Helvet

This is a common problem for the Bird. The cheapest solution is to upgrade the springs front and rear, and place new oil in the front. Here in Europe Hyperpro is the thing. It is the only one in the world who delivers fully progressive springs. All the others have a 2- or a 3-step lineair spring, even if they advertise with progressive springs, they don't have them. A fully progressive spring gives you comfort at slower speeds and lighter load, and still gives enough power to make a heavy or a fast ride possible without bottoming out! A complete set of Hyperpro's is sold here for 230 Euro. Check out some of our postings: http://bb.superblackbird.info/viewtopic.php?t=297 http://bb.superblackbird.info/viewtopic.php?t=107 And check out the factory: www.hyperpro.com

Be carefull if you get a PC.... There is a difference in several countries which one you should use. Here in Europe only a 1999 and a 2000 use the PC2. All younger models use a PC3. But in the states you didn't have the catalyst exhaust system in 2001, right? In that case you could be right with a PC2, but you better check real good. If I remember correctly in Canada you should have a PC3..... To be safe, I would check with the manufacturer....

Do you have the correct spacers for the back-wheel mounted? Also there is a little gadget with a laser. You mount this on the sprocket, turn it a little, and you will see the laserdot move. This way you can see if the backwheel is lined up correctly....

Just like on the FJR install Hyperpro springs. You will get a much better bike!

I am sorry, but ever since our Dutch Blackbird-site got hacked lots of things went missing, including the instructions how to mount the Vista. But it is really simple. You have this notch (like 2 pins) where you can fix a screw between. Cut away the top pin, so you only have got the lower pin left. Then take a Dremel, and cut the remaining pin in a shape that fits exactly btween the 2 nuts of the gascables. This is exactly the right position to stop hitting the gastank. Goodluck!

I had the Throttlemeister and hated it every minute.... After a few weeks I switched to the Vista. Very easy and cheap, and works much better that the TM. I also think it is a lot safer to use. If mounted correctly, it will not touch the tank in any position. Even in traffic, I find myself using it about 50% of the time.....

And how would you rate them compaired to the original? I stated once I could make turns with a very bumpy road-surface about 50% faster. Did you notice that too?

www.hyperpro.com http://www.wpsuspension.com/

I don't really remember if they left the spacer in. If I have to guess I'll say that they left it in (it was almost 3 years ago...). Do you mean by the sag how much the front end drops if you sit on the bike? This is not much, about 15 mm.... If the bike is not loaded, and stands on 2 wheels, you can still lift the front end for about 15mm untill the forks reach the end-stop.

I just went outside, and measured the height the forks are sticking out of the Yoke. I was indeed mistaken..... Sorry for this. The top of the forks are 5 cm (2 inches) above the yoke. On top of that you got the fork-caps. I don't know what I was thinking before (or why...). Sorry for the confusion!

I really mean 1.5 Inch (for us 4 cm) dropping the front end. My bike was the test-bike for our comparison test almost 3 years ago. It was set up by the Hyperpro factory-mechanics. I guess they know what they are doing... If you are worried, why not start with half of this? And then adjust untill you are satisfied.... It takes about 3 minutes each time, so not really a problem. I am a little worried for my Superbrace (not yet installed, returned to the factory), because this might give me a clearance problem because we dropped the front so much..... I guess the Wilbers uses the same springs as Hyperpro do, because it is a patented system to produce these springs. the 2.5WT oil is really very thin, but it works very well. You feel a lot less bumps in the road, but it still feels like there is a lot of damping. The big problem with the original setting Honda uses is that the bike really jumps up and down on fast bumps.... WP (White Power from Holland) use 5 or 7.5WT in their set-up.

Ask any of our Dutch members if I am exaggurating (how do I spell this?). This really is the truth! This 50% is the max on bad roads. On good roads the difference will be like 10% (just an educated guess..) Every Dutch rider who uses Hyperpro's have lowered the front this much, and raised the tail. It really works very well. The bike feels a lot lighter cornering, without losing stability. The bike is still so stabile, I can stand up on the footpegs without holding the clip-ons, and make my (shallow) corners. Most riders in Holland have seen me do that.... However, I must say that the tires also contribute to that. I would not try this with the Bridgestones.... (I use Michelin now).

Yes, thank you... One of our boardmembers made it for me. I stink with computers... I guess you've already fixed it, because now I did get an e-mail! Thank you for your speedy solution!

This must be answered somewhere else, but I can't find it..... Why don't I get any more notifications if somebody replied to my postings? Even for a PM I don't get a notification by E-mail anymore.

Hi Jeff, here in Holland by far the most riders have switched to Hyperpro springs front and rear. They are awesome! However, the springs are longer than the original ones, that is why it's hard to get the caps back on.... You need to turn the caps fully, untill the end! Also they recommend thinner oil in the shock 2.5 or 5. I know it sound weird, but it works very well! You cant get any fork-compression because the spring is much stiffer than the original. Honda used really thick oil to stop fast travel of the fork, but in reality you need that. So change the oil... Further more you need to lower the front through the yokes by an extra 1.5 inches. Because the spring is longer, and it gets stiffer all the way you can do that without compromising ground-clearance. Also you should lift the rear by using some spacer-rings by 5mm (about 1/5 Inch). I do recommend a Hyperpro spring in the rear as well, although the difference is less than at the front. With correct installment you can corner a lot faster (even up to 50% on bad roads), and get more stability and comfort.

What a red lens does is block the light, except for the red. White light is a combination of all colours. In a red lens you will filter out most of the white light, and let the red light pass. So, in fact you loose most of the light. If you use red LED's, than all the emitted light will pass the lens, therefore giving more light. I have the clearalternative lens in the rear with the lens. They use the red LED's, and they are quite big. I compaired the light with the normal lens and normal bulbs, and there is not much difference. The only thing is that you lose the lighting on the license plate. I don't know about the states, but overhere (Holland) you must have this. So we've made 6 extra LED's in the bottom part of the lens and connected these.

I have the smoked clear blinkers in stock. I bought them for my Dutch customers, just to try them out. They are really not very dark. You need a bright lid room to see the difference between these and the fully clear ones. I stored them in another box to stop me getting confused. I think they look great on a Black bike, but not on the other colours. They cost the same as the normal ones, so no problem there....

You guys are lucky! We pay more than double for these! They are great tires, litlle wear, good grip (also in the rain) and lots of stability.....

Only 3? Lucky bastard....... :roll:

So bend over and take it like a man!

Nice pics, Dutchie! I love that Forum too!

If you want to see them better, you can also replace your gauges with this: http://cgi.ebay.nl/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...me=STRK:MEWA:IT

Chauvinistic as I am, I would say go Dutch. WP is at the moment the leading expert in motorcycleshocks (formerly known as White Power), with lots of riders in GP and Superbikes. An upcoming firm in Europe is Hyperpro. They are the only manufacturer who make fully progressive springs. All others have a 2- or a 3-stage progressive spring. These springs allow your bike to feel very comfortable when riding normal, and stiffen up when riding hard. They are about the same price (maybe a little cheaper) as WP and Öhlins. Here in Holland most of our members switched to Hyperpro. Even some guys already using Öhlins switched. No need to buy a complete new rear shock (unless you are very heavy), just the spring and a 4mm spacer will do.

Dont forget to change your gascable. You need to divert it on the other side of the fork (outside instead of inside), and take the cable from the notch under the gastank. If you don't do this, your bike will suddenly speed up in very tight left turns. This can be quite a surprise...... Also please check this posting: http://bb.superblackbird.info/viewtopic.php?t=95

Do you need a translation? Brauchen Sie Ãœbersetzung? I speak and write Dutch, English, French, and some Italian and Spanish...