brianmacza

My temp guage isn't too accurate - it NEVER gets to the upper ranges (1997 model) and my impression is that the heat rises quite dramatically between the offramp on the motorway and my home (about 3 miles with 2 traffic light intersections that almost always catch me) Will have to yank the radiator and clean off the paint - thinners might do the job assisted with a pressure wash

Ok... After I started the rebuild on my XX (post dropping it in July) I decided to get the local radiator guys to MAKE me a copper replacement rather than get shafted by the stealership (the handmade version in copper is 1/4 the price of the OEM unit from HONDA) cos there was LOTS to pay for. THe radiator is slightly deeper, has the same number of tubes from intake tank to outlet tank - painted matt black, it weighs fractionally more but thats of no concern. QUESTION: Does aliminium have better thermal transfer properties than copper? Is the black paint causing trouble for me? The thermostat decided to die (the fan switch in the outlet tank) so I put in a bridge switch to earth to force the fan on. If its a hot day, a 35km ride on freeway with nominal traffic at my usual pace (140 to 180kph) with the fan forced ON end up with the bike upchucking about 1/2 cup of coolant when the engine is stopped (not immediately tho... about 2 minutes after the motor has been stopped). Wisdom is needed...

There are blocks to mount the front bib and tabs for everything else.

Just don;t look at Bridgestone BT016 - when they cold they slip like fresh baby snot... In winter I could spin up the back in 1st 2nd and 3rd Crap tyre when cold, sticks quite well when warm tho

No Idea... The fit is quite good on the tailpiece and front fender so far. The headlamp fits nicely into the upper, so no problems there. Will post pics when the whole deal is assembled - just waiting for my speedo cluster to arrive before putting the upper and side panels on.

The price of the panels is on the wareagle-racing.com site - I have the exchange rate to deal with, so that skews thing NOT in my favour. Wareagle - $699 The painter knocked me $450 for the paintwork including decals and a custom fancy superhard clearcoat. The local price for new honda panels was $2878 so I saved bigtime. Time will tell if the clearcoat helps the way its supposed to.

Hey guys... After I binned my XX about 4 months ago, I got prices from the stealership on replacement parts and was horrified. Biiiig munni.. Decided to tray the WarEagle panels - plastic about the same thickness as the stock panels, prepainted with primer and almost ready to paint. Took the panels to my painter guy - he decided to use his own primer and cleaned the panels up, painted them, applied decals and clearcoat and the results are awesome. Decided to try a different colour so its the metallic grey ) Will post pics as soon as the beast is together. [edit]

You sure its not hydraulic lock? If one of the cylinders fills with fuel you'll have the same symptom. Have you pulled the plugs and tried again?

Brian, I recently had a fairly serious collision with a less than skilled driver on the freeway. From what I can tell thus far, my gauges seem to have escaped the crash in working order. They come from my '98 US version Blackbird. Let me know if you might be interested. Reply to this post or PM if you prefer. Cheers, Kevin Are you not going to rebuild the wreck? If not, would love to know what you want for them...

I need clocks to finish the rebuild on my XX - anyone got clocks they can part with, or can provide a link to allow me to get them online?

Avoid the BT016 like the plague... takes forever to warm up and it slips like baby snot until it does. Metzeler Z6 is what gave me most confidence on the road.

I have a BT016 on the back of my bike - found it to be really crap when cold... spins up 1st and 2nd with no warning, even after 10 miles of freeway riding. When its hot it sticks great, so its probably fine on the track. Unuseable on the street in my opinion unless you hammer it all the time (which I don't) My next new set will be another Metzeler Z6 combo. Had great traction, awesome mileage, good feel.

POS Honda... the damn things gravity failed and landed me on my arse

I was thinking of doing a satin black paintscheme with no decals at all - their stuff is apparently primered in a gunmetal color so there's very little prep required if I do go this route. From a financial perspective it makes good sense - the big question was fit and quality of the base plastic

War-eagle racing linky to XX kit

I threw my bike down the road last week, and have been hunting for decent pricing on bits and pieces... The Wareagle bodykit is apparently 'patterned off original components' and at a price of US$699 for a full set - upper, 2 side panels, front fender and tailpiece - seems too good to be true. The local Honda stealer wants almost US$3k for the same combo. Sooooo.... before I screw things up even more, is it worth it?

How often did you change the coolant (if you had the bike for some years) and if so, what brand did you use? I got the bike in Feb 2005 - it had plain water in it. I refilled with 100% Castrol brand antifreeze (which was the best available at the time). The water that came out WHEN I flushed and refilled was absolutely clear. Never did find the bits that broke off...

Last time I replaced with OEM pads I measured the thickness - rear pads are slightly thicker than front.

We have a couple members who have transplanted wierd shit to the front of their bikes... Busa and ZX14 in fact... Both were awesome mods (too much bike-downtime for mw to think of it seriously tho)

My '97 had overheating issues a year ago - replaced the water pump and all was well. I found that the impeller on the water pump was so corroded that a couple of blades had vanished and the ones that were still there pumped poorly anyway. B

The most comfortable all-round set I have had so far is the Metzeler Z6 combo. Right now I'm running Pirelli Diablo Corsas (I get them for almost nothing as practice track tyres - 10 laps and they're mine) The Diablos don't last particularly well, and they are crap on cold wet roads, but with a bit of warmth in them they are quite nice. Best so far has been 16000km on the Z6 - the Diablos give me 6000km on the rear and about 9000km to the front - only severe cupping makes me change the fronts as there is still plenty wear on them.

just had my front bearings go funny at 80,000 km. completely fscked. The local Honda agent wanted almost US$25 for what the local bearing guy charges US#3.00 Both parts are from the same supplier - NSK Japan.

I had a similar problem with my '97 a couple months ago. Found that while the diaghram wasn't torn or otherwise damaged, there was enough of a sediment buildup from the crap grade of fuel we have here to cause a slow leak into the cylinders. Cleaned it up and it hasn't happened since.

Means the diaphram on your fuel tap is probably poked.