TM36 filters

So I’ve got some TM36 pumpers in transit and have ordered some boots from JBM and my thoughts are now turning to actually fitting them to my bike, their inlet diameter is 55mm, I was just looking at the local Unifilter site and they have a straight filter 100mm in length x 80mm diameter with a 55mm opening, part number UP4229, does anyone happen to know if these will fit after I remove the air boxes? or will I need a shorter version? I haven’t looked at K&N yet as I think I’d prefer the Unis, any thoughts on pros and cons with either brand? as I don’t have the carbs yet I can’t start measuring.

Congrats on your new acquisition, stinky! You have quite a few tasks ahead of you fitting the TM36/68 carbies, but you'll love them when you're done. I hope your JBM boots don't do what mine did when I hung TM36/68 pumpers in them: a crack started where the carb spigot ended, and I was very lucky to catch it before it opened all the way. Tour Max boots with the OE metal shrouds in place work very well. Tour Max is a house brand of K&L Supply; the boots are made by ARS, the original manufacturer, and may be available under other labels as well. You may be able to fit 4" filters, but they'll likely rub on the battery box. IMO the biggest downside to foam filters is that they become waterlogged rather easily. I favor K&N filters with Outerwears rain covers.

thanks Griz, I was hoping you’d stop by cause I knew you had been through the process already I was going to PM you but thought if I put it here so others might make use of it in the future, reason I went with JBM was they make the angled ones in the right size so I’m hoping they’ll still line up with my side covers, I haven’t seen any others that fit the bs34 and actually say they are angled I prob should have asked here) I bought some for my bs38s that weren’t angled and I made them work but it wasn’t ideal (my bikes a 77d so has angled 38s), one thing I haven’t worked out yet is if the carbs themselves have vacuum spigots, cause the JBM boots don’t, which has me doubting my choice of JBM now, I’m planning to make a support of some sort to take some of the weight, but until I actually have them I’m not sure what form that will take, I was looking on K&N’s website and they don’t seem to have much info about sizes, unless I wasn’t looking hard enough, plus any sizes I did see were in inches so wasn’t sure which ones would fit, you don’t happen to know the part number of your K&Ns do you?

55 mm.=2.17". The TM36/68s and filters are no longer mine, actually; I sold them to gggGary awhile ago after refurbing some salvage 33 mm. Mikuni flat slide pumpers (old banked set no longer made, the new ones have a hard wall where a common throttle shaft would have to pass through, IMO not worth the trouble and cost to make a pair out of those). Hung the 33s just to mess with something different and liked them well enough to keep them. Anyway, have a look at the K&N RC4890. Flange ID is 54 mm., but that isn't a problem.

There's no provision for vacuum spigots on TM36/68 carbs. OE-type replacement boots for the BS34 will have the angle you need. I don't know anything about Australian distributors or what they have access to. All I can tell you is that ARS, the Japanese original manufacturer, still produces the part, that it's sold in North America under the Tour Max label, and that it has an application-specific listing for the XS650 in the K&L catalogue. I know shipping costs are extrortionate, but the boots are available from 650 Central.

thanks for the info, I just had a look on ebay and there are a few Tour Max sets available, I’ve used other Tour Max items and they have all been top quality, so I can always get some there, I think for now I might put some barbs in the JBM ones, I know it voids their warranty but it’s not like I can send them all the way back so may as well try to use them, if that doesn’t work out I might ask Geoff at geoffsxs what he has, he’s the local mikes vendor, but he seems to pick and choose what he sells, did you have your 36s supported in any way? I actually feel like the 33 or 34 would be a better size for the 650, 36 seems a bit big, but I plan to pull my motor and put in a spare one I have while I rebuild the original, and since it’s coming apart anyway I’ll be boring it out a bit, lumpier cam, etc etc, so hopefully I’ll end up with a nicely balanced combo, it sounds a bit like I’m building a bike around a set of carbs when I say it that way, a while ago I bought a set of reloading dies at a gun show, for a rifle in a calibre that I don’t actually own just because they were cheap, now I’ve been talking to a gunsmith about building a rifle to go with my die set,

The 36 mm. venturi won't give you a problem; guys tend to obsess too much over a couple of millimeters. Craig Weeks included dyno charts comparing same-engine performance of VM34 to VM36 carbies in his XS/TX650 performance manual, and showed differences of a fraction of a horsepower--34 very slightly advantaged at low rpm, 36 very slightly advantaged at high rpm. I think you'lI be very pleased with the TM36/68. I set up the 33 mm. carbies just for the hell of it and left them on partly because I liked them, and partly because nobody else had them. The steel shrouds on the Tour Max BS34 boots will give adequate support, but with JBM boots it's a bit of a crapshoot. I haven't seen anyone else report JBMs splitting with BS series carbs, which are about as heavy as the TM36/68s, but I know what happened on my motor. Those JBM boots will fit VM36 carbies nicely, as well as BS34s; you might look for a buyer?

Edit: I wouldn't waste money on a pair of boots from Mike's XS. Things may have changed, but the ones they used to sell were slightly more solid than a firm grade of foam rubber, and I strongly suspect that the Chinese made them from recycled condoms. They caused a lot of grief for a lot of buyers.

recycled condoms don’t sound very appealing, I think I’ll cross those off my shopping list!