The interaction of these four mods is phenomenal.
Sprocket:
The bike should have come like this. Seriously. There was always a kick missing in low 2nd gear and low 3rd gear. In first you got it fine enough with the stock gearing, but in 2nd and 3rd it seemed to be a bit too soft down low. I was torn between gearing the bike up and gearing it down. I am glad I decided on this choice.
The craziest part? Having a +2T Rear Sprocket actually SLOWS me down and makes for a nicer ride. When the bike constantly wants to rapidly climb into the higher rev range you end up twisting that throttle past the "nice-casual-ride" notch. When the bike has that little bit more grunt down lower in the revs, it settles into this beautiful sweet spot around 6k rpm. I can't explain it, it is so awesome.
MOST of the time on the roads you find yourself in 2nd and 3rd gear, if you are like me. I like having power on tap. Having the +2T rear sprocket means no matter where you are in the powerband, cranking that throttle will give you a nasty snarl from the exhaust and a big boost forwards. It is GREAT for rapid "move-up-50-feet-change-lane-resume-6kRPM-sweet-spot".
Also:
(from memory)
Getting near rev limiter is about 215kph. I don't see it getting that much closer to the ~245kph or so I have seen it rise to on stock gearing. Maybe a bit, but not much, I was getting close-ish to rev limiter but my obstacle-free path of travel was coming to an end so I had to bring it back down to more normal speeds.
Significantly more than half of the way through top gear sees you at around 180kph? I forget what exactly but it is definitely under 200.
Top Sellerie Seat
At first, I was a bit worried about the +2T rear, I spend a lot of time over 120kph but figured, meh, I can sacrifice the time over 200kph. I really shouldn't be going that quick in the first place. But I had some small doubts when I felt the tank vibrating in top gear at 150-170kph. This would be a slight problem, but whatever, it had the side effect of slowing me down to a sweet spot around 120kph. So I was actually enjoying a sort of ride I so rarely experience....a SUSTAINED several hour ride at speeds you can actually listen to easy-rock to.
Then a couple days later my seat came in. I put it on and loved how it looked and did a lap of my crescent. I thought, hey, this is amazing, too bad it is a bit loose around the tank as it seems a bit too large there. Well, I have learned after a couple days the seat is oversized up there to relieve the pressure points as it cups your inner thighs and pelvis much better with more contact area. the side effect of that is that it come up over your tank much more than the stock, to the point it almost looks too big. But......BUT.....THIS COMPLETELY ELIMINATES THE VIBRATION YOU FEEL FROM THE TANK from the +2 rear sprocket. Now I can settle into a nice sweet spot around 150kph, have my a$$ cupped and cushioned, and not feel like I should be going EVEN faster. 150kph is quick enough to be stimulating, but slow enough that you are able to enjoy the easy-rock type playlists on your mp3 player.
The sweet spot it finds there is due entirely to the new sprocket. You get the sense that the bike WANTS to be at that Rev point. Like it WANTS to listen to the easy-rock with you. That is the best I can explain it. If you crank the throttle it is eager to as always, but only when YOU want to. Plus the sprocket adds a bit more to overtaking abilities as well for those times you need to close the gap with the vehicle in front of you before the vehicle you are trying to pass in front of closes the door and forces you to brake.
The seat and the sprocket work in conjunction beautifully. The sprocket gives you the sweet spot, and the seat gives you the throne of a king upon which to enjoy it. Great stuff. Truly great. Worth it. Make the sacrifice. Cut back in other parts of your life. This seat is worth it. (So is the sprocket but you will need to buy a chain too and that plus installation cost of hour or 2 of labour can add up to a bit of cash).
Steel Braided Brake Lines
Before: Maybe not "all or none" braking, but definitely "some dive then whoa lots of dive".
After:
Enough said? I should hope so.
Stomp Grips
If you were the tin man, and owned a motorcycle, it might be wise to weld your legs to the tank to aid in braking, cornering, and getting heavy on the throttle coming out of corners especially but on straights too. Since we are made of flesh and bone, rubber stomp grips will have to suffice, and they do a great job.
Heavy braking: EFFORTLESS on your arms. Your legs with a bit of pinch from your sexy and highly developed thighs (if you are anything like me), lock onto the tank. Yes.
Cornering: My knee is still raw, so I cant comment too much on this. I will say though that I fully expect to be welded to the seat with the outer leg when leaning off.
Throttling: A big issue I had was coming out of a corner and trying to smoothly shift back into position. I was putting WAY too much force on the handlebars as I used them to lift me back up. I havent been able to corner TOO hard yet due to the knee, but already I notice less force exerted on the handlebars. And when on straights heavy on the throttle in first gear, there is ZERO slide in the seat due to the pinching of the tank being finally useful.
Also, the Top Sellerie seat has a rise on it that will help you here as well, so you don't need to have a death grip on the tank. Thats the thing with these two interacting. With the TS seat helping a little bit to keep you in position due to its forward slope and rise on the back, you really don't need to extert much pressure with your knees at all, unless braking, and even then the stomp grips grip like glue. They are raised rubber triangles and there are millions of them. They are raised quite far off the pad (nothing extreme that it looks weird, but definitely highly aggressive). You can see their profile in the bottom picture.
Note: When installing the tank grips, place them without the stick-stopper taken off to figure out EXACTLY where they are going on. Then take off a bit of it. Use your thumb to smush the middle of the exposed bit down onto the tank, then smush the rest with your thumb. Air bubbles are impossible to eliminate entirely, but this way you get most of them out. I figured this out halfway through the first pad.
Overall of all so far: This REALLY is a huge boost to functionality in every regard. Massive improvements all over the place. Do not deny yourself a higher quality riding experience. If you can somehow squeeze it into your budget, these mods are amazing.
(Pictures in next post)
:thumbup:
P.S. Stebel is in, but not installed. Same with Michellin Pilot Pures. Same with LuckyIrishBoy's Super-Grippy Footpegs.
Sprocket:
The bike should have come like this. Seriously. There was always a kick missing in low 2nd gear and low 3rd gear. In first you got it fine enough with the stock gearing, but in 2nd and 3rd it seemed to be a bit too soft down low. I was torn between gearing the bike up and gearing it down. I am glad I decided on this choice.
The craziest part? Having a +2T Rear Sprocket actually SLOWS me down and makes for a nicer ride. When the bike constantly wants to rapidly climb into the higher rev range you end up twisting that throttle past the "nice-casual-ride" notch. When the bike has that little bit more grunt down lower in the revs, it settles into this beautiful sweet spot around 6k rpm. I can't explain it, it is so awesome.
MOST of the time on the roads you find yourself in 2nd and 3rd gear, if you are like me. I like having power on tap. Having the +2T rear sprocket means no matter where you are in the powerband, cranking that throttle will give you a nasty snarl from the exhaust and a big boost forwards. It is GREAT for rapid "move-up-50-feet-change-lane-resume-6kRPM-sweet-spot".
Also:
(from memory)
Getting near rev limiter is about 215kph. I don't see it getting that much closer to the ~245kph or so I have seen it rise to on stock gearing. Maybe a bit, but not much, I was getting close-ish to rev limiter but my obstacle-free path of travel was coming to an end so I had to bring it back down to more normal speeds.
Significantly more than half of the way through top gear sees you at around 180kph? I forget what exactly but it is definitely under 200.
Top Sellerie Seat
At first, I was a bit worried about the +2T rear, I spend a lot of time over 120kph but figured, meh, I can sacrifice the time over 200kph. I really shouldn't be going that quick in the first place. But I had some small doubts when I felt the tank vibrating in top gear at 150-170kph. This would be a slight problem, but whatever, it had the side effect of slowing me down to a sweet spot around 120kph. So I was actually enjoying a sort of ride I so rarely experience....a SUSTAINED several hour ride at speeds you can actually listen to easy-rock to.
Then a couple days later my seat came in. I put it on and loved how it looked and did a lap of my crescent. I thought, hey, this is amazing, too bad it is a bit loose around the tank as it seems a bit too large there. Well, I have learned after a couple days the seat is oversized up there to relieve the pressure points as it cups your inner thighs and pelvis much better with more contact area. the side effect of that is that it come up over your tank much more than the stock, to the point it almost looks too big. But......BUT.....THIS COMPLETELY ELIMINATES THE VIBRATION YOU FEEL FROM THE TANK from the +2 rear sprocket. Now I can settle into a nice sweet spot around 150kph, have my a$$ cupped and cushioned, and not feel like I should be going EVEN faster. 150kph is quick enough to be stimulating, but slow enough that you are able to enjoy the easy-rock type playlists on your mp3 player.
The sweet spot it finds there is due entirely to the new sprocket. You get the sense that the bike WANTS to be at that Rev point. Like it WANTS to listen to the easy-rock with you. That is the best I can explain it. If you crank the throttle it is eager to as always, but only when YOU want to. Plus the sprocket adds a bit more to overtaking abilities as well for those times you need to close the gap with the vehicle in front of you before the vehicle you are trying to pass in front of closes the door and forces you to brake.
The seat and the sprocket work in conjunction beautifully. The sprocket gives you the sweet spot, and the seat gives you the throne of a king upon which to enjoy it. Great stuff. Truly great. Worth it. Make the sacrifice. Cut back in other parts of your life. This seat is worth it. (So is the sprocket but you will need to buy a chain too and that plus installation cost of hour or 2 of labour can add up to a bit of cash).
Steel Braided Brake Lines
Before: Maybe not "all or none" braking, but definitely "some dive then whoa lots of dive".
After:
Enough said? I should hope so.
Stomp Grips
If you were the tin man, and owned a motorcycle, it might be wise to weld your legs to the tank to aid in braking, cornering, and getting heavy on the throttle coming out of corners especially but on straights too. Since we are made of flesh and bone, rubber stomp grips will have to suffice, and they do a great job.
Heavy braking: EFFORTLESS on your arms. Your legs with a bit of pinch from your sexy and highly developed thighs (if you are anything like me), lock onto the tank. Yes.
Cornering: My knee is still raw, so I cant comment too much on this. I will say though that I fully expect to be welded to the seat with the outer leg when leaning off.
Throttling: A big issue I had was coming out of a corner and trying to smoothly shift back into position. I was putting WAY too much force on the handlebars as I used them to lift me back up. I havent been able to corner TOO hard yet due to the knee, but already I notice less force exerted on the handlebars. And when on straights heavy on the throttle in first gear, there is ZERO slide in the seat due to the pinching of the tank being finally useful.
Also, the Top Sellerie seat has a rise on it that will help you here as well, so you don't need to have a death grip on the tank. Thats the thing with these two interacting. With the TS seat helping a little bit to keep you in position due to its forward slope and rise on the back, you really don't need to extert much pressure with your knees at all, unless braking, and even then the stomp grips grip like glue. They are raised rubber triangles and there are millions of them. They are raised quite far off the pad (nothing extreme that it looks weird, but definitely highly aggressive). You can see their profile in the bottom picture.
Note: When installing the tank grips, place them without the stick-stopper taken off to figure out EXACTLY where they are going on. Then take off a bit of it. Use your thumb to smush the middle of the exposed bit down onto the tank, then smush the rest with your thumb. Air bubbles are impossible to eliminate entirely, but this way you get most of them out. I figured this out halfway through the first pad.
Overall of all so far: This REALLY is a huge boost to functionality in every regard. Massive improvements all over the place. Do not deny yourself a higher quality riding experience. If you can somehow squeeze it into your budget, these mods are amazing.
(Pictures in next post)
:thumbup:
P.S. Stebel is in, but not installed. Same with Michellin Pilot Pures. Same with LuckyIrishBoy's Super-Grippy Footpegs.
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