than the rear (as already noted). Not wanting to take another trip to Home Depot...and realizing that the size was close...I put a bit of duct tape around the plug...stuck it in the hole (she fit nice) and did the duck tape ritual thing that Don (Freebird) did in the AIS writeup. Had a hard time getting that front hose back on...so I decided to also pull the oil filter for more room (I've got man hands...don't know about the rest of you) and then just replaced it and added a little more oil to bring it back up to where it should be.

 

Putting in the rear plug was a breeze. My test ride this evening proved to fix the popping I was beginning to experience on decelaration...especially after a hard throttle...and after this fix the bike seemed to to run much smooter...almost like it had a bit more horsepower. Maybe this was because I cranked on her also...only because that is when I usually experienced my popping after a hard throttle.

 

So if your getting the pop and want to plug your AIS...I used a 13/16th rubber stopper I picked up at Home Depot today for both the front and rear...but you may want to go with the next larger size (think it might be a 1") for the front. I put both stoppers in the metal inserts...not in the hose. I then pulled the hose over the plug and metal bodies and reclamped everything down.

 

Later...

[V7Goose]

I know this will fall on deaf ears here, but I'm gonna ask it anyway - why go to all the trouble to disable your pollution control device when it does absolutely nothing for you and dirties the air? If you have popping on decel, then you have other problems that are easier to fix than what you are trying to do, and by disabling the AIS, you won't stop the problem as well anyway. Frankly you are only masking the problem you should have fixed in the first place. Popping on decel is generally very easy to fix on these bikes - I can guarantee from personal experience that when it is set up correctly and the obvious problems repaired, the 2nd gen bikes do NOT pop or backfire. Sorry for the contrarian attitude, but maybe some here are actually being misled by all the talk and would like to hear a different idea?

Goose

[Guest JGorom]

Goose...what do you suggest?

[V7Goose]

I have written in detail in the past about the technical cause of after-fires, so I won't repeat it all here again. The short version is that about 99% of them on these bikes are caused by a vacuum leak from either cracked covers on the intake vacuum ports or torn vacuum hoses on the other two ports. The caps on the two unused ports will crack and leak within about two years (seems to be very poor quality rubber, despite the overly thick size). I farted around trying to seal them with a number of products, and even tried sliding them over pieces of plastic bag with little luck. Replacing them is a quick and 100% cure. The vacuum hoses on the other two ports (that activate the AIS valves) are quite thin and very easily torn if they are pulled off with pliers when synchronizing the carbs. You need to carefully check them for cuts near the ends of the nipples and cut them back if you find any.

Goose

[Rev]

I've replaced the hoses and nipples you mention and still get the backfiring. Do you have any other suggestions on why this is still occurring?

[1BigDog]

OK, for those of you Non-conservation freaks.......I plugged my AIS 4 years ago without any problems. And I still believe that MY personal Carbon Footprint (passing gas) leaves much more than the RSV's expelled exhaust........:rotfl:

 

All kidding aside. If you go to a larger auto parts store, there is an aisle that contains carded auto parts called HELP! Its usually packed in a carded red sealed package. The HELP! section carries small and hard to find OEM parts. Look for 5/8" water pump and/or heater hose caps. Those caps are used to block off those particular orfices. The outside diameter is 3/4 and fits perfectly inside the AIS hose. I had to "lube" the cap with liquid soap to get it to fit inside the hose.

[Guest FtWorthCowboy]

Thanks for the instructions, I read the info last night and this morning plugged mine. The rear was a snap as noted, for the front I had to drop the unit as per the directions and drop the oil filter also. Just gave it a test ride and no popping or backfiring. Mine started the backfiring all of a sudden, I assume that happens to all of them over time?

 

Thanks again for the info, this site is great.