Hey everyone I just thought I would come on here and share my progress since my accident in mid february. Long story short I took my bike for the first ride since my Racetech suspension and black Ebay levers were installed. Well I pull out of my neighborhood and start to feel the brakes binding a little bit. So I stop and check them out and they seem to be working properly so off I go. All of a sudden bam I'm down at 50 mph skipping down the road into oncoming traffics lane. Front wheel locked up out of no where and almost got me killed (luckily no one was coming). I get up in disgust with a sprained wrist and shredded textile jacket and limp home doing 5 mph. Tear the bike down and check it over for frame, fork and every other damage that could have happened. Luckily I only found cosmetic damage but still not happy. My new Sena Smh10 headset also shattered all over the road and 1500 dollars in body damage hurt my wallet and why did this happen? Because them Ebay levers that were such a great deal were partially applying the brakes when the lever was untouched. This caused the front wheel to lock up as soon as they got hot. I don't recommend cheap parts for motorcycles and especially something as important as brakes. Definitely learned my lesson, here are some pictures of me rebuilding her to OEM spec.


Tear down and inspection

new engine covers

Installing tank

Tank on!

rear done

his image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 800x600 and weights 288KB.

All done isn't she purty?



Iv ridden all the new bikes and something about the 954 made me not want to give up on it no matter what the cost. For anyone in the same boat as I was I HIGHLY recommend www.Powersportsplus.com they gave me updates all the time and shipped all of my parts from japan to my door step in less than two weeks. There prices were also ridiculously cheaper than anyone else that I could find and on top of that they gave me another 25% off of my order with a online coupon code. A + for them guys they deserve our business.

 

The theme that I am going after is a well manored sunday morning street bike but also perform with the new bikes on the track.

First thing I think everyone wants to address is the exhaust. I'v owned the bike for three years and the main reason I never got a exhaust for it is because all the cans available are very old and outdated looking. So after days of research and figuring out what can will work I settled on a titanium Yoshimura rs-4 off of a 2009-10 zx6r.

Same style as the stock can I just need to make my way over to the shop to weld it to the factory mid pipe. Much nicer, modern look to it.

After taking care of the exhaust I wanted to purchase a fuel controller to make sure she is running top notch. I dont think i would have had an issue using a power commander but i opted to use the Bazzaz Z-Fi fuel,quick shifter, traction control set up. I wont get into details about how everything works but the traction control was only $100 more than just the fuel and quick shifter. No brainer right?

I took my time and installed everything the way bazzaz recommended.


Go figure I would be the one to get a diagnostic code as soon as I fire the programmer up. "No rpm signal detected" After a few calls to bazzaz I traced the problem back to the module. There tech support was very kind and apologized for the inconvenience. Although I asked for a wiring diagram to help aid in the diagnosis and they told me they dont have one? Would have made my life alot easier testing the wiring. I figured it out for myself and found i had a rpm signal going into the box but still nothing on computer.

I shipped the module back to them for testing hopefully will have it back this week for my track day sunday. I schedule the track day to hopefully tune the quick shifter and traction control without the risk of getting hit by a car while in distracted playing with my new toy haha. The bike will not run without the module so im hoping for a quick turn around time.
Oh well you never know with electronics.

I wanted to dress up the tank area a little bit with a vortex gas cap, This is the older style that I liked better than the new ones.

And finally to finish up the post I installed a gpr V1 stabilizer. This thing is by far the best mod to date! Smooths every bar jerking bump out and really does wonders keeping the bike stable through corners. For me the best street setting is 4, not hard to steer at slow speeds but plenty to control any tank slap scare. 5-6 for the track where you are at a high rate of speed all the time.

If anyone has questions about anything feel free to post!




One more thing, during the accident something managed to put a 1/4 ding in my front rim. Balanced out fine and doesn't come close to the bead area so I have been riding on it... but in the back of my head I keep telling myself is it worth the risk?

 

Here are some pictures from this winter when I revalved and sprung the forks. I used all racetech components including .95kg springs, g2r compression and rebound valves, new seals, bushings, and super slick fluid. I have less than 1000 miles on them so I still am considering this a new mod. Completely changed the way the bike rides. Who would have thought the bike would ride smoother switching to a much stiffer spring. It now handles much better and tracks through corners like never before. Any bumps mid full lean turn soaked up without feeling them and hard braking is also much more controlled.
Before

Fresh powder coat thanks to Bonehead Performance out of Ivyland, PA awesome work!


Building rebound shim stack, no pictures of the compressions

Finished product!



I now need to seriously consider an ohlins or penske rear shock. Now that I addressed the front the rear feel like it has way too much spring for my weight even though the spring is the right rate. The stock valving just is not up to the task.

Vortex 520 chain conversion with EK Gold chain. Highly recommend, this was a mod I was unsure of but glad I did. Smoothed out the bikes power and picked up a little acceleration. I also noticed it was easier to make throttle adjustments mid turn without upsetting the suspension.


Steel braided brake lines by Galfer are always a nice upgrade. Much improved braking feel. I do not recommend the rear line as it makes the rear brake very touchy. I usually ride 90/10 anyways and use the rear brake to control power output exiting a turn. If you do install a rear like I did crack the line and let a small amount of air in the system. Helps to take away that initial bite.


Should be it for now I will post soon when the wheels arrive.

 

man shes pretty

 

Thanks man I put a lot of time, sweat, and money into it and just wanted to see what others thought. Any suggestion on the build appreciated

 

Nice build. Have you thought about getting some track fairings for it and maybe some case covers and/or sliders?

I REALLY like the exhaust. My 98 has a honking huge can on there from Skorpion (before the changed to Akrapovic). I was thinking it needed something a litte more modern as well.

Did you get new fork tubes or anodize the ones you had?

 

If you want when you get your new rims in you might as well install 90 degree tire valves, I like mine a lot, they are metal and if the valve fails I can replace just the valve and you can get it for just a few cents at a bike shop.

 

I plan to get some aftermarket track fairings this winter and have it all painted up for the following season. I'm going to be riding it on the street more than on the track this year so I'd like to keep the factory plastics on it. Case savers would be a great idea if I knew of someone who made them? The bike has frame sliders on it now but I would like to upgrade them for a little more protection.

Thanks about the exhaust I deffinitely wanted the modern look.

The fork tubes I had powdercoated at a local shop and they turned out great! I perfer powdercoat over anodize because anodize has a tendency to fade after being exposed to the sun and everything else this world could throw at it.

 

Great idea! Definitely did not think of that one will make things much easier when checking and filling tires

 

OK guys I have a question. In an attempt to reduce as much unsprung weight from the bike as possible I read somewhere else that the newer cbr1000rr front/ rear axle shafts are hollow and weigh considerably less than the OEM 954's. Can anyone verify this?