fallzboater

Isn't a tensioner required if the swingarm pivot and countershaft sprockets aren't on the same axis, anyway? With any kind of power, it seems like you couldn't allow much variation in belt tension due to swingarm movement. I suppose you might get away with it if the countershaft sprocket is quite close to the swingarm pivot, and in line with the swingarm near the center of travel. Even with my Hawk GT, when I added a longer rear shock, I also added a chain roller under swingarm pivot to help with the changes in chain tension due to the relatively higher pivot location. If your drawing is accurate, it'd be really easy to determine the change in distance between the sprockets through the range of travel by just drawing an arc. Have you done that? Weren't there some early reports of belt problems with the new Buell 1125? What was that about? Wider belt needed? :idea3: You could just buy a Buell. Better bike, anyway. :P

My front brake mc (Brembo) has an integrated bleeder, but I have the bleeder banjos on both my clutch mc and slave. Anywhere that the banjo is at a high point, it makes things really easy. Mine, along with my custom-length lines, are from Galfer. These are not the same as speed-bleeders, which have a check valve. I suppose you might be able to use a speed-bleeder with a bleeder bango, but I use a Mity-Vac for a dry system, then the standard pump-and-turn method to finish off, works fine.

But isn’t that what the suspension is supposed to do? The greatest load on the front end is hard braking; you should expect near or full compression under hard braking. Otherwise, what is that suspension travel for? You are not going to be creating a larger load via a bump in the road than you will be by braking. On the street, I don't think you should be too close to using the full travel just under braking (usually <1g max). Bump forces can be significantly higher than 1g. This can happen from the inertia of the bike in a g-out (dip), or hitting a bump that's near the height of the (remaining) suspension travel. Bottoming is not good for traction. On the track, the surface is usually quite smooth, so the bikes can be set up to use most of their front suspension travel under braking, or full cornering g's. You can definitely see this in pictures. Good damping is important, too. If you've got enough low-speed compression damping in the front (and rebound damping in the rear), your bike won't seem to dive on the brakes, even with fairly soft springs (and vice-versa for squat under acceleration). On the other hand, too much high-speed damping will make the bike feel harsh and is not good for traction. Most stock suspension is too soft on the low-speed, and too harsh on the high-speed (and the spring rates are whacked).

Nice sig art! :thumbsup: That'd be a great shirt design.

That's debateable. I think most would say that the stock boingers (especially up front) are too soft for aggressive riding for just about any rider weight. I think they were looking for a smooth ride for Japanese school-girls. I think most would agree that decent suspension and tires are by far the best upgrades. Do that before pipe, PC, any of that other foolishness.

One problem might be finding larger pistons that don't also give higher compression. If anything, you want to drop the compression ratio with forced induction, especially if you're not fitting an intercooler and you want to run pump gas. You might be able to do something with machining the piston tops or a thicker head gasket (not with gear-driven cams) or something.

My buddy applied Tool-Dip or something similar to the three clamps, works fine. I do use garden hose for rim protectors under the tire spoons. We put a couple of 2x4s down on the floor for the wheel to rest on when breaking the bead. He's got one of the No-Mar bars, which we've had some success with for getting tires off. We always end up using spoons for getting them back on.

Could keep the chain/sprocket from taking your fingers or toes off, in the event that they ended up down there in a crash. I've ended up with my feet in some odd locations in dirt-bike crashes, not so much on the street. I have taken it off on some bikes, left it on others. The last thing I would do is paint it or the chain guard a bright color, but that's just me. The brushed aluminum ones don't look so bad, but are probably not any more functional.

I thought I could get away with the CBT boots for dual-sporting as well, but after busting up my left ankle (hit a rock or stump sticking out of an embankment on a trail) and my right foot (dumped the bike on ice) I've been proven wrong. I've had good luck with boots off of eBay, advrider.com, or craigslist. Lots of times people will find a good deal online, and the fit doesn't work out right, so they'll drop the price again and resell. For $300 you could easily get both used high-end street and motoX boots in very good to new condition. I currently have some Gaerne road-race boots (bought new in box) and Frey Daytonas (used, but never crashed) for sport riding or the track, the CBTs which I've worn since '94, for street touring, and just bought some O'Neal Clutch MX boots, which I haven't been able to wear, yet. The Sidi Discovery boots are popular with the V-Strom and GS guys, but the protection probably isn't much better than the CBT boots. I firmly believe that any one boot that you buy will be severely compromised on either the sporty or dirt bikes, and the worst thing is probably to buy one boot that is compromised in both situations.

I would go more towards the soft side of Race Tech's recommendations, especially if you're not going to also replace the rear spring (or whole shock, ideally). Tracks are better graded/smoother than what a lot of us ride in the mountains. If you're not going to change your rear spring, or your roads aren't that great, I'd suggest you consider 0.85. In any case, I don't think you'd want to go stiffer than 0.90.

I didn't see the price on the Titax, but the mechanism does look identical to the Pazzos. Pazzos have also been called a cheaper copy of CRGs. Here's a group buy on the Pazzos, $160 shipped w/ free custom engraving inside the left lever. Better deal than I got a few months ago. Pashnit Pazzo GB The big question is always short vs. long. I have short on my Aprilia, which is great for the brake (two-finger), but not ideal for the heavy clutch on that bike (three or four-finger). The VFR clutch is a lot lighter, but for most people I'd probably still recommend long.

Anyone have shots of off-pavement VFR riding? I suppose snow would qualify. Found this one on ADVrider.

"Plate Flipper is intended for off road use only."

I replaced my old X8 with an X11 when Ridenow.com had them for $299 (Porto color only). I got a Large, and the chin pads felt too tight initially, but they've compressed to where they're just very snug (perfect). The vents, liner, and shield system are top-notch, but it is noisy. I've yet to use a helmet that didn't require ear plugs on a sportbike, though. The chin screen is helpful in cool weather, but you'll still need a Respro or Fog City to reduce fogging when it's cold.