Introducing the TardMo

[sailah]

That's awesome, I was going to do the same exact thing except use a YZ450f suspension!! Then the Ninja I secured ended up being stolen and I moved on to an FZ1 with 950 suspension

I'm excited for your build, I had it all envisioned in my head and didn't anticipate many problems. The great thing is that the swingarm doesn't go through the engines on these bikes so you just need to space a swingarm. Make sure your pivot bolt OD and swingarm ID are at least close...

[Jimmy the Heater]

Waiting to see how this turns out

[slackmeyer]

Originally Posted by OaklandStrom

Subscribed.
And you're in Oakland - which means I might even see it in person. Can't wait.

What he said.

[Roadracer_Al]

Sailah - bummer about your bike. Great minds, right?

I owe a pic of the CRF donor chassis.



The update on the PowerCommander is that I'm not savvy, savvy? Turns out that the motor has to be running for the PC to do look alive and for the tuning software to recognize the unit. With that figured out, I've been tinkering with the EFI mapping, and it's more or less a shot in the dark unless you have proper diagnostic gear. You need to be able to read the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) although you can get a general sense of throttle position by using tape on the throttle housing, making a mark on the throttle tube, and marking the high & low extremes, then dividing that up into 10 sub-marks. The real question is what the exhaust O2 is doing. Going by feel ain't so hot, I've found, and I made it worse more than I made it better.

I may break down and buy a wide-band O2 sensor since it's useful on both EFI and carbureted bikes. I'll need it if I ever change the exhaust to put the muffler in the "usual" place (for better ground clearance).

I was shocked to discover that the US ECU runs in open loop mode -- no oxygen sensor in the exhaust! The European version does use one, and I plan to investigate if a US ECU can utilize one.

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been on vacation on the TardMo as a shake-down run in as-bought form. I put on a total of 1762 miles, with 480 miles on the last day. I discovered some interesting tidbits. It gets only modest mileage cruising at 65-70 -- the best tank got 40 mpg. On I-5, cruising between 85-90, it gets crap mileage, the lowest I got was a horrifying 24 mpg! My V8 Camaro gets 23 on the highway with the AC on! I was definitely range-limited with these mileage figures, and they need some improvement.

I whipped up a luggage rack for soft luggage the day before I left. I can admit & own that I'm proud that I started making it after lunch and finished with enough time to spare to paint it. The main loop is 3/4" tube, all the rest is 1/2" tube. It came out nice enough -- strong, unobtrusive, held the luggage firmly -- although the welds are cosmetically sub-par. MIG is good enough, but makes ugly beads. The rack performed flawlessly. I'll build another rack later for my hard luggage. You can see how the rack sits on the bike in the second pic... the one in front of the bizarre Korean Taco food stand.





Not to turn this into a ride report, but I did a big U-shaped loop through Southern CA into Nevada & back to Yo!Oaktown.



Here, you can see the load of luggage I had. Believe it or not, I could have taken MORE CRAP - the Lee Parks Design Laguna bag wasn't expanded fully, and I bought for my wife the monster of all tankbags. That thing is bigger than my college dorm. Taken on Route 95 North of Las Vegas. I actually ran into a fellow-ADV'er also having a gas stop.



In the Mojave, I went off-pavement to look for old mines. I found this one not far off the highway. I tried to find more, but got a bit cautious about getting stuck in sand. I discovered I could barely push the bike to turn it around because the tires had sunk into the sand over the rims. The short bit of 2-track revealed that -- not surprisingly -- the suspension isn't built for this. Not for long, though.



Obligatory artsy-fartsy pic near the CA/NV line. There's a whole heckofalotta straight roads out that way.

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by Roadracer_Al

I discovered some interesting tidbits. It gets only modest mileage cruising at 65-70 -- the best tank got 40 mpg. On I-5, cruising between 85-90, it gets crap mileage, the lowest I got was a horrifying 24 mpg!

something not right on the mileage. gravel roads at 50mph should be 50mpg, backroads at 65mph about 45mpg, 80 cruise about 40mpg, although i have dropped to 30-35mpg riding into a big head wind with the bike fully loaded. above 80, the mileage drops off. the motor will pull a 44T rear without difficulty, but you'll need the lower gearing for offroad.

get going on that suspension.

[Roadracer_Al]

JD, thanks for sharing your experience.

I'm chalking up most of the difference to dirty aerodynamics -- the fairing was broken off the bike, and there is nothing except the headlight shell. Throw in soft luggage hanging out in the breeze, and my big carcass on top, and I'm sure it makes a brick look sleek.

I do believe that getting the EFI mapped better will result in an improvement as well -- it's a bit soft on the roll-on at highway speed.

Oh, and I forgot to mention 2 mechanical issues - the waterpump seal leaks, and under full-throttle acceleration the clutch slips slightly. I doubt that it's slipping at highway pace, but I could be wrong.

[nomiles]

Originally Posted by Roadracer_Al

JD, thanks for sharing your experience.

I'm chalking up most of the difference to dirty aerodynamics -- the fairing was broken off the bike, and there is nothing except the headlight shell...

I saw this in Berkeley, maybe get the guy to build you something slippery, he has some mad metal bumping skills.




Andronico's parking lot on Telly.

You've done a great job on your build! hope to see it around town.

** those 3M button connectors are used by the phone company, check the sizing, 17/20awg 22/26awg 19/27awg etc. tiny thin wire.

[Roadracer_Al]

Interesting! Looks like a Ducati under that nice sheet metal work.

A friend of mine did a class in sheet metal forming at The Crucible with none other than Evan Wilcox (very well known in Brit Bike circles for aluminum tanks). Maybe our perpetrator was a fellow student.

[jake28]

This should continue. Namely because you are local and I may need help with mine.
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=736744

[bk brkr baker]

Seeking to be the worlds fastest Monster ?

[Z3n]

Looking forward to seeing this shape up! I'll be local to you soon too, this thread is like a who's who of ADV/BARF crossover.

[Roadracer_Al]

Update time... I've actually been using the Ninja quite a bit for long rides. I even took it to a track day down at Horse Thief Mile @ Willow Springs to teach the Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic -- I got to ride two sessions, it behaved pretty darn well for a bike with dead stock budget suspension.

I also took it to Pikes Peak last year, and did a little more than 3k miles on that trip alone. The new rack for the Pelican case luggage rocked! On the way home, I crossed the Bonneville Salt Flats in about a 50 mph headwind, and swore I'd not ride the bike again until it had a fairing.

A friend had a GSXR aftermarket fiberglass replacement fairing that was surplus to his needs, and it came equipped with an HID headlight. I trimmed it down and whipped up a bracket for it. Big improvement in the wind management on the highway - it's quite comfortable now.

Regarding the TardMo project, I got a basket case (literally, the thing is in a zillion pieces) Ducati ST3 that had been in a garage fire -- I'm switching horses to the Ducati for dual sport conversion before I ruin a perfectly nice street bike.

The Ninja is up for sale now to make room in the garage, I'll post it in the Flea Market shortly.

Here's a picture of it as it stands now.

[Roadracer_Al]

Ad is up in the Flea Market. Bumped for a lower price, $2700.