A Motorcycle Thread About Absolutely Nothing!

purplecatty said:
Nice!! I should have this for my VL800!! It would make things easier than removing cover, jack up bike and use channellock plier to twist the setting whatever set to. With this shock, dial knob would be very convenience!!

Catty
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You'll have to check if Ohlins has shock for your bike or not. I'd also highly recommend to have your seat re-holstered and re-foamed by reputable small shop specializing in motorcycle seats. it's worth every single penny.

Ohlins + Front Shock (or rebuilt with better gold valves) + new seat = your favorite living room bum sofa :lol:

Big-name brands like Corbins, Russell, and Sargent are just too $$$$$ and I don't like both of it. SeatConcepts can do a better job for a fraction of the price! I can't wait to ship it out to SeatConcepts. I gotta find a box and packaging material ASAP! :mad2: Unfortunately for you, SeatConcepts don't fix seats for any bikes. It only specializes in dirt/dual-sport bikes and due to its rising popularity and high demand, it's slowly expanding to more and more models. You can email them and talk about it. If they're willing to give it a try, they'll ask for a "donation seat"... meaning you'll have to mail them your seat and they'll have to do many trials and errors with it. It may takes several weeks.
 
purplecatty said:
What's that metal canned crap sticking out of wire cable? Care to tell me what it is?

Catty
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I just tried to backtrack the photo link and it appears to be some computer enthusiast website. from what I see in the pix, it definitely looks like a relay chip :dunno:

but it's a sloppy job and that's definitely not what you'd want to do that in motorcycle :lol:
 
metalangel said:
A few years ago some passing drunk children decided it would be hilarious to kick my garage door really hard. It was bent out of shape and basically jammed shut against the frame.

Unfortunately for me, I was about to go off on vacation and, fearing someone might get into the garage by exploiting the damage, I did the only thing I could to secure it. I put my bike inside the kitchen while we were away.

Image368.jpg
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good thinking! but sux about these pissant drunks. I don't know if this is a good idea or not but I was thinking - have you considered reinforcing your garage with metal bar/plate from the inside so that it won't get bent out of shape and get jammed? that way - the front of garage will have some dent but at least it will have strong support and reinforcement from behind.
 
Jiro said:
You'll have to check if Ohlins has shock for your bike or not. I'd also highly recommend to have your seat re-holstered and re-foamed by reputable small shop specializing in motorcycle seats. it's worth every single penny.

Ohlins + Front Shock (or rebuilt with better gold valves) + new seat = your favorite living room bum sofa :lol:

Big-name brands like Corbins, Russell, and Sargent are just too $$$$$ and I don't like both of it. SeatConcepts can do a better job for a fraction of the price! I can't wait to ship it out to SeatConcepts. I gotta find a box and packaging material ASAP! :mad2:
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I never understood getting Corbins or Sargents either. At $300+ a pop... honestly, a local upholstery shop should be able to do that for 1/3 of the cost. They can even play around with various foams to suit your needs. My wife does all my seats herself. I'm not too fickle as the SV doesn't even have seats. Just a 1/4 inch layer of black weatherproofing foam glued to the plastics. Talk about a hard seat. My leathers have more padding in the butt. Lol.

I noticed you pimping the Ohlins. You know... Ohlins are the best bar none but it's a waste of money for the everyday rider. You (not you per se but people in general) will never experience pushing the bike beyond it's stock setup on the street. I ride track and even there... I'm not skilled enough to push them beyond. They are truly a great shock... just... overhyped and overpriced for the everyday rider. Penske seems to be the choice for trackday riders. I have Ohlins on the GSXR750 but I'm running stock on the litre.
 
purplecatty said:
I never thought that steering bearing would wears out quickly on your bike. Looks like there are alot of stress point on bearing. It seem that factory cuts corner by installing cheap bearings.
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probably! :mad2:

purplecatty said:
Does your bike use "beveled" bearing (just like on car wheel spindle) or just "straight" bearing?? Most common is beveled bearings for heavy duty usage.. My VL800 have no issue with bearing because it's heavy duty, it's a heavy bike so they knew that Rider would not like it if bearing wears out on them.
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:hmm: I....... have no idea :lol: but I'll show you what I'm going to buy - 22-1024 All Balls Racing

does it answer your question???

purplecatty said:
As your bro tells you to stop spending. Hey it's your bike and tell him shut the H3ll up cuz he's jealous :mad2: Tell him that you're young and have long ways from retirements.

I do spend some $$'s on my bike and do some modification. I do wish that I have $2,000 to spend to serenade my bike with nice accessories :lol:

Catty

Catty
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I'll let you tell him that in person :lol:
 
NitroHonda said:
I agree but I generally avoid group rides for the most part. I'll ride with a friend or two but groups of sportbike riders? Absolutely not. As for partcipating in forums... sure. I'm a member of wforiders.com and motohouston.com and highperformancecrew.com but... they are... let's just say very harsh folks. I get along with them just fine since I'm a grump but it is certainly challenging.
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:wave: welcome NitroHonda!

yea I can see about these sport bikers being toughie because well.... generally, they're cocky and arrogant when it comes to fast bikes :lol:

and you're definitely right not to ride in group especially with sport bikes. it's just asking for disaster at ANY time. in my 3 years of riding, I've passed thru too many sportbike-related accidents. the last one I saw was a few weeks ago in Connecticut on I-95. It was in news. 3 sportbikes crashed into each other because of a pick-up truck in front got a tire blowout. This was possibly and easily preventable if they had ample amount of space in between.

I see that you have been riding for 15 years and have lot of experience in racing. I just recently completed TOTAL ARC course so I can do cornering proficiently and faster. I haven't gone to track yet to hone my skill. Any advice from you about this is greatly welcomed!

I'm not too big on "crotch rocket" type. I'm more of dual-sport type and prefer upright-position because of my back and for comfort reason. and also I'm the adventurer type so I like to take it easy and at same time - tackling corner at fast speed :)

But I'd definitely would love to give sportbike a try! I've ridden Ninja 250 for my friend and it was :ugh2: I guess I've been spoiled with dual sport suspension setting :lol:
 
Jiro said:
:wave: welcome NitroHonda!

yea I can see about these sport bikers being toughie because well.... generally, they're cocky and arrogant when it comes to fast bikes :lol:

and you're definitely right not to ride in group especially with sport bikes. it's just asking for disaster at ANY time. in my 3 years of riding, I've passed thru too many sportbike-related accidents. the last one I saw was a few weeks ago in Connecticut on I-95. It was in news. 3 sportbikes crashed into each other because of a pick-up truck in front got a tire blowout. This was possibly and easily preventable if they had ample amount of space in between.

I see that you have been riding for 15 years and have lot of experience in racing. I just recently completed TOTAL ARC course so I can do cornering proficiently and faster. I haven't gone to track yet to hone my skill. Any advice from you about this is greatly welcomed!

I'm not too big on "crotch rocket" type. I'm more of dual-sport type and prefer upright-position because of my back and for comfort reason. and also I'm the adventurer type so I like to take it easy and at same time - tackling corner at fast speed :)

But I'd definitely would love to give sportbike a try! I've ridden Ninja 250 for my friend and it was :ugh2: I guess I've been spoiled with dual sport suspension setting :lol:
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I would definitely be happy to point you in the right direction. You should try a motard and throw some slicks on there. Man... those are by far the most fun bikes of them all. I do not own one right now but I definitely have plans for one one day.

I have shoulder issues so I actually prefer to ride the Sport-tourers such as the Bandit 1200 or ZRX 1200. I owned both of these in the past. It's just that I have really elevated my adrenaline for racing and... sigh... racing motorcycles is crazy expensive when you factor in all the track time you have to buy. It gets expensive!! Soo... it's all sport for me right now. I'd like to get a CanAm and take the wife out on a cross country trip in the next year or two.

Yeah,I used to ride in them all the time... super fast and crazy even... then... it happened. Somebody I knew passed away in a group ride that I participated in about 6-7 years ago. RIP COACHDAVE!!! I have been in one group ride since then... and I was the only sportbiker. Everybody else was thumping Harleys. Good times. Lol.
 
Jiro said:
good thinking! but sux about these pissant drunks. I don't know if this is a good idea or not but I was thinking - have you considered reinforcing your garage with metal bar/plate from the inside so that it won't get bent out of shape and get jammed? that way - the front of garage will have some dent but at least it will have strong support and reinforcement from behind.
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They kicked it hard in the bottom left corner, which managed to knock the door PAST the metal plate designed to hold it in place when closed. This also resulted in the metal creasing where the little wheel that runs up the track is affixed (up and over door).

I've heard of people using scaffolding poles and stuff to make the door impossible to open but that wouldn't have prevented the damage here. It wasn't so much an attempt to get in as just some kids who were drunk and bored.

Since then I've got old lengths of people I wedge in the door whenever it's closed so that if anyone manages to overcome the lock the door will still be very hard to force open. However, I haven't had any problems since apart from the usual graffiti, someone pulling a bunch of loose brickwork away and someone else putting their cigarette out into the lock. :dunno:
 
metalangel said:
They kicked it hard in the bottom left corner, which managed to knock the door PAST the metal plate designed to hold it in place when closed. This also resulted in the metal creasing where the little wheel that runs up the track is affixed (up and over door).

I've heard of people using scaffolding poles and stuff to make the door impossible to open but that wouldn't have prevented the damage here. It wasn't so much an attempt to get in as just some kids who were drunk and bored.

Since then I've got old lengths of people I wedge in the door whenever it's closed so that if anyone manages to overcome the lock the door will still be very hard to force open. However, I haven't had any problems since apart from the usual graffiti, someone pulling a bunch of loose brickwork away and someone else putting their cigarette out into the lock. :dunno:
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ugh.... those stupid people..... :mad2:

I hope your repair wasn't very expensive.....
 
purplecatty - I don't know if this answers your question about steering bearing.

I just ordered this -
F_POP_STEERING.jpg


I had that on my old bike and I love it. only $30 upgrade! it made my steering very very very smooth which enables me to do cornering with precision and smoothness. right now - my steering is busted and clicky so it makes me nervous whenever I do cornering. my bike doesn't response very well and smoothly. My bike moves wavy and it's bit hard to steer :Ohno:

I'm still ordering more parts.... I'll post more info later.
 
Jiro said:
purplecatty - I don't know if this answers your question about steering bearing.

I just ordered this -
F_POP_STEERING.jpg


I had that on my old bike and I love it. only $30 upgrade! it made my steering very very very smooth which enables me to do cornering with precision and smoothness. right now - my steering is busted and clicky so it makes me nervous whenever I do cornering. my bike doesn't response very well and smoothly. My bike moves wavy and it's bit hard to steer :Ohno:

I'm still ordering more parts.... I'll post more info later.
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I am sure you already know this, but just thought it should be mentioned - you have to pack that bearing with grease first.
 
Steinhauer said:
I am sure you already know this, but just thought it should be mentioned - you have to pack that bearing with grease first.
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yup. my mechanic will do it for me. this is a hard job - about 3 hrs and requires a specialized BMW tool to do this. he uses avionic-grade grease. that's why my old bike with new bearing was awesome. super-smooth.

I do not know why BMW does not grease it sufficiently or use quality bearings :dunno: it's a major complaint among us. the grease BMW uses is so crappy that it becomes crusty or quickly worn off in like 12,000 miles and 20,000 miles for swingarm. its OEM showa shock and water pump will crap out at around 20,000 miles as well.

at least I'll be upgrading my bike with quality parts that's basically built for life along with lifetime warranty.
 
Jiro said:
yup. my mechanic will do it for me. this is a hard job - about 3 hrs and requires a specialized BMW tool to do this. he uses avionic-grade grease. that's why my old bike with new bearing was awesome. super-smooth.

I do not know why BMW does not grease it sufficiently or use quality bearings :dunno: it's a major complaint among us. the grease BMW uses is so crappy that it becomes crusty or quickly worn off in like 12,000 miles and 20,000 miles for swingarm. its OEM showa shock and water pump will crap out at around 20,000 miles as well.

at least I'll be upgrading my bike with quality parts that's basically built for life along with lifetime warranty.
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The only thing I can think of is perhaps during assembly they only lightly lube the bearing with grease. It has to be PACKED - cannot stress the importance of that enough. Too much is a good thing.

Also, no lint, tiny pebbles, sand, salt etc. It has to remain super clean. one grain of sand can tear up the whole bearing.

Meanwhile, on my end, I have to make a trip to Tampa to pick up a motor for one of my bikes.
 
whew..... I just finally finished exhausting research and ordering parts for major upgrades to be done this weekend so I can go on vacation next weekend to Amish country in PA.... I really need my solitude and peace for a couple days away from this civilization full of comical farce and nonsense :lol: because for the past couple months, I haven't really had any single break.

and now my July schedule is completely empty and I intend to keep it that way for this month so now I just wanna sit down, tend some cow/chicken/goat/whatever, and rock on a rocking chair all day long with my Kindle or learn how to knit a cloth or something. I'm glad to find a place exactly like that so I'm looking forward to it.

1. Handlebar (paid by previous owner since mine's bent)
2. Fork Seal Ring
3. Gasket Ring
4. RaceTech Gold Valve Fork Kit
5. Deka ETX15L AGM Battery
6. SuperSproxus Kit (Front & Rear Sprockets)
7. RK X-Ring Chain
8. Ohlins Rear Shock
9. SeatConcepts Seat
10. KTM Side Mirrors
11. DDMTuning HID Kit (completed)

now with all these upgrades.... my bike will soon be feeling like riding a Cadillac in NYC
 
Jiro said:
You'll have to check if Ohlins has shock for your bike or not. I'd also highly recommend to have your seat re-holstered and re-foamed by reputable small shop specializing in motorcycle seats. it's worth every single penny.

Ohlins + Front Shock (or rebuilt with better gold valves) + new seat = your favorite living room bum sofa :lol:

Big-name brands like Corbins, Russell, and Sargent are just too $$$$$ and I don't like both of it. SeatConcepts can do a better job for a fraction of the price! I can't wait to ship it out to SeatConcepts. I gotta find a box and packaging material ASAP! :mad2: Unfortunately for you, SeatConcepts don't fix seats for any bikes. It only specializes in dirt/dual-sport bikes and due to its rising popularity and high demand, it's slowly expanding to more and more models. You can email them and talk about it. If they're willing to give it a try, they'll ask for a "donation seat"... meaning you'll have to mail them your seat and they'll have to do many trials and errors with it. It may takes several weeks.
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Shock....

They do sell one for Cruisers. I've seen one that have knobs for it. They're expensive as well. Harley and many other Cruisers that have two rear shocks have tubes that rigs from shocks to pump to adjust via fingertip or use knob.

Those who have Monoshock on their bike, it's alot cheaper but shocks tend to be stronger and stiffer to compensate two shocks on other bike.


Some low riders cruiser have pump that lowers bike to ground without kickstanding it when engine shut off and when it's up and running, it raises bike to riding level (similiar to any low rider cars). I don't like it cuz if tube or pump fails, you'll end up grinding bike to pavement :eek2:

Seat...

Yes, It's true that you'll have to send your seat to have it re-upholstered. I found several of them in Ebay, Gel cushion and the seller say that you'll have to remove leather seat and add Gel cushion then staple it back on. There is one that already Gel cushion and cost more (it's equivalent to send and have it re-upholstered).

They already have it for all Cruiser bike some time ago. Many riders ride long trip and they don't want sore butts :lol:

As for back support, it cost $200 for it. I would want one for my bike, not that I have back problem, just that I wanted to re-position my butt during long trip for comfort :lol:

Catty
 
Jiro said:
I just tried to backtrack the photo link and it appears to be some computer enthusiast website. from what I see in the pix, it definitely looks like a relay chip :dunno:

but it's a sloppy job and that's definitely not what you'd want to do that in motorcycle :lol:
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Ah! Relay chip.

Make sense.

Catty
 
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