Where did the battery go in this build?

[frnco]

This is a newbie question, i just got my first Guzzi so I'm still curious and ignorant..

you may have seen this build... they removed the side panels and in the place of where the battery usually is (right?) they have this...filter... which I don't know exactly what it does...

can somebody explain me what they did in order to empty the space beneath the seat?

thanks

 

[GuzziMoto]

I see a box under the swing arm pivot, perhaps that is it.

 

[scottmastrocinque]

I agree with Michael. That black box slung low and transverse mounted under the swing-arm and just in front of the rear tire, is the battery box. You see this configuration on a lot of custom motorcycle builds and early vintage motorcycle setups.

As to the filter you see... The stock airbox plenum has been removed. You can clearly see it here in this photo on the far left. Just follow from the back of the cylinders and you have immediately the fuel injectors, then the black intake manifold, then the silver air mass meter, and finally the black airbox plenum.

So, in your modified bike photo, in order to provide filtration of the incoming air into the engine, that filter you see is a K&N Universal Pod Filter, which has been used to replace the airbox plenum. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

When done correctly, on certain engines, with the proper fuel management modifications, it can increase horsepower and responsiveness of the throttle because you can pull more air into the engine faster. (You typically see this in racing applications and in the case of the Centauro / Daytona / V11 Sport (Big Displacement Performance Twins), it is done because the airbox plenum is so restrictive that the engine actually struggles to breath.) When done incorrectly, it can lead to rapid premature engine destruction due to unbelievably lean fuel to air ratios.

I have two of these pod filters on my 1997 Centauro, one on each cylinder intake, like you see in this internet photo of a Centauro with the side panels removed for visibility. As with all things though, there are disadvantages. Any motorcycle configured like this becomes a "fair weather only" motorcycle, otherwise you will be sucking water into the intake during the rain!

 

[GTM®]

All well covered above...
Battery is likely a small lithium version (like I sell on the online Store here), custom mounted.
That is an air filter, needed for the engine to not inhale everything but air. Internal combustion engines prefer to pull air from still air plenums (boxes).
I suggest reading up on internal combustion engines, via a good book and not online articles or Youtube videos.
These mods are for those who care only about looks, not about drive-ability/function.
Good luck.