950 Supermoto Chronicles

Loe Vince pipe question. Just put new to me Leo Vince cans and Y pipe on, voltage regulator and shock spring are getting really hot to the touch! Anyone have problems with parts getting fried from to hot of aftermarket Y pipe? Stock has heat shield but Leo does not

Know of two guys running Leo stuff on SM's and others with unshielded pipes at that point, but haven't heard of RegRec getting smoked. Weld a nut onto the pipe, at a point where you could bolt up the stock shield again. Keeps ya from thinking about the problem, even if it turns out not to be one...

Curious to see what the word is on this question! My understanding is that it is the opposite feeling, clutch going soft, but am here to learn! I was thinking I had some basket wear, but maybe it is just time for fresh blood?

That's what happened to me when mine failed. Logical when you think about it; fluid escaping past the oring.

I found an acceptable o-ring replacement at Ace Hardware and ran it for several hundred miles with no issue until i upgraded the slave cylinder. O-ring was just a few dollars and quick fix.

I've been through 2 VR's. Upgraded to a Rick's Mosfet VR and moved it to the LH side of the airbox.

http://ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/proddetail.php?prod=10-014H&pmc=MDdLVE05NTBTTVI=

May be time for a look at the clutch slave. You can simply unbolt it from the side of the engine without draining it to check for leaks. When's the last time you changed the fluid? The slave may be gummed up causing the increase in effort.

God damn your bike is clean :eek1

Takes about 10 minutes to flush new oil through the clutch. Try it and see. I change mine every oil change, while the oils draining out.

With practice it takes 10 min. First time, I'd bet at least 30min, more if you haven't done hydraulic system bleeding before.

You mean you're supposed to change it? It's been too long so I'm hoping that reduces the effort. I think it might take me more than 10 minutes so I guess I need to practice this more often!

Your bike looks amazing as always!

Thanks Buck,

I suspect that your slave cylinder may be gummed up, as I said. You may well need to replace the o-ring in the slave. it's not that difficult but does require the correct sized o-ring naturally. As long as you have the system drained you may as well service the slave cyilinder, even if it's not to the point of failure it may be soon enough. If you're feeling flush with cash I'd go so far as to upgrade to a Oberon or Sigutech clutch slave if you really want to reduce the clutch effort. You may want to be sure your clutch jet is clean while your at it.


http://sigutech.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=36&lang=english

http://www.oberon-performance.com/acatalog/KTM_Clutch_Slave_Cylinders_KCSC.html

These are both sold in the us as well, KTM Twins and CJ Design to name two sources.

Good luck to ya'
NM

There are two "tech" ways to bleed, as well as the hand-pumped, conventional method.

Tech one is use a large volume syringe and inject the fresh fluid from the bottom and allow it to flow out the master res in a controlled manner. This drives the air and oil contaminates up the system to bleed it. Air likes to move this direction. Back in the day, this method was the KTM recommended service procedure for mineral oil based Magura clutches. Dunno what they suggest for Brembo Dot3/4 clutches...

Tech two is to use a vacuum bleeder and suck the new fluid down the system and out the bleeder nipple, using vacuum force. Very easy to do this way with a H/F $19 hand pumped vacuum bleeder.

edit to add:
Then there is the baby oil vs Magura blood vs 2.5w fork oil debate: which to use and get the smoothest and most consistent feel

Don't forget ATF as a viable clutch fluid, or the easy gravity bleed method (just open the bleed nipple a bit and refill the reservoir as needed).

I completed my SM "touring edition" project. Added SMT center stand, crash bars, hand guards etc.

Looks very sharp!

Wasting your time, cap it off and go with an ADV dipstick and forget about it.

mcmann: It looks great! Did the crash bars bolt right up or need modification?

There is also tech 3.
You open slightly the bleeding nipple, insert a long tube whose end is inside the fluid reservoir of the master cylinder. Pump 10-20 times fast is all it takes to have a perfectly well bled system, whether it is a brake or clutch. You will need to keep the fluid up in the master by adding fluid as necessary. Tech 1 & 2 have failed sometimes to work on my rear brake. Tech 3 never disappointed!

I had to rotate the top front mounting bracket back to the rear top mounting bracket (with a long spacer) and add spacers to widen the lower forward main mounting bracket. They are very heavy duty . . . Two frame mouting points should be fine. Much better than no crash guard. Very sturdy setup. The SM tank is wider and lower than the SMT tank. The SM has spoiled me . . . Even the Adventure feels too heavy now! Of course the AKra's full exhaust system helped lose 20 lbs.