My bike's finally done! New Pics, New Vids... all in 1st post.

Danny500 · February 07, 2009, 08:58:42 AM

Quote from: Toogoofy317 on February 07, 2009, 02:18:14 AM
On the diode why did you take it all apart like that? Mine was just a ten minute get the gauge panel up and splice to turn signal indicator. Just curious!

Mary

Well, up here. It's between 5 and 10 degrees out and that's not fun in a non-heated barn. So, since I had the headlight off anyway, I just unscrewed the gauge buckets, unclipped the wires and went inside where it was nice and warm

...

Dan

Danny500 · February 09, 2009, 11:29:52 PM

The beginning of the end of the headlight mods.

Chopped all the unusable tabs, trimmed the large ones, bondo'd from the first lip up and over the clips that connect the 'glass' to the bucket.

Danny500 · February 10, 2009, 12:01:41 AM

OH.. and for the record.

I... HATE... BONDO.... Next time I think I'll try fiberglass... or just not ever have a next time again... lol.

Dan

fred · February 10, 2009, 01:15:48 AM

Quote from: Danny500 on February 10, 2009, 12:01:41 AM
OH.. and for the record.

I... HATE... BONDO.... Next time I think I'll try fiberglass... or just not ever have a next time again... lol.

Dan

It does look good though, so it was probably worth it...

CZOKO · February 10, 2009, 06:43:28 AM

Quote from: Danny500 on February 09, 2009, 11:29:52 PM
The beginning of the end of the headlight mods.

Chopped all the unusable tabs, trimmed the large ones, bondo'd from the first lip up and over the clips that connect the 'glass' to the bucket.

Good job mate! Looks nice!

CZOKO · February 10, 2009, 06:49:44 AM

BTW I was considering doing the same, but with this headlight

Danny500 · February 10, 2009, 09:32:53 AM

Quote from: CZOKO on February 10, 2009, 06:49:44 AM
BTW I was considering doing the same, but with this headlight

I was actually gonna use a GSXR headlight, but then I found this F headlight really cheap. Do it up!

I'm planning on painting mine gloss black to match the rest of the bike and put a silver suzuki sticker on the top somewhere.... possibly a silver stripe going up the side of it to break up the black.

We'll see.

Thanks for the comments!

Grommett2k · February 10, 2009, 10:44:42 AM

Dan we are almost doing the same thing with that headlight. I am doing the bondo as well, and yes it is a pain. I did however keep the top mount tab. When I was taking the fairing off it broke. So I cannibalized the top triangle piece. So my plan is to mount that back on the top and have it painted the same yellow as the bike. The other thing I am thinking of doing is wrapping the now bondo'd edge in carbon look vinyl rather than painting it.

Danny500 · February 10, 2009, 08:00:57 PM

Quote from: Grommett2k on February 10, 2009, 10:44:42 AM
Dan we are almost doing the same thing with that headlight. I am doing the bondo as well, and yes it is a pain. I did however keep the top mount tab. When I was taking the fairing off it broke. So I cannibalized the top triangle piece. So my plan is to mount that back on the top and have it painted the same yellow as the bike. The other thing I am thinking of doing is wrapping the now bondo'd edge in carbon look vinyl rather than painting it.

That's not a bad idea actually. I wish they made that vinyl in a shrink-wrap sort of material... like Easter egg wrappers... cuz every time I use that stuff it peels off within days.

Bud I'm doing a metallic flake gloss black for the headlight, so it matches the under-spoiler and the rest of the bike closely.. then i'm going to try and find a small, silver "S" or "SUZUKI" decal and stick it in the center of the "V" on top of the light... almost in the identical spot where the wind-screen has it.

Dan

Danny500 · February 11, 2009, 09:36:33 PM

Mock ups make me all excited...

Sweet...

fred · February 12, 2009, 12:34:19 AM

Very cool! That headlight on the naked GS looks so evil, I love it!

Danny500 · February 27, 2009, 01:27:05 AM

Welps... did the carb work today. Got the 127.5's installed and cleaned it all up. Taking the time to clean where I can before re-installing everything. No pics yet, but soon.

If you've read my other posts I accidentally stripped the oil pan drain plug, so I turned a 40 dollar repair into a 400 dollar order from bike bandit... here's the order so far.

Throttle grip (stock one was destroyed by PO who installed (and GLUED and CUT THE HANDLEBARS to fit) heated grips... grrr.
Frame plug (broke it when trying to install after shock swap)
Oil Pan, Gasket, Bolt, and Washer
and...

Vance and Hines pipe... yay!!!

Also threw in 2 new crush gaskets for the exhaust, trying (fruitlessly) to remove the originals.. they're kind of a pain in the ass.

Pics up soon of all the upgrades, just giving a heads up

Danny500 · March 03, 2009, 07:24:29 PM

Just got allll my parts installed.

New oil pan, gasket, filter, cover gasket, bolt and washer. Ding.. done.

Fresh OEM air-filter and plugs. Ding.. done.

Vance and Hines installed!!!!!!

So I bolted everything up, threw in some fresh oil, slapped the carbs back on and threw on the tank.... Just to hear the exhaust.

HOLY FREAKING BA-JESUS!!!!!! This thing sounds AMAZING!!!!!

It sounds like a pissed off muscle-car made a baby with a stock Harley 883. I was half-expecting it to sound like a pissed off 4 wheeler like the Jardine system, but nope... Amazing. I couldn't be happier! I still have to sync the carbs and check the air/fuel but other than that the bike is DONE!!!

Now, I've had the bike drained of oil, for 2 weeks, with no oil pan on it, no exhaust on it and no carbs on it... I did have the intakes plugged but that's about all the protection from a recent snow storm and -3 degree weather this passed week.

When everything was bolted on and I went to start it the temp out was 10 degrees. I choked it, had the fuel on PRI and it turned over on the 3rd crank 1st try!!!! I was amazed!

The bike MAY run a little rich, but that's ok, better than being lean... I'll do some chops after it gets nice out and I have the time to dial everything in.

But as for right now I am STOKED as to how easy an install this was and how nice it sounds!

2 Complaints:

1. Had to carve a little bit off the inner edge of my chin spoiler to make it clear the exhaust. Also, since the headers go to the right the left side looks a tad empty if you look down at the bike from the front.

2. The can sticks WAYYYY out. I mounted the rear tab to the back of the stock mount (like where the stock one was). But it's still kinda far out... I'll just have to be SUPER SUPER SUPER careful NEVER to drop it, cuz it'll scar up that pipe pretty well.. Meh, I'll live.

Sweet!!!

Pics soon! Sorry, it's too damn cold out!

fred · March 03, 2009, 07:30:33 PM

Certainly sounds cool. I can't wait for pics.

5thAve · March 03, 2009, 07:35:21 PM

Looking good! Happy for you.

bill14224 · March 04, 2009, 04:05:49 PM

Danny, I like what you did with your mirrors, very nice, and your headlight makes your bike look like a black wasp. I agree mostly with you on fairings, but if I could lay my hands on a cafe headlight fairing like Anne's I'd jump on it in a New York second! Too bad it's no longer made. The reason escapes me. I think it's the best custom item ever offered for the 500E.

You'll love the V&H pipes. I just got some too. It was easy to change, wasn't it? Curiously, and lucky for me, my exhaust gaskets were still in nice shape so I reused them. They also lifted right out, super easy. I looked them over, saw no damage, so I put them back in and installed the pipes. I put my new pipes on just like the instructions said except for that metal guard, or whatever the hell it is, function of which is unclear to me, that goes on the right hand sidestand bolt. What the hell is that thing for?? I left mine off since it's pretty clear we don't need it on our model, but the instructions say nothing about omitting it for E models and using it for F models.

Didn't change my carb jets either. The PO put a Cobra slip-on on the bike and probably re-jetted. I don't know for sure what jets are in it, but it takes 15 minutes and 8 miles to warm-up completely in 50-60 degree weather and it has almost linear power, so I seriously doubt it's running too lean. Thoughts?

Danny500 · March 04, 2009, 11:17:40 PM

Quote from: bill14224 on March 04, 2009, 04:05:49 PM
Danny, I like what you did with your mirrors, very nice, and your headlight makes your bike look like a black wasp. I agree mostly with you on fairings, but if I could lay my hands on a cafe headlight fairing like Anne's I'd jump on it in a New York second! Too bad it's no longer made. The reason escapes me. I think it's the best custom item ever offered for the 500E.

You'll love the V&H pipes. I just got some too. It was easy to change, wasn't it? Curiously, and lucky for me, my exhaust gaskets were still in nice shape so I reused them. They also lifted right out, super easy. I looked them over, saw no damage, so I put them back in and installed the pipes. I put my new pipes on just like the instructions said except for that metal guard, or whatever the hell it is, function of which is unclear to me, that goes on the right hand sidestand bolt. What the hell is that thing for?? I left mine off since it's pretty clear we don't need it on our model, but the instructions say nothing about omitting it for E models and using it for F models.

Didn't change my carb jets either. The PO put a Cobra slip-on on the bike and probably re-jetted. I don't know for sure what jets are in it, but it takes 15 minutes and 8 miles to warm-up completely in 50-60 degree weather and it has almost linear power, so I seriously doubt it's running too lean. Thoughts?

I do like cafe-looking bikes, but I wanted to just update the look of mine... Kinda give it the Gladius look. I love the sound of my V&H already, INSANE, but not ear-piercing standing next to/behind it... so it should be fine to ride w/o earplugs.

It WAS really easy to change out! I also left my stock gaskets in, mainly because I couldn't get them out... but there was no damage to them so I figured why not, leave em'.

Something tells me if the PO had simply a Cobra slip-on on the bike he DIDN'T re-jet. Mainly because slip on pipes don't change the backpressure too much, only the noise restriction. Since the VH has the V shaped headers there is FAR less back pressure w/o that cross pipe, plus the diameter seems to be a hair wider.

I would recommend getting some new plugs, going for a LONG ride keeping the RPM's up high and then do some plug chops. The power should be linear for the most part, but around 5k there should be a bit of a kick (powerband). Are you running any washers on your needles? Are your air/fuel screws exposed? If not on both cases try putting 2 #3 stainless washers on EACH needle (search the wiki, it's in there) and also pop the carbs off and ensure there is at least a 125 jet in there. I put a 127.5 in mine only because I don't mind running a tad rich.

Also, have you had the carbs synced at all? Uneven carbs could be causing the docile acceleration.

Danny500 · March 04, 2009, 11:29:28 PM

OH!!! And that metal guard is NEEDED on our bikes otherwise the center stand will hit the pipe!!! The stock pipe had a little tab welded to it with a rubber bung in it that the center stand rested on when in the UP position. So, just check that out. It's a 2 second install.

bill14224 · March 05, 2009, 07:45:08 PM

Dan:

If I left the little metal guard on the bike my pipe wouldn't fit. The pipe clears the center stand by about 1/2 inch, but not with that guard in the way! No docile acceleration either. When I said linear I meant there's no flat spot in the midrange which is something lean jetted air-cooled bikes of the 80's are infamous for. It pulls redline in 4th and 9500 in 5th, and I have a 17-tooth front sprocket. Got it up to an indicated 111 today with the petcock on PRIME. It's the DIAPHRAGM. It was starving for fuel at full throttle! I picked up 6 mph just by putting the petcock on PRIME.

Danny500 · March 05, 2009, 10:29:40 PM

Haha! Nice! I just buttoned everything up today and took her for a ride! I didn't notice any power gain... it sure does sound nicer though. I got it up to 80... didn't want to do much more as it was getting cold, I was uncomfortable, and the roads were shitty... other than that it felt like it'd still hit 110...

I do notice the linear acceleration. No lag, no dead spot.. just power on demand. Love it!

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My bike's finally done! New Pics, New Vids... all in 1st post.