Measuring discs and a battery

They're such a ball ache to do, that I put Iridiums in the Zed to remove
that problem for the first 30,000 miles.

--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

Quite right. I was using it as shorthand for 'forks modified by
Maxton'.

Which is also bollocks, as I wasn't thinking at all. In fact, they're
K-Tech forks, or to be precise, Kawasaki forks with K-Tech internals.
Like this: http://www.k-tech.uk.com/product_detail.php?id=2246

 

I know. I was practicing with this new straight bat I've got here.

Sure - the outers are big bits of metal, mind, and do need to be made
to reasonable tolerances, I guess.

I didn't realise you had those forks on there. That really is quite a
trick motorcycle you have there.

John Robinson's "Motorcycle Tuning: Chassis" is the bible for all
things chassis related. I've got it. It makes my head hurt. And it
has equations in it. But, if you read it and digest it, you *will*
actually understand how a motorbike goes round corners! Which is more
than 99.99% of riders do (including me before I read it).

However, I've just flicked throught the chapter on suspension, and
while it explains (yes, with equations) exactly how suspension works,
it doesn't contain much on setup. There may be specific books on
suspension setup, but I'm not aware of them.

 

I'll send it tomorrow when I get home.

It's not overly informative but it does tell you what's wrong with the
suspension on C1/C2 bikes and what they do to sort it out. I was quite
happy because it appears to agree with my comments about the handling
of my bike before I tweaked the suspension settings.

It'll cost just under a grand to do the full job on my bike and
comparing that to buying Ohlins I suddenly find that I can buy a set
of very light wheels plus get the Maxton stuff done for less than the
cost of full Ohlins suspension and any fool knows that the biggest
improvement you can make is to reduce unsprung weight. Game on...

 

Can I have a copy too please, as an interested observer & possible
future 10R owner.

--
Krusty

'03 Tiger 955i
'02 MV Senna (for sale) '96 Tiger (for sale)
'79 Fantic Hiro 250 (for sale) '81 Corvette (for sale)

 

No probs.

I need to work on the logistics but I'll almost certainly be throwing
my bike at them in the very near future so I'll be able to tell you if
it's money well spent or not.

 

Well, I typically do stuff like:

Stick a DVM across it and measure the initial terminal volts. Anything
above 12V is worth going further, anything less depends on how much
the battery cost, how useful it would be working, how new it was, how
long it had been left at that voltage and how it was constructed (gel
/ sealed / wet etc).

I would then charge it with an 'intelligent charger (of the right
rating for the battery under test) and see if that thought it was good
enough to put the 'Done' light on. If it seems to take longer than
expected for that size battery I would keep an eye on the battery
temperature (with my fingers usually (testing for cold, warm might be
ok and hot would be bad. You would also 'feel' one warm cell).

If the charger declares it ok' I would then use my Gold IBT capacity
tester to determine the voltage and capacity. If it's marked as 12Ah
but only comes up as 3Ah it would probably only be ok on a regularly
used vehicle in the summer.

If it comes up around it's marked capacity I will attach a 10A load (a
12V electric car heater / fan) whilst monitoring the terminal voltage.
A good battery will hold decent volts for a reasonable period. Note,
a 10Ah battery will NOT sustain a 10A load for 1 hour, it WILL sustain
a .5A load for 20 hours.

I will then recharge it and re measure it's capacity.

If a battery is found to have a very low terminal voltage at the start
it is very dependant upon it's construction if it's likely to recover
or not (typically down to sulphation of the plate surfaces).

eg. The kit car battery was complexly flat and had been so for weeks.
(It wouldn't even bring up the ignition light). I removed it, charged
it and it tested (capacity test) as reasonable (for it's age). I put
it back on and it's been running the car for a few months with no
issues. That was a calcium battery though.

The 12Ah gel bike battery I'm just processed for a neighbour was also
initially showing at less than 6V. After an initial charge the
capacity was 4Ah. After a full charge it was nearer 10Ah (this was
down to the battery chemistry 'recovering' , not the charge per se). I
then discharged it with my load (it did fairly well there as well) and
it's back on charge as we speak. IF the capacity shows back around
16Ah (the meter was calibrated for std lead acid so over reads gel
types) then I would happily give it back to him for real world
*testing* on his bike.

I have a car 'cold cranking load tester' but feel it's too harsh for
small motorcycle batteries (so don't generally use it).

HTH.

T i m

 

Are you getting the light wheels first? They'll make a difference to
the settings I would've thought.

--
Krusty

'03 Tiger 955i
'02 MV Senna (for sale) '96 Tiger (for sale)
'79 Fantic Hiro 250 (for sale) '81 Corvette (for sale)

 

If I've not got them in advance I'll tell Maxton I'm getting some.

I've persuaded myself that buying new wheels is a good idea because it
means I can have a set of wheels with new tyres fitted ready for the
clique run rather than changing the part worn tyres on my existing
wheels. Does that make sense to you?

 

Yep, absolutely. I've got a shed full of part worns for precisely that
reason. I'll probably stick a pair of them on for the clique run if
I've still got the MV (which is pretty likely), as they're 180s & far
better suited to the twisties than the 190 it's currently shod with.

I presume you're going for mags rather than cf? Marchesinis?

--
Krusty

'03 Tiger 955i
'02 MV Senna (for sale) '96 Tiger (for sale)
'79 Fantic Hiro 250 (for sale) '81 Corvette (for sale)

 

I'll almost certainly go for something with a decent re-sale value so
I can punt them out later but I'm slightly wary of carbon wheels
because of what might happen if the front wheel happens to fall from a
great height at speed.

When it comes to tyre size I'll probably be looking at 180s because of
speed of turn but I'll chat to Maxton and Mr Bass for advise on that
front. I'm looking to gain as much of an advantage as I can for when I
cut the bastard loose later in the year because I'm basically a pretty
crap rider so I need to cheat as much as possible.

 

Champ wrote:

Holy shit, I have a huge stack of good slicks and wets in the lock-up
that I'll never use. Best get busy on ebay.

 

:

There is no such thing as a voltage seeking ferret. It's a pole cat, FFS.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, wessie

You! Yes, you!

Coat, go on!

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

Why?



--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue
Suzuki GSX-R600 Racebike

 

Oh, I dunno; I thought that was quite good.

 

Get a Mongoose. It's the Next Big Thing:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/22052...t-right-held-next-traditional-bat-lord-s.html

 

You just mentioned that to wind up the Cricketii didn't you?

Phil.

 

It's probably not gonna happen now, since you've cast a great big
fucking shadow on the water, is it?

 

I don't approve of cruelty to those less fortunate than us.

Phil