Air Switch??

[JohnBoy]

went into the shop the other day to talk bikes and one of the mechanics reconmended that i remove (from what reserch i can find) is called an "air switch". from my understanding (what i was told at the shop) that this switch diverts air from the airbox into the switch which is diverted into two pipes that enter at the top of the cylinder head cover directly above the exhaust ports. this apparently sends clean air down the exhuast to fool any would be emissions testers into thinking that my bike was "dolphin friendly". refer to attachment for a diagram (from www.buykawasaki.com)

after i removed it, i started the bike to find that it was idling lower than usual, i test rode the bike to find no other major issues (but more testing is needed to clarify).

has anybody else had any dealings with this emissions air switch? is this something is should be messing with? (was taken in faith of a good mechanic)
as i have been talking with other people and they seem not so keen on this idea as i am.

any help is most welcome.

[FROSTY]

I had something similar on a 900 ninja -american market model
I ripped all the plumbing out like you did. For some reason I think I plugged the holes on the cylinder head. I also thought there was some kind of reed block inside the cam cover.
It sure seemed to free up some HP

[JohnBoy]

yep, i have taken everything out. connected the pipes from the cylinder head cover together and blanked off pipes from air box and from carbs.

[Motu]

We come across heaps of this shit on cars,rip it out until you get a problem.It just puts some free oxy in the exhaust in the hope it might get involved with some hydrogen and carbon that shouldn't be allowd in there by themselves.The air intake as Frosty says is a reed valve that picks up from the filtered side,it should only work on the over run when exhaust pressures are low,the reed valves are for blow back the other way - EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) is a seperate system again,dunno if bikes ever get that involved.So I don't think it will effect things if you remove it,just block off as much as you can.

[JohnBoy]

thanks Motu, i have done water tests to the connections that i have blocked (well as complicated as a cup of water and me blowing into it gets) and they all seem fine.

Cheers Guys.