I am retarded...

[94suzuki500]

Well I guess that would be the only downside really to a supermoto other than top speed, but super motos are so much fun, I have a zx6r and it sucks as far as fun riding goes.  I was asking about the reno because my mom has a red one, I was maybe thinking we could be twinkies.

[annguyen1981]

I was maybe thinking we could be twinkies.

I don't think you should EVER mention anything like this again...

[annguyen1981]

Well I guess that would be the only downside really to a supermoto other than top speed, but super motos are so much fun, I have a zx6r and it sucks as far as fun riding goes.  I was asking about the reno because my mom has a red one, I was maybe thinking we could be twinkies.

Saved.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Well I guess that would be the only downside really to a supermoto other than top speed, but super motos are so much fun, I have a zx6r and it sucks as far as fun riding goes.  I was asking about the reno because my mom has a red one, I was maybe thinking we could be twinkies.

saved again 

[annguyen1981]

Well I guess that would be the only downside really to a supermoto other than top speed, but super motos are so much fun, I have a zx6r and it sucks as far as fun riding goes.  I was asking about the reno because my mom has a red one, I was maybe thinking we could be twinkies.

What the hell... one more time won't hurt.

[pandy]

Pics!! At last!!! w00t! I actually like the gold, too. It's *understated* bling. It doesn't jump out and hit you on the head. It just sits there and looks purdy. 

Sooooooooo....gonna go on a nice, long holiday-weekend ride and post up a full report!? 

[Alphamazing]

Pics!! At last!!! w00t! I actually like the gold, too. It's *understated* bling. It doesn't jump out and hit you on the head. It just sits there and looks purdy. 

Sooooooooo....gonna go on a nice, long holiday-weekend ride and post up a full report!? 

Long rides are out of the question. 50 miles and my ass starts to hurt. 80 miles and I need to refuel and rub my ass for a few minutes.

However, I will be going to Cycle Ranch, a Motocross track near San Antonio this weekend. I'll no doubt get some experience sliding this thing around on road tires in the dirt.

[scratch]

SWEET!  And, SWEET!       

[jake42]

Alpha, I'm jealous and drooling.  The guy here that parks by me has the same color, except he has the barkbusters with the integrated turn signals. I don't know if you've come across those yet, but they are super sleek and really clean up the front of the bike.

Jake

[Stephen072774]

wow, an mx track... i haven't got that brave yet and I have dirt tires   You should be ok on the d208's as long as you stay off the front brake... I was so used to using it that it gave me trouble at first on the dirt.  One great thing about the drz is how well it crashes.  Mines been down 3 times and the only thing that got scratched was the end of my handguards.  The stock bars bend about as easy as butter but alum bars are cheap and much stronger.  I found the limit of the d208's on some steep hill climbs and dropped it, momentium is key when traction is limited.

I think you'll get used to the seat better, it bothered me at first... but i can now ride 200 miles before I get sore.  I've never used anything other than stock, but i've heard most people say the gel seat is about the same as the stocker, except lower seat height.  I was gonna try and get a pic of my rad guards soon to show you how they had faded... pretty odd i thought, since my bike sits in the sun a very limited amount of time. 

[Alphamazing]

wow, an mx track... i haven't got that brave yet and I have dirt tires   You should be ok on the d208's as long as you stay off the front brake... I was so used to using it that it gave me trouble at first on the dirt.  One great thing about the drz is how well it crashes.  Mines been down 3 times and the only thing that got scratched was the end of my handguards.  The stock bars bend about as easy as butter but alum bars are cheap and much stronger.  I found the limit of the d208's on some steep hill climbs and dropped it, momentium is key when traction is limited.

I think you'll get used to the seat better, it bothered me at first... but i can now ride 200 miles before I get sore.  I've never used anything other than stock, but i've heard most people say the gel seat is about the same as the stocker, except lower seat height.  I was gonna try and get a pic of my rad guards soon to show you how they had faded... pretty odd i thought, since my bike sits in the sun a very limited amount of time. 

Well, I won't be goin' on the jumps or on the MX track, really. I'll be in the fields and on the trail. I'm mainly there to take pictures for my last photography project. But I do need to get used to this thing sliding around. I just don't feel confident in the 208s, and that mental quirk might be affecting how I ride. I do need some time to get used to the bike still, though. There's always an acclimation time.

I don't intend to slide the tail end, but I figure it's going to happen eventually, so I ordered some Sidi Supermoto boots ($202 shipped!) with replaceable soles. They should be here next week.

[Alphamazing]

I got my insurance switched over to the DR-Z today. I was paying $145/year for minimum liability with the GS. It went down to $87/year for the DR-Z. Sweet.

[Alphamazing]

My SM picked up a nail in the rear tire on Tuesday night, so it's been stuck at my parents' place for the past couple of days. I have a lot of stuff planned for it this weekend including:

tube patch/replacement
valve check
radiator flush
oil change
CFC Case Guards
Kick start kit
Acerbis Supermoto front fender

Stay tuned for pictures...

[Alphamazing]

The tube patch went well, but getting the wheel back on was a challenge. I had to remove the rear axle three times due to brake caliper complications.

My valve check turned into a valve adjustment. Valve adjustments on the DR-Z require you to remove the camshaft and pull the bucket out to get to the shim (shim under bucket).

While my father was out getting the shim at the dealer, I began working on installing the kick start kit. As you can see, the entire right side of my engine was pulled apart, and I hadn't even finished disassembly when the picture was taken. It was taken just after I removed the clutch pack and throwout bearing; I still needed to remove the clutch hub and primary drive gear, THEN install all the necessary parts for the kick start kit. Installing kick start kit took far longer than I anticipated, in the neighborhood of 5 hours or more. After finishing the valve adjustment and installing the necessary kicker parts I began reinstallation of all the disassembled parts from the kicker kit. When I was putting the clutch springs back into the clutch pack my father advised me to tighten them down more than I had. Since he's been doing this sort of stuff since he was 14 or so, I trusted him. Big mistake. A few twists of the wrench and I sheared part of the clutch hub apart. Dammit.

So after that I finished putting the side case back on and then proceeded to clean up my work area. It had been 10 hours since I started everything and I was exhausted and frustrated. My bike is sitting in my parents' garage with no bodywork (except the front and rear fenders), no oil, no antifreeze, no seat, no skid guard, and a broken clutch hub. Thankfully the clutch is behind a removeable part of the side case, so all I have to do is remove three or four bolts, pull out the clutch, replace the hub, and put it back in and I'm done. The kickstarter is ready to go so that nightmare is over. Also, the CFC case guards are simple glue on items, so I'll take care of that at a later time.

[ashman]

too bad there isnt a kick start for the GS mine never turns over in the cold.

-ash

[GeeP]

Damn...  In spite of my projects, I like to leave stuff together for at least a few months after I buy it.  Enjoy it for a while before it takes up residence in a dark corner for a month or six ya know?   

Shim under bucket valves should be outlawed.

Let's see how many spare parts you have left over.   

[Alphamazing]

Damn...  In spite of my projects, I like to leave stuff together for at least a few months after I buy it.  Enjoy it for a while before it takes up residence in a dark corner for a month or six ya know?   

Yeah, but I also bet you're like me and you like to tinker. You have a lot more projects that allow you to do that, so some stuff can stay together for a few months before you get to it. However, this is the only thing I have to tinker with, so it comes apart immediately! One advantage though is that I get to learn how this thing works right off the bat. Convenient. And if I ever decide to swap the cams to something that gives a little more juice, I already know how. Sweet deal, eh?

Shim under bucket valves should be outlawed.

I'm sure there is some benefit that would dictate it in an engine like mine, but I don't know exactly. Probably has something to do with not wearing the valve down by having the cam lobes constantly rubbing them.

Let's see how many spare parts you have left over.   

Thankfully the only parts I have left over are the ones I'm SUPPOSED to have left over from the kick start kit. My bike has automatic decompression (whereas the E model the kit was made for does not) so the manual decompression stuff doesn't fit onto my SM. Just need to replace the bodywork, skid plate, put in fluids, and fix the clutch, and I'm done.

[Turd Ferguson]

I'm sure there is some benefit that would dictate it in an engine like mine, but I don't know exactly. Probably has something to do with not wearing the valve down by having the cam lobes constantly rubbing them.

Everything I've ever read stated that the only benefit of shim under bucket was to eliminate the shims popping out.  At extremely high RPM's, shim over bucket shims can get spit out of the bucket when the valve begins to float.  Shim under bucket was also likely created by some nerd who had never adjusted valves

-Turd.

[Jake D]

That is a cool bike, Alpha.  It is really growing on me.  It would be good for me to have just to scoot around the City.

BTW, curves are fun, but going straight can be a blast too!  My bike is just as much fun to right straight as it is to hit the twisties. 

[Alphamazing]

Everything I've ever read stated that the only benefit of shim under bucket was to eliminate the shims popping out.  At extremely high RPM's, shim over bucket shims can get spit out of the bucket when the valve begins to float.  Shim under bucket was also likely created by some nerd who had never adjusted valves

Extremely high being what, exactly? Just whenever valve float occurs, or a specific RPM? My bike revs to something like 10k or 10.5k (no tach) before the rev limiter kicks in.

That is a cool bike, Alpha.  It is really growing on me.  It would be good for me to have just to scoot around the City.

BTW, curves are fun, but going straight can be a blast too!  My bike is just as much fun to right straight as it is to hit the twisties. 

Yeah, pullin' around town is a hoot, even just going stoplight to stoplight. I have yet to have time to get to the twisties on this thing, so I can only imagine how much fun it would be there. It's been nothing but commuting and back and forth to see my girlfriend since I got the bike.