Besides the many “seat of the pants” impressions that many have believing this mod increases performance, is there any documented evidence showing the improvement, i. e. dyno runs or the like?

LOL....... it wouldn't be written in the Knowledge Base if it wasn't documented. We've seen several hundred dyno runs at least since about 2001 and thousands have done the modification....and I've never seen anyone that know what they were doing  go back to stock because it didn't work.

No "impressions".....just uncorking some HP. No smoke and mirrors either. If you know a little bit about Yamaha motorcycles, you know the Virago has the exact same engine as the V Star  1100. The Virago was rated stock at 62 HP.....the V Star stock at 52 HP. Change the convoluted stock intake and add a good full exhaust system, you can reclaim all that HP...plus some. Pretty simple. Best change I ever did to the 1100.

my setup, on my 03 1100 that produced 76 hp and 68 lbs of torque, and AFR os 13.5, with Boss 429 cams,... was 157.5 mains, 17.5 pilots, 1 shims on pro needles, close to11/2 turns on the PMS screws Tims thumbscrews..  and 10hrs on the dyno tuning the carbs to produce the 76 hp... the first run was 67hp.. and an AFR of 11 something. So pulled the carbs and removed the pilot which was 20.0 .. reinstall ... now a second run, which was better but not right .. remove and remove the 160.0 mains.. and reinstall with 157.5 .. mains... much better readings .. but still running rich .. remove and pull the one shim on each needle .. and were getting closer if my memory is right 74 hp on that run but the AFR wasn't right.. some tweaking with the screws finally reached the 76 hp 68 lbs torque.. and a AFR of 13.5 ..  this was all done on the dyno with a hot hot engine ... and a total of 7 removals and reinstalls ..

I remember that Ron! 76 HP is nothing to sneeze at. One of the best running 1100's I've seen.

As the story goes....pods and exhaust will get you 10+ HP.....cams and Dyna another 10+ HP. Like you know, it really wakes these bikes up!

One other thing I just thought of. If you've had the PMS out, or changed them......make sure you don't have an extra O ring stuck up inside the opening. I've seen that happen numerous times.

Thanks Mick ... when I find those Dyno sheets I'll resend you a copy. they're buried deep in my garage.. when the borders open up .. I need to pull the carbs and go through them before I fire her up... I know I lost the 502 dyno sheets .. the box that they were in got wet.. the tarp that was covering up some stuff that wouldn't fit in the storage... while I was in the build mode... 

LOL Because they are idiots, but you believe what you please. hahahahahahaha

hahahahaha

I'd help, but you seem to think  it's not you, but it is. A real mechanic would know that more air in means more air out, but you seem to think that you don't need to let the air out. The pods & the bike are NOT the problem, but you wouldn't listen to my advice anyway. Good luck!

Hey Mick,

What would you suggest as pod kits for a new install ?