easiest weight reduction mods?

[Guest VFR04]

Hey I was just wondering if anyone was aware of some cheap/easy mods to decrease bike weight?? Thanx

[CornerCarver]

cut out french fries and dont eat anything after 8 pm....

[bryan217]

:cheerleader: Go on a diet! Seriously, that's the easiest way to reduce the weight the bike has to carry.

[TimC]

These aren't all easy or cheap, but they're among the more common things done to save weight:

-Remove passenger peg brackets.

-Remove centerstand.

-If installed, remove passenger grab handles.

-Install fender eliminator kit.

-Install aftermarket system with aluminum, carbon fiber or titanium exhaust cans.

-Swap out OEM bar ends for lighter ones.

-De-link brakes.

I wouldn't recommend all these - esp. de-linking the brake system - but it's your bike.

[Beck]

You can spend hunderds or thousands of dollars replacing parts with CF, aluminum or titanium parts and it might only buy you 5 to 10 pounds off the bike at most, You wouldn't even feel the differece once you are rolling, so I only look at those mods as mostly cosmetic changes.................Not neccessarily a bad/wrong thing to do if it makes you feel better about your VFR

If you want a real weight reduction mod that counts big time, performance-wise,...........just buy a CBR1000R or any other popular first line sportbike out there.

Beck

95 VFR

[Guest]

Install a supercharger. It won't reduce any weight but it'll swing the power-to-weight ratio WAY UP.

[sckego]

I think an 8-spoke rear wheel and an f4i front wheel both save some weight over stock. Those are unsprung, rotating masses as well, so the savings will be magnified. Also, don't fill up your gas tank all the way. :fing02:

[Beck]

I think an 8-spoke rear wheel and an f4i front wheel both save some weight over stock. Those are unsprung, rotating masses as well, so the savings will be magnified. Also, don't fill up your gas tank all the way. :fing02:

Uhmmm...if you are interested in lighter VFR OEM rear wheels wheels, the lightest OEM wheel to fit the SSS will be the 4th gen 5 spoker......IIRC, the 8 spoker might be the heaviest VFR rear wheel so far......

Beck

95 VFR

[sckego]

Uhmmm...if you are interested in lighter VFR OEM rear wheels wheels, the lightest OEM wheel to fit the SSS will be the 4th gen 5 spoker......IIRC, the 8 spoker might be the heaviest VFR rear wheel so far......

Hrm, ok, sorry for the misinformation. I could have sworn I remembered reading some time ago that the 8-spokers were lighter. Perhaps my memory is failing... :fing02:

[vfrcapn]

Uhmmm...if you are interested in lighter VFR OEM rear wheels wheels, the lightest OEM wheel to fit the SSS will be the 4th gen 5 spoker......IIRC, the 8 spoker might be the heaviest VFR rear wheel so far......

Hrm, ok, sorry for the misinformation. I could have sworn I remembered reading some time ago that the 8-spokers were lighter. Perhaps my memory is failing... :fing02:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/49611-rear-wheelstires-the-end-all-discussion/page__p__594881__hl__%2Bspoke+%2Bwheel+%2Bweight__fromsearch__1#entry594881

8 spoke and 5 spoke (5-6G) reported to be the same weight, 13.1 lbs.

[Beck]

Uhmmm...if you are interested in lighter VFR OEM rear wheels wheels, the lightest OEM wheel to fit the SSS will be the 4th gen 5 spoker......IIRC, the 8 spoker might be the heaviest VFR rear wheel so far......

Hrm, ok, sorry for the misinformation. I could have sworn I remembered reading some time ago that the 8-spokers were lighter. Perhaps my memory is failing... :fing02:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/49611-rear-wheelstires-the-end-all-discussion/page__p__594881__hl__%2Bspoke+%2Bwheel+%2Bweight__fromsearch__1#entry594881

8 spoke and 5 spoke (5-6G) reported to be the same weight, 13.1 lbs.

I think BLS will disagree.......

Beck

95 VFR

[mello dude]

Hey I was just wondering if anyone was aware of some cheap/easy mods to decrease bike weight?? Thanx

The easiest is going from stock exhaust to aftermarket - Aluminum, Titanium or Carbon. After that the price keeps going up.

Ok off topic but he's the newbie...........

-------Ummm, arent you the newbie 16 year old rider? --- Take any money you think would spend and use it for rider training. Buy Nick Ienatsh's book, Sport Riding, read it cover to cover, pratice, pratice, practice, read it again, pratice, practice again. Then maybe when you think your skills may have improved, consider some upgrades.

---I'm kinda stealing this line but....

When you start riding, you get a big bucket full of luck and another big bucket that is empty on skill. Your job is to fill up the skill bucket before the luck bucket is all used up.

Good luck dude.

[Baileyrock]

Hey I was just wondering if anyone was aware of some cheap/easy mods to decrease bike weight?? Thanx

Ok off topic but he's the newbie...........

-------Ummm, arent you the newbie 16 year old rider? --- Take any money you think would spend and use it for rider training. Buy Nick Ienatsh's book, Sport Riding, read it cover to cover, pratice, pratice, practice, read it again, pratice, practice again. Then maybe when you think your skills may have improved, consider some upgrades.

---I'm kinda stealing this line but....

When you start riding, you get a big bucket full of luck and another big bucket that is empty on skill. Your job is to fill up the skill bucket before the luck bucket is all used up.

Good luck dude.

:biggrin: :biggrin: :fing02:

Even if your Not a newbie, the best preformance gain per $ will be rider training!

BR

[Guest]

yes i am the Noobie! hopefully not for long, but... anyway i am already taking a training course at our local Harley dealer and from what i have heard thats always step 1! but with my spare cash i was thinking bout making some mods on my bike to possibly reduce the weight, i mean what the heck it couldn't hurt, could it?? but also thanx for the tip on that book im gonna hop right on that n look it up!

[Bent]

Work out with free weights. You would be amazed how much better you can handle the bike, how much better your balance will be, and how much less fatigued you will be after a long ride. Losing weight is a dream for most of these VFRD fat boys..... :fing02:

[Guest]

Oh yeah you're the 16 year old newbie. In that case I wouldn't worry about the VFR's weight until you've gotten some experience down. The VFR's (6th gen and below) are around 500lbs or so, which is about average for a standard faired (non-supersport) bike, and a bit less then average compared to other large displacement touring and sport touring bikes in its class. Most of the cheap mods you can do to reduce weight will only shave a few pounds here and there.. It won't do anything as dramatic as riding a smaller bike that weighed less to begin with.

If the VFR's weight is a real issue right now, I suggest you pick up and 250cc motorcycle and lay some miles on it. Most 250's weigh around 300lbs and thus is lot more manageable for a newbie. (Just make sure it's a motorcycle with a real transmission, and not a scooter.)

[2thdr]

Hey I was just wondering if anyone was aware of some cheap/easy mods to decrease bike weight?? Thanx

The easiest is going from stock exhaust to aftermarket - Aluminum, Titanium or Carbon. After that the price keeps going up.

Ok off topic but he's the newbie...........

-------Ummm, arent you the newbie 16 year old rider? --- Take any money you think would spend and use it for rider training. Buy Nick Ienatsh's book, Sport Riding, read it cover to cover, pratice, pratice, practice, read it again, pratice, practice again. Then maybe when you think your skills may have improved, consider some upgrades.

---I'm kinda stealing this line but....

When you start riding, you get a big bucket full of luck and another big bucket that is empty on skill. Your job is to fill up the skill bucket before the luck bucket is all used up.

Good luck dude.

+1000

Don't know how close this is to you, but Lee Parks is awesome and money well spent IMO.

http://alphatrainingcenter.com/ARC.php

[toro1]

Guys, he didn't ask about riding technique, he just asked about shedding some weight off his bike.

When I was on the Formula SAE team at PSU, we had the lightest 4-cylinder car by a huge margin, around 50+lbs IIRC. Our car fully fueled weighed 380lb, and to get it that light we used titanium in every possible location, and eliminated absolutely anything that wasn't crucial to performance. It could have been lighter, too, but full titanium frames weren't allowed. The key, though, and the reason we were so much lighter than everyone else, was the elimination of unnecessary weight on every component on the vehicle (down to drilling out the titanium bolts and running aluminum - yes, specially coated aluminum - brake rotors) -- little by little, it all adds up. This approach is what allowed RV4 to get his VFR750 down to 300lb, and taken on a more moderate scale, can allow you to shed some decent weight off your own bike.

If you don't ride 2-up, yank all the passenger controls. Get rid of the centerstand and any extra emissions components (EVAP canister, solenoid valve, PAIR system). Eliminate the rear fender, chain guards, heat guards, and any extra brackets. Delink the brakes. In other words, all the stuff TimC said earlier.

After that, you're going to have to start spending money: '98-'99 header or aftermarket catless setup with some aftermarket pipes; lightweight front wheel & rotors; 520 chain & sprocket conversion; fastener replacement.

If you're looking for more, fab work & megabucks comes into play: single nut conversion & lightweight rear wheel (or a complete swingarm swap somehow), lighter weight rear subframe, carbon body panels, lightweight solo seat, exotic materials, engine lightening, etc. etc., the list could go on forever, and the further you go, the less and less your bike is a VFR.

Unless you go all out, you'll never get it down to what the new superbikes weigh in at, but if you are just looking at dropping a few pounds, it can be done, and it can be done cheaply, as long as you're willing to put in some wrench work.

[Dutchy]

Easy but not cheap is muffler...

the OEM +s-pipe to the collector box weighed in at 6+ kilo

The CF Akrapovic+titanium s-pipe 1.6 kilo

[VFRBulldawg]

cut out french fries and dont eat anything after 8 pm....

No joke! I lost 50 pounds this year and it's helped a ton, and I'm still a fat guy.

Honestly you can't drop a noticeable amount of weight off this bike without spending way more money than I ever had as a teenager. Plus, as a newbie you wouldn't want to spend all that money on your bike up front since you're more likely to crash it and lose all that money until you get some experience under your belt. If you're worried about the weight and dropping the bike at low speed don't be too up tight about it. Any mistakes you might make would probably result in a drop even if the bike was 100 lbs lighter. If you got some money spent, advanced rider training is the way to go with it. If you're just dead set on having a bike that weighs less than 400 lbs then you bought the wrong bike. ;-)

Welcome to VFRD! You'll find the people here are very helpful and fun to ride and hang out with. The squid to real rider ratio is also very low amongst VFR owners. :-)

[BusyLittleShop]

Since 98 I've taken 28 lbs off Mr.RC45... I'm down to 407lbs tank dry but other wise

ready to roll... thats about 25K in tasty mods... however $5,450 of it was for my labor...

The Speed Cell battery removed 6lb 10oz of weight at only $36 a pound... thats a

bargain for me...

My hand made Akrapovic Titanium exhaust cost $2,900.00 and removed 8

pounds... that's $362 a pound!!! Finally the kicker was the addition

of Ferodo's Ceramic Matrix Composite rotors for a 3 lb drop in weight

costing $2,300... mercy that's $766 a pound!!!

Mr.RC45's new weight and balance figures... 407lbs dry with 52% front

48% rear weight bias... I'm so pleased...

When will our bikes ever been done??? BLS growing list of mods...

1 BLS magnesium Triple Clamps with 35mm offset... $1,200

http://farm3.static....35b7d3a42_o.jpg

2 Ohlins FG310 Superbike Forks... $1,500

http://farm3.static....a08c7852c_o.jpg

3 BLS tank bag platform... $50

http://www.vfrdiscus...31_51_15864.jpg

4 Ferodo Ceramic Matrix Composite Front Disc... $2,300

http://farm4.static....966746c.jpg?v=0

5 Brembo billet radial Front Calipers... $1,500

http://farm4.static....d34585b46_o.jpg

6 BLS Magnesium radial caliper mounts... $1,000

http://farm2.static....85a11c78b_o.jpg

7 Marchesini Magnesium 3.5x17 Front Rim that was owned by Wayne Rainey

when he sponsored Jimmy Felice YZ250R... $500

http://farm4.static....d34585b46_o.jpg

8 BLS 7075 T6 aluminum Front Axle... $350

http://home.comcast....AxleComparo.JPG

9 BLS 7075 T6 Bar Risers... $450

http://home.comcast....5BarsCables.JPG

10 Brembo radial Front Brake master cylinder $275

http://farm2.static....2e0a40359_o.jpg

11 Brembo billet radial clutch master cylinder $375

12 Lockhart Phillips Quick Throttle Delrin throttle barrel $150

http://farm2.static....02fd8a6a3_o.jpg

13 Taper Steering Head Bearings... Koyo 39207JR-2 15.75 ea

14 Lockhart Turn Signals... $50

http://farm3.static....3cdc9c5d6_b.jpg

15 QB Carbon Front fender...$150

16 BLS K&N Air Cleaner... $60

http://home.comcast....C45KNfliter.JPG

17 BLS modifed LED Tail lights... $150

http://home.comcast....EDStopLight.JPG

18 BLS Carbon Fiber Mirror covers... $100

19 Zero Gravity Dubble Bubble Wind Screen... $150

http://home.comcast....arleyShop03.jpg

20 BLS Aluminum tank bracket... $100

http://home.comcast....TankBracket.JPG

21 BLS T47 Temper Foam Seat and black canvas cover... $85

http://farm4.static....6d505cd88_o.jpg

22 BLS Ball bearing Rear Sets with Mil Spec rod ends... $550

http://www.vfrdiscus...31_51_90260.jpg

23 Ohlins Rear Shock... $680

http://www.vfrdiscus...31_51_19326.jpg

24 BLS 7075 T6 aluminum Ride height adjusted with nut... $150

http://www.vfrdiscus...31_51_98328.jpg

25 BLS 4130 chromoly NL5 Rear Axle Mod with nut... $500

http://www.vfrdiscus...31_51_18755.jpg

26 BLS 7075 T6 aluminum kick stand...$500

http://home.comcast....andComparo..JPG

27 BLS modified steel 525 ZX7R sprocket... $250

http://www.vfrdiscus...31_51_14811.jpg

28 BLS Carbon Fiber Exhaust Can... $350

http://farm2.static....3955a4877_o.jpg

29 BLS 7075 T6 aluminum end cap with 90 dba stamp... $250

http://farm2.static....d3267150c_o.jpg

30 3 spoke Marchesini magnesium 6x17 Rear Rim from Freddie Spencer's

RC30...$600

http://farm1.static....2710a3b99_o.jpg

31 QB Carbon Fiber Tail Cowl with BLS access panel... $450

http://farm3.static....77258a3fa_o.jpg

32 Titanium exhaust hand crafted out of Akrapovic parts by Rob

Lindeman (RC45 owner)...$2,500

http://farm4.static....6d0858308_o.jpg

33 BLS Billet aluminum rear caliper mount... $500

http://www.vfrdiscus...31_51_43434.jpg

34 Brembo billet 4 pot Gp rear caliper... $500

http://www.vfrdiscus...31_51_18755.jpg

35 Speigler billet rear master cylinder... $350

http://www.vfrdiscus...31_51_90260.jpg

36 HRC swingarm upgrade with BLS home made machine parts... $5000

http://www.vfrdiscus...131_51_1405.jpg

37 Speedcell 1 lb 6 oz battery replaced 7 lb stock battery $250

http://www.vfrdiscus...31_51_71356.jpg

38 QB Carbon all carbon fiber fairings $1,200

http://home.comcast....rbonHRCpart.JPG

[thereisnospoon]

OP, you asked this question in the modification forum, however there are some people that may think the weight reduction is a bit quick considering your potential amount of riding experience. I spent $350 on a Sargent seat, but I also spent $350 on a 2 piece leather suit that I wear for each ride (no matter how far) that adds another 15 lbs to rolling weight. Making a generalization about physics (I got a "D"), I would suspect that all straight weight reduction would really help with is acceleration and maybe deceleration (but this thing stops fast anyway), which isn't really the primary goal: survival. In the time you can take 15 lbs off the thing, you can spend that in a parking lot accelerating to 40 mph and getting your stopping distance down - use marks and feel, you will learn to stop faster. When someone pulls out in front of you or weaves into your lane, any amount of weight reduction goes out the window if you can't get the thing to slow down or change direction when you need it to.

I don't mean to have a particularly negative post, but many of us would prefer to see a relatively new rider keep the bike and learn to use it (they are better than most of us can ride) rather than the post that we all dread to see - rider down, blah blah blah followed by an ad on craigslist about a damaged VFR.

[spud786]

yes i am the Noobie! hopefully not for long, but... anyway i am already taking a training course at our local Harley dealer and from what i have heard thats always step 1! but with my spare cash i was thinking bout making some mods on my bike to possibly reduce the weight, i mean what the heck it couldn't hurt, could it?? but also thanx for the tip on that book im gonna hop right on that n look it up!

Save your money to keep the bike running, Weight reduction is a waste of issue for vfr on the street, unless you intend to track it.

You've been talking on a squid networks, stay stock, learn to ride. How bout some good tires, you can save 4 or 5 lbs there

[TurdEngineer99]

Sandblast every sq in of paint off the bike. You might lose some weight that way too.

and if you have skills, fabricate a rear subframe out of aluminum sq. stock and size it to carry the seat you like, the rear lights, etc. You can probably use a cbr 600 rear tail plastics.

[Guest]

Weight reduction does make more sense than a few horse power; better handling, quicker accelerating, braking later.

Everyone notices the difference in drving when your fueltank was almost empty and you just filled it to the max.

[Bent]

yes i am the Noobie! hopefully not for long, but... anyway i am already taking a training course at our local Harley dealer and from what i have heard thats always step 1! but with my spare cash i was thinking bout making some mods on my bike to possibly reduce the weight, i mean what the heck it couldn't hurt, could it?? but also thanx for the tip on that book im gonna hop right on that n look it up!

Save your money to keep the bike running, Weight reduction is a waste of issue for vfr on the street, unless you intend to track it.

You've been talking on a squid networks, stay stock, learn to ride. How bout some good tires, you can save 4 or 5 lbs there

Spud speaks wise words. A 200 lb. rider that knows how to ride the twisties very well will leave a 130 pounder behind that doesn't know much about how to go around a turn..... :fing02: Knowledge and ability can be had in time, practice and learning proper technique. 70#'s of VFR weight reduction.....good luck..... :biggrin: