'08 Winter wrenching - minor mods

SAFE-T · December 17, 2011, 02:40:16 PM

The rear fender actually keeps the rear wheel from flinging stuff at you, but if you are OK with getting extra wet and dirty in the rain go for it.

The rear taillight on the GS sticks out in a pretty ugly way ~ Suzuki must have just been digging through the spare parts bin that day. I saw a pic of a GS in Quebec that had the taillight recessed ~ will send it to you.

tiburg · February 01, 2012, 06:47:08 PM

What kind of mirrors are you using on your bike? Are those the generic ebay bar-ends? Post up a link if you have one.

tricky · February 04, 2012, 08:06:27 PM

Update!

The integrated tail light is in, fenderectomy done (I might do another cut later, it's cut at a strange angle because the fender was off the bike when I cut

). Pics to come later!

After a month or two of thinking about it, I just ordered a Jardine full system and K&N lunchbox (I hope it fits an '08...). I'm now shopping around for jets. I am a carburetor newb so I have a lot of reading to do. I'm trying to figure out which jet sizes to go for, I think it'll be something like 20/65/145 or thereabouts. Any input from you would go a long way

Also, I'm in Toronto. It's pretty cold out there right now. Will I have an issue rejetting it in the cold so I'm ready to ride in the spring? As I understand it, the cold will make it run richer then it normally would in warmer temps?

Quote from: tiburg on February 01, 2012, 06:47:08 PM
What kind of mirrors are you using on your bike? Are those the generic ebay bar-ends? Post up a link if you have one.

These are the mirrors http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KAG9J2 I put mine on upside down. The bar-ends were on the bike when I bought it, so I can't help you out there, sorry! They have no markings or anything, I think they are just a cheap generic brand.

tiburg · February 05, 2012, 11:46:58 AM

I was looking for some like those. They look like they will just clamp on. Thanks for the quick response man.

tricky · February 05, 2012, 12:21:58 PM

Quote from: tiburg on February 05, 2012, 11:46:58 AM
I was looking for some like those. They look like they will just clamp on. Thanks for the quick response man.

No worries. The mirrors came with bar-ends, but I didn't end up using them (don't know if they'd fit). The screw from my original bar end was long enough to run through both the bar end and the mirror, and still screw in tightly inside the handlebar.

If you don't want to do it that way, they can clamp right onto standard 7/8 inch handlebars, I believe

Kijona · February 06, 2012, 11:34:18 AM

Hey man, looks really good so far and we're glad to have another eager wrench on our board!

Quick question...what is the zip-tie throttle mod you speak of? Is this some sort of throttle limiter or something or what? Never heard of it!

tricky · February 06, 2012, 02:00:58 PM

Quote from: Kijona on February 06, 2012, 11:34:18 AM
Hey man, looks really good so far and we're glad to have another eager wrench on our board!

Quick question...what is the zip-tie throttle mod you speak of? Is this some sort of throttle limiter or something or what? Never heard of it!

Thanks for the kind words!

The zip-tie throttle mod is a very cheap solution to shortening the throttle twist, it can change the throttle from 1/4 turn to 1/5 (best!) or even 1/6 if you want. Just superglue zip ties to the round bottom of the throttle tube so it grabs more cable with less twisting. It'll make the GS feel like it has more power off the line, and you won't have to readjust and regrip the throttle to get it open wide, which makes it great for highway.

Here's one tutorial http://www.kawiforums.com/2003-2004-zx-6r/66460-zip-tie-throttle-mod-pics.html but there are a lot out there if you google it. I think the forums on ninjette.org had the best tutorial with pics, but you have to register to view it.

I gotta go back into my throttle assembly to fix mine, my zip ties were too long and aren't that effective. I'll try to post pics soon to help explain what I mean... but essentially, at closed throttle, you don't want the cable touching the zip ties. you want them to be on bottom of the housing so when you twist it, the radius of the housing increases and you grab more cable.

tricky · March 29, 2012, 11:29:43 AM

Alright, spent a lot of time yesterday working on the bike. Got the rejet done, put on the K&N lunchbox, and the Jardine full system, as well as NGK iridium spark plugs.

For the rejet, I went with 20/65/145 with nothing else in the carbs touched. I didn't drill out the brass plugs on the idle mixture screws. It was pretty easy to do, I just had to pay attention to the routing of the hoses when I disconnected everything. The REAL pain was the screws holding the float bowls to the carbs. They used some sort of softer metal.. it was a nightmare. I stripped every single one, even though I had the perfect bit for the job. I had to break out the dremel and cutting disks, and cut flat heads into all 8 of them. Changing the jets was a breeze, as was putting the carbs back in. K&N went on with no issues, I just had to re-route some of the hoses. I do have two hoses who aren't being filtered now.. one is for the PAIR system, and one goes to the valve cover. Should I buy filters for those hoses? I heard the valve cover has it's own mesh filter inside it. I don't know about the PAIR system though.

After that, I threw in the spark plugs. My old ones are still kickin around, I'll post some pics at the bottom in case any of you GS gurus see an issues with them. They only have about 9500 km on them.

The Jardine was a little bit of a hassle to put on. The headers were a bit narrow, so I had to screw one in and then pull on the other pipe to get it to fit. I don't know if they did that on purpose or not. The can was the real trouble, getting that metal strap around the can and screwed in to the mount was a pain. It took a bit of modifying the rubber washer in the exhaust mount to fit the bolt through. It's on there good now, though.

I told my friend who was helping me that I thought it'd be a miracle if it turned over, with all the work I did, and the fact that it was the first time starting it up in a few months. I thought for sure I'd made a mistake. I turned the key and went to fire it up, and it wouldn't quite turn over. My heart dropped, and then I looked at my friends face and he was looking at me like I was an idiot. He pulled the choke lever and it fired up right away

The Jardine sounds GREAT! It's a little loud for my taste, so I think I'm going to order the QMI. For the GS RT-1, does anyone know if it's the 2 or 2.25 inch insert? I think it's the 2 inch one. Another thing, the description for the QMI says it might require a rejet. I don't really want to have to do that just yet.

The bike seems to run great. The warmup times are ridiculously lower than before! I can't believe it. Also, I don't feel any flat spots, or any popping under acceleration or anything.. I think it's running just right. I guess I'll have to keep paying attention for the lean or rich indicators though. It's hard to tell how much of a difference the rejet made because it was my first ride in months, but it seems to pull great under 5k now, which is good, because the Jardine is pretty darn loud at the higher RPMs, and I live in the city so I like to keep it quiet.

Pics of the bike will follow, next time I ride. It looks pretty much looks the same, just with the Jardine instead. I can't remember if I posted pics after my fenderectomy and integrated tail lights.

And, here are my old plugs. I think they look OK, but it's hard to tell because I'm new at these kinds of things

knowles · March 30, 2012, 09:05:01 PM

I did the Jardine, lunch box and rejet on my 89, and love the difference. I didn't think that the Jardine was that loud tho, not nearly as loud as the Vance and Hindes on a bike that i looked at.

tricky · April 26, 2012, 01:21:40 PM

Clip-on woes....

I managed to pick up a set of Woodcraft clip-ons for pretty cheap. My original plan was to throw them on while I send my Suburban Machinery Type 2's out to be bent back into shape (after my lowside, the right hand side of the bar hits the tank on full lock, that's how the tank got dented). And then when they come back, I would decide what to keep on the bike.

I like the idea of mounting them under the triple, I know that's extreme but it's what would float my boat. I picked up generic fork mounts for the headlight, but now I don't know what I'll do with the turn signals

The other option, of course, being mount them above the triple.. but then would I keep the top plate or not? Keeping the top plate with the bar mounts wouldn't be aesthetically pleasing, but I would keep the option of reverting to my SM2 bars. If I didn't keep it, I would need to find some way of mounting the speedo and tach. If I do keep the plate, then I need to lower the front a bunch to mount them.

It's becoming a bit of a hassle

I live in a condo, so I don't have any access to proper equipment... not even a jack. I was thinking I might ring a guy who did a lot of work on my bike with the mods, and see what he can do, but that would involve a few hundred bucks in labor. Any magic advice from you gurus?

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'08 Winter wrenching - minor mods