My New 2011 WR450F

jon

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Nov 3, 2006
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Have enjoyed all your posts up to now, but have been bit perplexed watching and re-watching the video of your test ride. Maybe it is my computer or I have had one Chang too many, but your throttle seems to be on the left hand side of the handlebars and you are riding on the right hand side of the road?
 
Oct 26, 2009
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jon;266964 wrote: Have enjoyed all your posts up to now, but have been bit perplexed watching and re-watching the video of your test ride. Maybe it is my computer or I have had one Chang too many, but your throttle seems to be on the left hand side of the handlebars and you are riding on the right hand side of the road?

Haha sorry for that jon, just a wee bit of fun, rotated the video on the PC. Well spotted though:thumbup:
 
Nov 21, 2010
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Great project .... just one thing .... Should't you have made the bike street legal first? I mean that is going to be a pain in the ass and it would be very shit if it turns out like some guy with his Duke in CNX.

Chang Noi
 
Oct 26, 2009
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Changnoi1;266974 wrote: Great project .... just one thing .... Should't you have made the bike street legal first? I mean that is going to be a pain in the ass and it would be very shit if it turns out like some guy with his Duke in CNX.

Chang Noi

Hey Chaing Noi, see below from an earlier post. Its all in the pipeline as we speak, its the same old story in Thailand you pay you get. The Excise Tax will be payed on the 15th which means they cannot confiscate the bike only riding without number plate. Have been in this position a few times before and been stopped by the BiB. Show them the import/excise paperwork and your passport (never your Thai DL) and off you go or go to the station and pay the ticket.

After the electrics were all completed and ready for installation I had a wee break from the spanners and done some research for getting it green booked. After chasing my tail for a while and reading lots of posts on forums, and there is lots of information, some good some misleading, in-fact a lot of misleading information. I eventually narrowed my options down to three companies in Bangkok. And with help from my wife (my Jock accent and poor attempt at Thai doesn't come across very well!!!) I have a company that will sort everything out for a fixed price. I hopefully will receive the excise proof of payment shortly after the 15th of April, this is included in the fee. Some time later I will have to send the bike to Bangkok for a week or so for them to put it through the emissions test. Ive used Logispost and you can send a 400cc bike or larger to Bangkok for 1,790 Baht. Contrary to what people are saying about the new legislation regarding the emissions test and Carburated bikes it can be done and has been done quite easily using the right people. Hopefully, fingers crossed (and toes) they tell me I should be legal in approx. 3 months after the emissions test. I'd like to also add if you go this route apparently its far easier for the company to get cracking with the process if all the import papers are in a Thais name.

Out of interest what happened to the guy with the Duke?
 
Oct 26, 2009
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Removed spark arrestor and the pea-shooter noise restrictor. A couple of 3.2mm rivets holding it in place. Drill the head off with a 3.5mm bit, punch out and lever the insert out. The gases flow better now and the bike idles smoother when cold (choke can be switched off sooner), still requires re-jetting though. The noise is better now, sounds more like a thumper, before you'd have mistaken it for a lawn mower.

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Before:
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After:
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Spark Arrestor:
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My daughters birthday and a thanks for her help. Already showing signs of good throttle control, unlike her dad! Had to make a throttle stop as these wee ATV's don't half rip around the garden, even with me on it!
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Nov 21, 2010
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johnnysneds;266977 wrote: Hey Chaing Noi, see below from an earlier post. Its all in the pipeline as we speak, its the same old story in Thailand you pay you get. The Excise Tax will be payed on the 15th which means they cannot confiscate the bike only riding without number plate. Have been in this position a few times before and been stopped by the BiB. Show them the import/excise paperwork and your passport (never your Thai DL) and off you go or go to the station and pay the ticket.

Out of interest what happened to the guy with the Duke?

Well as far as I know he still does has not have a greenbook or license-plate. It was all in the pipeline as well, all money was paid but the paperwork was never done. It took me money and a lot of time and even more problems to get the greenbook for my bike. It was said it would take 3 months but it took almost 12months. It is not only paying money, it is also paying money to the right people. And who is right today could be wrong tomorrow. So please check all the steps that are taken to get your bike street-legal! And after you think it is street-legal, have it checked by the DLT. Actually you might check the frame-number from your bike also, take off all the paint on the frame-number. Clean it very well and make macro-pics of it. Any handmade stuff at the frame-number will show in that way. Do the frame-number and engine-number match with production?

Chang Noi
 
Dec 15, 2009
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Good job. Could not have done it better myself. :)

As for the lack of grease on new bikes. Manufacturers need to save cost and this is one of the the area they always skim on.
Don't believe? Just go and check the bearing on the triple tree.

Be careful with the local police. I would not ride until it is fully legit. Even the insurance is invalid.
 
Nov 28, 2009
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When i had my KTM imported, i had only import papers, i had not even applied for the rego yet, the police stopped my maybee 10 times, they cannot touch you, Solong as you have the import papers on the bike. the only important thing you have to do, is have the build tax paid. if you have paid the build tax, and you have the import papers, your ok. you will only get a fine for riding a unregistered bike. And of course if you have a accident, you are hooped, then you have a BIG problem.
 
Oct 26, 2009
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Well the seat on these bikes is like sitting on a razor blade. One hour of this the other day and i could hardly walk or sit down for a wee while. Enter "The Seat Magician"
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This picture is from the sticky thread https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/threads/25935-Chiang-Mai-Handy-Motorcycle-Related-Shops

I needed the bike lowering and didn't want to mess with the sag as I got it set up pretty good without the need for a stronger rated spring. So the seat is where I could make cheap adjustments to the bike without altering the geometry and pad my butt out at the same time, bonus.

I can now get both my feet 75% on the ground instead of just my tip-toes and it feels soo much more comfortable, brilliant job. And it only cost 300 Baht, cant fault that service 10/10 :clap:
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Oct 26, 2009
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Some encouraging news regarding progress legalising the bike. Received a copy of the excise paid certificate by email today, right on time as promised by the company. Also was informed that the bike is ready for its emissions test, great, so off she goes tomorrow morning to Bangkok by Logispost. So with 2-3 days mailing either side of the seven days they require the bike for the test, they promised the bike should be back with me 2/3rd May. I asked what if it fails (it being a carb bike and all that) and was told they have never had a bike fail, don't worry! Im not getting my hopes up and remaining optimistic, however I do feel it's going positively in that department, fingers crossed.

As the bike is ready for off-road use and I was waiting on the excise tax being finalised I spent some time sourcing parts to convert to Motard if required so I can join in some road trips.
After a lot of research I settled on a gearing ratio of 2.8. This is the combination of a 15 tooth front sprocket and a 42 rear. This should give me a nice cruising speed of around 130km/h @ 7,000 rpm. Peak power stock on the WR is around 8,250 which relates to 152 km/h. I believe the engine limit is 10,500. So im hoping this will give a nice smooth ride, accelerating and cruising. If not I have a selection of sprockets that came with the bike - 47/50 rear and 13/14 front, so plenty to juggle around until a nice compromise is found. This website is great if your thinking about changing sprockets on your bike, it tells you all sorts of relevant information. It even tells you how many links of chain is required for your particular bike/gearing combination.
http://www.gearingcommander.com/

I found a set of 17" Supermoto spoked wheels on ebay. Black Rims and blue hubs should go nice with the bike. I tried for alloys for the added benefit of the Cush Drive, these are better for reducing wear throughout your drive train when changing gear/throttling etc, spoked wheels do not have these. The rear wheel was offered in two different sizes, width wise. 4.25" or 5.00". Now 5.00" wheels will fit and I think this goes for most dirt bikes but you have to factor in consideration for the chain rubbing on the side wall. There are chain blocks/guides you can buy to deflect the interference, you can also dish the wheel which is a process of loosening off one side of the spokes a certain amount and equally tightening the opposite side to off-set the wheel and hub. Also different tyre manufacturers have different profiles for the same sizes depending on the tread/carcass etc. I all seems too much of a hassle so I went with the 4.25", quarter of an inch wont be missed (thats what she said anyway!).
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Here's a handy link to rims sizes and tyre applications:- http://www.dropbears.com/u/utilities/tyrerim.htm

I settled for Pirelli Supercorsa SC2's. 120/70-17 front and 150/60-17 rear to compliment the rims. Never tried these before but have heard great things about them. These are more track/fast road orientated so should provide good grip (in dry conditions off-course). I really wanted to give the new Angel ST's a go but unfortunately they don't have the required sizes in stock, but they were kind enough to order some for me which will take a while. I hear the Angels are a great touring tyre that will give good grip in all road conditions with a good life.
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Finally and most importantly I made an effort to upgrade the brakes as there will be a lot more forces being applied than off-road. The stock front rotor is 250mm diameter and ive increased this to a 320mm EBC rotor. I read that the diameter doesn't make a difference to stopping power, only heat dissipation and feel, I agree with the last two benefits but the first one thats just nonsense. If you apply mathematics, force x distance(radius) = Torque, which simply put the same force (braking pressure from the pads to the disc) applied at 160mm from the centre point (fulcrum) will be greater than that of 125mm. And as mentioned earlier because of the greater surface area there will be better heat dissipation reducing brake fade. I also got a fresh set of brake pads to swap over with the front rotors. I don't think its a good idea to use the same pads with different rotors.
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I went for a spin off-road on some simple trails the other day just to get a feel for the new suspension settings. I had to add a fair bit of pre-load to the rear (ok i like Thai food and beer). I thought i might have had to order a stronger spring but it all worked out fine. The front forks were good when I received the bike but the rear was far too soft. The bike sank almost immediately when you sat on it, even for a small local fella I think this would have been way out. It would have been more like a Viking rowing boat than a dirt bike off-road, sea sickness tablets required.
So it felt pretty good. Still a long way from it being just right (is there such a thing with suspension!). I enjoy messing with suspension, there is definitely some satisfaction in feeling the difference you've just made from a few clicks here and there. I will say though, and forgive me again if im teaching some to suck eggs, its of the utmost importance to set your sag correctly before messing with rebound/compression. There is an excellent book which i have from Racetech "Motorcycle Suspension Bible". It covers everything you need to know and their methods are precise and clear. Suspension is an area where many bikers neglect and is an area which can make the biggest impact on your ride. I use to ride a gixxer thou a Bira for fun, after the track if I didn't ease of the front rebound/compression it use to rattle my teeth out on the way home and were only talking 2-3 three clicks difference!
Below is the Racetech book. If anyone would like to borrow it or needs a hand setting their sag I'd be glad to lend it out or help set your suspension, no worries.
The mess below it is the sheet of paper I used to set the sag, aye i doesn't make much sense to me now either!
There was an area when setting up my sag that I wasn't aware of, or rather I thought didn't make much of a difference but it does and it can also indicate problems with your suspension. If you compress your front forks and slowly release, take the measurement and compare it with raising the forks and slowly releasing, you will get two different dimensions. This is called the "stiction zone". On a dirt bike this can be anywhere between 10-25mm depending on your model. The WR came out at 10mm. Now you can see by only measuring one way you could be out by 25mm when setting up your sag which is quite a lot. The average of the two gives you a more accurate reading when calculating it all out.

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Nov 28, 2009
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Johnny,

i will be visiting that seat shop when i get up there. all your mods are looking great mate. can't wait to see her performing.
 
Oct 26, 2009
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Got most of the parts to assemble the Supermoto wheels. Just waiting on the front EBC brake rotor and the front sprocket.

Didn't want to risk damaging with tyre irons so took them to ****pit on Hangdong Road. Its located going northbound on the left midway between Big C and the Airport Plaza. You cant miss it, its just before the big time/temperature sign that lights up. They do a really professional job. No metal contact whatsoever with the tyre installation machine and rim. They also payed a lot of attention to balancing both wheels which did require some weighting. 500 Baht for the lot, maybe a wee bit expensive but I think its worth it for the piece of mind of them doing it correctly and not dinging the rims.

They even asked what side the sprocket/rotors were on to get the rotation correct, great job. The gentleman in the second picture speaks better English than me and is a top bloke all round, very helpful indeed.

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Here they are ready to get fitted. Hopefully front brake rotor will arrive shortly. The rear sprocket is 42T and is from Supersprox. http://www.supersproxusa.com/

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Oct 26, 2009
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Great news today fellas. The WR has PASSED the emissions test and will be posted back to me this evening or tomorrow and I should have it back Thursday.
So that will be exactly a week from sending it, to receiving it back.
The green book should be a formality now, waiting, waiting waiting..............
 
Sep 19, 2006
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Beautiful Wheels! Where did they come from? Lets Hope they have the Correct offset??? Not Like our Dirt Wheels when we first got them!!! That is Amazing that Your Bike passed Emissions and So Quick! Shows not everything is a Horror Story when Dealing with Officialdom here? ( Only 99 % !!! ) Good Luck Mate, will be Fantastic to have a Plate on one!
 
Oct 26, 2009
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Wheels from China, I'll put a link up to them when I get home. The offset is correct, they came supplied with spacers and I checked the dimensions last week, should be good.
I'm over the moon with it passing the emissions test, I was like most folk very skeptical. Once the green book has been issued if anyone requires details I will be more than happy to pass them on, but only once the green book has been confirmed good at the transport office.
 
Oct 26, 2009
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Ian Bungy;267521 wrote: Beautiful Wheels! Where did they come from? Lets Hope they have the Correct offset??? Not Like our Dirt Wheels when we first got them!!! That is Amazing that Your Bike passed Emissions and So Quick! Shows not everything is a Horror Story when Dealing with Officialdom here? ( Only 99 % !!! ) Good Luck Mate, will be Fantastic to have a Plate on one!

Out of interest Ian what was the issue with your wheels, incorrect spacers I take it?
 
Sep 19, 2006
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The Rear wheel on the KLX actually has the Outer Rim offset to one side compared to the Hub! When I got My Wheels Made they centered them which one would think Normal but when I put them on the Bike I picked it up so I had to take My Original Rim in as a Sample to have the New One Re-Done! My Front Rim seemed OK but I have heard of others Who had the same Problem on different Bikes front & Rear. On KLX & DRZ.
 
Oct 26, 2009
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Ian Bungy;267541 wrote: The Rear wheel on the KLX actually has the Outer Rim offset to one side compared to the Hub! When I got My Wheels Made they centered them which one would think Normal but when I put them on the Bike I picked it up so I had to take My Original Rim in as a Sample to have the New One Re-Done! My Front Rim seemed OK but I have heard of others Who had the same Problem on different Bikes front & Rear. On KLX & DRZ.

Hey Ian, thats weird. Was this the wheels you got from Mike in Pattaya? if so ive got the same ones and didn't experience any problems fitting them. You should have been provided with two spacers with different dimensions. The shorter of the two goes to the rhs to accommodate the caliper bracket. If the spacers were the same size then yes I can see you would have had to off-set the hub to the rim, called "dishing". Ive just went out and had a quick look at my aftermarket rims on my KLX and there doesn't appear to be any dishing, not 100% though as i would have to take the tyre off and measure with a flat surface. I haven't got my stock rims handy as they were stolen so cant look. Are you saying that one side of the rim is wider than the other?

See the photos below, these are the spacers I received for my WR's new 17's

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Oct 26, 2009
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Few bits and bobs arrived for the bike over the last few days:

Front EBC brake rotor fitted this morning. Also comes with a very nice looking gold anodised caliper adapter.
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Jetting kit from James Deans. One of the steps to uncorking the bike.
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ZipTy Fuel Mixture screw which will make adjustment easier as the location of the stock one is a pain to access.
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This is what im most excited about to install and try out. The Rekluse Z-Start Pro Auto Clutch.
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Looks like im going to be busy when the bike arrives back tomorrow. :p
 
Oct 26, 2009
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johnnysneds;267549 wrote: Hey Ian, thats weird. Was this the wheels you got from Mike in Pattaya? if so ive got the same ones and didn't experience any problems fitting them. You should have been provided with two spacers with different dimensions. The shorter of the two goes to the rhs to accommodate the caliper bracket. If the spacers were the same size then yes I can see you would have had to off-set the hub to the rim, called "dishing". Ive just went out and had a quick look at my aftermarket rims on my KLX and there doesn't appear to be any dishing, not 100% though as i would have to take the tyre off and measure with a flat surface. I haven't got my stock rims handy as they were stolen so cant look. Are you saying that one side of the rim is wider than the other?

See the photos below, these are the spacers I received for my WR's new 17's

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Ian Bungy, I see what your saying now with the off-set. Im no expert with spoke wheels. Just noticed the off-set with the spokes on my rear wheel and the spacers for the rear are identical dimensions so as you say hope the off-set is correct!, i haven't received the bike back yet so cant check for sure. I only measured the gap before I sent it and compared to what the wheels have with spacers fitted. The seller assures me they will fit sweet. From what ive found out it's not crucial if the rear is not centered spot on because of the way steering geometry works as its trailing the front. Rear wheels are off-centered all the time to accommodate 5" rims and stop the chain rubbing on the tyre.
I was under the impression that only the hub itself was wider at the sprocket side, but now I know they also off-set the spokes, so a combination of both.
It is however important to get the front rim centered spot on. I assume this is why I have several different sized spacers. Its like some sort of mad puzzle :crazy:
Really glad I never went with the 5" rear now.
Thanks for pointing it out though, I am now aware of how aftermarket wheels can be an issue if the off-set is not set correctly.

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Oct 26, 2009
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Ok so the bike is back right on time as expected. Been walking around lost for the past few days with only one thing on my mind. Right lets go..
Lets Supermoto this bad boy...
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Oh and here's the emission passed sticker they slap on it...woooooot. A simple wee piece of paper with some bullshit on it is like 10 Christmases all rolled into one for me!!!
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Rear wheel was a doddle, slipped right on their with the provided spacers.
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More room than I thought, maybe I could have got the 5" on there. auch well..
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Dont knock that wee pink chair. its held my weight longer than any of the rest!
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This is a great wee tool for splitting chains.
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On goes the Renthal O-Ring. Been with Renthal all my days and haven't had a problem, so why change now eh! 118L chain, removed about 6 links I think. Try and adjust your chain short as it will stretch and hopefully ends up in the middle of the indicator.
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Loads of room between chain and tyre.
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Remember to change your pads to bed in with the new rear rotor. Courtesy of Craig in Pattaya (EBC), top bloke, thanks mate.
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This will be my off-road pads...
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On to the front end. This was a lot more fiddly and required some patience. The front wheel was supplied with x3 spacers which confused the f*** out of me. I don't know the permutations but it was enough to get through 12 bottles of beer Chang! Got there in the end and the wheel was as central as I could get it. The rhs gap is a tad wee'er than the lhs, but its negligible. The tyre in there is a real tight fit. The fork protectors had to be bent out the way as I re-tightened the fasteners and gave me the required clearance I was looking for.
The caliper adapter from EBC was not an accurate fit and interfered with the rotor on rotation of the wheel without the pads fitted. A couple of shim washers and it was all good.
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Im going to have to have a think about the Vapor magnet for the speedo tomorrow when Im sober!!!
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Ive had all sorts of bikes but for some reason this bike has me buzzing big time. My K8 Gixxer thou was special but im more pumped about this. I think its because within an hour you can have an awesome dirt bike or, I don't know what you all think but it look likes it going to carve the roads around Chiang Mai up. I have never tried Supermoto before but im so excited about this. I reckon ive got a lot to do to bring the suspension into line for the road which may involve some re-srpinging/valving, but we'll take that as it comes.
Im going to try and go to sleep now...

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Sep 19, 2006
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Hi Johnny,
Looking Good! In the Photo's looks like Your Rear Wheel adjusters are out to the Max? Couldn't You have taken another Link out of the Chain to bring the Wheel forward? At Present if Your Chain Stretches You don't have any more Adjustment left?
By the Way had the Guy on His Harley Fat Bob call in this morning and Said He meet You on the Samoeng Loop on Your WR, So how did it go?
 
Oct 26, 2009
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Yes you are quite right and I mentioned this in my previous post. I intentionally went long as I have other larger sprockets I want to try and if I go short with the chain wont fit without adding links. There's still three notches left on the adjuster and its easier to remove a link as im using the clip to secure the master link and not the rivets. But as you rightly mentioned if the chain is on for its life span your better to fit it short for stretch.
Yeah Phil I think his name was, what a lovely bike that Harley was, 1600cc wow, looked like you could fall asleep on it! I was going to pop round to your place with him but I felt like crap when I got there. Motion sickness aided with all the beers last night and I had to stop on the way back to throw up, nasty.
Up until this point I was having a great time. The handling is superb, on rails as to speak. The tires are awesome not one slip/slide. Front brakes are strong. Too much nose diving when hard on them due to the suspension being set up for off-road. Had to use plenty of rear brake to keep it level under braking. Ill add some compression damping and see if it helps any, but I really think it needs stiffer springs in the forks. Gearing was good too. Never managed to fit the 15T front sprocket as it only arrived this afternoon so went with the 14T that was already on. On the way home up the canal road it managed a GPS top speed of 150Km/h @ 8,500 rpm, not comfortable though. 130km/h was ok.

Here's a video and some photos. Yes I know chicken strips, but I was giving it some lean angle around some corners, these bikes and tires must be capable of some incredible lean angles, which is reassuring.


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