New to me 80SG!

[Bonz]

This seems like déjà vu all over again. When I joined in April 2008, I had purchased an 80SG. Well I gone and done did it again, a twin to the 80SG that got me into this awesome brotherhood.

I did not think the bike "equal" to mine was in existence. However I found one that equals and or exceeds it in just about every aspect. With factory side bags, engine case guards, after market top case, highway pegs and throttle lock. Already put stainless front lines on it today.

New one needs an ACCT mod, still has stock FD ("old" one has 750 FD mod).

28,775 miles on "new" one vs 24,670 on "old" one. Miles are really the only thing I'm giving up by deciding to part with my "old" one.

Yes, you heard it here. I am gonna part with the "old" 80SG. The new bike is set up so perfectly that I could swap everything to my old bike and do all that work and not be anything ahead. They are 1,859 apart in serial number, both born in Dec, 1979. "New" bike was made just a bit earlier in Dec of that year.

I'm gonna put the "old" bike on craigslist out here in the next few days. If anyone would like to PM me about it I'd love to see it go to a home of someone on this forum. I'm posting some pictures below.


"New" SG in the foreground.


"Old" SG in the foreground

[3Phase]

Darn, Howard, those are beautiful bikes!

I wish....

[skids]

I would have had a tough time getting rid of the "old" one. What was the deciding factor Howard?

[Bonz]

I like all the extra equipment the new one has, original shocks still in good shape and work well and it is truly in as good of condition cosmetically as the old one.

I could swap everything over to my old bike, and be no better off after a ton of work. Mechanically, there are the records for major maintenance so I feel good about that too. I need to do an ACCT which is an easy one and may still swap the 750 FD off my old one. Old one is due for a valve check, I would be checking the new one regardless.

Riding the new one, other than turning 4000 rpm at 60 mph vs 3600 rpm at 60 mph with the old one, feels pretty much the same. I DO like the way the old one carburetes, jetted one size smaller on the mains. I am gonna swap the carbs tomorrow and run the new one with the old carbs.

Question: Can/do the hard side bags increase wind resistance an appreciable amount? The old one gets 38-39 mpg for the most part, the new one in the two runs I made today turns about 35 mpg. Granted, new one has stock FD turning higher rpm and hard bags, so maybe it's right where it should be. I do recall the ACCT gaining me an mpg or so when I did that mod as well.

[skids]

There are so many things that affect fuel economy, including weight. That is a rolling resistance thing. Aerodynamically, I don't believe that the side bags will increase drag much, I don't know about the trunk. I suspect that the trunk will be much easier to install/remove compared to the bags.

[Bonz]

Thanks skids. Yep, I was referring to the side bags for increasing wind resistance, the top case is blocked by my body. I suspect the higher RPM at 60 and 70 mph is entering in with the stock final drive, 400-500 rpm at those speeds is a good amount. I believe Motoman said the ACCT is worth another mile per gallon or a bit more. As I recall, it increased my mileage when I put one on the old bike. He says because it is in constant tension when wearing over time it makes a difference in consistent valvetrain timing.

Going to swap the carbs over from my old SG this morning.

Not to see about gas mileage so much as I am interested in seeing how that slightly leaner jetting works. Should work (works well) just like on the old bike, but every bike is a rule unto itself it seems. Since I plan to sell the old bike it would be good to have stock jetting in it in case it ends up somewhere other than high elevation in the long run.

Took the new bike (w/o windscreen) for a 70 mile ride up Highway 105 and up to Sprucewood last night. Been since right before the Durango rally in 2011 that I ran an SG without a windscreen. Man, it's nice smooth air and with the back rest it "pushes" me nicely in place and is very comfortable.

[3Phase]

I don't know about a top box, Bonz, I've never had one.

With the full fairing, the hard bags do slightly lower the gas mileage on Columbo, unless they're packed to the gills but that's a weight vs mileage problem.

Sometimes the bags cause a gentle rocking weave at 'higher' speeds, other times it's like riding on rails.

If you do use the bags, try to keep the weight equal and don't put a case of beer on ice in one bag and chips and salsa in the other bag. It won't affect the mileage and handling too badly but you'll get chased by thirsty campers with the munchies....

[Bonz]

Yeah, got you on the loading of the bags. I've had other bikes with hard bags and soft bags for everything else. The soft bags (think ZRX1200 and old 80SG) snug in nice and tight across the passenger seat and don't sit so far back. Don't really notice them at all even when loaded evenly and heavy. I have noticed the new bike seems more tippy side to side when pushing around with my feet in the parking lot compared to the old one. I am sure the top case mounted high and back contributes to that even though it doesn't weigh a whole lot. The tires are new-ish Metzler ME880s so it has good rubber for a while to come.

The fellow I bought the bike from was as nice a guy as you could imagine, and his wife was very kind as well. Funny thing, as we shook hands when I looked at the bike the first time he said he was selling it because he needed something that fit him better. He's probably 6'4", then he looked at me...

He was the second owner and the original owner (pilot, and maintenance record details to match the profession!) had it up until a few thousand miles ago I believe. It has been a Colorado bike all its life, so it doesn't show the ravages of just sitting around like it would in lower elevations and other climates. The fellow I bought it from hadn't put many miles on it since he bought it, looks like it has only had 6,000 miles on it since the year 2000 and 22,800 in it's first 20 years. Oil has been changed every 3,000 miles and final drive fluid every 6,000 miles. It's overdue for a valve adjustment as it's been 9,000 miles on that. Even has the original receipt for the first service in August 1981. It was purchased in November 1980.

Anyway, I'm going to go start tinkering.

[Bonz]

Ok, I tinkered... pulled the plugs on the new one and they were clean, clean, clean and even all across the board. Those carbs are going to stay where they're at.

Pulled the plugs on the old SG and they looked pretty good as well. Really no difference in the color despite the different size main Jets between the bikes. I guess that goes to show the bike is on the mains at wide open throttle and the rest of the adjustments are what determine plug color generally.

I did swap plugs, the old SG has Iridium plugs and I do like them. The old SG now is now sporting the standard copper core NGK BP6ES plugs from the new bike. I'll let the next owner of the old SG know it is jetted for high elevation with 107.5 mains and leave it at that.

A story about iridium plugs and the "advantage" of a lower voltage threshold to spark... last summer the battery in my ZRX was not firing the bike over when warm. I was running the standard NGK dual side electrode plugs. I have installed individual stick coils on that bike and when battery voltage begins to wane warm start up becomes more difficult. Needed to get the battery through until this riding season. I had a set of iridium plugs for the ZRX and installed them. The bike fired over first crank cold, hot, warm or anywhere in between for the rest of last riding season. Has begun to not fire over readily when warm with the iridium plugs now. Time for a new battery.

I got a lithium ion battery and installed it the other day. It cranks the bike very well and the bike fires up immediately. From a weight savings perspective I took the batteries over to the post office for a weigh in.

Old AGM battery: 10lbs 6oz.
New Li battery: 1lb 11oz.

That's like gaining a horse power or two from the weight savings alone based on power to weight ratio of that bike.

[3Phase]

Oh, goody! Have fun with the valves!

I'm totally jealous, you know. It'd be so nice if I had a normal bike with maintenance and service records kept by a pilot. If I tried that for my bikes, I'd have a series of telenovelas narrated by a lost luchador so now I just try to keep track of what shims are in which engine.

I do have to check the valves on the XJ this morning while they're still overnight cold, then ride to the store and pick up some oil so I can change out the first fill and look it over before I load up and ride south for the weekend.

[donebysunday]

Ok, I tinkered... pulled the plugs on the new one and they were clean, clean, clean and even all across the board. Those carbs are going to stay where they're at.

Pulled the plugs on the old SG and they looked pretty good as well. Really no difference in the color despite the different size main Jets between the bikes. I guess that goes to show the bike is on the mains at wide open throttle and the rest of the adjustments are what determine plug color generally.

I did swap plugs, the old SG has Iridium plugs and I do like them. The old SG now is now sporting the standard copper core NGK BP6ES plugs from the new bike. I'll let the next owner of the old SG know it is jetted for high elevation with 107.5 mains and leave it at that.

A story about iridium plugs and the "advantage" of a lower voltage threshold to spark... last summer the battery in my ZRX was not firing the bike over when warm. I was running the standard NGK dual side electrode plugs. I have installed individual stick coils on that bike and when battery voltage begins to wane warm start up becomes more difficult. Needed to get the battery through until this riding season. I had a set of iridium plugs for the ZRX and installed them. The bike fired over first crank cold, hot, warm or anywhere in between for the rest of last riding season. Has begun to not fire over readily when warm with the iridium plugs now. Time for a new battery.

I got a lithium ion battery and installed it the other day. It cranks the bike very well and the bike fires up immediately. From a weight savings perspective I took the batteries over to the post office for a weigh in.

Old AGM battery: 10lbs 6oz.
New Li battery: 1lb 11oz.

That's like gaining a horse power or two from the weight savings alone based on power to weight ratio of that bike.

Those two just shine, is that stock coloring ?
Must be or how would they both be the same.
I was just going to post about not being able to find non-resister NGK plug caps to go with resister iridium plugs,
May I ask where you found non-resister plug caps to go with the resister iridium plugs, please ?
I was going to toss the iridium plugs even though I found they seem to work OK, resister plugs, resister caps, $30 for the iridium plugs.
I've looked every where I can think of for caps I can take apart to put in a brass rod since I can't find the non-resister caps in the right size/length for the XS11.

[Bonz]

Thanks for the question, the bike is running the BPR6EIX. It's a resistor plug, been running them since 2011. I unscrew the metal nub off the top so the threads are exposed and push on the plug cap.

I have heard about running resistor plugs and resistor caps. I had been running these well before I became knowledgeable a few years ago of potential issues. I understand the theoretical issue but in reality do resistor plugs and caps really cause damage or issues? Since everything works fine I left them in.

I would like to hear some opinions or facts on the matter.

[Bigfoot]

Congrats Howard. Two great looking specials there.

[Bonz]

Thanks Harry! It's nice having two of them for a short while. The "old" one I loaned 3Phase for the Colorado 2016 Rally is going up on the block.

The new one is more comfortable with the highway pegs and actually the seat is nicer and allows me to slide a bit further back. Has me reconsidering about riding it for the rally.

I have a 1982 Yamaha Vision 550 that I finished getting roadworthy and hope to get that sold over the weekend based on the calls I have had. Then I can focus on selling the SG next week. If any of you guys know someone or are interested in a bike shoot me a PM.

[BA80]

The new one is more comfortable with the highway pegs and actually the seat is nicer and allows me to slide a bit further back. Has me reconsidering about riding it for the rally.

Yup, those highway pegs are where my feet are most of the time on LD rides. Stock pegs are just too uncomfortable for me for any length of time and you get all the heat from the engine on your legs.