Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Performance Mods California charcoal canister Air Intake Doohicky?

Need some help here gents. I just removed the AI with Brent's kit. A-ok except I had only 1 5/32 vacuum port cap with the kit and my 04 speedy has 4 air lines going into the carbs (near the manifolds), 2 on each side.

I called Brent and like always he gave me some good pointers. He mentioned that for California Triumphs there's another EPA-emissions-thingamajig near the swingarm near the rear tire , looks like a small canister and may be filled with charcoal and it has air lines running to the carbs.

SO. Anybody removed this thing?? Got any pics to post so I make sure I'm removing it correctly?

And finally, does anybody know why Triumphs have the AI and this other canister thing, stock, while other bikes don't????? Gotta ask.

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And finally, does anybody know why Triumphs have the AI and this other canister thing, stock, while other bikes don't????? Gotta ask.

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The vapor recovery is a CA thing. I don't know when it started, but CA requires all new bikes to have one.
The AI is, I believe, an EPA requirment. Again, don't know when it started, but I have seen it on other bikes.

I I copied and pasted this in ......its what I used. From New Triumph bonneville forums

Once again, Chris (CCRider) provides easy step-by step instructions:

For those of you with California bikes, the difference is an evaporative recovery system, that's it. The horsepower ratings are the same as the 49 state models, but the amount of plumbing is incredible...

To remove your evaporative system, you'll need at least 4 rubber cap plugs, sold at most auto parts stores.

1) Go under the bike, just behind the engine and in front of the rear wheel. You'll see two charcoal cannisters there, a large one and a small one zip tied together and attached with two, 10mm bolts. Remove the two bolts and disconnect ALL the hoses attached to these two cannisters. Remove them. Notice that the large one has the name "HONDA" molded into it...

2) Remove the gas tank.

3) Remove the small solenoid above the carbs/intakes and disconnect the two pole connector hooking that up.

4) Remove the swing arm clamping bolt on the left side footrest bracket. This bolt holds down a retaining wire that keeps the bundle of vacuum lines in place. After removing this retaining wire, resecure the clamping bolt - it's very important!

5) Pull all the vacuum and fuel vapor hoses up from under the engine and remove the two attached to the carb tops. Place rubber caps over these nipples.

6) Remove the vacuum line from the right intake runner and cap that nipple.

7) Optional... Remove the fuel tank overflow/vent and place a rubber plug on the small tube on the right side of the bottom of the tank. If you choose to do this, make sure the gas cap is fully vented in both directions by removing the check valve.

8) The fuel vent valve everyone is having so much trouble with is located against the frame, clipped in just between the carbs. Venting the gas cap and plugging this tube will eliminate that problem.

9) Make sure all the vacuum nipples on the manifolds and carbs are plugged.

10) NOTE - Do not plug the larger nipple on the carb float bowl vent T which joins the two carbs together. If you do this, the engine will starve for fuel. The bowls must be vented.

That's it - you've just removed 7 pounds of stuff and ~15 feet of plastic tubing from your bike... It definitely will make a marked improvement in the clean, simple look of the engine and will reduce the chance of vacuum leaks & problems later...

You can use a length of those vacuum lines to cross-connect the carbs, left to right. No need for more squirrel condoms. Altho they are cheap at auto parts stores, and they do sometimes pop off while ridding so having some spares is good!

Awesome thanks guys. Time to GIT-R-DONE

Benny so you're saying just use the same vacuum lines to cross-connect them because they connect/hold better than the squirrel condoms?

They say it smoothes out the idle. I wonder if one could just cross connect the two vacuum lines on the jugs themselves (ones on top of the intake just forward of the rubbers)....would do the same thing would it not?

I also saw the criss cross... Forget who tho... Oh well. I have the two on the carb side connected and nipple-toppers on the motor side. And spares in the tool kit!

As for other bikes, HD is a good example of why they don't have some of that stuff. The new Harleys have the vapor recovery system, but no AI. Instead they have (very expensive) fuel injection and (very expensive) catalytic boot igniters.
On the Triumph twins, there is an advantage to removing the AI, the pipes get cooked less and the exhaust valves may last a bit longer. The vapor recovery system doesn't degrade performance (except for the 1.5 pounds of extra weight) and you gain the advantage of running your bike on the gas fumes that would otherwise polute the air you breath, increasing your fuel economy a bit.

So it is basically a matter of:

fumes in the garage, fumes around the bike, maybe a slight loss in fuel economy VS. 2 lbs of weight, lots of air lines, but less chance of vacuum leakes ??????????

Well GreyBeard did you remove yours (if you got yours in Cali)??

Ben, looks like you did. How's it working out for ya?

What's the fuel vent valve problem clanrickarde mentioned??

Mines still on there. With the current price of gas, I'm burning fumes and all.
There are 2 vent valves in the system. One is electrically controlled and vents the float bowls when the ignition is on. The other is vacuum controlled and connects the canister purge line to the carburettors when the engine is running.
There is also a rollover valve in the 49 state version (no vapor recovery) in the tank vent line that keeps gas from draining from the tank if the bike falls over. There is a one way (in) valve in the gas cap to keep the tank from building a vacuum while riding, but closes under pressure so expanding gas won't spill out on the tank. The rollover valve seems to also allow pressurized air out of the tank, but closes under the weight of liquid gas coming down the hose.

Why bother removing it? I unhooked mine just to see how it ran. Tho i'm pretty sensitive to subtle changes, there was no percievable difference at all. Removing it is a pain as would be reinstalling it if you have to in order to sell it or if they ever start doing checks in Ca. Any benefit to removing it is negligable at most.

After removing the AI with Brent's kit and since I have the vapor recovery system, I have 1 vacuum port capped on the left carb. The left carb side and both motor and carb sides on the right carb still have hoses connected for the vapor recovery system....will this cause some kind of imbalance or something? The dealer didn't mention anything about it being a problem after they tuned it up/changed the oil yesterday (1-yr service). Any knowledge about this?

It probably will not cause any problems as long as none of those ever decide to leak.

Personally I would remove all those lines and tear those charcoal boxed out. The look of your carbs will be cleaner and better looking when all of that stuff is gone.

Take em all off and cap em according to the destructions for removing the CA emissions add ons.

The 2 hoses to the carbs below the throttle plates connect together at the vapor recovery purge valve. Since they connect the vacuum side of the intake, they should give the same effect as running a balance hose between the manifolds on a none vapor recovery bike. They do need to be disconnected and the ports plugged while balancing the carbs though.

Dealer said I didn't need to rejet...just do a carb adjustment. How does that sound to you guys? AI removed, BUB slashcuts, UNI filter??? Looks like most of you have rejetted to 130 mains with this set up, why would a dealer say no rejetting necessary?

You would be surprised at how little some of the dealers know. I found that out from personal experience. I believe in fact that if one frequents this forum and learns to perform all the basic tuning functions that are atypical of our bikes and all the standard maintenance replacement issues brakes/cables/ fluids / tires /wheels and up to and including valve adjustments we could all get jobs as entry level Triumph mechanics at many dealers.

You can afford to buy the tools and still come out ahead by doing lots of the work yourself/saving the 70 dollar an hour labor charges.

The dealers are not in the business of perfomance mods for the most part. I think most dealers want to service your bike but some are suprisingly unfamiliar with the details.

I think some of them should make this forum a mandatory read twice a week or so just to bone up.

So an Ohio bougt bike should not have that big a**
can under the engine then?

Mine is an 04 bought in Arizona in Feb and it was a CA bike. How it managed to still be around in someones inventory and made its way to the Tucson dealer in 2006 is a mystery to me.

They picked it up from somewhere.

Bill I thought it was PRK for Kalifornia?? ha ha. Thanks for the info. Hey Kevin thanks again for your perspective, I always appreciate 'em.

My bike, bought in VA in 2004, has the CA stuff on it. As long as it is working and not leaking it is OK. But, the service manual says I should replace stuff now, thing it all has to go..... There was a thread that included pictures and such. winter is soon upon us....
Warren