slovcan Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Thanks for the update! Hmm, the way I see it there should be clearance when the bike is on the ground. Why don't you jack up the swingarm a bit to see? Curious how much load is needed. Cheers, Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOCONUT Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 I have used the older style link and there is just enough room at ride height for the shock to work without any clearance issues. I am a bit larger than most (around 235 lbs.) and when I'm on the bike the shock compresses and rebounds fine. The raised height is also a big upgrade from the stock shock along with the improved damping and performance. Thanks for the thread, guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty7Fifty Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 On 6/6/2016 at 4:02 PM, KOCONUT said: I have used the older style link and there is just enough room at ride height for the shock to work without any clearance issues. I am a bit larger than most (around 235 lbs.) and when I'm on the bike the shock compresses and rebounds fine. The raised height is also a big upgrade from the stock shock along with the improved damping and performance. Thanks for the thread, guys! Thanks for posting this !! I haven't had time to test my 87' link but I knew it would be real close. Are you running the Zx-14 spring or did you swap on the original VFR spring? Also, when you're running it hard and the shock is going through it's full range of travel, could you feel any contact on any big rebounds? Thanks bro! Nifty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOCONUT Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I haven't ridden very much with the new shock yet. I've got all the fairings off for repaint right now. Kept the original spring in there. If I find it still is a little too soft for me I'll probably pull the shock and swap springs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y282 Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Few update pics. Last one is gap with me sat on it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyRedRC46 Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Man that is a slick looking exhaust! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y282 Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Cheers ? Yea it was on the bike when i bought it, luckily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted June 24, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted June 24, 2016 MIG, a French exhaust company, went t-u many years ago. Shame, they are lovely. Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MadScientist Posted June 24, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted June 24, 2016 7 hours ago, JZH said: MIG, a French exhaust company, went t-u many years ago. Shame, they are lovely. Ciao, Had one some time ago, oval with dual outlets and a carbon weave that I've never seen before. Still running an ebay alert for it but nothing ever comes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y282 Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Just another quick pic while i rolled it outside for a minute. This is the shorter older rear linkage and front forks pulled through quite a long way. It leans over a lot on the stand but seems stable. Note the pegs and heat shields are still off but you can get an idea of clearance from this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty7Fifty Posted July 24, 2016 Author Share Posted July 24, 2016 . . . Just checking in After 2000 miles on the ZX14R spring, I took her apart last month and swapped in the original 1990 VFR red spring onto the ZX14R shock to see the difference. Got 500 miles on the new setup so I thought I might chime in with some data points.. ~ I'm currently 215 pounds butt naked, probably around 230 with the gear I typically ride with. ~ The Zx14r spring is plush and uses the full range of the shock. It will give you more of a cruiser/touring feel. Actually, at my age now, I really like the way it handled. It felt like Cadillac built my bike, couldn't feel a thing but it still took turns well, accelerated sharp and braked fine. Very pleasant ride. ~ 2 cons with the ZX spring: 1) It would give me a slow bounce on the bigger dips in the road, just one single slow bounce, more like a counter-balance type deal. and 2) you wouldn't want to race it like that. It took turns good at a semi-spirited pace, but I wouldn't want to push it real hard with the "cadillac" suspension. Now that could just be me, there was nothing to make me feel that it wouldn't handle fast turns at high speed, but my test piloting balls only grow so big. ~ Both of those cons should be minimized by lighter weight riders. ~ The original "red" 1990 VFR spring on the ZX shock definitely puts it back to the sports side of things. MUCH firmer plus strong feedback from the road. Still stays connected to the road far better than my original 1990 shock ever did. You can feel a HUGE improvement in rebound and damping vs. the original VFR shock. Still more comfortable than a full-on modern sport bike though, as I tested a newer Ninja and Gixxer on the same day with the VFR, and the VFR still feels like a "sports-tourer" compared to them. ~ I will continue to run the VFR spring and take more notes. So far, I am very pleased with the results regardless of what spring to use. I currently favor the VFR spring on the Zx14r shock, most likely due to my size. Although I loved the comfortable ride with the ZX spring, I feel more confident in the twisties with the stiffer spring. ~ I originally lowered my front end 1 inch, but after installing the red spring I felt the need to raise it back up a half inch. So to be clear, my forks are pulled through a half inch now, or if you prefer, the front end is a half inch lower than factory. Nifty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slovcan Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 Great feedback, Nifty! Thanks. I'm like you and then some - well north of 215 lbs in gear. We're getting ready for a cross country move, so no more wrenching on the bikes until next winter. Then it gets the ZX-14 shock, '86 dogbone and original spring. That will raise the rear a bit so I'm leaving the forks where they are. The new place is about an hour and a half away from the race track I did a lot of laps on in the past - Atlantic Motorsport Park. Maybe the VFR and I will get a few laps in there one day. Cheers, Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty7Fifty Posted July 25, 2016 Author Share Posted July 25, 2016 2 additional notes I forgot to mention in the previous post: - the factory 3rd gen spring is a little longer than the Zx spring, so you won't need to tighten the preload nearly as much to achieve the correct sag... I'm not home now but I believe I'm only around 15% down on the threads. - I was interested to see if there was any wear on the shock eyes or on the shock mounts on the bike, or anywhere on the frame, due to the modifications made to the shock. In particular, I was curious how the hardened metals held up after filing. I did anticipate seeing some minor "friction marks" here and there, especially on the shock eyes. But I'm happy to inform you that to my surprise, after 2000 miles everything looked EXACTLY like the day I installed it. There was not a single groove, scratch, wear mark or anything. The integrity of all the modified parts was flawless. Absolutely no contact on the frame or swingarm as well. Nifty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y282 Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 To agree with what Nifty said and offer a little more data, I've ridden mine a couple of times now (electrical gremlins getting in the way) and I'm currently 180lbs. I've found the back to be vastly improved, so much so that my forks now let the team down a bit. I'm on an 87 dogbone and forks are through about 40mm+ As an aside, my reg rec is too hot to touch after running the bike for a few mins, is that normal on these? I've since relocated the starter solenoid behind the battery and opened up some air flow around this area, I'll dig the pics out if anyone is interested. Anyway, final stance pics with all parts refitted... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyRedRC46 Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Time to upgrade the RR to a Shindengen SH847 or FH020 from www.roadstercycle.com The oem RR's do normally get very hot and that is why they do not seem to last as long as modern mosfet and brand new series regulator/rectifiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty7Fifty Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 Just checkin in. . . Awesome riding weather here in the NorthEast lately. I'm really diggin the way it handles with the red spring now. I'm set about halfway on the "comp", a tad tighter on the rebound. Rides beautiful, great handling, perfect blend of stiffness and damping! Cheers! Nifty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slovcan Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 10 hours ago, Nifty7Fifty said: Just checkin in. . . Awesome riding weather here in the NorthEast lately. I'm really diggin the way it handles with the red spring now. I'm set about halfway on the "comp", a tad tighter on the rebound. Rides beautiful, great handling, perfect blend of stiffness and damping! Cheers! Nifty Great feedback, Nifty! Thanks. I'm like you and then some - well north of 215 lbs in gear. We're getting ready for a cross country move, so no more wrenching on the bikes until next winter. Then it gets the ZX-14 shock, '86 dogbone and original spring. That will raise the rear a bit so I'm leaving the forks where they are. The new place is about an hour and a half away from the race track I did a lot of laps on in the past - Atlantic Motorsport Park. Maybe the VFR and I will get a few laps in there one day. Cheers, Glenn Good morning Nifty, Thanks for the update. With the work you've put into the research and testing, this has now become a proven bolt-on mod right down to the base settings (at least for bigger guys like us). We have arrived in the Northeast. Our leaves are just starting to change colour now. It will be spectacular. The garage isn't quite finished and we're only half unpacked, so no bike work until mid- to late-winter. But, look out in the spring! Cheers, Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty7Fifty Posted October 19, 2016 Author Share Posted October 19, 2016 On 9/22/2016 at 7:41 AM, slovcan said: Good morning Nifty, Thanks for the update. With the work you've put into the research and testing, this has now become a proven bolt-on mod right down to the base settings (at least for bigger guys like us). We have arrived in the Northeast. Our leaves are just starting to change colour now. It will be spectacular. The garage isn't quite finished and we're only half unpacked, so no bike work until mid- to late-winter. But, look out in the spring! Cheers, Glenn Hey Glenn just checking in here... Congrats on the move and hope you're settled in good now! Can't wait to hear your report after doing the mod. Still all good, in fact, everyone who takes it for a spin comments on how nice she rides! I took my buddy's 2014 Ninja 650 out for 3 hours last Friday, and I couldn't wait to get back on my VFR. I feel so confident with the rear suspension at this point, that I wouldn't swap it out for anything else, regardless of price or whatever. Like Y282 mentioned though, you start to really notice the weakness of the stock front end... I serviced my forks to factory specs awhile back, just to freshen them up. They're ok for now, I'll probably do a front end swap at some point in the future. Ride safe bro !! Nifty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slovcan Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 On 10/19/2016 at 0:01 AM, Nifty7Fifty said: Hey Glenn just checking in here... Congrats on the move and hope you're settled in good now! Can't wait to hear your report after doing the mod. Still all good, in fact, everyone who takes it for a spin comments on how nice she rides! I took my buddy's 2014 Ninja 650 out for 3 hours last Friday, and I couldn't wait to get back on my VFR. I feel so confident with the rear suspension at this point, that I wouldn't swap it out for anything else, regardless of price or whatever. Like Y282 mentioned though, you start to really notice the weakness of the stock front end... I serviced my forks to factory specs awhile back, just to freshen them up. They're ok for now, I'll probably do a front end swap at some point in the future. Ride safe bro !! Nifty Hey, thanks Nifty. It's going to take a while longer to get settled in! We've been doing a lot of work here - first up was a new garage and then some interior work for the missus. I did find time for a few short rides, though, on both the VFR and the Trophy. Have to start watching out for the leaves now, as beautiful as they are to look at! I do know what you mean about the front end. I feel it now, and expect it to be accentuated with the new rear shock. I think we really need a fork brace on these things, too. I'll deal with that later. Cheers, Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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