jon haney

Well, lets try the parameters out I am not racing, I am touring. I weigh 185 lbs without gear. I bought the GP Suspension Group Buy Springs. How close is that to your settings? OK, anyone out there who is close to my setup and has the Gold Valve specs? I weigh 200 lbs. w/o gear, but if your touring you'll make up that 15 lbs. easy. It's been about a year, but I'll see if I can find my specs tonight and let you know.

+1

I've never had any issues on the street with clip-style links as long as they were put on correctly (It must go on opposite the chain rotation) and carefully. If the clip is bent too much and doesn't fit snuggly, use a new one. One of my blackbirds is for drag racing only and I have also pitched the clip before. Now I silicone the thing after install and it stays put. For street duty, I would go with (and I have) the rivet-style. They're just the safer way to go.

Changing from petroleum to a good 100% synthetic oil can also help with rough shifting.

Although an out-of-balance tire can cause cupping, it is not the main reason that front motorcycle tires have this problem. Braking and cornering forces are the main reasons. The tread pattern on the tire can also make a difference in the severity of the cupping. If you know another rider that doesn't use their front brake a lot or maybe someone with a cruiser, look at their front tire. I'm betting it's not cupped nearly as bad as the average sportbike front tire.

Yep... I read "ultra-low stiction" and instantly thought "ultra-loose seal, with thin sealing edges, will damage easily" and put on the OEM Honda ones... Mike Are the seals worn out ? there is no need to change them with the racetech install unless you want to . The express way is take off he front wheel, remove the bolt in the bottom of the fork, remove the fork cap and pull out the cartridge and spring, take it too yr bench and get to work. I had over 20K on the originals. Might as well change them while I was in there. Didn't know I would have to do it twice. The new Racetech seals looked fine. I think they were crap from the start.

+1 Another tip, flip the old fork seal upside down. Slide it down, on top of the new fork seal. This helps press in the new seal, in conjuction with a piece of PVC pipe or an actual seal driver. I knew I was forgetting something.

Don't forget about seal drivers for the fork seals and dust covers. If you don't want to spend the money for those, you can use a piece of aluminum or stiff plastic pipe that will just fit over the fork leg. Another suggestion: Order genuine Honda fork seals! The ones I got from Racetech started leaking within 2000 miles.

I'm a firm believer that running any engine up to its redline on a regular basis is a good idea. Aside from the obvious emotional benefits to the operator, it helps keep carbon and other crud from building up in the engine. I have 27K on my '99 Bird and the intake ports and valves still look almost new. My theory is that the detergents in gasoline and oil work a lot better with more velocity. Kinda like a pressure washer.

I have the same over-heating problem with my Corbin Seat. I have a sheepskin cover that works pretty well, but something that works even better is to cut a piece of cardboard that will cover or block the hole between the gas tank and the area above the battery. This hole lets a lot of heat from the motor run under the seat. The stock plastic seat doesn't seem to transfer as much as the Corbin does. Those butt-beads should help also, but your friends might laugh at you.

I have 2 '99 Birds with over 20K on each. I put the new double-dot CCT on the one I drag race just because of threads like this one (Never did hear any unusual noises nor did I notice any difference afterward). The street bike still has the original with 26K and I can't say I have heard any unusual noises from it either. Could be my bad hearing, but wife says it's only bad when she's talking to me.

If the motor has ever been opened up, I'm guessing one or both of the balance shafts were installed wrong. The lower shaft can be accessed by removing the oil pan. The balance weight has a mark on it that can easily be mistaken for the "timing mark". The real mark looks like a dimple made by a drill bit. This happened to me when I had a shop install my big bore kit. The vibration made my old Katana seem like a Goldwing. If the motor has never been touched, I would check the things that WARP11XX mentioned.

I'd hope not! The max lean angle of the 'bird (especially if you're scraping fairing instead of peg feelers and stator cover, which means your spring rates aren't strong enough, or you don't have the 6mm shim, or both) is paultry compared to what those tires are made to cope with. I went on Pilot Roads my first time down there and scraped pegs and even grabbed the front brake at the apex of a turn (yeah, I know), and even those tires never gave out on me once. Mike Maybe he just needs to lay off the Cajun food for a while. :icon_biggrin:

Mine was all stock. Mirrors, stock height, stock exhaust, stock everything. Im about 185. Im sure I could have ran 10.4's that day if I could have gotten a good launch. Its tough with that hydraulic clutch Call Brock Davidson and talk to him about one of his clutch cushions. It's not that expensive, but you do have to send him your inner clutch hub. Mine is now smoother than my old Suzuki Katana 1100 was.

With tire companies changing rubber compounds and constructions every year, it's hard to say this street tire is better than that street tire and have it be true for more than a few months. Last year I tried the Pilot Powers on my 99 Bird and was not that impressed. They had good grip, but the feedback was not as good as the Dunlop 208 street tires that I had before. Now I have the new street Qualifiers and they are definitely my favorite. I shaved a full second off of my best lap time at Hallett Raceway in Oklahoma. Just got back from the Star Racing school at Heartland Park Topeka and they performed great there too. Jason Pridmore was involved in the testing of the new Qualifier and told Dunlop that they would make a great replacement for the 208GP tires. He didn't know at the time that he was testing a new street tire. They put them on all of the bikes they use for the school. I'm sold. I haven't tried any other brands recently, so I can't say that Dunlop is the best. Just the best I've tried. Just my 2 cents.

This will also work, but make sure you don't let the slave piston extend too far. When the cylinder is not bolted to the sprocket cover, there is nothing to stop the piston from coming all the way out.

Thanks, Craig. I plan on trying to bleed the system Saturday, so if I run into problems I'll give you a call. I can't imagine it being anything other than air in the system. What I can't figure out is WHY it got air in the system (clutch worked just fine on the 25 mile trip home from the shop). Bike didn't get ridden for a couple of weeks after that. Just stayed parked. Then when I did decide to go for a ride, no clutch. I've been through this more than once. Here is what happened. When the fluid was changed, air got in the system and was not bled out properly. A small air bubble is not noticeable in the clutch operation unless it gets in the wrong place. i.e. the master cylinder piston. After the bike sat for two weeks, the air bubble worked its way up to the piston. When you pulled the lever, all you had was air. Pumping the lever does not help because the inlet hole from the reservoir is so freaking small the bubble won't float up through it. I have to use a hand vacuum pump to get the fluid moving fast enough to remove the air. Good Luck.

I think the internet is the best way to go price-wise. The YTX12-BS that I bought last year was only $83.00+shipping. I would definitely stay with a sealed type battery. I have two 99 Birds and the older one (i.e. lower VIN#), still has the factory battery. It's gettin kinda weak though. I'll probably need a new one before the end of the summer. The other bikes battery seemed kinda weak last year, so I replaced it. Think'n now I shoulda milked it a little longer. I wish I could get that much life out of a cheap car battery.

gentlemen, i'm sure I can sort something out. I assure you I don't mess with numbers. The tests were done on a Land and Sea dyno we imported from the States, best dyno there is, got to say. I am now concerned about the ad thing and getting a slagging from members, so if you have a chum that has a dyno, then email me personally. (can that be done?) I'll then explain how the thing works. Cheers I wouldn't praise that dyno just yet. I have two 99 Blackbirds that I ran on a dynojet back in Nov. The streetbike made 138 HP and the dragbike made 133 HP. Two days ago I ran them on an eddy current style dyno. Streetbike made 122 Hp. WTF! The dragbike which now has a Wiseco 1195 kit, a five-angle valve job, and very mild port work made 170 HP!! No other changes and still stock compression with a zero map in the PC. Raise your hand if you buy that figure. :icon_snooty: (crickets chirping) I am going to try a different dyno shop. I think you might want to do the same. Then you at least have some back-up.

I wish. Last time I weighed 160 I think Ronald Reagan had just been elected president. I have a slick and wheelie bar on the drag bike. If I was that light, it would being running 9.60's. Last week I went 9.81 @ 137. The dragbike has a new Wiseco big bore kit and very minor head work with a zero map in the PC. Haven't had time to get to the dyno yet. I should have went with the JE kit. I weigh about 205 which is good for about 10.40 @ 133 on my street Blackbird with lowering link and front end strap. I could probably knock 2-3 tenths off that if the clutch wasn't so grabby.

Yeah... I'd think that you can add all the timing you want, but if you're running pump gas, the computer will just pull the timing anyway, when the knock sensor shows spark knock... Mike You may be right, but that is assuming that the computer is giving you the max. possible advance at all times based on feedback from the knock sensor. I'm willing to bet that is not the case. The computer's base setting is probably set a few degrees retarded from optimal as a safety factor or maybe to meet emissions. Having an advancer would just move the base setting. (I know, I know. What is the point of a knock sensor if your going to play it safe, right?) I've been around long enough to realize that some things just don't make sense. Anyone know any Honda engineers?

Thanks for the feedback guys. Sounds like I'll have to try dynojet's ignition module to get proof of any gains. If I do, I'll post the results here. I will gladly accept any donations from those curious about the results. :icon_biggrin: I have tried 91 octane fuel before, but the bike seemed to run better with 87 octane, especially in the mid-range.

I'm hoping to gain a little more torque in the mid-range RPM. One of my Blackbirds is a dedicated drag bike and I'm hoping a torque increase will help my 60 foot time. On hot days I think I might have a little trouble running the 9.90 index for the Supergas class. Haven't seen any dyno runs. As a general rule, a few degrees of spark advance will give more torque in the mid-range of most stock engines. There is a plug-in ignition module option for the Power Commander, but it cost as much as the Power Commander itself. I'm hoping to save a little money. I haven't heard back from FactoryPro about pricing yet. Stay tuned.

I emailed a guy at www.factorypro.com last week and he said that if he had at least 25 orders he would make an advancer for the fuel-injected blackbirds. I'm assuming the price would be the same as the non-FI model. I'll email him again later and find out for sure. I'm note very good at these forum things so if anyone would like to "take the wheel" on organizing a group buy, me and 24+ other people would be very appreciative. FYI - 4 degrees of advance is what I'm going to ask for. If that is too much advance, the knock sensor should compensate. Any takers?? Tell all your friends.

You guys were right. The lower balance shaft was about 180 degrees out of time. There is a casting mark on the weight that my mechanic must have thought was the timing mark. I re-timed it and now its as smooth as stock. Thanks again.