v00d00child

I have a Cheetah SST (got hosed for 30 a year ago), but I usually use my powerbronze double bubble, as I think it looks better (MHO). Between the two, I really couldn't tell much difference between buffeting up to about 95. The faster you go, though, the worse the double bubbles become, as they're forcing more air around them, creating a low pressure area above the tank. I've almost had my compass sucked out of the map pocket of my Eclipse tank back doing around 95 a couple of times. Guess it all depends on your riding speeds & tastes.

I also have a 97, and was testing my fuel limits this weekend. At 160 and some change, the needle was below the last red tick, still no light. A few miles down the road, and *BING* red fuel light came on. Filled up, she took 4.9 gals, IIRC. The owner's handbook p. 18, says that when the needle touches the upper corner of the "E", there should be .79 gallons left, but I thought I remembered someone here saying that there was about .4 gallons unusable. L8r chad

Here's a link I scammed from the old site, thought it specifically mentioned replacement p/n's for the XX one, but haven't read thru it lately. For peace of mind's sake, I go ahead & get reamed 12 bucks for the Honda filter. (now the **105** the dealership wanted to change my front tire is another story :twisted: ) Anywho, here 'tis:http://twocreeks.net/toby/oil_filters.shtml L8r chad

Yep, roger that. I'm of the mindset that bikes should be ridden, kept dirty, and enjoyed rather than worshipped, polished, and parked. Finally got around to changing my erl after 3500 miles, and just like you, it came out almost as clear as the stuff I put in. I used Mobil 1, dunno if that makes a diff (yes, it was 15W50...) Gotta love the XX.

Can't actually say apples to apples that my mileage is as bad as I've seen lately. My rejetting coincided with my finding some great "twisty bits"-- a 330 mile loop where I ride the "pin and grin" style. My 43 mpg record was done on the superslab on a trip back from the AR mountains. I'd guess that if I could control my right wrist a little better, I could hit 35-37 mpg on the open road at 75 mph. My bike just seems to gravitate to 85 mph. I went with the bigger mains, might look into switching out to the smaller ones, but for right now, I'm enjoying the power increase.

Not trying to pinch pennies on mileage, I'm ecstatic with my bike since the jet kit transformation. It's just that to truly enjoy a bike like the blackbird, I need to really get away from the city (ie LEO) where she can stretch her legs and run. Out here in TX, it's easy to find yourself far away from a gas station, hence the concern over range.

DOH! Any idea of what the consequences are if you DON'T drill out the vacuum holes? (assuming the bike has the smaller holes from the factory) Seems to me like this would allow the slide to lift the needle more quickly, which would kill my mileage even more--true?

Pete- Guess I was under the impression that if the holes in the slide were large enough to accept the kit needles, everything was OK, so I didn't drill my slides--is there actually any performance gain to be had by drilling? Hard to believe the kit didn't have a big effect on your bike--mine was nite & day. L8r chad

As one who clogged this forum awhile back on the same subject, here's my input FWIW. Actual rejet job: 2-3 hrs if things go smoothly, and you know what you're doing. You're gonna hafta resync the carbs, which, if you don't have a sync tool, will run you 40-120 bucks. Most shops charge 30-65 for this, which is total crap. I bought the low ender 40 buck one, and it works fine. My dealer wanted 300 to install kit and 1 dyno run. 75 additional for any more runs (how the heck can you tell with only 1 dyno run???) I did it myself (with the help of many board members here!), and gotta say, it's really pretty easy. If you go with the recommended settings, you should be pretty close to spot on, unless you're heavily mod'ed. I have aftermarket pipes only, and I SCREAM now on recommended settings. Mileage dropped from 38-42 to 29-32, but I no longer care. Truly transformed the bike. If you do it yourself, it'd be crazy not to change out the plugs while you're under there, so add in an hour or so to r&r them. My advice: Do it yourself. Not that tough, you'll understand your bike better, and get that oh-so-good feeling of "I didn't let my dealer hose me!!!" (priceless)

Anyone owned both a carbed bird and a 2001? As much as I love my 97 (especially since the rejet), I'm considering smashing the piggy bank and getting a 2001. Some questions/concerns: 1. Read a review that stated the 99 redesign significantly increased rider comfort -- true? 2. Read an Australian review talking about the cats in the exhaust wheezing output by 12 hp -- can anyone confirm this? Are these cats on all fuelies? If so, are they feedback type (o2 sensors)? I have a 99 header (ceramic coated) on my 97, and would swap out if possible. 3. Everyone seems to get different mileage, but do fuelies tend to do better (stock) in general? I'm down to 30 mpg after the stage 1 kit. 4. Did wheels ever change? Just put Michelin Roads on, SWEET!! Would swap wheels/tires if no changes, bike under consideration still has stock bridgestones with 6K (ie, shot) 5. Does the fuel injection solve the dip in the power curve (stock)? 6. Do the 01's have theft deterrent? Any info appreciated. L8r chad

Just glad my ignorance can benefit others...

Well, put about 175 miles on the bird since the resurrection. Checked mileage today when I filled up--29 mpg. I swore if rejetting put me below 30, I'd undo it all & go back to stock, as I hate pulling over every 1.5 hrs on a long trip to fill up. But with the way the kit woke the bike up everywhere on the tach, no way. Also, it isn't fair to compare the 29 to my all time best of 42 mpg long trip slab miles), as I was ripping around the hills in 2nd and 3rd gears for about 80 miles of the ride. Hopefully, I'll be able to pull at least low to mid 30's if I somehow restrain myself from the constant "pin and grin" style... chad

Well, had enough. With one branch off the vacuum tee connected to the petcock nipple, I plugged the other branch, and took er out for a spin. DAY-UMMM!!! Power everywhere! Smooth idle, crisp response. Made a friend follow me on his triumph (had to have someone to push me home), and we wound up taking a stoplight-to-stoplight route to pick up another riding buddy before we hit a few local roads. Noticed my bike went to halfway on the temp gauge (pretty hot for my bike), but it was mid 80's, and we hit some torturously long lites. Afraid to check my mileage, but I guess power's got to have its' pricetag. Bottom line, it sounds like my bike is a bit of a frankenstein with the tee'd line off the carb, but if the now unattached line is for something critical, I sure as heck can't detect anything wrong. TJ--counter to all your accusers, looks like 2 turns out on the mixture screws works like a champ for some of us. Thx for the input everyone! L8r chad

Pete- I know I'm good on the petcock hookups. Maybe a clearer way to attack this: There are 2 nipples coming directly off the tank, one larger diameter than the other. The larger is the overflow line that simply routes downward. What the heck connects to the smaller nipple?

Blackhawk- Right, but those are on opposite sides of the throttle plate. The vacuum line for the tank tees off, so both runs off the tee should be seeing the same vacuum. Anywho, I went out, started her, and after a minute or two, tried to open the gas cap. Couldn't budge it. Finally, with a mighty yank, I got her open--being held shut due to what else, vacuum. I unhooked one of the vacuum lines that attached to the nipple on the tank and secured it in the little clip near the lhs tank hold down bolt. She seems to run fine, doesn't show any signs of sputtering & dying. I bought the new Haynes manual for the XX, and it shows the tank hose connections, but doesn't show a bare nipple ( :shock: maybe I'm looking in the wrong type of literature for bare nipples), they all have hoses attached. Do the rest of you carb'd guys have a vacuum hose unattached???

Mikey- Does it really matter which of the vacuum lines coming off the tee attaches to what? I mean, they're both seeing the same vacuum source, right? Why should it matter? Also, I noticed that next to the lhs tank hold down bolt, there's a hose clip that is just begs to hold a line the same size as the vacuum lines, know what that's for? Can't imagine a vacuum line being exposed to atmospheric, but so far, this whole thinking thing hasn't gotten me back on the road... Thx for the info. Now that I've had a few beers, I'm goin back out & gonna REALLY fix er... L8

Yes, still me, still trying to get the bird on the road after the jet kit install... In last week's (hell, month's) episode, our stupor hero installed an Erion Racing (dynojet) jet kit using the larger jets (D140's), clip on middle land, mixture screws 2 turns out (seems to idle better than 2.5). Synched the carbs, replaced spark plugs with iridiums, waxed the tank, talked softly to her, and what do I get? SQUAT! The bike seems to idle and rev fine when I'm using an aux gas tank, but when I put the tank back on, she idles fine for about 2-3 minutes, then starts bucking, gasping, and eventually dies. WTFO??? Put the aux tank to her, and she's all happy. Checked vacuum lines, don't seem to be any leaks, checked for fuel in the tank (duh),...at a loss here. Any ideas? Don't really wanna be seen riding an XX with a lawnmower gas tank...

yep. sadly, got bent over to the tune of 14 per by my dealer. :shock:

www.swmototires.com Excellent response, no shipping on pairs, honest dealings. just bought a set of Pilot Roads for the bird, and a pair of 45/46 for my FJ1200.

Mike- Preesh. Us carbies gotta stick together... L8r

Mike- Good to hear! I'm still trying to get my 97 sorted out with a dyno-jet kit. What settings did you wind up with? (clip position, mixture screw settings, etc.) Got a dyno graph to post? cheers, chad

Bought a yosh system for my FJ1200 awhile back, and the can had several "character marks". Some of the gouges were pretty deep, but I hit it with a medium grit sander disc, then fine, then some rubbing compound, and she polished right up. Took maybe 4 hours total. If the cans don't currently have a polished finish, it might be a little tougher to match. Is it possible to dismount the endcaps from the can sleeve? If so, might be able to remove, turn 180 degrees, and reassemble. Good luck!

Tetsuo- I have a 97, and recently went thru the ordeal of yanking the carbs & changing plugs for the first time on this bike. Once I loosened all the clamps holding the velocity stacks to the carb, the carbs still didn't want to came off. Couldn't figure out what the heck was holding them on so dearly, but finally got them off after rocking them back & forth several times. Frustrating, but "aggressive yet caressive", and they'll come off. good luck.

Jim- Ceramic coated headers? I have them?? Oh yeah--I fade in & out of consciousness ever since banging my melon dozens of times on the freakin frame... I can't quantify anything, but I can say that they still look good (think a little shiny stuff here & there is good for the otherwise stealthy bird), I don't notice my legs frying if I get caught at a long light, and the most the temp gauge has seen is the halfway point. The coating is amazingly tough. I used some automotive muffler fiberglass strips as a gasket for a set of slipons I bought on the board, and when I wanted to swap back to the blue flames, couldn't get some of the glass to come off easily. Wound up using a light file to grind it off. Coating didn't seem to care one bit. Was it worth 100 bucks? I'd say so. I like the twin muffler look on the bird, and couldn't find a 4-2 system I liked. I've spent more on stuff I liked less. Supposedly, coating will make the header act "shorter", and might slide some torque down a little lower in the rpm band. Hopefully I'll get her on a dyno someday soon, although I never baselined, so results will be corn-fused. Oh well, as long as she keeps running... L8r

Pete- Good answer. As it turns out, I AM an expert. :wink: All carbs bounced around 20" Hg. Geez, the 1-2 adjusting screw is impossible to reach, no matter where you try to access it from. Honda must have a dog-legged tool to reach it. Wanting to end the nite on a high note, I claimed victory & decided to mess with the mixture screws next episode. I set mine at 2 1/4 turns out. I know, I'm sitting the fence... Why can't we all be friends??? L8r chad