Where should I spend my money.
- Thread starter Matt Gephart
- Start date
"Where should I spend my money"
Hookers and booze! Oh, sorry. I see where you were going now. Lots of good advice here but I thought I would add a different perspective that doesn't get mentioned much. So I don't offend anyone I'll speak about myself. Speaking as a 200-pounder, I am trying to drop some weight from my own frame. Reducing rider weight helps to take load off the suspension and lowers center of gravity. Benefits include the obvious better braking, quicker side-to-side transitions and more confidence at the beach.
Hookers and booze! Oh, sorry. I see where you were going now. Lots of good advice here but I thought I would add a different perspective that doesn't get mentioned much. So I don't offend anyone I'll speak about myself. Speaking as a 200-pounder, I am trying to drop some weight from my own frame. Reducing rider weight helps to take load off the suspension and lowers center of gravity. Benefits include the obvious better braking, quicker side-to-side transitions and more confidence at the beach.
Matt Gephart
New Member
Would be great advice, but most of my weight is wrapped up in muscle. I cut weight to participate in a strongman competition for the last two years and the lightest I could get was 186, and that was pretty lean for me.
Does anybody have advice on how much of a difference the tires make? I currently use pilot power 2ct's.
Does anybody have advice on how much of a difference the tires make? I currently use pilot power 2ct's.
Fastguy
Member
:agree: I too am attempting this modification - I think it might be easier just to get a point and shoot 1000 :notsure:329;133324 wrote: "Where should I spend my money"
Hookers and booze! Oh, sorry. I see where you were going now. Lots of good advice here but I thought I would add a different perspective that doesn't get mentioned much. So I don't offend anyone I'll speak about myself. Speaking as a 200-pounder, I am trying to drop some weight from my own frame. Reducing rider weight helps to take load off the suspension and lowers center of gravity. Benefits include the obvious better braking, quicker side-to-side transitions and more confidence at the beach.
jas0336
Member
I had PPs on my 07 R1 and I liked them until I started picking up the pace and the track was hot at the same time. They just started to get greasy and squirm a lot. I then went to Michelin Power Race which were night and day better than the PPs and then went to Dunlop 209GPAs. I like the 209 the best out of all of them since it didn't spin up as easy as the others. The front felt similar to the Michelins. As a point of reference I used med-hard in both the Michelins and Dunlops. The Dunlop rears were also med-hard and the Michelin rears were soft.
The biggest difference I noticed was the feel. All of them seem to spin a little under heavy gas but the Dunlop was hardest to spin (maybe the compound?) and also seemed the most predictable....the Michelins just moved around more whereas the Dunlops just pushed a little.
For my money, I would still go for springs before anything. When the tires start to wear out I would go with race DOTs. My next set will be either NTEC DOTs or slicks FWIW
D-Zum
My 13 year old is faster than your President
This could also be happening because your front springs are too soft. The front end is diving under braking. Proper fork/shock (suspension) setup would do a better job of keeping your bike's attitude more level and both tires in contact with the pavement.
Steel lines are usually $100. They'll make your brakes stay more consistent throughout a session. Rubber lines expand as they heat up from hard braking, so your brake performance degrades towards the end of a session. Brake lines are always my first upgrade on a new bike.
I have a list of things I like to do to my bikes, and I save my pennies and I check them off one by one as resources and opportunities become available for me to aquire them.
Adding aftermarket parts is kind of part of the fun of owning these things. You learn more about how it works, you improve performance, and whatever product you've selected makes your machine a little unique, which reflects your personal preferences and tastes.
I love to walk the paddock and see what everyone's done to their bikes..sometimes I see something I like or that's different, so I'll sometimes talk to the owner to find out what motivated them to do what they did for my own ideas.
dbarufaldi
Member
How to spend your money...
One thing not mentioned is maintenance...super cheap, and if it hasn't been done regularly, you'll see a marked improvement.
- Fork oil should be less than 1 yr old. Change it if you haven't already
- Plugs and air filter would probably yield as much HP as a $500 slip on, if they are not in great shape (didn't notice how many miles on your bike)
- Brake and clutch (if hydraulic) fluids should be changed at least yearly.
- I like to not let me front pads get too thin. Thin pads get hotter and fade sooner. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it's because the brake pad material is not a good heat conductor and therefore insulates the backing plate while also shedding heat. In any event, when pads get a little thin, you'll feel it at the end of a long straight with a low-speed turn. Upgrade your pads, and have a spare set with you always. Or change your stock set now while they are still good, and keep the stocks as your backup.
- Get frame sliders if you haven't already
Maintenance is not glamorous, but it's cheap, easy and effective.
Dan B
One thing not mentioned is maintenance...super cheap, and if it hasn't been done regularly, you'll see a marked improvement.
- Fork oil should be less than 1 yr old. Change it if you haven't already
- Plugs and air filter would probably yield as much HP as a $500 slip on, if they are not in great shape (didn't notice how many miles on your bike)
- Brake and clutch (if hydraulic) fluids should be changed at least yearly.
- I like to not let me front pads get too thin. Thin pads get hotter and fade sooner. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it's because the brake pad material is not a good heat conductor and therefore insulates the backing plate while also shedding heat. In any event, when pads get a little thin, you'll feel it at the end of a long straight with a low-speed turn. Upgrade your pads, and have a spare set with you always. Or change your stock set now while they are still good, and keep the stocks as your backup.
- Get frame sliders if you haven't already
Maintenance is not glamorous, but it's cheap, easy and effective.
Dan B
Matt Gephart
New Member
Great, thanks for all the feedback. Going to do a bit of everything I think. Just ordered up the stainless front brake lines; great deal and free shipping because I needed to replace my air filter anyway (went with K&N). This should help improve feedback through braking; even if it doesn't make me any faster, it should improve my comfort and smoothness because I won't have that inch of sponge between my lever and the rotor. Also going to do Road America next week. Not going to mess with the suspension quite yet; might be a winter project.
Maintenance, track time, stainless lines; a little from each category. Will see how the bike and I respond and will move on from there.
Thanks again and will see you on the track!
-Matt
Maintenance, track time, stainless lines; a little from each category. Will see how the bike and I respond and will move on from there.
Thanks again and will see you on the track!
-Matt