superhawk996

I found the spec for Honda/Showa SS-8. It's a 10w oil with a cSt of 35.48 @ 40c. compared to the Maxima you use which is 15.90 @ 40; quite a difference. 35 cSt is ATF territory like what was used in old damper rod forks and not deemed suitable for a cartridge by any professional.

I always assumed the "mushy" complaint was the damping, not springs. I'll try an oil change and go from there.

I found a great chart on suspension oils http://www.peterverdone.com/archive/lowspeed.htm It shows how far the labeled viscosities can be from actual viscosity. Interestingly, standard Maxima 5wt. has the same specs as Maxima Racing 85-150 5wt. at probably a lower price. They're also lighter than Showa SS-7 and Honda Pro 5wt. None of those have an impressive viscosity index, tho it's probably not a big deal for a street machine, I'd choose something in the right viscosity with a higher VI if I could. My confusion with your recommendation of a lighter than stock oil comes from many here saying that the stock forks are mushy, and a lighter oil would make them more mushy--wouldn't it? Also, our forks are said to be cartridge forks and not damper rod forks, but they have a rod...WTF?

Not sure what it'd take to look great, but I'd feel great and that's all the give a fuck I have in me. I really loved the 999 and wouldn't have sold it if I hadn't needed the $. I stretched finances to buy it because I got a smokin deal ($3600) and when it was time to refill the coffers I dumped it and made $. It helped that I got to buy it in the spring and sell in the winter and still made out, hard to do. The 999 was so easy to ride and very comfortable (other than the burning legs) which was quite surprising. Something about it seemed to part traffic too. I could lane split in any conditions at ludicrous speed and I swear everyone saw me coming and the seas parted constantly. It felt like an extension of my body and just went where I wanted it. It looked FANTASTIC in the family room too. :-) I haven't had a fuel gauge 'till the bird so that's no issue. Does the 1098 have the track timer standard or is it an add-on? The 999 had it and I see conflicting info on the 1098 being standard issue or not. I so wish I had immediate cash to drop. I like all the stuff it has and that it's a mono with the bi-posto option. You should just ship it to me so it stays warm for the winter ;-)

Did you get it on and if so, results? I haven't. I have a stock '97 and the header I bought is a late model with Jet-Hot coating. I want to do a few temperature and performance tests before swapping and I just haven't gotten around to it. I actually have a list of stuff I want to test before/after for curiosity and to share. The weather and time have conspired to be uncooperative and it'll probably take a few cold start to run cycles to complete the tests I wanna do. I'd like to do a good MPG test as well, but if I hold out for that it'll be forever before I do the swap so it may not happen.

Before you spend mega bucks on re-valving, springs etc. I urge you to change the fork fluid to maxima racing formula 85-150 5wt. Not all fork fluids within certain viscosity are the same, I don`t guarantee results if you use different 5wt . http://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid Basically you need to disassemble entire fork, pull out cartridges, disassemble valves, shims, etc. Everything has to be operation room clean-clean, otherwise it is not worth the effort. Record the stock shim stack You`ll need to lap faces of the valves so they are actually flat , basically start with wet-or-dry 600 on something flat like piece of glass, finish them off with 1000-1200 grade. I`m within 5-10 pounds of your weight, I`m extremely happy with results, high speed harshness is gone, I absolutely don`t see the need to mess with forks any further. I`m running stock springs. Just for the record my track bike has Traxxion Dynamics cartridges in the front and their Penske shock in the back. I do know what the high end suspension feels like. The 5 wt. and lapping the valves takes out the harsh without making the damping mushy?.....sounds interesting. My guess would be the 5wt is removing the harsh and the accurate valve finish is restoring control. (?) Thanks!

Ship them to SoCal, I'll ride them only enough to keep them ready for you. They'll live indoors when not being "maintained". Or maybe blanket the bikes individually with a small bulb or heater under each. One thermostat so when the garage or van gets below "X" they all come on. Just a thought.

Mine actually feels good except for the harsh compression, the PO may have changed the oil to something heavier tho. I took the caps off and the springs look to be stock, and shorter than I expected, but I don't know what oil it has. I considered changing it just to see but figured it a waste since I know they won't be good without work. I'll hit up G2, thanks again. Funny, I just realized I bought a set of headers from Greg recently.

Thanks! Was that shim removal to soften the compression? Is a straight forward removal of the shim with no other mods needed to take it's place?

Oh, I stupidly assumed everyone would know I'm speaking of a XX, mine's a '97. I know it doesn't have the adjustment option as there's no adjustments on these, but I assume there's a way to make the changes by taking the forks apart and modifying.

I've searched and can't find an answer to my question. My forks feel pretty good overall except high speed compression damping feels really stiff; I think it's what causes it to jump pretty hard on things like raised manhole covers and other bumps when cruising. The spring rate and damping feels ok otherwise. Is there an easy way to reduce just the high speed compression damping without affecting the rest of the damping negatively? Should I re-spring and install race-techs or something like that? I'm about 180-185lbs. I want good control, but don't want harshness. I'm very capable of doing the mechanical work and drilling, cutting, modifying; just don't know what to do to them. The rear feels ok, tho I'm thinking about the Ohlins group buy, then I might dislike the front more.

As for changing the lines I am going to have to take them all off the ABS pump so I can get to the inner lines because there is no way to get a wrench in there and have room to turn it. It hits either the other lines, frame , or the cab floor. Unless someone has a trick they can share. It would be really appreciated. You may be able to get in there with a crow's foot line wrench and an extension and/or swivel.I tried a regular crows foot but couldn't turn it. Do they make crows foot flarenut wrenches?Hummm going tool shopping... Merry Christmas to me... Yup, I have a snap-on set, but they make them in non-unobtanium brands as well. I think even harbor freight has them. My set is missing some, but if I have the sizes you need I could send them to you to borrow, I don't need them often. In the mean time squirt all the fittings with penetrating oil to maybe help some. As for changing the lines I am going to have to take them all off the ABS pump so I can get to the inner lines because there is no way to get a wrench in there and have room to turn it. It hits either the other lines, frame , or the cab floor. Unless someone has a trick they can share. It would be really appreciated. You may be able to get in there with a crow's foot line wrench and an extension and/or swivel.I tried a regular crows foot but couldn't turn it. Do they make crows foot flarenut wrenches?Hummm going tool shopping... Merry Christmas to me... Yup, I have a snap-on set, but they make them in non-unobtanium brands as well. I think even harbor freight has them. My set is missing some, but if I have the sizes you need I could send them to you to borrow, I don't need them often. In the mean time squirt all the fittings with penetrating oil to maybe help some. Now that I think of it, since you're removing to toss you could just cut them off and use a socket or box wrench!

You would think, and I hope for him. He may have to hold out some, but his seems the superior bike compared to many listed. For some reason the closed listings for nakeds are killing the normal 1098 which seems weird. I was looking up the 999 as I miss mine and they're fetching a pretty penny considering they were getting some negative press and the 1098 was the new better replacement. On CL the 999 and 1098 are about the same price.

Didn't know it was a flat fee, other stuff I've been selling gets hit at 10% plus BS fees. But the 1098 isn't selling as well as I thought it would.

What they're selling for on ebay and the amount of fees they charge I think you'll loose a lot. I've been reading and looking at the pics since you listed it, and drooling. I wish my damn boat would sell and I'd probably buy this thing! When I had my 999 my only real complaint was the intense heat that would burn my legs on a hot day. What gripes or low points would you say the 1098 has?....and do you want a boat? :-)

As for changing the lines I am going to have to take them all off the ABS pump so I can get to the inner lines because there is no way to get a wrench in there and have room to turn it. It hits either the other lines, frame , or the cab floor. Unless someone has a trick they can share. It would be really appreciated. You may be able to get in there with a crow's foot line wrench and an extension and/or swivel.

One trick to help with post brake line replacement bleeding is to lock the brake pedal partially depressed, I usually use a bar or stick between the pedal and the seat; this will keep the master cylinder and any lines not removed full of fluid. I do this when I replace calipers and wheel cylinders too. After repairs you can usually just release the pedal and it'll gravity bleed. Depending on the vehicle and which parts are replaced it can be slow. I do the same on bikes with a wire tie around the grip for front and usually a wire tie can be used for the rear as well. Whether car or bike, if you're disconnecting the line from the master only depress the master a little bit so that when you're done you have a bit of stroke left to pump some fluid into the line with the first pump to assure it doesn't suck air into the master on the first release. If you're replacing the lines to the ABS module start with the incoming lines, bleed them before installing them to the module, then do the master cylinder trick, then the lines leaving the module. This should keep the module from getting air. For some vehicles the ABS has to be manually cycled (possibly with some special tool) to get a complete bleed. As for line rotting from the inside; that would mean you have a high amount of water in the fluid and it should have been flushed. Brake tubing commonly fails at sharp bends or at the flare because it gets weakened by the bending process. Almost all brake tubes are welded seam type and fail at the seam. When making custom lines I try to keep the seam on the inside of tight bends so it's not stretching the seam (no idea if it really matters) and all flares need to be of the same type and angle as the component, generally a standard double flare at 45 degrees.

Nothing. The pdal went right to the floor. I had to use the E-brake to stop. The system is separated front/rear so you should have had 100% of front brakes, but the pedal would be much lower. Usually what happens is that the pedal drops and the person assumes the brakes are fully gone and panic, seen it more than once. If you're sure you went to the floor and didn't have brakes you have a problem that needs to be addressed.

I think the zinc & phosphorous is gone due to EPA, poisons catalysts. Diesel oil used to be the cheap way to get Z&P way back when it got removed from standard gas automotive oils. The zinc's main advantage is on metal to metal contact like cam followers, but may have also played a role in the clutch. Being that modern bikes have catalytic converters I'm guessing the zinc is gone or at least highly reduced in standard use bike oils too, dunno for sure. The only oil I know for sure that's got it and is somewhat easy to find is Valvoline racing oil in the 'not street legal' version. If it doesn't state not street legal or it has a modern rating it doesn't have the Z&P levels of old oils. There are a few others like Brad Penn oil that have it too. There are several additives with zinc, but the effectiveness of it mixed with modern oil has mixed reviews. The modern oils have different shit that's supposed to do what Z&P did, but it's been shown to not have the same effect. Like most products, if the bottle doesn't have a skull & crossbones warning, it doesn't work for shit.

It's somewhere in here I think http://www.hoc.org.uk/gallery/press/1999/1999_CBR1100XX_Super_Blackbird.PDF I played with it some more today and I can get clean shifts without the clutch cold, but not hot so it's definitely something that's changing in the bike. I'll be off playing in the desert for about a week on other stupid fast stuff, but when I come back I'm doing an oil change to see what happens. BTW-thanks to all you guys who've chimed in to try & help me with this!

Yea it's an old post, but no indication it was sold so ya never know.

No update??

Should I worry? Its better than the banged up wheel I have now, but if its still sketchy then why bother, i'll just get a refund and buy one of the other wheels available? The seller is very accommodating, not a con (though i guess he is a wheeler-dealer ) and is going to make an even trade for the wheel I bought last month which doesn't fit. I should have looked more closely at the picture, I was thinking there might be a difference in the spoke style but it would still fit, but its not even close, wrong number of rotor bolts, number of pads, thinner spokes, geez! btw, any idea what kind of bike its for? Thanks for your, uh, opinion... I've never checked runout on a bike wheel, car wheels commonly have more than 1/32. The one you bought says Honda on it and CBR1100 in the description (clearly not right), and sv650 in his fitment guide. This guy needs to get his shit together. I'd probably not give him any of my money unless I really had no better choice. Is he the only guy with one for sale? Seems kinda high for a used wheel unless it's in really good shape.

The brake is on the later, not earlier models. I have no idea what the wear rate is, but ridden right it'd probably last forever. Coasting in gear with the clutch in I think would put a lot of wear on it, otherwise it's only going to slide briefly during shifts. I think it only engages at full or close to full stroke, so a partial clutch engagement probably doesn't bring it into play.

Try Rock auto online, they have great prices and may have OEM stuff as well as others