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What would the gain be from like a 130 rear on a mt07? Less rotational mass and sharper/faster lean?
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Mar 10, 2023 23:49
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| # ? May 14, 2024 16:07 |
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A 130 would be too small, 160 is what the sv has and that seems ideal. Tyre profile is still a direct trade off between straight line grip and corner speed for a given lean angle. So if you moved to a skinnier rear you would get a bike that can go faster around a corner at a given lean angle, or go just as fast for a reduced lean angle, at the cost of traction. But the mt07 imo hasn't got the power to overwhelm a good 160 so a 180 is basically a bunch of surplus grip in exchange for a slower turning bike.
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Mar 11, 2023 00:19
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Slavvy posted:Tyre profile is still a direct trade off between straight line grip and corner speed for a given lean angle. Do you mean section? I don't understand this, actually. I understand why, for a given speed, of two otherwise identical bikes, the one with a wider tire has to lean more, but does that necessarily make it slower? I have always assumed that liter bikes have "poor" corner speed, compared with say a 600, because they are set up for straight line speed to take make the most of their power advantage. Does having a wider tire mean you must have slower cornering, or is it just the natural result of the design choices that ended up with the wider tire in the first place?
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Mar 11, 2023 00:51
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It's partly the natural design, partly that you can only lean so far. You could make a corner speed liter bike but it still wouldn't be as efficient turning as a 600 even if you take other variables out, the tires are the issue. It's a geometry thing but it goes over my head trying to explain it, I just know the results.
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Mar 11, 2023 02:00
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Slavvy posted:you can only lean so far. rofl this somehow did not occur to me
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Mar 11, 2023 04:21
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Fwiw MotoGP bikes have insane corner speed for their tyre size, but that's seemingly only possible with compounds that only work in a 5° window and truly absurd geometry that's only possible with copious electronic aids and aerodynamics. Plus stupid high pegs and contortionist riders. They're also like 160kg which does make a difference, weight itself has no effect on corner speed but it has effects elsewhere which have knock on effects on cornering geometry.
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Mar 11, 2023 04:46
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Frame sliders and luggage guards went on the FJR today Next to-do is to remove the Helibar risers and go back to the stock bar position. The risers are comfy but feel too unnatural and apparently I can leave the brake line extension installed, so it should be pretty easy to put it back if I want to. Sadly it will be at least a month before anybody can ship me a top case so I'll have to keep carrying my helmet around like a chump for a while.
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Mar 12, 2023 01:14
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Reverting the bars on my T120 to stock was the best thing I've done to it in hindsight. Initially I thought I liked the PO's risers and was worried, but nope they just made it slightly fuckier to steer. Today the VanVan got its annual fastener tightening spree, which is just an utterly inefficient series of random searches for the right box-end, torque wench, socket or hex bolt. There has to be a less insane way that isn't just checking for wiggles and hand-loose attachments, but I haven't figured one out yet. Maybe I've just discovered why the crescent wrench was created?
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Mar 12, 2023 03:07
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I took my Monkey out for a ride. It's been a while. That bike is so much fun. That's all I did. No wrenching. TotalLossBrain fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Mar 12, 2023 |
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Mar 12, 2023 03:42
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It is snowing here for the 3rd day in a row after an entire winter of 40 degree temps and next to no precipitation.  ITS MARCH
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Mar 12, 2023 15:20
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It's brutal, even after the snow melts and it's in the 40s and sunny the roads are still covered in salt grime and gravel. At this pace we'll be lucky to have clean roads by April
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Mar 12, 2023 17:12
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You should go ride in the salt and cry about how awful your chain looks by the end of the day. It’s fun.
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Mar 12, 2023 20:48
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I'm really annoyed with this half-assed winter we had with no snow, but somehow still not climbing above 50. Haven't had a single pleasant riding day this year. All the tree flowers already bloomed and only for a day before getting frost-bitten. The trees are bare again.
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Mar 12, 2023 23:13
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Same. I want to go get the bike out and work on it, just every weekend I'm off it turns to poo poo again. Drove to work today and in the corners the salts piled an inch deep. Just ugh, like someone said it seems we won't get any good riding weather here till mid April  :
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Mar 13, 2023 02:12
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moxieman posted:You should go ride in the salt and cry about how awful your chain looks by the end of the day. It’s fun. SHAFT DRIVE we won't talk about rusty frames/exhaust/etc
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Mar 13, 2023 20:59
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My next winter bike will have a belt or shaft drive. ACF-50 takes care of the rest of the bike just fine.
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Mar 13, 2023 21:16
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Boy, a brand new cable sure pulls easier than one that is decades old, huh
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Mar 13, 2023 22:59
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righteous stunt metal two finger clutch lever smasher
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Mar 14, 2023 08:10
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Added SW Motech crash bars to the Bonneville. The OEM chrome dresser bars are arguably prettier, but these will be way more help if/when the bike gets dropped. 
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Mar 14, 2023 23:36
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I replaced the steering bearings on my Nighthawk, which seems to have finally fixed the hands-free bars wobble. I’d been checking the bearings for wear and play the same way as I do on my bicycles: clamp the front brake, see if I get any forward/back play, then put the front wheel in the air and check for any notchiness left to right. The bike seemed to have buttery smooth action when I did this. But the wobble was still there, the factory (caged ball) bearings had 60k miles on them, and a set of new needle bearings were $30 so why not? As I did the work, the instant I took the front wheel off and turned it left/right boom, I could instantly tell the steering was badly indexed. There was a notch in dead center so deep it felt like a factory detent. I guess the weight of the hanging wheel must have been putting the steering on the untouched front half of the bearings, so my method of testing for indexed steering was useless. Lesson learned. After a lot of disassembly, hours of banging on press fits, then putting the front end back together, the wobble is finally gone. Going to be a relief on long rides to be able to stretch my back and arms again without worrying about it.
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Mar 16, 2023 03:43
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Nice
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Mar 16, 2023 04:10
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Hey, while we're on that topic, is there a way to tell when needle bearings wear out? With plain roller bearings, you get the detent. Do needle bearings get something similar?
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Mar 16, 2023 05:26
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he cronch
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Mar 16, 2023 05:59
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 Scrub scrub  Clean!  CAN I PLEASE ENJOY MY BIKE BEING CLEAN FOR A BIT?! (I live in the area that has 2 fronts of rain floating over)
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Mar 17, 2023 12:16
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You can wash bikes?
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Mar 17, 2023 13:47
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I put side cases on the bike this weekend. A bit fiddly, I had revert to the stock rear fender, put the blinkers in a new place and lengthen the wires for those but now it's done. I'll definitely not use them on the daily commute since they make the bike wider but now I have them and they seem to work like they should. Now I have one less excuse not to take that camping trip to Norway this summer. Want to ride this road:
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Mar 19, 2023 16:03
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Wow that's fantastic
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Mar 19, 2023 16:27
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There is a lot of fun little roads in that area. You got the classics with Trollstigen and geiranger. Or new areas that got some tunnels and bridges so the old roads are actually connected to the main land now.  https://www.google.com/maps/@62.6835256,6.2000659,3a,75y,94.23h,96.14t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swUkwhUCxwrWh557120lo5Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 As a biker the toll stations don't apply to you, but you still pay for ferries. Some ferries in that area don't go often also.
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Mar 19, 2023 16:35
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Supradog posted:There is a lot of fun little roads in that area. You got the classics with Trollstigen and geiranger. Or new areas that got some tunnels and bridges so the old roads are actually connected to the main land now. E: my most vivid memory of that trip is being stuck in a tunnel full of rain soaked sheep that smelled a lot. Invalido fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Mar 19, 2023 |
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Mar 19, 2023 17:06
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Supradog posted:As a biker the toll stations don't apply to you, but you still pay for ferries. Some ferries in that area don't go often also. Has this changed in recent years, cause when I went I didn't pay for poo poo at the ferries?  The Brattvåg Fjordhotell had pretty bad chicken for how expensive it was.
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Mar 19, 2023 18:39
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Eh, ferry prices are a crap shot. Some are now fully subsidised for all, some are free for local residents, and some have the old system where bikes pay half/less rate than cars. I think the most expensive ferry I've taken was like 7 usd/Euro, so it's not a huge cost. There are private toll roads over some mountain passes that charge more, and have same price for bikes as for cars. Number plate reading auto billing is getting more popular on the private mountain roads. But, I've had a good bit of them fail to read my plates on different bikes with visible plates even if they claim that they will bill bikes. Most private mountain roads don't charge bikes.
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Mar 19, 2023 19:52
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It may look cute, but Nighthawks only do this when they are very distressed! The new steering bearings and races had developed some slop as they bedded in, so I took the top off and tightened things back up.
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Mar 22, 2023 00:41
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First service for my T120 advised at 600 miles, so I decided to be just a little extra about it. I’ve had the bike all of 2 weeks. loving love it.
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Mar 23, 2023 23:26
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I'm pretty sure I saw metal glitter when I changed mine at 2300mi, and the PO claimed to have done the 600mi service at the dealership (I believe him), so I'd suggest doing it again by then, and if you DIY you'll want a pretty shallow oil pan. Changed the oil on the VanVan today, 1 quart in, beep boop so simple compared to the other children.
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Mar 24, 2023 02:59
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I was already planning on it, if for no other reason than to get to know the bike.
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Mar 24, 2023 04:26
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Woot got the email from the storage place saying it's almost time to call in and make a pick up appointment. Weather's been a bit all over the place, so hopefully should get it around Easter weekend
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Mar 26, 2023 03:52
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I have a spare air filter for the Vanvan, so at inspection time today I figured I'd prep the new one, put it in, then wash and dry the old oil filter at my leisure and just keep rotating them every few years till one looks bad. Well I've never used an air filter that's oil-soaked before, but I dumped a couple ounces of fresh oil on it and the filter gobbled it right up. The instructions are all very clear on the whole "don't wring the filter" thing, so I performed the open-handed squeeze they indicated in the pictures for a while, got as much oil out as I could that way, but the filter being larger than my hands the un-squeezed parts just kept absorbing what I was pressing out. Whatever, filter goes in. Well, once resting vertical in the bike the excess oil gathered at the bottom and began draining, so when I went back to the bike later I had a minor ecological disaster pooled under the bike and a chain guard soaked in oil. Lessons learned, next time I'll use a couple larger flat things to squeeze it out, let the filter sit vertical on a rag for a day before swapping it in.
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Mar 27, 2023 02:10
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Fired up the gt550 and rode it back home from where it was stored for the winter. It was stored cold, but fired up pretty easy. Just needed to prime the carbs and run a battery booster so it could crank for a while. It was dryish roads and some degrees above freezing, now its sub zero again. I'll swap it for the fz6n which is stored at another location in the easter if the weather finally gets closer to spring. I need to go over it to clean it up for pretty sales pictures, and remove reusable bits that does not increase the sales value.
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Mar 27, 2023 12:32
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I replaced my first motorcycle chain. I watched a YouTube first. It went smoothly. Then I cleaned the bike even though it's obviously the wrong order since I didn't want to work on a wet bike. Bro's rivet tool is bullshit though. I could probably fix it with more (new) metal where it's bending but the best solution is probably to suck it up and spend the money on a decent tool and be done with it.
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Mar 27, 2023 21:14
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Yeah just buy the DID tool and never look back.
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Mar 27, 2023 23:09
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