What did you do to your bike today?

[JeffH]

Seems nobody posting much here lately?


It has been a long - hot - humid summer so I've been passing the time by WHITTLING
Got a little carried away and just kept whittling. On the rotors. Started off with 13 lbs 8 oz hanging up front and got it whittled down to 4 lb 4 oz
A reduction of 9 pounds.

But now I got "NO BRAKES"

Have already cleaned calipers and pistons and installed new 'O' ring kits.
Got the shimming figured out today (came with 7mm spacer but needed 8.25mm spacer to get calipers more centered over the rotors).

XSSE is coming up in a few weeks so i will need brakes.
Plus some gentle slow n' easy brake applications for a few hundred miles to get the rotors set for use.
Got a new front master too since the old one was not reliable in the spooge arena.



those nifty running lights Kurt installed sure work great at night too.

Jeff

[kboehringer]

I hope Santa gives me a set of those...

XSSE is coming up in a few weeks so i will need brakes. . . . . . Plus some gentle slow n' easy brake applications for a few hundred miles to get the rotors set for use.
Jeff

WOW! Those are really COOL! I need some!!!!!

That weight reduction should be immediately noticeable on your first ride!

I'm gonna ask Santa for a full set of those!!!!!!!!

KURT

P.S. Please tell Santa/Nancy where to get them!

[IanDMacDonald]

Seems nobody posting much here lately?


It has been a long - hot - humid summer so I've been passing the time by WHITTLING
Got a little carried away and just kept whittling. On the rotors. Started off with 13 lbs 8 oz hanging up front and got it whittled down to 4 lb 4 oz
A reduction of 9 pounds.

But now I got "NO BRAKES"

Have already cleaned calipers and pistons and installed new 'O' ring kits.
Got the shimming figured out today (came with 7mm spacer but needed 8.25mm spacer to get calipers more centered over the rotors).

XSSE is coming up in a few weeks so i will need brakes.
Plus some gentle slow n' easy brake applications for a few hundred miles to get the rotors set for use.
Got a new front master too since the old one was not reliable in the spooge arena.



those nifty running lights Kurt installed sure work great at night too.

Jeff

I have those wave rotors on my XS. I love them, and I hate them. I'm using the R6 Blue pots on my bike (thus the bigger rotors). The combination of the rotors and blue pots make you think the bike will throw you over the handlebars if you grab too much lever!!! However, I don't have them aligned properly, so when I grab the front brake, it gives you the feeling that the rotors are warped, as it pulsated very bad. Aligning them properly is out of my skill-set, so I just use the rear brake, and the front brake sparingly.

[JeffH]

Curious, what size / brand front master are you running??

To work properly everything has to be very precise and balanced. If the calipers aren't say + - 1/4 mm within center of the rotor or they top & bottom not evenly aligned then they won't work right. As in pulsate or do other crazy things.

I've got 16mm oem replacement with the original calipers perfectly aligned so I'm not expecting any problems or issues at all with my setup.

Getting your system tweaked to stop the pulsating shouldn't be to big a deal. Pulsating is either from physical misalignment or the master & lines are holding constant equal pressure on the pistons. or a combo of both going on.

Jeff

[IanDMacDonald]

Curious, what size / brand front master are you running??

To work properly everything has to be very precise and balanced. If the calipers aren't say + - 1/4 mm within center of the rotor or they top & bottom not evenly aligned then they won't work right. As in pulsate or do other crazy things.

I've got 16mm oem replacement with the original calipers perfectly aligned so I'm not expecting any problems or issues at all with my setup.

Getting your system tweaked to stop the pulsating shouldn't be to big a deal. Pulsating is either from physical misalignment or the master & lines are holding constant equal pressure on the pistons. or a combo of both going on.

Jeff

Hey Jeff- I'm running a 14mm MC, which is a mistake in my opinion. I think I should go back up to the original MC. I first switched to S/S lines with original brake components. Upon recommendation of Phil, I went down to a 14mm MC, which helped with the linear feel. But, going to the blue spots, there is too much travel in the lever. But, since it does not take much front brake to stop the bike, I have not messed with it.

Yes, dedinitely an alignment issue.

[JeffH]

That 14mm front master size should be perfect. If you had an 11mm master that would be more tricky & problematic to set up correctly. BUT, more that likely your issue is with the calipers, alignment of the calipers, engagement of the pistons or the bleeding of the calipers. Seems very likely if you went back to the original stock master that the front brakes still wouldn't work correctly. Maybe mask the pulsing but still not engaging all four pads in each blue dot caliper. My guess would be that issue is blue dot related.

Jeff

[CoreyF]

keeping the oil inside

It's been said an old motorcycle that leaks oil can be fixed for about $10,000.
Today I'm changing out the two oil galley o rings and the shift seal.

[Bigfoot]

Nothing to the bike but I did turn

this


into this



Some added weight, but I feel much better about it now.

[Wildkat]

That looks really nice, Harry!
I'm guessing you haven't had a chance to give it a decent trial yet.
I'm interested to see how well it handles.

Nice!!

[Bigfoot]

Thanks Kat,

I towed it around for 10 miles or so around town just to see how it handles. Felt good. A little bouncy on bumps with nothing loaded on it. Have not had it up to freeway speeds yet but i don't anticipate any problems. Will load a couple bikes on it this weekend and tow it around to make sure it is ready for the trip to North Carolina next week.

[MaximPhil]

Hi Harry,
Looks very nice. Fit for purpose. I would say you transformed the old trailer. looking forward to seeing you and your new trailer at IH.
Phil

[Wildkat]

Will load a couple bikes on it this weekend and tow it around to make sure it is ready for the trip to North Carolina next week.

Cool

I hope it's a great trip!
Have fun and safe travels

[madmax-im]

Had my stock windscreen cutdown 2"...as i was looking through it and not over it...plus i was getting alot of buffeting and turbulence at speed at the helmet level...Now the buffetiing is gone but i still have front end vibes at 70-80 mph...and I have discovered that the longer i sit on this seat the less i like it...

[dbbrian]

Had my stock windscreen cutdown 2"...as i was looking through it and not over it...plus i was getting alot of buffeting and turbulence at speed at the helmet level...Now the buffetiing is gone but i still have front end vibes at 70-80 mph...and I have discovered that the longer i sit on this seat the less i like it...

I been thinking about the cut down too on the windscreen. Especially since riding in rain a few times, the visibility is not great. I have been admiring JeffH's new screen. Before I pop for one, I may do a cut down to test a new height.

Regarding your front end vibes - I noticed some too at higher speed on my bike that went away with a new tire. But I think it might have been related to the balancing. You could check that if your tire is still good.

[kboehringer]

Pre-XSSE Testing.... UH OH!

Took the DEAD DUCK for a ride Friday and the clutch lever began to feel weird as I approached home. Got it to the house safely. Investigated the issue yesterday. One pull on the lever and SNAP! UH OH.



It turns out the really cool looking CHEAPO Chinese lever (my son loves) created a really serious pinch point on the BRAND NEW cable. Fortunately, I saved all my older yet serviceable cables as none of six(6) different local bike shops had a cable in stock. Also none had an OEM clutch perch or lever. Found a new replacement (stock style but aftermarket) perch and lever >50 miles away.....Got it all fixed up this morning and we're ready to roll again!

Ya get what ya pay for! No more "Cool Looking" Chinese junk!

Just glad this didn't happen on our way to XSSE!