950 Supermoto Chronicles

[snowhawk jockey]

I confess to a tardy reply...
That extraction wont mess with any riding. The groove is not even into the cords. I have cut the rubber deep enough to expose the cords and still pulled 1000 miles of mixed roads with no failure. The key is not perforating the inner rubber sleeve of the cords.

Not a gospel statement, but if the internal rubber sleeve isn't compromised, the tire will hold air and roll with traction... YMMV


edit to add:
Here is a little ride report with some 950SM spin, in the middle.
I must add that the thread has graphic images of LC8 abuse :)

http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...2#post19078662

Originally Posted by BuckMoto

OK, so I figure the tire is trash, why not see if I can buff it out! I slit the tire with a Dremel cut-off wheel along the nail and pulled it straight up.




Then I ground out a new tread groove to better expose the area to see how bad it looked. I got the idea from snowhawk jockey (page 394, post# 5900) who takes used tires and cuts new tread.



There is still a bit of a slice in the groove, and the groove is about the depth of the real tread grooves.



I don't know how safe this would be for easy riding, or if it would be nuts to even consider it. If it could make it for one or two more rides before August 12th when the TKC-80s are supposed to be available, that would save $200. Snowhawk, are you out there buddy? What do you think?

[snowhawk jockey]

Originally Posted by magnum2000

Anybody tried the Keihin Carb kit?

http://www.ktmtwins.com/ktm-950-990-...slide-carb-kit

I have the 41mm kit and love it.
The runability is altered, with no choke, an increase of intake noise and snappy throttle response. The smoothness of the CV carbs is gone. Without a TPS attachment, the lower RPMs don't smooth out and are stumbly until you open the slides.

The rideability is SICK!@!@!@!
Third gear, roll on wheelies at speed? No problemo...
I just got 43 MPG rolling in 6th at 60mph, with 16/42 gearing, on a recent road trip. The next tank was burned in the twisties and netted the usual 38MPG. If I ham fist the honker, I get as low as 35mpg...

[BuckMoto]

Originally Posted by snowhawk jockey

I confess to a tardy reply...
That extraction wont mess with any riding. The groove is not even into the cords. I have cut the rubber deep enough to expose the cords and still pulled 1000 miles of mixed roads with no failure. The key is not perforating the inner rubber sleeve of the cords.

Not a gospel statement, but if the internal rubber sleeve isn't compromised, the tire will hold air and roll with traction... YMMV


edit to add:
Here is a little ride report with some 950SM spin, in the middle.
I must add that the thread has graphic images of LC8 abuse :)

http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...2#post19078662

Thanks snowhawk jockey - I really appreciate your feedback! I cleaned the loose boogers out of the split in the rubber and could see cords in 2 spots. It's still holding air fine. I had not taken it out riding thinking that if I could see cords it was toast, but if you have ridden that way, it should be ok for what I do! We've had triple digit heat sinnce I picked up the nail which has made not riding it and waiting for TKC-80s a little more bearable. But I'm going to go riding now! BTW, that was a brilliant bit of trail side repair you did in the ride report -respect!!

[preppypyro]

Snowhawk, did you ever fab up some sort of skidplate?

I have a good start on one, sorta ugly but it sure will protect those lines.



On a side note, at fairly high speeds my front end wobbles, and I suspect its due in part to the suspension setup.

Anyone have a "950 sm suspension setup for dumies" post or thread or advice they could direct me too.


I know I shouldnt, but I wanna see what its like past 180

[KHVol]

Originally Posted by preppypyro

On a side note, at fairly high speeds my front end wobbles, and I suspect its due in part to the suspension setup.

Anyone have a "950 sm suspension setup for dummies" post or thread or advice they could direct me too.

Nattymo and Aeronaut to the phone please...


My steering is rock steady. I rented a Mutlistrada in LA a few months ago, a $20,00 plus bike and was surprised at how much more stable my 950 was on the interstate than the Ducati.

[wpbarlow]

Originally Posted by preppypyro

...On a side note, at fairly high speeds my front end wobbles, and I suspect its due in part to the suspension setup.

Anyone have a "950 sm suspension setup for dumies" post or thread or advice they could direct me too.

If you're sure everything else (like tire pressure, wheel balance, alignment, steering head and swingarm bearings, etc.) are fine, the best bet is to start with the baseline normal setup as mentioned in the owner's manual and change from there.

Once you do that, use the search term below to check out some sources and see what might need to be changed.


motorcycle suspension for dummies

[snowhawk jockey]

Originally Posted by preppypyro

Snowhawk, did you ever fab up some sort of skidplate?

I have a good start on one, sorta ugly but it sure will protect those lines.



On a side note, at fairly high speeds my front end wobbles, and I suspect its due in part to the suspension setup.

Anyone have a "950 sm suspension setup for dumies" post or thread or advice they could direct me too.


I know I shouldnt, but I wanna see what its like past 180

He he, no skid yet... I do have a light CRF glide plate that will get hung under the oil lines, but nothing that is thick or wide enough to bridge the oilbag to rear frame rail and take an inpact. The damage I sustained was from a rock that flipped up, from the side of my front wheel, and rolled under the cases! It caused a bit of a case scrape at the center plug too, so I am acutely aware of the need for proper armor!

Chassis setup aside(since ya'll know mine beez a bit "tweeeek'd") the head shake I experience the most, is from the wind action rebounding the front fender and wide handlebars, followed by my muscle pulse corrections, that in turn maintain the waver. When I feel that type of high speed headshake, I find that relaxing my grip on the bars and squeezing my knees to grip the tank will quiet it down. Next step, Steering Damper!!

[preppypyro]

Thanks for the advice guys, Ill start checking everything. I know the tire pressures are good (former tire tech, Im anal with checking tires) Pretty sure the bearings everywhere are good. (they were last time I checked anyways)

Didnt know we could align these bikes at all, except if you mean making sure the rear tire runs true (according to my measurements last time I adjusted chain tension it should be running true).

Looks like I just gotta download a manual and start reading, which I will do.

[samppa2005]

Originally Posted by snowhawk jockey

He he, no skid yet... I do have a light CRF glide plate that will get hung under the oil lines, but nothing that is thick or wide enough to bridge the oilbag to rear frame rail and take an inpact. The damage I sustained was from a rock that flipped up, from the side of my front wheel, and rolled under the cases! It caused a bit of a case scrape at the center plug too, so I am acutely aware of the need for proper armor!

Chassis setup aside(since ya'll know mine beez a bit "tweeeek'd") the head shake I experience the most, is from the wind action rebounding the front fender and wide handlebars, followed by my muscle pulse corrections, that in turn maintain the waver. When I feel that type of high speed headshake, I find that relaxing my grip on the bars and squeezing my knees to grip the tank will quiet it down. Next step, Steering Damper!!

Have you been looking at an SE skidplate? I have the high headers as well and was looking into fiting an SE skidplate. I made my own of 10 mm PEHD but it's not really pretty. So i thought if i could get someones skidplate to borrow and see if it fits but i can't borrow anyones. By the looks of it it would fit. The only thing to do would be to fabricate mounts for the oilpan. I thought about putting rubber matting between the oilpan and the skidplate and then fixing a bracket to the oilpan with chemical metal. It's on my todo list but it'll propably be for next summer. For now i make do with my ugly one.

Also at least MyNetMoto is delivering the TKC80! Mine are on the way according to the postal tracking codes.

[angustoyou]

Originally Posted by BuckMoto

Thanks snowhawk jockey - I really appreciate your feedback! I cleaned the loose boogers out of the split in the rubber and could see cords in 2 spots. It's still holding air fine. I had not taken it out riding thinking that if I could see cords it was toast, but if you have ridden that way, it should be ok for what I do! We've had triple digit heat sinnce I picked up the nail which has made not riding it and waiting for TKC-80s a little more bearable. But I'm going to go riding now! BTW, that was a brilliant bit of trail side repair you did in the ride report -respect!!

If you can see cords, it's illegal in the UK, don't know about USA. Now I would happily run a plug repaired tyre, but not one showing cords.

If you've ever seen a section of a modern motorcycle tyre, if you are down to the carcass construction (and the top carcass layer is NOT the cords, there is rubber that is never designed to see tarmac above the cords helping to hold it all together) there is very little between the air inside the tyre and the air outside the tyre.

I would never risk a rapid deflation at the speeds I travel, bite the bullet and replace it. You only get one life, one pair of arms, one pair of legs ....

[BuckMoto]

Originally Posted by angustoyou

If you can see cords, it's illegal in the UK, don't know about USA. Now I would happily run a plug repaired tyre, but not one showing cords.

If you've ever seen a section of a modern motorcycle tyre, if you are down to the carcass construction (and the top carcass layer is NOT the cords, there is rubber that is never designed to see tarmac above the cords helping to hold it all together) there is very little between the air inside the tyre and the air outside the tyre.

I would never risk a rapid deflation at the speeds I travel, bite the bullet and replace it. You only get one life, one pair of arms, one pair of legs ....

Hi angustoyou, You are absolutely right about taking foolish/needless risks. ...if I were to ride it, I had a very short (12 miles out) lower speed (50mph max) local ride with a little dirt in mind. Definitely none of my 200+ mile rides with triple digit speeds on dirt, which I guess is a foolish/needless risk too. The cords are only visible at the bottom of the split and there is almost a new tire's worth of rubber above it. I've been going nuts not riding and both my Ossas are down too. It also cooled off and is 88 degrees today... I'll probably not ride it though...probably.

preppypyro- Holy crap! 180mph!?? What gearing will you use? You've probably already considered this, but if you have hand guards, take them off. They could do weird things at really high speed. I have had headshake on dirt at 100mph slower than that, and what snowhawk said about loosening your grip is key. I've never had headshake on pavement and that would be way less forgiving at the speeds you're looking for. A damper would be a great idea.
Make sure to get some video of this!

Actually someone needs to strap a GoPro on snowhawk and turn him loose!

[preppypyro]

Originally Posted by BuckMoto

preppypyro- Holy crap! 180mph!?? What gearing will you use? You've probably already considered this, but if you have hand guards, take them off. They could do weird things at really high speed. I have had headshake on dirt at 100mph slower than that, and what snowhawk said about loosening your grip is key. I've never had headshake on pavement and that would be way less forgiving at the speeds you're looking for. A damper would be a great idea.
Make sure to get some video of this!

Kilometers per hour my friend, up here in Canada we are metric! And 16/41 gearing I love the hand gaurds, so If those are the problem, well then Im screwed haha.

I would try to go 180 mph if I could, but with these roads up around my area, it might just be smarter to put a gun to ones head haha.

I played with gripping the tank different with my knees and whatnot, but something else is definately not right. I have noticed though, I sit and ride my SM like I ride dirt bikes, so maybe that has something to do with it as well.

samppa2005 do you happen to have a picture of your home made skid plate? Im interested where you mounted yours, as I am pondering different ideas for my own.

[BuckMoto]

Originally Posted by preppypyro

Kilometers per hour my friend, up here in Canada we are metric! And 16/41 gearing I love the hand gaurds, so If those are the problem, well then Im screwed haha.

I would try to go 180 mph if I could, but with these roads up around my area, it might just be smarter to put a gun to ones head haha.

I played with gripping the tank different with my knees and whatnot, but something else is definately not right. I have noticed though, I sit and ride my SM like I ride dirt bikes, so maybe that has something to do with it as well.

samppa2005 do you happen to have a picture of your home made skid plate? Im interested where you mounted yours, as I am pondering different ideas for my own.

OK, 180kph (111.85mph)! For a while I thought you were in your garage hatching an evil Canadian land speed attempt to get your supermoto up to super bike speeds! Handgaurds won't be an issue (but they could have been at 180mph!). What sort of surface will you be riding on? Are there bumps or something that sets off the wobble?

[Navin]

I never thought my SMR shook its head till I installed a damper. Holy Smokes! Yes, they dance a bit and the damper just flat plants the bike. I have a Scotts BRP, I'm sure any will work but it is a good solution to what more sensitive riders feel.

[6USMC6]

Originally Posted by samppa2005

Have you been looking at an SE skidplate? I have the high headers as well and was looking into fiting an SE skidplate. I made my own of 10 mm PEHD but it's not really pretty. So i thought if i could get someones skidplate to borrow and see if it fits but i can't borrow anyones. By the looks of it it would fit. The only thing to do would be to fabricate mounts for the oilpan. I thought about putting rubber matting between the oilpan and the skidplate and then fixing a bracket to the oilpan with chemical metal. It's on my todo list but it'll propably be for next summer. For now i make do with my ugly one.

Also at least MyNetMoto is delivering the TKC80! Mine are on the way according to the postal tracking codes.

Where is "MyNetMoto" located?

I've had fat TKC-80s backordered for several months and no word.