And how much has it changed the ride? I’m curious what your experience has been as you made changes, or did you do it all at once?
Agreed. I’ve done that at California Superbikes, best way to get faster for sure. Just looking for a bit more oomph now... having come from Jap 1000s the power deficit is noticeable, even against a modern 600!
Yes of course you’re right Nelson. I’m happy to make the compromise on performance to maintain the look. After all, I ride the bike 95% of the time on the road where all the talk on this thread is largely academic as I’m a pretty conservative rider on the road. Clearly it’s not really that I ‘need’ more power, but rather that I’d enjoy a bit of a boost. I’ll go the lighter wheels route for sure, and probably make a few other changes gradually. For me, the improvement process is part of the enjoyment.
Thanks mate for the suggestion. Already have a Lithium battery fitted, and you’re right it saved a tonne of weight. I had problems with the battery going flat, and realised it was due to a USB plug that I’d fitted to charge my phone which I use for navigation on the bike. Since removing that, the battery’s been fine. I also have an under-fairing frame protector fitted, which actually only fits if you swap out the battery for a smaller lithium unit.
If it's for the road I'd maybe look at wheels and a QS and leave it at that. For the track - get a newer lighter bike...
That’s the problem, changed loads of parts over the winter months so hard to tell. Probably the wheels would be the most noticeable difference but because I put them on near Christmas and I hadn’t ridden the bike for a couple of months before or after, couldn’t feel much difference at all really. I suppose if I fitted the std wheels back on now you’d see a massive difference... The suspension, FG43 forks and DU 1430 rear shock are way above my capabilities anyway so I wouldn’t notice the difference between the std ohlins 996R forks nor the std rear ohlins shock. TBH, the biggest difference I’ve noticed has nothing to do with performance. These are fitting the adjustable rear sets with frame hangers. These with the clip ons lifted nearly 30 mm in height and bar angle changed has made the bike feel (nearly) comfortable on a 200 + mile run.
Thanks, yes I’m thinking now to keep it simple. I need to wait and see anyway what the engine does, as I’m getting a bit of blue smoke from the left barrel. It comes and goes, so I’m monitoring. But if I need engine work later I might decide to put a bit of money into that. We shall see. The rear sets sound like a great idea.
