Author Topic: five-speed concours? (Read 43470 times)

throb · « **Reply #80 on:** August 25, 2011, 05:21:55 AM »

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There's a pile of guys riding with my 2 minute mod jetting and exhaust sprockets, they're the ones to ask, therwise I'm coming off like a cheesy commercial - Steve

Okay, time to start the endorsements! As far as turn around time for SISF, at least for the overflow tube installation, I sent my bowls to him earlier this year (USPS priority mail) on either a Monday or Tuesday. I had them back in my sticky lil' fingers either that Thursday or Friday. I live in Wisconsin BTW. Granted, this was back in maybe March and I certainly have no idea what his workload is now, but I'm certain you will get them back promptly and with exceptional results!

Other stuff you may want to look into are "stick coils" and a much beefier shift linkage from T-Cro. Neither are necessary, but certainly are worthwhile mods, especially the shift linkage. I didn't think it would make much difference, but boy was I wrong! It is wayyyyy better than the flimsy part Mama Kaw put on.

Also, have you pulled the plugs and inspected the plug wires by chance? Mine is an '05 and only had 11,xxx miles when I bought her in February of this year. Because I trailered mine home it got all full of salt. I hosed/washed it off and when I went to pull the plugs sometime later, I found the number 1 plug well partially full of water. This is common the way the tank/fairing/etc is laid out, even with the rubber plug covering the well.

I also found the metal in the plug boots were so corroded they wouldn't even snap onto the spark plug. This is common too. If you find this you can either get the aforementioned stick coils from T-Cro and get rid of the coils and old wires in one shot, or Murphs kits (another name you will certainly come to know by heart and excellent, reputable businessman) sells a replacement wire/boot kit.

Also, the jet mod SISF sells is certainly worth the $$. My next mod is going to be the exhaust cam sprocket from him, but will wait until winter or early spring so I can adjust the valves right away too. Ride on!!

julianop · « **Reply #81 on:** August 25, 2011, 08:01:50 AM »

Hi throb, thanks for that excellent advice. What part of Wisconsin? I commute from Elk River MN straight down 94/90 through Tomah to Rockford IL every week, so I cover a good portion of that fair state. I should also say that I lived in Racine for 14 1/2 years between Jan '83 and Sept '99, and Sheboygan for 2 ('87- '88, if memory serves). I have no idea what would possess a boy born and raised in West London to move to Sheboygan, but it must have seemed a good idea at the time.

So yes, those sound like excellent ideas. When I get my baby back this weekend I'll see what the shop did for me, then start plans for at least some of the aforementioned upgrades. I like the idea of SISF's "7th gear mod" and the accompanying jet mod, and the overflow mod. From that point I'll investigate the others.

I'll ask T-Cro to explain the stick coils, that isn't clear to me yet; is it an ignition coil replacement?. The shift linkage seems obvious enough. I'll look into "Murph" - I don't think I've heard that name yet.

You've and the others have given me some excellent ideas; I'm going to capture the posts into a separate file for reference, then I can review the ideas later as I plan my winter and upgrade expenditure on the bike.

throb · « **Reply #82 on:** August 25, 2011, 09:48:39 AM »

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=61.0

No need to look very far....here are pics of the stick coils. They are coils/plug caps all in one which most new vehicles come with nowadays. The cylindrical coils on the bike are eliminated completely.

http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1&osCsid=6db5d241eb223acdc8bcfba8c486e081

Here's a link to Murph's site. Get the credit card ready!

I live in the Sheboygan area myself, moved here in '87.

throb · « **Reply #83 on:** August 25, 2011, 09:51:58 AM »

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=67.0

And here's for T-Cro's shift linkage. It's all in the "For Sale" section of this website....

julianop · « **Reply #84 on:** August 25, 2011, 10:09:50 AM »

Quote from: throb on August 25, 2011, 09:51:58 AM

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=67.0

And here's for T-Cro's shift linkage. It's all in the "For Sale" section of this website....

The "For Sale" section of this very website: of course, what did I expect? "Duh", followed by sound of palm slapping forehead...

SteveJ. · « **Reply #85 on:** August 25, 2011, 05:53:59 PM »

Julianop, just to kinda follow up on the rpm thing. As long as you keep her mostly over 3k, she's fine. When you want some power, down shift for some rpms and let er go. Assuming you don't have the 7th gear, your engine is turning about 4500 at 75. It will do that all day long, day after day. Don't be afraid to drop a couple or three gears at 60 mph for some right hand wrist exercises on the throttle. It's "accelerating", pun intended. A decent shift point for "spirited", not full acceleration might be in the 7.5 to 9k range, full on, spin to about 9.5-10k. I would not advise getting too carried away in the land of cheese, however. I hear the fines are quite ugly over there.

The above recommendations are based on a fully warmed engine, say after 5-10 miles of running, to get the oil fully warmed up.

Once you do some of SiSF's magic, you will not have to reach as far in the rpms, but it is still fun to do.

Do try to hook up with some of the locals up there. Some really good, smart, and helpful people.

That sort of rough, uneven running, (the carbbies are in transition at about 2-2.5k) will clear up immensely once SiSF magic is applied. It will run a lot nicer in parking lots and other slow speed stuff.

julianop · « **Reply #86 on:** August 25, 2011, 06:08:38 PM »

Thanks for the detail, SteveJ.

Yes, I know all about fines in Wisconsin - in my earlier days I got so many speeding tickets (driving my grotty old Bronco II) between Racine and Sheboygan before I moved up there, in fact) that I actually got suspended for three months.

I hadn't actually mentioned this before, but I might as well now: the reason I needed good low speed stability so badly was that I was practicing for my Minnesota motorcycle license - I haven't had my two wheel license since I was in the UK, thirty five years ago. The Connie was brand new to me, rougher and more sluggish at low speed than I anticipated it would be, and I failed my test first time after dropping the poor old girl twice on each side practicing for it. It was very frustrating, never having dropped a bike before. So she went back to the shop, and they took pity and loaned me a BMW F800ST to take my test on. It was much smoother, of course, I passed my test this past Monday. I'll get the Connie back this weekend. If the carb job and new plugs doesn't make it any better I get to pay the bill, if it does, they do. I really want a smoother bike at low RPM, because at my age I just don't need or want a rip-snorter, so I will most certainly get the 7th gear and jet mods done when the season ends. It's not that I'm suffering buyer's remorse just yet, but I'm just mad that I didn't pay more attention to this before I bought it.

Thanks again for the detail - it will help a lot when I get reacquainted with her this weekend.

Gitbox · « **Reply #87 on:** August 27, 2011, 11:18:49 AM »

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Okay, time to start the endorsements!

After installing SISF's 2 minute carb mod and exhaust gear, the low RPM irritations went away and were replaced by a very noticeable torque improvement - perfect for the 7th gear upgrade. A really good carb cleaning, mixture adjustment and syncing got the idle smooth as silk down to 500 RPM. (I did the stick coil thing too)

Steve in Sunny Fla · « **Reply #88 on:** August 27, 2011, 04:50:50 PM »

Robin, wait til you get the cams in there, the engine will be like a tractor at lower rpms. super nice when in traffic / parking lots, etc...

Julianop, not scolding, but WHY would you bring the bike to the shop? in all seriousness, they cannot duplicate the low rpm torque I can pull out of a concours, and everyone with my stuff will support that. I'm not trying to be a commercial, but your issues are what I've specifically targeted. The dealership can't do better than kawasaki did as they're going back to stock condition. I'm sure it'll run better when you get it back if they do a decent job, but no matter what, my stuff still would make it run even better than that. Not bragging, but certainly confident. Steve

Mettler1 · « **Reply #89 on:** August 27, 2011, 09:58:09 PM »

Quote from: Gitbox on August 27, 2011, 11:18:49 AM

After installing SISF's 2 minute carb mod and exhaust gear, the low RPM irritations went away and were replaced by a very noticeable torque improvement - perfect for the 7th gear upgrade. A really good carb cleaning, mixture adjustment and syncing got the idle smooth as silk down to 500 RPM. (I did the stick coil thing too)

Same here. Great combo!!

connie_rider · « **Reply #90 on:** August 29, 2011, 07:32:27 AM »

Julianop, I hafta agree with the others on the Low End Improvements you get from Steves Mods. He has put a lot of thought into his mods.

I have the Ex Sprocket and the Cams. In my case I went with the Power Grind (ZX Cams).
With Steves special grind (on ZX Cams) I got Improved Low end and mid range, plus it gives me a bit on the top...
Love the overall power the bike makes.

Last week I received a 2 min mod kit from Steve (this Kit is made to work with these cams)

Haven't installed it yet. But, As soon as I get the time,,, (and my garage cools enough that I can stand to be in it) it's gonna happen.

NOTE: After reading the discussion, I question you installing the 7th gear unit immediately.
The 7th gear unit is a good idea that is primarily built to lower rpm's while cruising. As a result it will slightly decrease your available low end.
I suggest that you (first) do the carbs etc and see how you like things.
After you are happy with the bike, (then) look into adding the 7th gear unit.

Ride safe, Ted

buzzcut · « **Reply #91 on:** August 29, 2011, 08:59:12 AM »

+10 on SISF mods. He has engineered the "wow" factor

julianop · « **Reply #92 on:** August 29, 2011, 02:09:20 PM »

Gitbox: 500 RPM you say? Now that's my kinda language - take a zero off the 5000 ;-)
Mettler1, Buzzcut: Thanks for your additional accolades on SISF's mods. I'm definitely going to do it. I'll tell more story in a moment that'll really explain why ...

Connie_rider: Yep, it's that low end performance I really want. I'll take your advice on adding the 7th gear mod later - that makes me more comfortable, as I already have a low end torque problem, and want to make sure I put one foot firmly on the floor, torque-wise, before I lift up the other one. I definitely do want to reduce RPMs during cruise - bloody thing made my hands numb on the drive down from Minnesota to Illinois this weekend - but one thing at a time, I say.

SISF: I am totally convinced you're right about taking the bike back to the shop, and your comment comes at the perfect time; here's why:
I took the bike back to the shop for them to look at it; the salesman didn't think there was anything wrong with it but took it in for them to look at for the week. They lent me the BMW F800ST for the week and to take my MN test on, as I spoke about earlier. I went in on Saturday to pick up my bike and they hadn't even started working on it... While I was there I test drove an old BMW R1100R for fun and comparison. I took the Connie back and drove it down from Minnesota to Illinois: it was miserable at anything less than highway speed compared to the R1100, the F800, and a Honda ST1300 I'd tried a couple of weeks ago. Fully realizing that those are (with no desire to offend anybody) a different price-point and class of vehicle, my Connie could not, in anyone's imagination, represent 20 years of engineering evolution !!
I'm not happy with this bike, though I realize it has potential. I could take it back to the dealer, take a beating on money, and buy something else, or I could pay you to make my pain go away. "In traffic and parking lots": that's exactly where the problem is, and it's dreadful.
So Steve, can I talk to you via PM or even better, by phone, to discuss options, details, prices, and logistics? I have my account here set up to accept PM; please let me know when we can chat.

SteveJ. · « **Reply #93 on:** August 29, 2011, 04:05:11 PM »

Contact email for SiSF:

Shoodaben Engineering

How to Contact Me
My business is located in Central Florida and I travel to many of the regional Concours Owner's Group events. The best way to reach me is by email. I will reply to your email as soon as possible. Be sure to tell me what year and model motorcycle you have and include your phone number and best time to call you if you want a call back.

Steve@shoodabenengineering.com

Happy Farkling!
SteveJ.

Steve in Sunny Fla · « **Reply #94 on:** August 29, 2011, 08:28:17 PM »

Julianop, I'll pm my phone # - thanks, Steve

turbojoe78 · « **Reply #95 on:** August 30, 2011, 09:00:48 PM »

Julianop,
Don't get to discouraged with the bike yet. My bike ran the way you described your's as running when I first got it too.

I got it in Sept. 08 and put 1500 miles on it before putting it away for the winter. Over the winter I bought SISF's exhaust cam sprocket, jet kit and 7th gear mod. (most of my ridding is commuting on the highway)

In the spring after all the mod's the bike was a different animal. The difference the 7th gear mod makes is incredable. With the jet kit and the ex cam sprocket I don't notice any problem with the taller gearing at all on start off, I only notice the taller gearing when I realize I don't have to shift as often, or as quickly when getting up to speed and I'm one who also likes the lower end of the RPM range when casual riding.

My sugjestion (spell) to you would be to search both of the concours sites for how to reduce the buzz in the grips and look into those things now while your still riding. Also check to see if you can find out when the last valve adjust was. If the bike needs a valve adjust it's a great time to add SISF's ex cam sprocket, or for more low end improvement, SISF's torque cams.
I'll be looking to swap cams for the torque cam's at my next valve adjust. And SISF's 2 min. mod jet kit will change your bike from the stuttering brit bike you feel now, to the smooth as silk jap bike that you thought you bought.

Just my 2 cents
Joe

julianop · « **Reply #96 on:** August 30, 2011, 09:22:12 PM »

Thanks turbojoe78,
Things are looking up already: I heard angels sing when I had a phone conversation with SiSF today. He told me a whole lot of good things, including (as you've indicated) 1. I'm not alone in my liking for the bike as whole but need for torque and stability at lower RPM; and 2. it's fixable - just give him my carbs and my checkbook ;-)
On taking to Steve I think I'll bypass the sprocket and go straight to the cams and jet kit, because I get the low-end torque AND a quieter motor into the bargain, which I also really want. Once I've done that and got used to the bike again I'll go to the 7th gear mod. I'm not made of money, you know - getting the wife to accept the cost of the bike in the first place was tough enough for a while ;-)
Once I've done that I'll look into de-buzzing the grips if I still need to. For the fall months I'm probably going to need some thicker gloves than my current summer meshes anyway, and that will hopefully put off the need a little.
Good point about a valve adjustment check. The OO/PO is a COG member, and is local to me, so I can get in touch with him and find out some of the history of the machine. I joined COG this evening (literally, just before answering your post), so I have access to even more good opinions.
Thanks again for the reassurance, I do think things will improve: on advice received the other day I took her out and spanked her just a little bit, taking the RPM over the 6000 mark, and that seems to have loosened her up a little. Steve assured me - and I've had plenty of accolades to affirm - that the aforementioned mods will make a big difference; I just have to wait till the end of the riding season so I can bear to take her off the road!

throb · « **Reply #97 on:** August 31, 2011, 03:40:48 AM »

If you are looking for an inexpensive but effective fix to help with the handlebar buzz, here are a couple suggestions. 1: What I did; http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=2656.0
It makes a noticeable improvement for about $8 and 20 minutes of your time. No, it won't take all the buzz away, but nothing you are going to do with an inline 4 motor is going to!
2: Haven't tryed this but seems like a good idea; http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=1850.msg23563#msg23563

SteveJ. · « **Reply #98 on:** August 31, 2011, 06:47:14 PM »

Hi again Julianop, with the cooler weather just around the corner, and with your long commute, you may wanna make Murphs' a bit more successful and get yourself some heater for the grips iff'n you don't have 'em. They really are a life saver on longer rides.

KenE · « **Reply #99 on:** September 07, 2011, 01:42:48 AM »

Welcome.
Your experience parallels mine for the first couple of months... It is a pig in a parking lot, and will go on over if you give it half a chance...Maybe even a quarter chance!
Love it now. It is a highly customizable bike... there isn't much for 16 inch rear rubber anymore... leading to:
17 inch rear wheel mod, 17inch front wheel transplants, better brake transplants, fork transplants, tipover bars...
OMG does it end?
Good news is I do all my own work, and enjoy it, something I can't say about any ride since my 67 vw beetle....
KenE

News:

Author Topic: five-speed concours? (Read 43470 times)