Hi all, have a quick question. I am about to hit the road today for a 5000klm trip. I did a quick trial run yesterday two-up and loaded and noticed the extra weight from the way the rear shockies behaved. Im 120kg and pillion 60kg. (Plus panniers and top-box loaded) Im wondering if anybody has a rough idea where my rear shock setting should be dialed in at so i can play from there with them, thanks
I'd have the top & bottom both set on 3 or 4, you're fully loaded up.
Thanks for that mate. I went out hour ago and set smaller dial at 4 and the larger dial i took all the way out and took it in 5 clicks if i recall. Ive been on road for about an hour and have just stopped for juice. Can't believe the difference it has made, its smooth as, mind you both shockies were on different numbers to each other so they where probably fighting each other. I inherited the bike like that but i should have looked months ago. Its a real joy to ride that bike, thanks.
You may like to check your front suspension settings whilst you're at it bud just to be sure/safe :whistling: :whistling:
GSX is a great all rounder enjoy the trip :onya: :onya: :onya:
Nice luggage set up.
Enjoy your trip......safe travels :cheers:
Should also set up the rear preload. One ring more for each 20 kg added as a rule of thumb.
Jeeez I will run out of Rings !!
(As it were) :embarrassed:
As long as your lifebelt stays you'll be alright :rofl2:
Ill run out also, ring number 7 loaded.
Thanks for replys, have been on road a couple of days now and have come to relize that i dont think the back springs are up to the weight, im carrying a lot of weight mainly because i finished a job and have me scaff-belt etc tucked away in there. I have been fighting a head wind all the way a well which has dropped my fuel consumption to about 10lt every 100klms 🙄 but thats sitting on 140kph. Today i will be traveling through one section where there is no fuel for around 300 plus klms so will sit on 120kph plus i will be carrying 5lts of fuel. On reflection i think for me next trip a new set of rear shocks or maybe a shop that can fit heavier springs, ship me tools via the postbox and back off the throttle a tad, thanks again 😎
For the record, no, im not going this way but ill tell everyone i did 😎
Andre, i just read your message, i will do that at Mt Isa, should be there today, cheers
10L / 100 is high, even for those speeds. How clean is your air filter? Just thinking . . .
Quote from: Chop1961 on Tuesday, 25 June 2019, 08:25 AM
Andre, i just read your message, i will do that at Mt Isa, should be there today, cheers
Quote from: Chop1961 on Tuesday, 25 June 2019, 08:14 AM
Thanks for replys, have been on road a couple of days now and have come to relize that i dont think the back springs are up to the weight, im carrying a lot of weight mainly because i finished a job and have me scaff-belt etc tucked away in there. ... On reflection i think for me next trip a new set of rear shocks or maybe a shop that can fit heavier springs, ship me tools via the postbox and back off the throttle a tad, thanks again 😎
Increasing the preload does not stiffen the springs, only adjusts the geometry (i.e. bike don't sag in the rear and come up front). Sounds like you are on the right track with fitting heavier springs and/or lightening the load. New shocks would also have to have springs appropriate to your needs. Talking this over with a suspension specialist would be the thing to do imo.
Oh, you and pillion are 180 kg. That gives you only 20 kg to reach official max load for the bike.
Good stuff Chop, looks like you are doing some pretty remote riding out there :onya: enjoy.
Kiwi, air cleaner is all good (KN). This arvo i sat on 110-115kph and used 21lts for 270klm? That was into a pretty bad cross wind all day, the bike is loaded pretty full on but, bit of a concern when Andre is saying that bike is rated for 180-200kg but i suppose its learn as you go thing, im am carrying more then i should as being the end of a job. Anyway, thanks for reply's and il see what tomorrow brings.. 😎
My friends were at Daly in January, 48 degrees. Youre lucky.
That's a bit better fuel use, at the slower speeds. 7.78 Litres / 100K. About 36.5mpg in old money. It's outside of normal, but given you're 2 up & loaded to max (or over) with a strong wind, it'd be about right. The higher figure earlier in the day would have been just because of the rate at which you were going then.
Have you done the tank mod? If not, do it now, gives you a 24-25L tank. There's a very small air hole at the very top RHS (as you sit on the bike) of the filler neck, grab a Philips screw driver and enlarge that hole, best way is line it up carefully & whack it through with a hammer, it's thin metal & will go easy, just don't get too carried away & come out the other side of the tank! Bit of clean rag or something so bits don't fall into tank.
Happy travels, the bike will get ya there :cruisin:
Thanks Kiwi, i will look into that when i get home. Found a more pressing problems last night but.. the day before i left i pumped rear tyre up to about 38psi, then i looked at rear tyre after a day on the road and it had a flat spot in the centre so i checked pressure again and it had gone down to about 28psi so me being heavy handed like i am thought stuff it so i pumped it back up to 42psi. Well that has opened a can off worms up, took all panniers etc off bike and went for blat up to pub, come back to room later and as i was walking away from bike i had a quick glance back and noticed this shiney strip in the middle of the tyre.. the steel casing. Im only 182klms from the closet bike shop and thats even if there got a tyre to fit. All a part of ridin and the adventure so il see what today throws at me but one thing is for sure, its gonna be a slow 180ks, fingers crossed 😎
Bloody Hell! 'That's not good' is a huge understatement. Very quietly then . . . fingers crossed for ya.
😎 all good mate, made it but must admit, me hand was always covering the clutch waiting for it to blow but the tyre held on. Ol mate at bike shop says that the bike wont be ready till this arvo so im booking a room and heading to pub, its a hard life on the road 😋 this was what the tyre looked like last night, i should have taken a picture of it after the 180ks, she was pretty ugly but to the tyres credit it hung in there, anyway its all good, cheers
BTW, 42psi would also be what I would run loaded up like that. I run 40 with just me on it & 38 front. 36 & 38 are just too soft for me.
Chop, that is quite an adventure youve had. Certainly pushed the big girl, weight, middle of nowhere, no phone, bad tyre, head wind. Well done Son. :hat:
Thanks mate, funny 😂
No chance of a warranty claim then Chop ?? :cry2:
Kiwifruit, na mate, no warrenty but did find interesting fact but, especially for anyone else about to do the centre of Australia. Because the roads are so long and straight it wheres the soft-rubber tyre centres out real quick so the bike mechanic was sayin so he fitted a tyre designed for this type of riding which has soft sides and a hard centre so happy days. Anyway, after todays ride i ended up blowing the rear brake line so no rear brakes, not a biggie, i will get it fixed tomorrow when i get to town. The rear shockies wernt up to the rough road so the swing arm has been flogging up and down and has rubbed through the rear brake line. Another simple fix, then fit some heavier rear shock and the bike is pretty well bullet proof. Cheers
For anyone interested, this is a picture of the swingarm coming into contact with the taped-up brake line, i undone the bolt and swung the brake line away from the swingarm so there was no more contact if that makes sence. Thanks
Your not the first to have had to do that
@Chop1961 I'm sure it was in a thread somewhere .
But it's good you shared so others can see the problem when fitting aftermarket brake lines (I'm guessing not by you chop).
:cheers:
I've never seen that before. Must be a pile of weight on it, or your rear shocks are knackered,
Mine did exactly the same after I "upgraded" to braided hoses!
I never did notice any difference in feel after I replaced the hoses.
My biggest difference occurred when I put the 4 pot callipers on the front.
Front brake is better than my CB1300 was !
S
Rear brake hose, should i just keep standard? Never been a problem, new standard is $80.
It will be an easy fix when i get a new line made up, before clamping bolt up i will just pull hose away from the up and down motion of the swing arm, i thought it would be worth sharing. As for the rear shocks Col, there in a new condition to look at and i just rode down to the shops two-up but panniers removed and the rear shocks are working beautiful, as with performance and braking so, yes, shes loaded up but no, shes not super over loaded, i still have spare room in panniers and top box but its the springs im thinking, tad soft for touring on a bad road which is what we just rode in on, it was shocking to the point that i was going to pull over to de-stress a bit, it was bad for about 300kkms, outback Queensland for you 😎
Hi Grog, all the problem was, was that the brake hose was pointed a tad over towards the swingarm when they tightened up the brake line bolt so when the swing arm was bouncing up and down it came into contact with the hose which caused it to rub through, it is a bit hard to explain but easily understood if you were standing next me looking at it. When you load anything up, bikes, cars, trucks etc it will cause suspension etc to travel futher so occasionally things will connect because the items are working out of there normal range and thats what has happened to me today, but like i said, its an easy fix and i will get the new hose made maybe an inch longer and route it futher away fron the swingarm. On a good note but, everthing else was A1, especially me windscreen and 3 wind deflecter setup i fitted, like sitting in me own windless cocoon 😎
Quote from: KiwiCol on Thursday, 27 June 2019, 06:06 PM
I've never seen that before. Must be a pile of weight on it, or your rear shocks are knackered,
No its not. It's that the aftermarket lines have not been routed in the same way that the standard lines were. If you look at standard lines (and this is from memory mind), the fitting to the rear master cylinder is angled (I can't remember whether to one side or slightly upwards - I think upwards), and when the aftermarket line was fitted, it was just bolted up, rather than being set in the correct place following the line that the OEM rubber one did.
Just looked at some old pictures of my bike with aftermarket lines on. The end of the brake line that goes on the rear master cylinder should be fitted with the angle slightly upwards so it follows the line of the swing arm, and points slightly inwards to where the bracket is further down the swing arm that holds the brake line there. I've seen lines fitted with the angled bit facing downwards, not angled in enough and also fitted with the end that should be on the caliper! So just check yours is correct!!!!
Thanks for the explanation Dave, I've not fitted my rear line yet, waiting for 2 more banjo bolts to arrive to complete the kit. There were a couple missing & some copper washers.
Quote from: Chop1961 on Thursday, 27 June 2019, 05:57 PM
For anyone interested, this is a picture of the swingarm coming into contact with the taped-up brake line, i undone the bolt and swung the brake line away from the swingarm so there was no more contact if that makes sence. Thanks
Sorry Chop1961, I misinterpreted your pic. Looked to me as if the brake hose had been crushed.
All good mate, i taped it up to try and keep any crap from getting inside, ive got about 500klms to do today to hopefully find a Pirtec or someone similar to replace line.
@gsxbarmy is that pic your bike ? If yes can we see all of it please ? :drool: :drool:
Quote from: GSXKING on Sunday, 30 June 2019, 09:14 PM
@gsxbarmy is that pic your bike ? If yes can we see all of it please ? :drool: :drool:
@GSXKING It was - when I owned it - sold some 3 years ago and bought a Triumph Explorer 1200. But as you asked...
Well l guess the polish bill has decreased over the last 3 years. :onya:
Love the belly pan.....what breed is it please Barmy?
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Monday, 01 July 2019, 06:24 AM
Well l guess the polish bill has decreased over the last 3 years. :onya:
Love the belly pan.....what breed is it please Barmy?
The belly pan was made by Espace Tuning in France, cost was circa £300 from memory; having purchased it, it then cost me a few pennies more to repaint it in K7 colours and get a set of transfers made up to fit.
As far as I'm aware, Espace are no longer in business - a shame as it was (is) a nice belly pan.
@gsxbarmy WOW looks very cool indeed. Many many hours have been spent I'd guess ? Who is the lucky owner now ? :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:
Quote from: GSXKING on Monday, 01 July 2019, 09:18 PM
@gsxbarmy WOW looks very cool indeed. Many many hours have been spent I'd guess ? Who is the lucky owner now ? :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:
Mate I dread to think of the hours spent, way too many over the years for sure.
No idea of the owner now. When I sold it, I took every mod off it and put it back to standard (showroom) condition - the majority of the parts I fitted when the bike was new, so I had all the original parts stashed away. And then sold off all the custom parts mainly to U.K. owners, some went down under. The guy who bought it was an enthusiast who wanted a low mileage immaculate K7 as a keeper - and that's what he got, the only mod I left on being the crash bungs.
Lots of the parts off your bike moved to Scotland lol
I was on holiday so missed the bellypan and stoli got that :frustrated: