Jump to content

Nifty7Fifty

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    91

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

Nifty7Fifty last won the day on January 19 2017

Nifty7Fifty had the most liked content!

1 Follower

Profile Information

  • Location
    Philadelphia, PA 'Murica
  • In My Garage:
    1990 RC36 GLT

Recent Profile Visitors

4,177 profile views

Nifty7Fifty's Achievements

Apprentice

Apprentice (3/14)

  • First Post
  • Collaborator
  • Conversation Starter
  • Week One Done
  • One Month Later

Recent Badges

75

Reputation

  1. Nifty7Fifty
    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
  2. Nifty7Fifty
    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
  3. Nifty7Fifty
    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
  4. Nifty7Fifty
    . . . 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
  5. Nifty7Fifty
    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
  6. Nifty7Fifty
    Hello Manny, Welcome to the party Bro !!
  7. Nifty7Fifty
    It's been a minute, had to check my notes... I believe my comp setting is now 1.25 turns out from hardest setting, and rebound is 1 turn out from hardest. In the initial testing I was 1.25 turns out from softest (I was reading the "H - S" backwards) . I'll double-check the bike to confirm and get back to you. The thing to look out for with the 86' link is if the shock spring contacts the swing arm when fully assembled. 20mm shorter is the max that I can confirm proper (no contact) operation, so the slightly shorter 86' link may bring the shock in a hair too much. If there is slight contact, it may be fine, because when you mount the bike the shock will move away from the swing arm, and you may even be able to file the swingarm slightly... But this is all speculation on my part, it may be fine. Just gotta try it and see how she lines up...
  8. Nifty7Fifty
    First time back here in awhile! Awesome work Y282 !!! Your welded dogbone looks perfect ! Glad to see you are testing the 86' dogbone too, I know it's gonna be a real close hit or miss, I haven't had the time to test it... been busy with family, work, and other projects (check me out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Glory2America) The new hole on my modded dogbone is exactly 20mm center-to-center from the original hole. IIRC the 86' equates to 22mm? I had all those measurements posted in detail but I see all my pics are missing from this thread?? bummer. I would suggest drilling the new hole 18mm C2C though, if you haven't already done so... I believe 17 - 18mm could be perfect for the ZX14 shock. Here's an update: I have 700 miles on the shock now and it's functioning extremely well and predictable. One thing I figured out, was that I was reading the compression and rebound settings backwards!! So, in my "Test Run" videos, the shock was actually set very soft but it still looked and felt great. I now have the settings right and it's much tighter. I'm 215 lbs. naked, and it handles my weight superbly... My 160 lb. buddy takes it out often and he loves the way it handles too (He keeps begging me to trade him for his mint 2009 Ninja 500R, lol)
  9. Nifty7Fifty
    Possible alternative to modding the dogbone. . . swap in a 1986 - 87' VFR700/750 dogbone. They are nearly identical, except for the length. The 86' is actually a better build quality. The 1987's on up look like the RC36-1 pictured. The style change was for weight saving only, the dimensions are the same for 86' to 87'.
  10. Nifty7Fifty
    This is AWESOME !!! Nice addition Chris !! This allows the mod to keep it's prestigious "ultra-budget-friendly" status, while now providing an extra option for heavier riders, or those who want to retain the factory spring rate. It's amazing what can happen when we stop blowing smoke and start working, lol. Thank you for sharing your results in detail. I would say you still need to mod the bone to correct the height, seeing how tall you are, and yes that will most def correct the kickstand as well. I'm working on another option for those who don't want to mod the link. Thanks to you, I'm really intrigued about using the factory spring, so I ordered another ZX shock to play around with. Will update soon with some new info!
  11. Nifty7Fifty
    Trace the red wire back to the other end (where it comes from). The connection on that end may be corroded or loose. The red wire could also be grounding out on something, check the length of it carefully for any cuts or anything it might be pinched on (frame, motor, etc.).
  12. Nifty7Fifty
    Hey guys, just now reading this post. A general "rule of thumb" that will get you in the ballpark: 10mm = 1 inch. These are my notes and the numbers I got from doing the mod. The new holes on my link are exactly 20mm from the original hole, center to center. This gave me a minimum of 50mm rear lift with the original 1990 VFR750 factory shock set to medium preload. When I increased the preload to "high" setting, I believe it raised me up an additional 10mm, although I did not measure it at full preload, but I'm guessing around 10mm extra based on how much higher I was in the saddle. So you're looking at 50 - 60mm of total rear lift with a 20mm shorter link. For those wanting to do this, I would suggest drilling your new hole 17mm C2C. I believe that will give you the best possible performance characteristics and the best angle for future suspension options. Use a drill press and take your time, it's easy to drill matching holes. Don't use a hand drill, Do this on a drill press. Also, Do not go more than 20mm. 20mm is the max that you can shorten the bone while still retaining the factory triangle, any shorter will require a custom triangle link. I'll try to post a video or some pics for those who want to see a step-by-step as I'll be doing another modded dogbone soon. I'm also gonna be testing some custom triangle setups and additional dogbone mods, if you're interested. Nifty
  13. Nifty7Fifty
    Hey Chris, sorry I missed this yesterday. .. a spring compressor would make it quick & easy, but I used my shop press: Arbor plates to seat the base of the spring, the spring over-hangs enough to get a good purchase on the plates: ...from here you can access the bolt directly or you can shim the base to hold it up so you can take it out of the press and disassemble it on the workbench: *** Not for the feint of heart. I recommend getting a good spring compressor, most auto stores loan them out for free or small fee. .
  14. Nifty7Fifty
    7.75" length. . . Double-checked from multiple points, spring is perfectly strait. .
  15. Nifty7Fifty
    You got me curious about swapping springs so I just went out in the garage and disassembled my original VFR shock. Here's the measurements: Looks like the base is approx 2mm wider than the top of spring, and definitely within that range you were looking for. What do you think? .
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.

  I accept