mikstr

A nice and warm Spring day here in Montreal so I took my trusty VTR out of storage. Rode it 130 kms and realized yet again what a fine bike it is. Although I did not ride it hard (bit on the cool side for tires to heat up properly and issue of gravel on the roads), my first impressions of the fork brace and steering damper are quite positive. The front seemed to feel more solid although it being my first ride of the year, my seat of the pants is a bit off. Looking forward to getting more miles on to get a better feel.

Now that it is modding season again, I am looking forward to installing my RC45 throttle tube, and lightened flywheel (machined and balanced by Mr. Revolution Racing himself, VTR guru Roger Ditchfield). I will also be trying a Flo-Commander as I picked one up for a great price. Given that my new flywheel is precisely balanced and the FC is supposed to smooth out the engine, I decided to pick up a set of intake runners on eBay (got them for $10 US) so I will be playing around with different combos in the coming weeks. I will also be changing my gearing ever-so-slightly (from 16/43 to 15/41). In addition to a small improvement in acceleration, I am looking forward to trying the longer wheelbase (for a few reasons: improved stability, more weight on front wheel, and finally more comfort as the slightly longer effective swingarm length should help me effectively soften up the rear suspension a bit for my massive 170 lb frame, lol)

Let the games begin! Woohoo!!!!!

cheers
Mikstr

shayne

I hope you got the long intake runners rather than the short ones. The long ones are about the same length as the longest of the original plastic Honda ones.

The long runneers are suited to reasonably standard engines. The short ones are for high compression engines with cams etc, and have shown not to work on a standard engine.

Monomaster

I'll be watching the flywheel mod with interest, as I have been in contact with Roger & he has offered to do mine as well. Are you modding the pistons & cams/valves too?

shayne

Hey Mono, Bill Finnegan at HPower will do you a lightened flywheel (2.85kg lighter) on an exchange basis for about $150.00. Might be easier than going O/seas for it.

Monomaster

$150..... SOLD!

shayne

Send me a PM on Ozfirestorm if you need any info as I can't do the PM thing on this site.

Cheers,
Shayne.

PS Got my bottom end put together on the weekend. It's coming together finally!

mikstr

Hi gents

Unfortunately, as it is still "almost winter" here, it may be a few weeks before I can get my new flywheel installed (will have my dealer do it as I don't have the necessary tools). My lightened flywheel is an extra one as I want to be able to go back to stock if I am not happy with the results. I have my bike running very smooth (low vibration level) now but am looking for quicker response. This will be the only "internal mod" of sorts that I will be performing, in the near future anyhow.

In regards to the intake runners, they are stock OEM bits. As I will be installing the flywheel and FC, I also want to try a few experiments with the different length runners (two long, two short, ...). I am currently running the OEM long one in the back and a modded (shortened by 12mm) long one on the front at the present time. Although I want better response, I am not willing to compromise engine smoothness in the process as I use my bike mostly for sport-touring. My bike is running extremely well now so worst case scenario I will simply go back to what I am currently running. In other words, if anything, it can only get better

cheers
Mikstr

mikstr

Update: I booked an appointment with my dealer for this PM to have my flywheel installed. I will also get the sprockets changed (from 16/43 to 15/41) and have the rear wheel bearings and seals replaced (putting C3 bearings in with low-friction seals to, you guessed it, reduce friction).

I will keep you posted on the results of everything.

cheers
Mikstr

shayne

The guy in Australia that does these flywheels sent mine to me and said if I wasn't happy I could send it back to him with no charge. I have not used it yet as my bike is still in lots of little pieces, but he tells me that no-one has ever returned one for a refund.

That seems like a good wrap to me, so hopefully you will be happy too.

Just like this guy.....

mikstr

Hello again,

well, here is the verdict so far:
- engine is definitely smoother (and significantly so)
- throttle response is improved, quite noticeable when blipping it at idle
- rode on the highway and found it to respond a bit quicker but will need more saddle time to make a decent evaluation

Having just returned from the dealer's, I decided to install my Flo-Commander and just finished doing so. It took me about 90 minutes to do and all went well. The instructions are very clear (and actually specific to the VTR, something you don't see every day). I will be heading out for a ride this evening (after I eat and traffic dies down). Will report back then

cheers
Mikstr

mikstr

It just keeps getting better and better. With the FC installed, the engine is smoother yet and again more responsive. Woohoo!!!! Tell ya I just LOVE my VTR.
Now that the FC is on, I will try going with two full-length long intake runners once again (as soon as I receive the two I bought on eBay) hopeful that perhaps the fact that both carbs are vented to a central location will help to eliminate the added vibes I encountered the first time around. It would be a real nice thing if it worked for the bottom snap was gr-r-r--eat but the vibes killed it. My home-made intermediate length runner for the front works well but does give away a bit of snap (although much better than the OEM set-up). If not, well I am out $10 and will go back to what works very well now.
I will also be giving my quick action RC45 throttle tube a try as well. It is said to make the engine snap to attention more quickly too

It's gonna be a good summer

cheers
Mikstr