demon

Chain's got 9500 miles on it and it is adjusted to about 1 - 1 1/4". The stock sprocket looked good with little wear on it.

I Just installed a 16 tooth front sprocket on the bird last week. I get an annoying whine out of the chain when lightly accelerating. Is this a common occurrance with aftermarket sprockets? The stock sprocket looked to have a rubber type material on it between the splines and the teeth, and the aftermarket sprocket doesn't have it. Did feel and increase in accereration, well worth it for the price. Should get an extra 1000 miles out of the front tire and 1000 less on the rear.

That helps out a bunch. I think I can make one out of stainless, if I take my time. Thanks a lot for all the info.

Try www.parts-unlimited.com edit- Sorry- I always went through my dealer and didn't know they didn't sell retail. Most any motorcycle shop has their catalog.

I think you can buy the uncovered gell incerts from parts unlimited for about $40.

Can anyone post a pic of what one looks like (centerstand bracket, of coaurse) I might be able to fab one up with some aluminum or stainless steel I have laying around.

After reading another post on the board about centerstands and aftermarket exhausts, I feel like an idiot. No wonder my centerstand was rubbing my chain. I have an Akrapovic 4-2-1 exhaust on the bird and bought it that way. I have no centerstand retaining bracket . No wonder my chain rubbs the centerstand. Think I will look into making a bracket or buying one, then I can raise the bird's ass back up. It handles very sluggishly now compared to the way it handled with 7.5 mm of shock spacers.

Well I ended up taking all the spacers off the shock and the center stand still rubbed the chain. :sad: Got to looking at the shock and the preload was maxxed out. :shock: I reset the preload to give me about 35mm of sag and the stand no longer rubs. I magically gained some rear traction in the process, be it the lower ride height or the loss of preload. :grin: I'm going to ride the bird like this for a while and see if I can get used to it, but if not I think I will drop the forks in the tripples about 5-6mm. This should quicken the steering up a bit and still give a decent ride.

I think I am going to remove one at a time until the centerstand quits rubbing. If I remove one washer, it should bring it down to 5mm of shock shimmage. Trial and Error I guess. The Bird handles pretty quick with 7.5mm of shims. :wink:

I have run into a small problem. I have just put a centerstand on my bird and the damn thing rubs the chain. The chain has about an inch of play in it, so it is adjusted correctly. I have 7 1/2 mm of washers on my shock and am wondering if anyone else has run into this problem. I have 3 2.5mm thick washers on the top of my shock and am going to remove 1 or 2 of them.

I'm fixing to order some Galfer greens for the front and black for the back. I think this would bias the brakes more to the front. Anyone done this before and are you satisfied with the results? Any drawbacks? I know the greens are a little mushy in the rain, but the only time I ride in the rain is when I get caught out in a popup storm.

When I'm going in a straight line, I can turn my front wheel any way I want to align the handlebars, and still go straight. :cool: Oh, I forgot, the front wheel is in the air. :roll:

3 words- Fuel Injection Baby self-compensation for air pressure I'll NEVER go back to a carbed bike!! :banghead:

Does anyone know if the Yosh EMS is available for the bird, you know the one with the alternate maps you can change on the fly? If a system like that exists, it would make dry nitrous easier to live with. Flick a switch and then push the button.

Those stainless steel bar ends are the shit. Do they reduce the little vibration that exists in the bars to about nothing? Hell who cares how they work they look goooood! :smokin:

The only problem I have with dry systems is that the bike runs Rich as Hell when the nitrous isn't on. This would be fine for a drag bike that sees little street duty, but for someone who wants an occasional shot of Nitrous, it would be a hassle. Your fuel mileage would suffer and you might actually loose power when the nitrous isn't on due to the added fuel injected all the time. Its a trade off between streetability and reliability. If the ecm is delivering extra fuel all the time, the nitrous will not burn up the pistons. If you have a fuel solinoid not work for any reason, the mixture will be extra lean and could frag your motor. I used to run nitrous on an old Camaro I used to have and started out with a dry "sneaky pete" system, but was not happy with the drivability issues. I upgraded to a wet setup and loved it. Just my .02 Donnie

From the nitrous setups I have seen, the wet setups seem to work better. The maps in the ecm for your fuel stay constant and when you hit the switch, the nitrous and fuel take care of themselves. The wet setups are more expensive, but are worth it.

Finally got to check mine saturday. Left outer worn at an angle, about 1mm left at the lower side. All other brakes are in good shape. Had an asphalt covered rock stuck to the front right brake pad, removed it, and no more bzzzzzzzz. :grin: I'd say I've got a good 1500 miles left on the pads. Going to order Galfer greens for the front and blacks for the back.

I'm going to check the pads tonight. The discs do not have any scratches in them so I think I'm OK. On the main site, I only found EBC HH info and nothing on the Galfer pads. Are they that much better?

What kind of mileage do the brake pads usually last under normal use? I have 9K on the origional pads and when I stop they make a bzzzzzzzzz :headscratch: sound from the front. Is this typical or do I need to check into replacing the brakes? One more question: Do most change all 3 calipers at once due to the LBS or do the rears last longer? If I need to change the pads, I was thinking of going with EBC sintered pads on the front and stock type pads on the rear to give a more front biased brakes. Anyone done this? Do you like it?

Rode the bird with the Avon 45ST on the front this weekend. :-o I can't believe the difference. Before, the bike had a tendency to fall into turns quickly and feel like it was barely holding on. The Avon has a more progressive feel than before. These things grip!!! Can't wait for the Dunlop to wear out on back to get a 46 out back. I might have to practice my burnouts a little more. :grin:

I don't know, but I am giong to find out. I just had an Avon 45 ST mounted on the front yesterday and I am running a Dunlop 220 on the rear. I don't know if the Avon is stickier than the Dunlop 205 I had on the front yet. I know it's not cupped like the 205. I guess when the Avon is scrubbed (this weekend) I'll know more. From everyone I've talked to, It is better to have a grippier tire on the front.

I'll look out for one

I bought the bike used and don't have the center stand. Anyone have one laying around that they are not using? My local dealer really likes to screw people on parts.

Doesn't the centerstand require a spacer for use with an Akrapovic exhaust? This would be an option for me if I could fit it properly.