Lynx60

Damn!!! The rubber band that holds the toolkit down under the seat of your Honda XX broke!!! Shit, I'd blast the hell out of Honda, complain like crazy, demand that Honda re-calls all XXs, file a lawsuit, sell the damned thing, heck give it away, and get a dependable bike like a Harley Roadster!!

SwampNut, I was just joking around, being facetious, and adding a little humor myself. That's why I added the ridiculous statement: "I use Dove soap. It's mild on the chain. And when the chain's got dandruff, I use Head & Shoulders shampoo." Lynx60

You guys are bad. The poor guy asks a legit question and you give him nonsense. Seriously speaking, I use Dove soap. It's mild on the chain. And when the chain's got dandruff, I use Head & Shoulders shampoo.

SwampNut: Thanks for your comments about air pressure. Yes, the bike does ride a bit harsh at 42psi f/r, especially on choppy or bumpy roads. I got the 42psi f/r settings from that little sticker that Honda pastes on the rear part of the chain guard. What, in your opinion, would be a more suitable tire pressure for my new Sportecs? 40psi f/r? I'm no expert in these matters and my riding style is probably similar to most owners of an XX, a few moments of high speed blasts down the highways, but mostly carving corners through tight twisties in Taiwan's mountain roads. This is my first experiment with a tire different than the OEM Bridgestone BT057, so I would be most thankful for your advice. Lynx60

Thanks guys for the feedback about the nitrogen. Blaine, I got the tires installed here in Taipei, Taiwan, at a Metzler dealership that also doubles as a motorcycle dealership. There was no extra change for the nitrogen, and I get free top-offs anytime. Maybe the dealer regards this as a cheap form of customer relations that keeps the customer coming back for free top-offs and other things. All I know is that he offers it to everyone who buys sport tires from him. I tried the new tires today and pushed them pretty hard after scrubbing them in. To me, there was a noticeable big difference between the OEM Bridgestone BT057s and my new Metzler M-1 Sportecs, but in all honesty I probably wouldn't know any difference if my new tires were filled with regular air, nitrogen, or fish farts. Lynx60

Just had my new Metzler M-1 Sportecs mounted this afternoon, and the dealer asked me a question I never heard before: "Nitrogen gas or regular air?" At first I was baffled, but then he explained that most of the sport riders here in Taiwan use nitrogen in their tires, the advantage being that nitrogen does not expand under heat like air does. Hence your contact patch doesn't diminish as tire heat rises. I had him put 42lbs f/r as normal. Anyone else running nitorgen gas in their tires? Any other pros & cons about running it? Lynx60

Redbird: yes, the new Metzler MEZ6s are called "Roadtecs." They are already available here in Taiwan, at least for the XX anyway, although I don't think they have arrived here in huge quantity. What I've seen is only one set of these MEZ6s at the Metzler tire dealership. More of these, and in different sizes, may be enroute after the new year. As it now stands, I've "got my name on" this solitary set of Z6s that the dealer has; he's just waiting for me to scrub off the remaining rubber on my BT057s so he can mount the Z6s on my bike. Probably will do that next week, weather permitting. Lynx60

XX wrote: "oem bt57's will get you high mileage but less sport grip. i've gotten as high as 13k on a front and 8-9k on a rear." That sounds like exceptional mileage on the oem bt57s. I'm nearing 5000 kilometers on mine and my rear tire looks like it's got about maybe 500 kilometers left on it. I'm thinking seriously of switching to the new Metzler MEZ6's. In terms of stickiness, they're not that far off from the M1 sportecs according to Metz, but promise more mileage. I haven't tried them yet, but I did examine them closely while I was at the Metzler dealership last week. Anyone else looked at these new tires? Lynx60

Swampnut: Thanks for replying. FYI, I connect to the internet with an always-on ADSL line. My service provider is Chunghua Telcom, that's Taiwan's phone & telecommunications company. No, my problem doesn't seem to be happening only with this site? I've noticed the same problem with the ST1100 site. My browser/version is Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.2600.0000.xp....... Any suggestions you can give me would be greatly appreciated. My problem is making it extremely annoying to use the internet, and I visit your site almost daily because I enjoy staying up-to-date about things related to my 03 XX. Thanks for any help you may provide. Lynx60

Lately, whenever I click on something in this web site, I get that annoying message saying "This Page Cannot Be Displayed." Sometimes, however, I can reach the page after repeatedly clicking on it. I'm not using a wireless mouse, although it is an optical one. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Lynx60

Yes, I put a slight, yet quite noticeable, dent in the bead lip on the front rim of my 03 when I drove across a group of 2 or 3 inch elevated rumble & reflective strips in the highway. Cost me about $100 to get it fixed. IMHO, stay far away from all potholes, roadside curbs, rumble strips, and anything else taller than a new-born grasshopper. Lynx60

John01XX , et.al., please keep us posted on the fan issue. I definitely am interested in this type of modification as a simple way of keeping the engine cooler. Lynx60

SwampNut & Rockmeup: No, I haven't been around this thread before. I have seen it several times, but I assumed it had something to do with boosting the horsepower of the XX. And since my XX cranks out more horsepower than I can handle, I never visited this thread. However, I did visit it yesterday and I was quite suprised to find such an informative discussion about dietary health. Indeed, as a 61 year-old guy whose father passed away a few years ago with pancreatic cancer, I am consciously alert to any discussions about the pancreas. Also, I'm concerned about keeping my own good health. Lowering my cholesterol has been my prime concern most recently; but since I've read your info about a low carb diet, I am now thinking seriously that I need to move in that direction too! Now I have to sort out all this info. Knocking sugar out of my diet is not a major difficulty for me since I rarely use the stuff and avoid junk foods. But I can always learn more. I guess what also caught my attention in this thread is the topic of high fat, high protein, and low carb. As you may know, lowering cholesterol usually means staying away from fatty foods. Thanks once again guys. Lynx60

Rockmeup: thanks for the info. I'm particulary interested in the pancreatic & diabetes issues, and from what you've guys have said here it all seems to make perfectly good sense. I'm also reading stuff on the web site one of your members mentioned: http://forum.lowcarber.org/ Overworking the pancreas seems to be a big problem today. And given the high amount of pancreatic cancer & other related problems, I'm definitely concerned about this. Thanks to whoever started this thread. It's valuable information ... information we all need if we're going to live longer so we can ride more. Shit, I hate getting old. Lynx60

Okay guys, enlighten me. You mention that "if ya eat saturated fats with simple sugars all the time you'll be in for diabetes later in life." In terms of what foods to eat, and what to avoid, could you please give me some guidelines. Also, I'm a little confused about the reference to rice. I always thought that rice, plain rice, was healthier for us. Lynx 60

Pete in PA is correct in saying that there are companies that can true-up rims for bikes. Sorry I don't have the names of these companies, but do check the back pages of popular motorcycle magazines. FYI, I too noticed last week that I had put a small dent in the outer lip of my front rim on my 03 Bird. Some of the highways where I ride have these metal & glass reflectors imbedded in sections of the road and they serve as lane dividers, etc. Some of these reflectors, which are about 10 inches long and over an inch and a half high, are placed about a foot a part and stretch down the road for a quarter of a mile. Picture the scene: you're behind a huge tractor trailer, you pull out to pass, but you can't get back in your lane right away; suddenly those ugly metal & glass reflectors separate you from your proper lane; and with a huge bus & other traffic coming head-on toward you, you're left with no option but to cut across that stretch of ugly metal & glass reflectors! That's precisely what I did last week while traveling about 140kph. The Bird wiggled a little bit when I crossed over those reflectors, but otherwise it was rock solid. However, I must have clipped the edge of one of those reflectors with the outer lip of my front rim. Hence the small dent. Took the bike to the dealers. They removed the front wheel, took the tire off and inspected it. No damage to the tire. They sent the rim out for truing & straightening. One hour later the rim came back in perfect condition. They put the tire back on the rim, balanced it, and re-installed it. Total cost: US$105. FYI, I had to do the same thing to my BMW front rim a few years ago. Those BMW rims are made of soft aluminum. Lesson learned: Stay the hell away from those fookin road reflectors!!

Check out the Yoshimura tri-oval titanium full system. I watched Yoshimura technicians install one on a XX, and I must say the sound was absolutely beautiful. Not too loud, and not blatting like others. Also, with the new Yosh system you don't have to remove your center stand. It comes with a "stopper" that allows you to keep your center stand

How many of you folks have mounted a steering damper on your XX? I ask because someone told me that the XX has a tendency to vibrate a bit on bumpy corners, so a damper is needed to compensate for this. I've only got 500 km on my new XX, so I really haven't pushed it hard enough in corners yet to notice any problem. My second question has to do with gasoline octane. A fellow XX rider told me that using 98 octane gas, instead of 95 octane, will make the engine run hot (hot as in heat). Is this true? He claims that using lower octane, say 95, will make the engine run cooler. I've never heard of this and I always use 98 octane. Am I wasting my money and causing my engine to overheat unnecessarily in traffic? I've seem the temp guage rise as high as 120 C on a hot day in traffic. Lynx60