Best mod
 

If you had to choose 1, what would be your favorite modification on your SH?

And not to ask for too much, but maybe give a brief description so everyone else lookin for ideas will have better understanding. Thx

Thats a tough questions since I am literally in the middle of about 10+ mods right now, however, my favorite upgrade was the addition of my D&D exhaust. The stock exhaust just doesnt cut it.

Why, suspension of course!

I have a feeling there's gonna be some good stuff here

Have to say straight rate front springs. But Sargent seat is a close second.

+1 plus front brakes and steering as a whole :)
The best thing I did so far is the CBR1000RR entire front end (still need to get a rear shock from Jaimie ;) ), but there's many other mod's that well worth it, like gearing ratio on the sprocket & chain, lighter flywheel and so on... and then the mod's you don't really feel.. only when you have to pay for not having them, CCT's and R/R :)

Suspension mod.. they are expensive. But if properly tuned to your riding, they make you of existing HP, torque, brakes to the max.. far more performance gain than aftermarket exhaust.
Track school will probably help, too.

some free mods that make a difference
TPS mod
carb slide and shim mod + 48 pilots (20$ mod)
rear shock shim mod

Suspension.. it makes a felt differences on this bike if your just riding to town for some milk,,,or riding Tail of the dragon at speed, or railing turn 6 at your favorite track.

+ 1 more on suspension.

If I were to get a stock SH, first upgrade would be swapping in a USD fork front end. It addresses many things at once like adjustability, stiffness, and braking. Aside from all the "free" mods like shimming the rear shock, adjusting the carbs, TPS, etc like everyone said, and maintenance things like CCT's and tires.

The lightened flywheel and slip on exhaust are fun though ;)

Edit: I guess just exactly what NHSH said.

Suspension and brakes

Suspension............ Nothing else matters if the wheels are not on the ground.....;)

FOUL..
Try again :D

FOUL

Try again. :D

Well if yer gonna nit-pick, "suspension" really isn't a mod, it's a whole series of components...

:nana:

Really my favorite mod was replacing the old PO with myself...

Actually, add or change fork oil can easily be done, that's consider suspension mod, not that expensive.
USD fork is great, but VTR's frame was never designed to operate with USD forks. Best to determine what you need from the forks before getting the OEM forklegs swapped out.

You're right. It wasn't designed to work with 330mm rotors either so I should probably put the stock rotors back on too.

I'm totally being an asshole with that statement, but couldn't help myself, lol ;)

USD is on a very different level from adding fork oil in terms of modification. I'm not saying that either is more appropriate given the situation ($, time and experience). I'm not trying to call you out or anything, but would like to hear how a USD setup has been shown to cause frame problems on a VTR?

In theory the head tube would be stressed more, I get that, but the only ones I've seen break are due to crashes, and if you're riding it to the point where you feel flex, you're probably going to need to stiffen up the frame regardless of which forks you're running (stock ones with no brace I guess?) At that point I'd think you'd be flexing the forks enough that they wouldn't function properly anyway... but that's speculation, not experience talking...

DYMAG wheels .
Err no , hang on !
PENSKE rear shock .
Err

can we have more than one ... please ;)

YETI..

@everyone, that's good info

but to answer this, haa, more than 1 works- but be sure to put which 1 the rider liked most for any reason; whether it be cost, ease, looks. This thread is for us fairly new SH owners to get good ideas from you experienced and knowledgeable riders, as well as veterans getting new ideas too. This is good stuff.

Tiny little flush-mount turn-signals that nobody can see.

Makes it look like a racer.

:spank:

Converting to USD fork without proper setup as fork oil, spring rate, damping vales, you are still going to have poor suspension performance.

Get the OEM suspension properly adjusted and set up would benefit far more than converting to USD fork without changing everything internally to suit your ride.

I'm calling you out, just converting to USD without proper setup improves nothing on OEM suspension.


Extra headtube stress from USD vs regular telescopic forklegs is not theory, just simple physics.

Umm ok then.

First I would ask have you ever ridden a SH with a USD front end? If not you have no idea how much difference it actually makes.

Yes my stock forks had been properly set up and a fork brace and were crap compared to the forks I am running now.

As for headtube stress....real world testing shows this is not an issue so nothing for you to stand on there.

Now for your set up stuff..... I'll call you on that. If both sets of forks are improperly set up the same (which sorry but makes no sense to go through the effort to swap the forks but not set them up but whatever) The USD units will work better due to the additional stiffness. Add that they can also be lighter and generally have bigger brakes.

So with all that, yes swapping forks is an improvement even if you are too lazy to set them up.

Not on a VTR, but on a XR650R for desert runs and supermotard/track use.

Just what are the specifics on your "real world testing" do you refer?

Seat of the pants testing on public roads without compression sensor, rebound timer or onboard computer; I doubt anyone would be able to tell the difference in the "stiffness" gain from USD fork vs regular OEM.

Sorry, trying to keep it friendly!

Here's the what I heard and why I responded:

"Putting in the correct amount of fork oil is better than a USD swap" <-- I know that's not what you said ;), but I kinda ran with it in my head, lol.

I'd bet that most USD forks (at least the common ones we see people put on the hawk) come set up much closer to what most Superhawk riders need as far as spring rates, valving, and oil than the stock hawk can achieve with just some fork oil added. Totally out of my league here, but based on my experience you'd have to show me an adjusted stock setup that works better for me than my stock 929rr front end for me to believe it.

Ok, I 100% agree with you. I even said "I get that". What I'm asking, is has that extra stress ever been a big problem in a Superhawk? Again, it could be... I know they brace the frame and all in the moriwaki bikes.

And when I say "problem" I mean: Is it dangerous, or are the effects of the stress so dramatic that they outweigh the benefits of a stiffer front end?

I'm just trying to see why you would recommend not swapping a front is all (other than finances and or desire to keep the bike stock). It's lighter, stiffer, better aftermarket support, more adjustable, and a bonus brake upgrade all in one.

As said here:
Not only did it improve something for me, it was my favorite thing!

Admittedly, I have much to learn about suspension, though, so I'll toss in a free grain of salt with all of that ;)

You seem to go in two different directions here...... I was clearly talking about the headstock. Real world testing is running it for 10's of thousands of miles and looking for any stress failures or if I have felt the front end flex.

But then you change to forks, so ok I'll cover that also.

As for you comment that you doubt anyone could tell the difference in flex between the two forks..... You are very wrong here. The difference is like night and day.

The first time I hit the brakes or transition from side to side with any aggression I could tell which forks are on the bike with no problem You may not agree but I can guarantee it ;)


Are you also going to say the difference in flex can't be felt when you brace the swingarm?

Before you ask, yes both front ends were properly set up by known tuners with some really good bits in there, so once again an USD fork conversion is well worth the time and $$ if you ride aggressively.

Normally, just running it 10k miles would require fork oil change to maintain certain level of performance.

Seat of the pants testing does not count. On public roads, there is no need for the extra stiffness of USD if you know how to ride with what you got; in this case, properly setup OEM fork.

I'm only talking about fork, not swingarm; get with the program marine.

I only asked one question in my previous post, you still fail to answer it.

It was a civil discussion! He knows about maintenance, silly! He gave you the answer to your "only one specific question"

This is gonna be another boxing match... for a forum with so much knowledge and has helped me out so much, I like it too much; I'm going to bow out...

:draggin:

I'm with you... I guess I don't know how to ride, don't know maintenance and sure don't need that Ohlins valved USD front end I have on there.

As for me the USD forks and braced swingarm completely transformed the bike, though like I said I don't know how to ride. ;)


So he can argue with himself but just maybe one should actually try the mods before saying how they don't work or make no difference.

Sooo... How does CBR 1000RR forks with Öhlins internals, setup for me specifically by the same team that does WSB bikes for the top teams sound? Oh BTW, the frame is braced at the headstock and other places...

My answer for the OP's question, without any hesitation at all, suspension, suspension, suspension...

At which point was I not being civil in this discussion?
Knowledge is gained only when you mind is open, bowing out is simply closing your mind to the discussion.

Of course two of you are in bed together, why wouldn't you? both of you arguing for USD fork without getting USD fork properly setup and tested for you personal use; easily could have saved some money and time by tuning the OEM forks specifically for your usage.

I have tried USD forks vs OEM forks, I said that few posts ago, did you not read careful?

So how much does all that mod to USD forks/braced headstock cost vs just getting OEM fork specifically tuned for you specifically to suit your riding?

You have to weigh the cost vs benefit.

Without proper testing or setup, USD or OEM forks are not going to suit your riding, even though you might be able to tell the extra stiffness of USD forks at the seat of your pants, but that can easily be accomplished by changing the fork oil weight/height, get a fork valve and adding a fork brace to OEM fork legs at under $200.

On this Easter weekend maybe it is helpful to remember that while he was on this Earth Jesus only commanded us to to do one thing: Love.

I really don't like seeing stuff like this on my favorite forum!

If you ask WWJD (What Would Jesus Do), I'd imagine he would have saved some $$ by tuning the OEM to suit his riding needs vs converting to USD forks without spending time/effort to tune.
Easiest thing to do; change out the fork oil to different weight to make the fork "feel stiffer".

Lets see tell people they don't know how to ride, twisting things around about how many miles of testing that has been done into a maintenance issue. I could go on but what is the point.



Yeah you are totally civil yet isn't say people are in bed together passive aggressive in the least or just straight out rude. So once again why bother with the BS Also another one of your twist and why you are not worth the time. I said between two the two forks, if they are set up the same, the USD units will work better which gets turned into : both of you arguing for USD fork without getting USD fork properly setup and tested for you personal us..... SO maybe you should work on your reading comprehension skills as it doesn't sound like you get what is being said to you as you are in such a rush to prove your point.


Again a rude comment, at least you're consistent.
Yes you have tried them on a dirt bike.... not a lot in common with a VTR there and a SuperMoto again completely different type of a bike than a heavy street bike..... so you think that just maybe there might be a difference in the performance out come?

So once again, unless you have ridden a VTR with a USD conversion, you are just assuming and really do not have any real info to add.

Cost...hell I spent way more setting up the stock forks I ran for years. So yes I know how they are stock and I know how they work completely reworked braced and set up for me..... How you can do it for under $200 sounds interesting but unbelievable when springs are around $100 a brace will run around $100 valves are $2-300 then you have to build them or have someone build them for you.

As for what mu USD set up cost.... well SP2 forks with Ohlins valves set up by Dan Kyle.... cost to me $100 ;) Yeah I had to buy a set of springs.

Have a nice day, you are on your own.

Perhaps re read your responses above.
True, works on both sides of the discussion however.. perhaps you could take some of your own advice.
Actually you said you tried it on some other bike,, which has no relevance what so ever on THIS application..
So the snide remark is both uncalled for, and immaterial to THIS discussion.

The actual suspension work is no more costly than doing the same level of work to get the OEM forks to work the best THEY can.. And yet in the end, the OEM forks would still be limiting you in brake performance, and wheel selection.
Very true.... and for many, it is more cost effective to swap to a fork that has more potential in suspension set up, brakes, and lighter weight wheel selection then modifying the OEM forks and being limited to more pricey one off custom components.

Id suggest you price that work again.. Im sure if honest in your pricing at real world costs, you'll come up with a figure much higher then $200.

Swapping to USD forks is more expensive then Modifying OEM forks to be the best they can, if for no other reason you have to source and pay for the USD forks, triple clamps, fender, wheel, brakes, ect...

But in the end you get better brakes, wheel options and suspension using off the shelf or parts yard stuff...

Plus you get to visually modify the bike.

Plus you get to build something more unique that every other rider commonly has in a VTR.

If the OEM brakes meet your needs, the suspension is fine for your riding style and just needs a spring and oil change to meet your goals.. then of course those simple mods are better for you...... It would not meet my goals and needs however.

Yep throw a band aid on a sucking chest wound and call it good....

Not saying you will just end up in the ditch doing that but it is one of the possibilities....

From your posts, it's seems you may not understand the concepts of suspension and the modifications being discussed as well as you think.

That is not a slam, just an observation.

If folks start discussing the finer points of english literature, I will be able to read the words, but not truly understand the discussion. That's a lot like what has happened in this thread.

No harm no foul... just is.

Have a great weekend... Go ride

Seems to me some of you are rather insecure about your riding skills and those of you that went USD forks done so for cosmetic reasons.. without investigating what options you may have with OEM forks.

My experience of OEM vs USD forks are as follow:
I participated in desert racing for 4 years on my XR650R with properly tuned OEM forks,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ling/Baja1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...cling/Sand.jpg
then converted to USD Ohlins properly tuned for supermotard/track work.
Attachment 23777
Attachment 23778

On the streets, without landing tabletops or huge sand dunes, no one would be bale to tell the stiffness gained changing to USD forks if OEM fork were properly tuned.

Besides the XR650R, I've also done USD forks conversions on SV650S for track use, sure USD forks look cool, but extra "stiffnes" isn't always a good thing.

The whole concept of suspension is to soak up bumps so you don't feel them. Not to get "stiffer" or better brakes in the process. You spend all the $$ to get better performance to go faster, why would you want better brakes?
all they do is slow you down.

Actually, the cost is negligable compared to the money I spent long before that on swapping out the entire internals of the stock forks, and on a brace... Trust me, unlike you I have actually gone the entire way, comparing all the stages on this one single bike...

From OEM, to thicker oil (Which BTW was nothing short of awful, as it made the fork worse than OEM)... Then to stiffer springs... To springs and valving (specifically tuned to me), and the brace added in, which was pretty decent, but still "wobbly" compared to other bikes... To finally going all the way to an USD fork, and correct valving and springs for me... And then about a year later, uprated internals, with a lot of tuning for me...

Trust me, it makes a difference in how the bike feels and behaves, every step...

And I wouldn't really recommend anyone to try fiddling with changing oil thickness... Changing the oil level is one thing... Thicker oil, not a good idea at all...

You know... I wasn't going to comment on the parts about you being "not civil"... But that really says it all...

I have been nothing but civil, and giving information to have a discussion... But what I get in return are you spewing opinions, and opinions disguised as facts... And one or two veiled insults...

With your added "advice" of changing oil thickness, which on a road bike can result in "oil lock", ie when the fork goes momentary solid from not being able to pump the oil, which is really, really unnerving, and can be fairly dangerous, I think I'll just take the rest of what you are saying and stick it where it belongs... In the trashbin... Good day...

BTW, for those unsure... This IS a slam... nothing short of, and completely intentional...

No not at all just calling you on being a rude #$%^ for saying that if someone knows how to ride then they have no need for a USD front end.

Then implying that the fork change was done for cosmetic reasons or the ones doing it have done no research, well I guess you know all and just ignore the posts about how the OEM parts were taken as far as the could go, in as far as set up, and were still found unacceptable.

I did have to laugh when you called those disagreeing with you "closed minded" when you really seem to be the one who can't accept facts when they are spelled out for you.

So have fun in your little world, throw some thicker fork oil in there, as that will fix everything and while you are at it, pull those stupid brakes off all together, as like you said "all they do is slow you down"

So I really am done now..... Good Day.