Grizzly & Kodiak 700 Air Intake Problem? EHS Racing Air Box Install!

We swapped the airbox on our new Grizzly 700 and considered whether or not an intake replacement is truly essential on a Grizzly or Kodiak 700.

[@dirttraxtv]

Great job on this install, boys!! Really detailed work and great commentary as always!! 👊💥🎉

[@DirtObseXXion]

Thanks DT!!!

[@brutelife9177]

It’s crazy how these units have these issues and still go up 500-1000 dollars every year without improvements…

[@DirtObseXXion]

I agree with that.. Seems like little adjustments based on owner feedback is a realistic expectation

[@Alexb_1775]

@@DirtObseXXionit’s definitely interesting. I know there are other bikes that are faster and have more features yet I just spent nearly $13000 on a camo 2024 Griz. I can’t explain it

[@ColoradoDualSport]

Nice video, guys! Eric from EHS also normally has great instructional videos on their KZbin Channel. I followed the one for the tuner install and AIS block when I did mine. I don't think I'm going to do the airbox on mine, so would be glad to show some results after a few summers use in comparison to the EHS box. Hope you guys had a Merry Christmas.

[@My17A]

Nice video guys. In addition to putting some sealant grease on the foam at the intake end of the filter, you can stuff a piece of rag or cut a section off a pool noodle and put it between the end of the filter and the air box housing and that will keep the filter firmly in place and sealed.

[@TherealinfinitebydesiGn]

My 07 Grizzly is solid. I love the high up airbox. I fabricated mine similar to EHSs with the EHS tuner. I had issues with the airbox coming off the throttle body at around 100 hours so I ziptied the bottom plate down no issues since.

[@SuperDave-pe1zw]

They changed the air box just a hair on 2019 up Yamaha. I just put a thin layer of axle grease on the seal and I run a Outers prefilter. I've had no dirt in my intake hose with factory design. I ride in a lot of dust. I keep my filters clean and oil changed with no problems. I bought a factory foam replacement so when I clean it i just swap foam element with no drying time and clean the old one and it has time to dry.

[@northerntoyota7584]

A simple bead of grease around the dense foam that goes against the air box ensures a good seal. Been doing this for years on all atv/dirt bikes I’ve ever owned.

[@DirtObseXXion]

100%... This is just another option. That's why I mentioned the grease for folks who want to go a less expensive route

[@northerntoyota7584]

@@DirtObseXXion right on, I guess I missed that part. I had a 2000 Kodiak auto and my 21 grizzly definitely has a better air filter/box design for sealing.

[@DirtObseXXion]

@@northerntoyota7584 Yeah I had a 16 Grizzly and it was cheaper foam back then.. I think the actual filter is better now.. That's why I couldn't recall exactly during the video, it had been a few years..

[@georgemcfly7358]

Vaseline works great too

[@quaddingsous]

Those air intake issues really surprise me coming from Yamaha. Good video. Thanks for sharin'!

[@DirtObseXXion]

Thanks Q! There's definitely better designs out there.. Like your Rubi for example..

[@raptor700dad7]

Yup Chad ,that’s the same type slide in filter my old 350 Raptor had . I put grease around foam & it seemed to fill in gap ! Don’t see gap on 700 because of screw tighten setup .

[@kcatv9556]

Woohoo Nice job boys. That’s a quality piece I’m sure it will work well! I have done a AIS delete on both of our machines. I need to do a video on it.

[@DirtObseXXion]

Thanks KC! I should have mentioned your fix video on the Kodiak because I've sent that to a ton of folks who have asked about this.. The EHS box is pricey but having the aluminum connection is nice!

[@CanDoCorey]

I love that you at 2:26 mentioned that it's not ESSENTIAL. Before I even bought my Grizzly I was looking for different modifications after reading horror stories on forums about the design. When I purchased it before even looking in the airbox I started looking for the resolution to a problem that once I looked wasn't even there. Don't get me wrong what EHS has done with their marketing is great and I believe they sell a good product. I don't however believe even with the large amounts of trail riding I do that I'll have an issue with the stock airbox configuration. I think keeping a clean air filter and changing your oil often is key to long-lasting fun out of these fantastic machines. Ride on!

[@DirtObseXXion]

Yep, it's definitely been improved over previous years.. And we're just sharing our experiences, not trying to sell anything.. But the litmus test is simple, just check the inside of the hose once in awhile..

[@firewoodblake1243]

You are right about the plastics. Oil changes take me 40 minutes, of which 30 minutes are spent taking on and off the plastics. Can am outlander xtp’s are the worst for taking off plastics. I’ve done it 100 times and it still takes me significant time every time I do it. Ironically, my Polaris sportsman, which is the worst for almost everything else, is the easiest to take off the plastics because the side plastics are all one piece and it’s much easier to engage the connecting tabs. Re: Grizzly air box. I think some of those who were Complaining about air boxes were mud riders with older machines. I suspect the foam was getting old and was further degraded by constant water/mud. The design is not great, I agree, but a little filter oil on that dense foam and keep it out of chest deep mud/water and you should be good.

[@DirtObseXXion]

That's so true.. Outlanders are tuff! Sportsmans are easy maintenance but unfortunately they require a lot more wrenching than anything else...

[@georgemcfly7358]

Don't have to take off any plastics for grizzly oil change

[@Team2Gils]

Nice! I noticed there seemed to be open space in the garage, time to buy more stuff.

[@DirtObseXXion]

Lol! Well he had some stuff outside too.. We needed room to work 😉

[@codyroberts8593]

Yet another great video guys! Funny but it seems like Yamaha intake factory clamps are always a little loose. I like to add a little torque to them when I buy new machines... but then again, tend to over tighten things anyway. Even to the point of breakage. Oops! 🙄

[@DirtObseXXion]

Lol! That'll happen...

[@OdysseyOffroad]

Good video. This is the same air intake setup used on the raptor 350. Definitely a weird design. Ill be doing a billet intake adapter and clamp on uni filter setup from pro flo on my daughter's machine. The foam around the head of the filter on the grizzly is actually even more robust than the one on her Raptor 350, it's so tiny and gets destroyed every time you put the filter in and out for cleaning very frustrating setup.

[@DirtObseXXion]

Oh interesting.. Same on the 700s too but we replaced those.. I think EHS makes one for the 350

[@OdysseyOffroad]

@@DirtObseXXion oh sweet ill check them.out too thanks!

[@timpence825]

Great video fellas..

[@DirtObseXXion]

Thanks Tim!

[@CanDoCorey]

Also my grizzly came with HEAPS of filter oil in the bottom of the airbox-always serviced by dealer same nasty blue sticky oil!

[@1993kramer]

It seems Yamaha has always had airbox issues. I remember similar problems with airbox issues back in 2001 on my raptor 660r lol. Still want a grizzly as a second atv to my Canam 850xtp though!

[@DirtObseXXion]

Yeah we replaced the ones on our Raptors too.. Still an awesome machine!

[@kennethobrien7370]

great video as always but it was hard to watch with that second gen z400 se in the background

[@DirtObseXXion]

Love that quad! Plan on filming it soon!

[@utahwanderlust700]

I just had to clean the air filter on my 2001 Yamaha Wolverine 350, and it uses a very similar system to the brand new Grizzly I see!! It's nuts that Yamaha still uses this bad system. I have to wedge the filter in place with rolled up strips of leather between the filter end and the box or I will have a 1mm gap in the intake that dust goes right in. And why in the hell is the air filter still under the seat?! My Brute Force and my 17 year old Prairie have the airbox up high and are very easy to access. The Brute, especially, is like the slickest air filter/airbox combo in the industry. I can do a complete air filter replacement on it in under 3 minutes!

[@DirtObseXXion]

The KingQuad set up is nice too but it's harder to get to.. With the Grizzly it's a tradeoff, the storage is really nice but that space would be better used for a better airbox design..

[@rob9675]

Yeah nice to see other things

[@jesselachapelle9733]

What’s the part number on the new filter

[@garthlundquist3623]

Obsession is right. There is nothing wrong with the stock filter setup. Just coat the mating surfaces with chassis grease to seal 100%. You will save $250.

[@romper4444]

Oh man i jist noticed your z400 in the back ground, i just bought the same one! What year is yours? I thought mine was in decent shape, but yours is mint!!! And mines a 2013, 2nd last year they were made. Do you know if you can still buy new oem decal kits from suzuki to freshen up the look?

[@DirtObseXXion]

Yes you can still buy decals, we got some Rocky Mtn ATV I believe. That's a 12 too, it was owned by Jeremiah Jones when we bought it. Look him up if you don;t know who he is... Friggen quad racing legend!

[@jasondoughty8211]

Good info.

[@DirtObseXXion]

Thanks Chief!

[@DaddySundaySchool]

Thank you. My 2021 grizzly floorboards keep breaking. They are cheap and I was wondering if you had any upgrade advice it’s sad that they are so cheap

[@flyingbriando5521]

We actually just installed a set of Ricochet floorboard skids on the Grizzly. I cringed every time I felt a rock or tree limb hit the bottom of them.

[@DaddySundaySchool]

@@flyingbriando5521 thank you so much I’ll buy them. It’s so sad my Honda rancher i own also. The floorboards are so dam strong and have a metal frame. Not just plastic like the grizzly

[@flyingbriando5521]

@@DaddySundaySchool When we’re paying the price that we are we should at least get some cheap plastic skids on the floorboards!

[@reddfoxx2861]

The black seal at the front nobody puts air filter oil on it and dust gets by it. 1200 miles on mine so far with no issues. Rode Hatfield for 3 days and dust was so bad you literally couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

[@DirtObseXXion]

So are you saying you do put oil on it or it's OK without oil?

[@reddfoxx2861]

@@DirtObseXXion I actually put a light coat of red grease on it. Knock on wood so far so good.

[@DirtObseXXion]

@@reddfoxx2861 OK good to know! I hope you keep enjoying that Grizzly for a good long time, it's a great machine!

[@MotoFlows]

Hey Chad at 3:37 time, what’s that yellow and black Suzuki? I like it!

[@DirtObseXXion]

That's a 2nd Gen Z400.. We still need to do a video on it!

[@mikeruffo6462]

Any updates or final thoughts? Any noticeable difference in riding?

[@DirtObseXXion]

It's more of a resilience mod, no performance improvement from doing this and I wouldn't say it's necessary.. It used to be but Yamaha improved the intake

[@crazylegg4561]

I want buy the new 2024 ! 2024 is ok or intake problem is not fix by yamaha !? I have same problème with my M8000 2017 hahahaha x) .....

[@DirtObseXXion]

We didn't need to do this.. Older models the airbox mod was a good idea, but they're good now..

[@TwinTurboToyota]

You all thought about have a subscriber meet up and ride?

[@DirtObseXXion]

No sure anyone would show... But we're at Canmer ATV trails most weekends, especially when the weather gets better!

[@brennenlee7715]

What oil do you use for the uni filter for this ?

[@DirtObseXXion]

Uni makes air filter oil that comes in an aerosol spray can.. We use that because it's very easy.. Just generously spray the filter and massage it in..

[@brennenlee7715]

@@DirtObseXXion I may eventually get one with the uni filter but it looks to be way better with the revision done to it by yamaha with the thicker foam. Just got my 2023 xt-r 2 days ago... Seams to be exceptiable for now compared to what was on the 16-18s...

[@DirtObseXXion]

@@brennenlee7715 yeah I think so, just keep an eye on it 👍

[@brennenlee7715]

@@DirtObseXXion will do, thanks for your feedback

[@markalan4026]

Seems to be an unnecessary modification. The forums can be great and very helpful at times. Other times they can get you waisting time and money on precautionary modifications, and imo it seems that is what this airbox mod is. Maybe the Grizzly did have issues with this at some point, idk. But if we cannot give real examples of such design flaws, it really makes no sense to me, especially for that kind of money. I would much rather put that money into a fuel programmer to get the air/fuel mixture right. EDIT: I just did some searching, and based on the photos I seen, it seems at some point Yamaha did use a less dense piece of dry foam in that spot, just as said in the video. Why they would rely on that dry foam ring to seal dust out, I do not know. If you don't plan on doing the airbox mod, I would at least oil that foam ring, and also grease the mating surface between the foam and plastic. Doing this should be enough to ensure dust doesn't get through. Of course doing the airbox mod would be most effective, but I would rest assured, as long as that foam ring is oiled like the filter element itself. All my dirt bike intakes rely on nothing more than pressure between the foam element and the plastic housing, and I do not recall ever having sealing issues, but the foam filter is always thoroughly oiled too. Leaving that foam ring dry would seem to me the same as leaving the air filter dry, just doesn't make sense.

[@DirtObseXXion]

It might not be necessary for some, but replacing a foam connection that relies on pressure to maintain the connection with a billet aluminum connection that is secured by a hose clamp is clearly going to be better long term. The entire box is probably overkill but it was worth doing just to secure the intake to the motor which wasn't tightened properly at the factory. I think checking the intake hose after a dusty ride is the most important thing to do when trying to determine if this is worth while...

[@EC_ATV_Outdoors]

I'll do precautionary mods all day long. This is an expensive past time and your out in the middle of nowhere. So why not protect your investment and know you'll get home. I do my oil changes twice as often as I should. I'm sure I could sell my used oil to someone and they would think it's great. I also check my airbox, connections, regularly and use rubber care on all rubber, boots, bushings, intake hoses, rad hoses etc etc. I've never punctured or torn a boot and my bushings lasted twice as long as people claim for my machines in forums. So all worth it to me.

[@markalan4026]

​@@DirtObseXXionYes, I agree. Why Yamaha left that foam ring dry, I do not know.

[@DirtObseXXion]

@@markalan4026 Thanks for the edit on your original comment.. We're really just trying to help folks out on this channel and we know we're not perfect. But I guarantee the information you provided will help somebody keep enjoying their machine longer!

[@georgemcfly7358]

Ya just gotta slop Vaseline around that rubber seal. Any rubber seal. Problem solved

[@phxamigo]

Looks like throwing expensive parts for a non existent problem!!

[@DirtObseXXion]

Yeah kinda, but we'll do performance mods soon anyway so we'll have wanted that filter bracket for the new filter.. But the intake is definitely more secure now..

[@joeellis2692]

My 2016 Grizzly was a pile of sh☆t. I can't begin to explain how unreliable that machine was. 13k lawn ornament. I had to lawyer up and fight with my Yamaha dealer and Yamaha every step of the way. I personally will probably never buy a new Yamaha again.

[@DirtObseXXion]

I had a '16 too, traded it in very quickly. Burned oil, bad starter spring, bad 4x4 servo. That was a lemon year for sure and the Subaru motor was improved after 16 but I would never recommend 16-18 after that experience.

[@joeellis2692]

@@DirtObseXXion that 708 Subaru motor wasn't improved good enough the Canadian government forced Yamaha to recall it. Reason why the 686 came back so quick.

[@knightimusprime25]

you'd think yamaha would have straightened this shit up by now as many people that's complained about it and knowin that goin back to your last video i think id definitely go for the kq 750 over the grizzly for that reason

[@DirtObseXXion]

I agree, they could certainly improve it.. The storage is really nice but that space would be better used for the airbox like the KQ