Furbird

Got mine today too. The wonderful thing about "signature waiver" for a home based business is that you don't have to sign diddley squat to get your NEXT DAY AIR INTERNATIONALS! I can't believe that this guy is springing for next day air like that. He must be making a KILLING even at 185 a set shipped. Perhaps the next board member who goes to Hong Kong could pick up a few (hundred) hid kits and sell them to all of us non-fliers. Maybe pick up a few R34 Nissan Skyline GTR's (hundred or so) and sell them for $60,000 profit like Motorex in California does Oh, BTW, who wants to fly down here and put my bulbs in? I kinda have to have my hands functional for work :shock:

I know there have been a couple of posts on this (ok, 276 to be exact ) but this should answer everybody's questions. This covers just about every bike made. http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/FilterXRef.html I can't attest to the accuracy, but given the other posts on here, I'm sure somebody in the know will chime in if something is wrong.

beondwacko, couldn't we just use a water hose washer or some similar-sized o-ring or washer to do the trick? I'm thinking a water hose washer is about the same size as a spark plug boot.

Umm, Northman, I AM talking from experience, as we just had a ASE certified master technician at our shop run into this same problem. Somebody had crossthreaded the hole long ago (not him), helicoiled it, and the helicoil broke and blew the spark plug out of the top of the engine. So, when we sent the head off to have it looked at, they said they couldn't do anything with it and the head would have to be replaced. And please notice that I said helicoiling a head bolt is a completely different animal from helicoiling a spark plug hole. If you helicoil a head bolt, you still have the weight of the head AND all the other head bolts to distribute the load across. A helicoil spark plug hole has the ENTIRE pressure load of the combustion chamber placed solely on that one helicoil, as there are no other threaded items in the combustion chamber. I'm sorry, but I don't think it's going to last very long. Even if I were to consider helicoiling a spark plug hole, which I wouldn't, there is no way I would drill and tap it with the head on the engine as there is no possible way you are going to get all of those metal shavings out of that cylinder. Now granted, on a high mileage and/or old car, it really doesn't matter, but if you're going to do the job, at least do it right and pull the head. But at that point it would be foolish to not replace the head anyway since you have it off.

The head has to be pulled because the shavings will blow the motor if you don't. And helicoiling a spark plug hole is about stupid to begin with, due to the constant pressure it's under. You're talking about a part that is under direct PSI from the cylinder, and only on one set of threads, unlike head bolts/studs. The head really does need to be replaced, especially since you have to pull it anyway, but the question becomes whether or not you want to go through all that trouble on a car that old. If worse comes to worse, buy a junkyard head or entire motor and take off what you need. BTW, do NOT use JB weld on this. You will never put spark plugs in it again if you do, as the one you put in will be the last one that head ever sees. Until it blows out, probably within the first week, as it is not going to hold that kind of pressure. Not to mention that whole fire thing going on in the motor

I noticed in your sig that you say friends don't let friends buy Hahn turbo kits. I've had a guy here local tell me to not buy a Mr. Turbo kit either, because he had to remanufacture everything but the header and the turbo to get it to fit right on his Busa. If I were in the market to get a turbo, who the heck is left to get one from?

In 4 or so years on here, the most valves I've ever seen out of adjustment was 2, and that was a higher mile motor, and they were barely out. I might worry about it later on, but for now, ain't concerned with it. Maybe when I get up to about 50k and decide to do the turbo, I'll think about it. Just ride the bike.

If you want to stay stock geared, then the Honda ones are a good option. However, you can find aftermarket steel sprockets MUCH cheaper than the dealer. Some say the factory front sprocket is better because of the rubber dampner attached to it, but I didn't really notice that much difference when I changed mine out to a non-dampened sprocket, which was also one tooth smaller. The rear sprocket is available in steel from several manufacturers, no sense in spending double at the dealer when you can get the same thing from somebody else. Regardless of where you get a front sprocket, they are all steel. I have never seen an aluminum front sprocket for an XX. I have a 12 tooth, 15, 16, and 18, and they are all steel. On the rear, I have a 45 steel, and 43, 47, and 49 aluminum. They do make 43, 45, and 46 in steel, but the 46 steel is difficult to find.

1996, OBDII, but it really doesn't matter anymore cause it's missing a couple of items commonly known as a household pet, or in my case, target practice for the .40 and retrieval training for my pitbull

K&N's definitely worked. I had one in my old copcar and it picked up a tenth at the dragstrip just with a filter change. I've had one in my Firebird Formula since I bought it from the previous owner, and have since had to clean it. I bought a paper filter so I could clean the K&N and still drive the car. The one day I had that paper filter in was the only day I had that paper filter in. It makes a big difference on my car, but my car makes 450 HP on the gas so it sucks a LOT of air in. The more HP you have, the more difference it makes in drivability. Can't help you on the gas mileage question. Formulas are not anywhere in the neighborhood of "pocketbook friendly" in the fuel mileage department!

Need to correct the nitrous statement. I run probably the biggest shot on here, and while I haven't sprayed it much, it has held every time that I have. I'm not suggesting it will hold it forever, but it will hold a big shot of gas without slipping. So will Contiforce tires. ...with enough weight on the seat like I provide anyway

I lost it sometime when I change internet providers. Sorry. I've always found on my bike that if you slip the clutch out just before the tree comes down, it kinda "spins up" the clutches and basket and makes them not grab so hard when you come out of the hole. You like "drag" the clutch a little and pull it in real quick a couple of times before you stage. I can slide mine just fine by doing that. The initial clunk scared the shit out of me the first time it happened to, and this redneck idea solved the problem. The clunk happens when you drag the clutch out the first time, then when you launch it doesn't do that.

I should have restated that. I actually had both wheels off to get new tires, and also did the front bearings while I was at it. You only do the ones that make noise. The chances of a catastrophic bearing failure (as in completely breaks and spills it's guts) are extremely remote and you will still be able to control the bike even if it does happen. The wheel cannot fall off due to a bearing failure, and if it locks up, the axle will actually spin inside of the bearing, so you can't lock the front tire either.

Just for the header? Good Lord, they went UP since the last time I called them!

I can't really help you with that one, even with my extensive track passes. I'm still on the stock clutch, and have no reason to change it. Mine even held up under the nitrous, slick, and wheelie bars, so I figure I better leave well enough alone. There's supposed to be a site that tells you how to rearrange the clutches to help with grabbing.

Bearings. You can ride on it for a while, but they'll just get louder and louder. Mine got so bad I could hear them over the D&D, so I figured it might be time to go buy some. I then subsequently sprung my ankle (3rd degree, worst kind) while both wheels were off the bike doing the bearing swap. Yay.

It's probably WAY overtorqued because they tend to overkill these things when they assemble them. I went over my bike right after I got it with a torque wrench and torqued everything correctly. At least, all the stuff I could see without removing the entire engine

I have a D&D full system. Direct bolt-on for me.

I may actually buy this if nobody else is watching it on here. That's a really good price for that pipe, but I have no clue how loud it is. Might as well be the test mule

Jet Hot coats the inside and out of all their stuff. Best coating you can get. I haven't gotten a price from them in a long time but it used to be pretty steep. They also used to charge more for chrome since it has to be removed first. I wouldn't mind finding out how much it costs now just to do a header. You ain't gonna hurt a D&D canister

2000

The best way to do the headers would be Jet Hot coatings or something of that nature, but the cost is preventative. And while I'd like to wrap my headers, I can't take a chance of the wrap getting moisture in it and killing my pipes. Considering all the rain and humidity we have down here, that is very likely to happen. So unless somebody wants to finance my scientific exploration into how to keep our bikes cooler by paying for Jet Hot on my headers, then my little cheapo $20 extra fan idea will have to suffice

I had intended on doing that, but never got around to it. I wired it backwards but left the fan blade in it's original position. I was concerned about whether or not A) it would bolt back up, and what kind of clearance issues I would run into spacing it out from the radiator and getting it closer to the front fender. It's wired to blow in, but granted, it would have been more efficient if I had flipped the blade. The other, smaller fan I have is flipped, but it makes the blades stick out from the housing, so I will have to space it out to make it work. However, it will be so far off to the side, not to mention it's diameter is half that of the ZX12 fan, that it shouldn't be a problem.

Got it done today. Suprisingly easy. I used a fan off of a 2000 ZX12 that I scored on ebay for $20 shipped. It came with the housing, motor, blade, and the attached wiring harness. I used some big daddy wire ties to insert through the radiator to attach it, as the ones they sell for cars with the washers already on them require "modification" to the fins to say the least. 6 wire ties, 6 washers, got 'er dun. Grounded it to one of the bolts that holds the radiator up (metered it first and it was a solid ground), and ran the hot lead to an ignition source at a relay under the seat (part of my remote start system, but still is tied into the factory relays, so you'll have to catch your wire somewhere similar). It actually took me longer to remove the side panels than to install the fan. Seriously. Fan clears the front fender, even with my 240# ass rolling forward, slamming on the front brake, and pushing down. So I don't see any problems out on the road with it. Results: Not quite what I expected. It was about 85 degrees out when I got the bike done, so I rolled it out to the edge of the garage. Fired her off, and waited. Waited like 7 minutes or so, and it was finally creeping up to the point where the factory fan turns on. The nice thing was that when the factory fan turned on, the temp did not increase anymore. It stayed right at that level, instead of keeping on climbing up to about 1/8" or so short of the white mark before the red like it always does. I guess I was hoping it would never even turn on the factory fan, but considering what I have invested in the mod, it was worth it. I figure I'll take it down the busiest road in town and sit at red light after red light to see how it does in worst-case-scenario situations. I might even do it one day when it's 95, just for scientific purposes Final thoughts: If you can score a fan for $20-$30, it would probably be worth it. The factory fan for our bikes is small, in the middle, and directly above the headers, so anytime you can get a fan that is bigger and is on the already cool side, it's going to increase cooling. I offset mine to the brake-side of the bike, which makes the front fan actually cool an area that the factory fan doesn't. There's a little overlap, but for the most part, that fan is working independently of the factory one. I'm sure that if you take it out on the road you will see a drastic decrease in rolling radiator temperatures. I also have another fan, this one off a 600cc Kawasaki that I'm thinking of putting on there too. I could offset it to the clutch side, and that would pretty much put constantly-moving air over the entire radiator surface. I'll have to ponder that one and see if I can bring myself to pulling the side panel again to do it though

Due to the hurricane, auxilliary fan installation has to be put off for a week. However, the ZX12 fan has enough mounts on it to use the through-the-radiator straps like electric fans for cars come with. It will also clear the front tire with no problems, plus there's room to manuever it around to get it centered. So technically, it fits. Now I just have to get the plastics off and do it. Pics will be forthcoming.