v00d00child

What Pete said. MAW has several warehouses, and there's every chance in the world that one tire will be shipped from Grapevine, TX, and the other one from Minnesota, resulting in different arrival dates. They're also famous for the "Yes, of course we have ___ in stock", only to find they don't, and it's a month and a half on back order. I've never had any of this BS with SWMT, and they've usually got the best, or at least competitive prices.

FWIW, I sent my CBR900 shock to Traxxion Dynamics for a freshen up, and got tongue-lashed for it. The guy was very knowledgeable, and wasn't hostile, but the conversation was frought with phrases like "I can't polish a turd", "you've got a great bike--don't put a POS shock on it", and "I wish people would come to their senses". He explained why this wasn't any really better than the stock XX shock in technical terms (I was smiling and nodding at that point). It all seemed to make sense, and the guy really did seem to have my best interests in mind. Wound up getting the Penske sport shock. He explained that after what I paid for the used shock, a new spring, and a freshen up, I was within $100 for a "real" shock. Don't mean to knock anyone, just thought I'd share...

Oh yeah?!?! Well I bought a PRISTINE '97 XX from a guy in Italy for $3200 with FREE SHIPPING back in Feb. Should be here any day now.... Will these bulbs melt anything, or is it just plug'n'go???

I've always had a thing for the 01 XX's--that red is miles deep. Hope to own one someday soon. I was riding back from the TX hill country last year, and was mentally flipping off the multitude of morons clogging the left lane of I35. Suddenly, a stupid winch in a station wagon unexplainedly got back in the right lane, so I nailed it & shot the gap. I was cresting a hill, and WHAM! State Patrol shooting just on the other side. I glanced down to see the speedo coast down past 105 mph (I know my speedo is optimistic). I made eye contact with the officer, and slowed down, expecting the full sight & sound treatment. Never happened. I was wearing my black textile pants & long jacket, had a full tank bra, c/f mufflers, and my black textile saddle bags, so very little metal was exposed. I was out in the open when he shot me, so I don't think I was protected by any nearby cages. Maybe he just figured by the time he turned around & got on the road, I'd be long gone. Dunno. I am leary of bright reds & yellows for the reason you mention. Cops and primates seem to be drawn to them. I've got just under a year before my tickets are all off.

Honda engineers put function before form. Obviously, the XX was designed for high speed. Even the clutch and front brake levers were profiled for aerodynamic efficiency. Vortex generators, or turbulators as they're sometimes called, reenergize the airflow, but at the expense of added drag. This drag won't cause problems while you're cruising to the nearest Starbucks, but let's face it, HD is bragging about the Vmax...I mean Vrod... hitting 141 mph--that's what, 3rd gear on an XX? My 97 has never had overheating problems, even in hellish KS & TX summers in 105F+ heat and 90%+ humidity. My ceramic coated header dropped engine temps noticeably. Also, internal & external fouling factors can drastically reduce thermal efficiency of the radiator--adding a fender extender to prevent muck from clogging the fins, and flushing the radiator and changing the cooling to remove slime from the internal fin surfaces will help.

Erion = DynoJet. All jet kits are about the same, from my experience, anyway. It'll work fine.

check your rear wheel alignment--tighten your chain lately? Might also wanna check your swingarm bearings.

I'm a fellow tightwad, who just can't let go of $100 bucks for the chain tool. I called around, and of course noone was willing to loan/rent. The local stealerships wanted **$130** to throw the chain & sprockets on. I found a local shop that did it for $70. I'm new to the area & didn't know much about them, but they got it on dead nuts straight at least. I tried doing it an "alternate" way when I put the new chain on my old FJ1200. Trust me, you don't want to do it with anything other than the real tool. :sad:

Pete- While I'm at it, what exactly does drilling the slides do for the bike? I'm assuming it allows the vacuum slide to move more quickly. (I know it's bad form to make 2 consecutive posts, but I just noticed I broke the 100 post barrier, and am really feeling the momentum)

Pete- Thanks for the rimfire tip--adjusting the mixture sure on these bikes sure is a PITA. Was thinking about trying to round up 4 idle speed flexshafts & hard attaching them to each carb's mixture screw, but didn't know where I'd round up 4 "d" tool tips. FWIW, I've learned that trying to tune your bike after oh, say, 5 or 6 "MY JAYHAWKS JUST PUT ON A CLINIC!!!" beers is a very, very, bad idea.

Had a shop in a nearby town install my chain/sprox yesterday (too cheap to buy the $100 chain tool). The XX had been performing flawlessly since the hi alt rejet. The majority of the ride to the shop was super slab, but when I exited to a side street, she started stumbling and missing--WTFO??? Mid and high rpm seemed OK, just idle to say, 2500 rpm. I had the idle mixture screws set a 2 turns out. Not sure why after 200 miles she started to act up. Backing the screws out allows more air into the circuit and leans the mix out, right??? TIA chad

Finally got a ticket off the record, found reasonable insurance, and got around to rejetting the bikes now that I've moved up to altitude. My 97 has a ceramic coated stock header, Yosh RS-3 slipons, stock filter, and an Erion Racing (Dynojet) stage I jet kit. I live at 8600' ASL. I dropped back to the DJ 138 mains, set the needles on the second land from the top, used the stock shim under the e-clips, and set the mixture screws on 2 turns out. Initially, I tried 2.5 turns on the mixture screws, but couldn't make it work. 2 made it run like buttah. I did Decker's Loop, about 60-70 miles, and ranging from about 9000' down to maybe 5600ish. Bike pulled cleanly, no major dips in the powerband, no popping on deceleration. Didn't really have her running above 7K much due to the mtn twisties. Mileage improved, but can't quantify yet. Just thought I'd stick this in here for historical lookup purposes. chad

I have a set of Ti Blue Flame dual ports, as well as c/f yosh, c/f 2 Bros, and stock. Not sure what you mean by "durability on hard rides". They're metallic, so you don't have to worry about overtemping the c/f. I've had my header ceramic coated in/out, so the mufflers definitely see much more heat than stock, and I've had no problems. They are a bit on the loud side, but have a nice growl. My 97 is obviously carbed, so no help here from the PC angle, but once I rejetted, I can swap from B/F to Yosh to 2Bros with no problems. I've not dyno'd, but all 3 sets give a "seat of the pants" improvement over stock. The weight loss (stocker mufflers weigh around 28 lbs/set; slipons are about 1/2 that), pleasant tone, and better looks (IMO) make them worthwhile.

www.sprocketcenter.com OEM D.I.D. X-ring chain (with the maxi-bling gold sideplates), both sprox (AFAM) & rivet master link to your door for $200.

HOLD THE PHONE! As the "starter" of this thread, I did not **WASTE** my shock oil--I merely used it in my avant-garde carpet art... :shock: Oh, but seriously folks... Everyone I spoke with seemed to say the same thing--a 900RR shock is better than the XX stocker, but only because of the adjustability. Revalving was around $160 IIRC, and they even recommended NOT doing it, as it's a silk purse/sow's ear situation. I told them to mount the stiffer spring, recharge the N2, and thicken up the oil, for $75. I figure if I break thru the $300 barrier, I'm punting & going with a Penske. RodeRash provided some valuable insight in some pm's, and despite his ultimate dislike of the 900RR shock, said that just because something doesn't work to your liking doesn't mean someone else can't make it work or enjoy it. I think that's the key here. I figure it's worth a shot.

Whew! Thanks for the info guys. For $75 & 2 weeks, that's a bargain in my book. I had visions of another $200+, at which point I'd just continue to boing around on my soggy stocker.

Are we talking the big names like Penske, Traxxion Dynamics, etc? Or are there some well known individuals that do this stuff?

North- Thanks. What would you ballpark the recharge/revalve shebang at $ wise? I've already got about $200 in this thing, and am wondering if I should abandon ship & chip for a Penske...

So after trying every way imaginable to get my hypercoil spring on my 900RR shock (to no avail), I finally resorted to removing the lower mount attachment from the shock shaft in an attemp to get enough clearance to get the spring retainer & hardware on. I should've realized that since there's an adjustment on the lower mount, it was more than just a threaded on fitting. But, I didn't, and out pops a metering rod, and a load of oil. Now I'm wondering: 1. Have I depressurized the shock reservoir? (obviously something vented, dunno if it was the nitrogen bubbling thru the oil or not) 2. Can a local dealership likely remedy my blunder? (refill oil, repressurize reservoir if required) 3. While I'm at it, doesn't increasing the oil weight make sense? (I'm about 240 lbs in gear, using a 950 lb/in spring if I can get it on without further destruction...) 4. Anybody wanna buy a slightly used/disassembled/drained shock? TIA chad

Decided to go searching for spring alternatives for my 900RR shock. I'm probably around 250-260 lbs in heavy riding gear, so I was a little concerned even a 16.8 kg/mm spring would work if I loaded the Givi's up. I found a company in IN, Hypercoils www.hypercoils.com which had a wide variety of free lengths, ID's, and spring rates. 17.0 kg/mm translates into roughly 950 lb/in, so I asked if they had anything close to a 6.5" free length, 2" ID, 950 lb/in spring. They replied that anything over 900 lb/in is automatically a custom, and would run $265/ea (don't remember what min qty would be). Later, I received an email stating that they had 2 springs left over from a custom order that were 6" free length, 2" ID, 950 lb/in that they'd let me have for $95 ea. I ordered one, and received it today. Of course, it's 1/2" shorter than the stock 900RR spring, but I figured that with a spring this stiff, lots of preload probably won't be desirable or necessary. If it is required, I can make a shim easily enough. It slips over the body of the shock fine. Hypercoil springs have NO taper to them, fwiw. Each spring has its' tested rate etched into the end. If anyone want to try to claim the remaining spring, call Diane Baker of Hypercoils at 1.800.365.2645 Cheers. Chad

Isn't the XX a 110 link chain? I bought a Tsubaki Sigma 530 (heard it was sposed to be the best) and a set of new sprox for my FJ1200, but heard both bikes used 110 links, and was considering putting it on the bird. Also, will a clip-type master link survive on the XX?

Where are we on the order? About to take the bike apart for major surgery and would like to only tear her down once.

Just went thru the same thing (bike in storage for 2+ months). It's definitely frustrating. It's a pain in the butt, but might save time in the long run--pop the tank off, take the airbox cover off, and squirt some starting fluid into the carbs. If it doesn't fire, or at least catch a few times, with that, then I'd start to worry.

My conti's lasted only 3500 miles, thank goodness. hands down the worst tires since cheng shen's. Michelin Pilot Roads. period.

Oops--my shock arrived disassembled, so I never checked out the retainer parts in the bottom of the box. Anywho, the retainer collar came in at about 2.900" dia.