*** Show us your bikes! ***

Might take a few attempts, might even be worth rubbing some in then leaving a blob of the compound on the cracks over night then rub down in the morning, that's worked quite well for some deeper scratches on my car before.

Ahh cool, where can I buy rubbing compound from? Someone told me toothpaste and the like will do it? Is this true?
 
No you just need the suspension setting up for your weight / riding style, more reputable places will do it for £40-50 and will do minor adjustements after for free.

And yea I know the wheels are filthy, but I bought them like that honest :D once the bike is up and running the whole thing is going to be repainted anyway!

Hehe for sure!

Hm suspension yeah, whatever I sit on next I'll have to do that, I weight less than a bag of sugar so probably outside the 'average'. One thing comes to mind though - regarding messing with suspension - is what a guy who used to work at Triumph (the bikes) said to me: (paraphrasing)

"The manufacturer spends years developing the bike and the suspension setup, it's a bad thing to go altering that, even at tuning places/garages".

Thoughts? I can see where he's coming from, but also understand that we all weigh different amounts and ride differently, much like we do with the motor cars.
 
Load of rubbish to be fair, how do they know what the average weight is, you can get 7 stone girls to 20+ stone men riding the same type bike and that weight is going to have a massive effect on how the suspension works, if they dont want us changing it then why give us all the options :p im worried someone like that is giving out advice about bikes lol :o

Best thing I ever did on my old bike was get the suspension setup, one of the big problems I was having was halfway through a track session my suspension would feel different and it was because I was overheating the shock, something I would have no idea about untill getting expert advice.
 
I had the front springs , valves and shims changed out on my front Ohlins to Ktech and a heavier rear spring fitted.

Then the bike was setup properly for me and my riding style. The difference was night and day to be honest. The best money I ever spent on the bike. I prefer proper performance mods to stick on tat :D;)
 
Load of rubbish to be fair, how do they know what the average weight is, you can get 7 stone girls to 20+ stone men riding the same type bike and that weight is going to have a massive effect on how the suspension works, if they dont want us changing it then why give us all the options :p im worried someone like that is giving out advice about bikes lol :o

Best thing I ever did on my old bike was get the suspension setup, one of the big problems I was having was halfway through a track session my suspension would feel different and it was because I was overheating the shock, something I would have no idea about untill getting expert advice.

Yah, is pretty much my thinking on the matter. Though my brain hadn't twigged on the "why make them adjustable" bit!
 
Already posted in t'other thread, but what the hell :D

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Got this in the post today :D . Have copied this post from another forum (RSVzone)

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Nice welds!

Not fitted it yet but I have to say this is an excellent service from redratbike.. I sent him a PM Wednesday night and the exhaust is in my hands Friday lunch time :) . Cost was £75 (inc postage) + £30 deposit for my existing exhaust.

Will keep this thread updated with results and a couple of fitting photos etc :) . I did a dry run removing the existing exhaust and it was a doddle - take fairing+bellypan off, undo end can and link pipe, loosen (not even remove) front header pipe nuts (3 of them, taking radiator fans off made this easier) and wiggle it out! All done in 30mins if you're quick.

Now... can get 57mm throttle bodies, eprom, with all connectors etc for £220... worth it? Got PC3, open airbox and race can already plus this mod. I can afford it... but is it value for money? I'm finding it hard to resist! :o .
 
Got the SRAD calipers all rebuild and put onto the forks!

Hmm, didn't know the SRAD calipers bolted straight on - I know the later GSXR calipers can be used with an adapter bracket. Interesting!

One thing comes to mind though - regarding messing with suspension - is what a guy who used to work at Triumph (the bikes) said to me: (paraphrasing)

"The manufacturer spends years developing the bike and the suspension setup, it's a bad thing to go altering that, even at tuning places/garages".

Thoughts? I can see where he's coming from, but also understand that we all weigh different amounts and ride differently, much like we do with the motor cars.

I tend to find the people that say that kind of thing actually mean "I don't have the skill or knowledge to modify and set up a suspension system, so you can't possibly do it either"

In the case of entry level bikes like the SV, the manufacturer invests a lot of time and expertise in to engineering the last 1/10th of a penny out of the components, whilst still making them perform well enough for the intended market (i.e. first big bike, most riders won't have anything to compare it with). The fact is that the suspension system on the SV is cheap and nasty, and has enormous scope for improvement.

I fitted a virtually new ZZR1400 shock onto my K5 a couple of weeks back, rebuilt the forks with much stiffer springs and cartridge emulators and spent a good couple of hours setting up the preloads and damping. It has transformed the bike, no more diving to the end of the forks under braking, and the rear end now feels absolutely planted. I probably saw a greater improvement than most as I'm a bit on the err..chunky side, the stock springs are probably not too bad for a max of 10-11 stone but the damping is still poor.

Curvy SV owners are lucky, the Racetech emulator clones from Debrix fit perfectly into the damper tube, and are a small fraction of the price of the Racetech items. They can also be fitted into the pointy forks, but you need to get some bushes turned up to keep the valves centered - I made my own, but even if you have to get a local machine shop to make them you'd still save money over the Racetech emulators.

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Never realised there was a bike forum on here, anyway I moved this 2004 ZX-10R on on a few weeks ago (had it from new) -->

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To be replaced by this one as primarily a track bike -->

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And this one as my street bike - still running it in (it will get tracked next year!) -->

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Nice looking bikes there dude!

You got any worked planned on the GSX-R to make it more track orientated?

Yeah - spot the difference :D

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And, I also fitted braided ss lines over the weekend, fitted an easily removable rack to help carry a 20lt jerry can (I usually ride to the track ...) !! Got stomp grip ready to fit, got me some AP racing pads (I found they were the best for the 10R). I have a cheap beat up race fairing and spare tank for next year when I am looking to get a van as I collect more gear .. and the HD Hero GoPro camera so I can re-live my experience :p Will trawl the bay for some tyre warmers too over the winter.

I will try it on stock suspension internals first before looking at that aspect but k-tech do a good job for about £600 front & rear ...
 
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