ShipFixer

Absolutely agree. But they did just surprise everyone with the CBR 1000RR-R, and the mid cycle update on the Africa Twin seems tilted against its competitors the right way. Fingers crossed for what I want, but I suspect it will be very vanilla.

If it turned out to be similar to a KTM Adventure 890 R…

Next mountain bike...about 40% complete. 2021 Specialized Enduro, stretched to 180mm travel at both ends. Big wheel downhill trail smasher. 😎

All this Googling... 😆

So my headers almost wrecked someone else's bike last night... 😂 I was following two sport bikes from a left turn lane into an entrance ramp, from 50 yards or so. With the headers and Delkevics, when VTEC kicks in the bike goes from a V-8 rumble to a shrieking V-4 race bike sound. When it switched on one of the riders (clearly now a beginner) did a big, swerving-S panic stop with no idea what was going on... 🤦‍♂️

You're not gonna want to hear this, but color rite if you want it to match closely. It's really high quality too, hence the cost. I went through many cans restoring my "no longer available" plastic parts and it is a very good match against new R157 plastic parts I pulled right out of boxes last year. One can of primer, base, and clear should do a side fairing. Two cans of color and clear to do plenty more. Compare that to the cost of Chinese fairings...

Almost learned a hard lesson...reservoir and banjo bolt need to be rotated out of the way of the rear wheel's travel. But I sure do like the feel of this shock. Damping has tons of effective adjustment and it's great to have progressive springs at both ends again. Only took three or four runs to get it 90% dialed in 😁

Installed the shock and set sag tonight, will start test riding and dialing in damping tomorrow! I was a little concerned when I saw the Hyperpro has a shorter reservoir hose than my WP shock, but it turns out it also comes with a nifty custom made bracket to tuck it in just behind the left passenger foot peg bracket. Frees up under saddle space I was using for the old reservoir among other things. Really happy with how it looks, can't wait to try it out!

All true. At the same time, it takes a lot to get to the case where the auto oil = clutch slip. We used to have a diesel test engineer on the board who explained all of this very well. He would also add here that he goes for a low ratio between viscosities so it reduces the dependency on the VI modifiers...I.e. lower ratio will retain viscosity longer.

😁

...is on its way to me from EPM Performance 😁 My WP three way is due for service and "could be" done, but is long out of production. Plus I've missed having a progressive spring on the rear shock to match my fork. I had a 5th gen Hyperpro spring on my OEM shock for years (about a quarter inch too long but worked out for my rider weight), and I've always wanted that spring plus a really good shock. So next week its gonna happen!

Not usually, but even with earplugs the standard baffles were too loud. With the quieter baffles, I can ride without earplugs regularly no problem. They probably do give the 3-5 dB reduction advertised. My bike also has the straight pipe VFRD headers, and I pass hearing tests with flying colors. Those two things probably make a difference. No idea what other people hear on their bikes, but after the header/Delkevic install I was constantly checking for exhaust leaks at the flanges. I hear a whole lot of "inside the engine" noises now at idle. If I step off the bike and back up 3-4 feet, I just hear the V-8ish rumble so I assume that's what everyone around me hears.

I wish I had Staintunes! That being said, the Delkevics *with* the "quieter baffles" you can buy separately are probably the best option available in 2021 and not really expensive. I couldn't hear myself think with the stock baffles after 20 minutes and can't imagine running them without any baffle at all. I have the open 8" versions...the DS 9" look like Staintune clones to me. Delkevic and the internet both say they sound about the same. I wouldn't trade Staintunes for Delkevics. But FWIW the Delkevics sound pretty good and at least look different. From six feet away the VFR sounds like a big V-8 now. Sitting on top of it, the bike sounds "wide open" so I hear a lot of valve noise and all the other things on top of the rumble at idle. It roars above 6K RPM in a good way. At speed the sound is way behind me and pretty quiet. I have noticed that when out in the woods like a national park, cars now stay away from me, both ahead and behind. So...there's that...

I thought I might have a failing CCT. I got a louder exhaust and the noise went away 🙃