Peto

Wow. Lots of progress.

Real fine work on the switch wiring.

I would ditch the blue ignition wires and go for plain black ones. The oil lines/fittings look great.

Overall, the bike looks fantastic so far.

You're moving or an investment house?

Good stuff BLS.

You need to have complete confidence in your machine, so you can work on the confidence within.

:blink:

well said.

Wow. You are one talented guy. Really nice work.

Good topic.

I tend to push it more when riding with others as I am sure most of us do. I have ridden with at least 20 VFRD members. You know what? I don't know a single one of your last names (except Seebacher(sp?)) or your addresses or whom to contact...

It sucks to think about, but we all know, in an instant any one of us can be incommunicado. Then everyone else is standing around looking at each other like a bunch of dopes.

I have the cell phone "ICE" thing going, but I may add one of those zipper card things to my equipment...

Hope the rider pulls through...

First time I have seen this topic. I don't even know what to say.... good freakin' job. :biggrin:

'99 offset pins.

wow, that bike is hurt. I hope it's rider faired better. Looks like you will need all that extra time you have on your hands to rebuild that thing.

Some sweet looking forks though.

...and so the justification has begun. Classic.

SC VFR :mad: wife/gf

But honey, my love, you just don't understand. This is an investment. You see, due to the increased horsepower, I will only have to use the throttle a little bit, just a fraction of what I was doing before. And, therefore my gas mileage should increase significantly, wear and tear on the intricate cables and stuff should also decrease dramatically too. You understand, right? This will save us a ton of money in the long run. Just think honey, after a few years the kit will pay for itself. After that, its all gravy. We can finally go on that trip you always wanted with all the extra money... ... ... ... :biggrin:

I think I just stumbled on the reason I am single.

Now, I am REALLY confused.

I just spoke with Rich Desmond (awesome guy btw). He seems very smart and really experienced. Right off the top of his head he knew everything.

Me, 155lbs. on the VFR. He actually laughed when I said .80s. He said no way. On the Heavy VFR @ 155 lbs I want .90s. No question. He said he had .85 on one of his 450 pound bikes and that he is 160lbs. that bike doesnt have as much weight on the front end as the VFR either. He said the bike is perfect with that. I should not get anything but .90s to upgrade the undersprung front end.

I said what about the back end? I said Elka is putting on an 850# spring. I said, but what about the geometry change with the .90s? Its 21% front and 0% rear. He said you are on the right track , BUT the geometry will be much closer to balanced with this setup. :huh: :blush:

Rich said you must understand the manufaturer goes light in the front and stiff in the back. They have to beacuse they cannot let the bike sit real low with luggage and a passenger. The passenger sits directly over the shock and compresses a lot. That is how they design the bike at the factory - its a big compromise. He said if its just me @155lbs. on the bike, the rear spring stock rate sounds about right, and that Elka definitely knows what they are doing.

:mellow:

I spoke to Elka and also have an outstanding call to Rich Desmond at Sonic Springs.

Elka is putting on an 850# shock. I protested, due to the geometry change when I redo the front end. I told him the lightest springs I can get are Racetech .80 (Sonic doesn't even sell below .85). I explained this is an 8% increase and the rear @850# will be 0%, whereas a 900# rear will be about 6% increase and keep the geometry relatively the same. They told me they would discuss it with their R&D engineers and get back to me. They just called me back. Here is the deal.

They said the 850# is for sure what I want. The 900# is way too stiff for me and my ride will suffer - the static and dynamic sag won't be right. They said that the first inch of suspension travel is very important as it prevents losing traction when I'm flogging in the twisties. They said if I go with the .80s and the 900#, the bike will likely washout the front or rear as opposed to loading up the suspenion/tires.

I said what about the front? Then they asked me an interesting question. Why am I changing the front springs? The .74 is appropriate for me on this bike. I told them my stuff is 10 years old and needs to be replaced. Their response was I could get new factory springs, and bushings, and seals, and fresh oil. Then, if I wanted, I could get emulators.....

I really hope this isn't a expensive mistake. I don't know enough about suspension.... What do you guys think?

Dusted off an old thread.

I have been reading a few topics on spring rates and I could use some advise. I just ordered an Elka 3-way from a recent group buy. They are building it for me now. Obviously, my untouched 10 year old front end needs to be redone. I weigh about 155 lbs.

I have been reading the charts on Racetech's webpage.

I think I want the .85 springs. .85/.74 = 14.9% increase over stock.

If I do nothing, I am afraid Elka is going to give me a 850lb (stock) or 900 lb shock. I think I should call Elka and specify a 950 lb shock, because 950/850 = 11.8% increase over stock. Which is closer to a balanced bike.

What do you guys think?

The Racetech page says the exact opposite. They recommend 0.89 in the front and a 14.58 kg in the rear (15.3kg is stock) this is a big increase in the front and a decrease in the back...

Am I missing something here?

The 954 spring is stiffer than the VFR/929 spring, yes?

Nope. The 954 spring is softer. See post #4.