I'm from central IL and i've been on a 1998 f3 smikin joes for two years now.
I havent had any issues till recently so i figured i'd join up and ask few questions as they come up.
Have red through bunch of write ups already, lots of good stuff.

 

Welcome!

Got questions? Ask away....

 

Welcome, nice bike, real nice. I love F2's & F3's. I like my F2 better than I like my 08 CBR1K.

 

i'm about to do a major tune up on my bike. was thinking about new sprocket size, maybe jets. not to concerned with top speed, just want to keep up with the 1k's.
what would you guys recommend and from where?

 

-1front +2 rear is a popular chain & sprocket upgrade at 520 size. Hate to bust your bubble but you're bike cant keep up with modern 1k's. Unless you're a better rider than the dipstick on the 1k, plain and simple. My 08 cbr 1k has almost 150hp and weighs 440 pounds, better forks, aluminum frame, better brakes, so on and so forth, the F3 weighs 460ish, maybe 90hp, steel frame, smaller forks, smaller brakes, etc, etc,. I can go almost as fast on my F2 than my 08 1k around Summit Point race track, my F2 is track only with racing slicks and no street stuff,(no lights etc). My 1k is my streetbike with street tires. Either way, F2's & F3's are great fast bikes and respond to tasteful modifications. You want to be able to go fast? Do the suspension first. The first thing to modify on a bike ( other than good tires) if you want to go fast is the suspension.

 

by "keep up" i dont mean beat or even compete on the same skill level. Been riding since i was 10 and weight lot less than an average rider, i just want a little extra pep.

 

By keeping up I guess you mean "on a spirited ride threw the twisties". A tune up, fresh plugs, jet kit, valve clearance check, wont hurt a bit. How bout a R6 throttle tube= less twist to get to full throttle. Set your suspension sag, so it rides in the middle of the travel. Maybe when winter comes get your suspension done based on your weight. Fork springs, fork oil, seals and bushings. Also an aftermarket shock such as a Fox or Ohlins rebuilt for you weight also. Definitely get some street/track day tires. I ran Dunlop Q2's on my F2 at the track in 2011, great tire, definitely a knee dragging tire. I kept getting faster and faster to where I needed to upgrade to race tires but for the street they would be great.

 

Tires and getting the bike sprung for you would be good. There's nothing wrong with wanting some extra pep. I had an ignition advance sprocket on my bike and jetting to match my pipe, and I bypassed the air solenoid. But this is really a tuning aspect, it'll take a while to dial in what works for your bike.

You can upgrade brakes by doing SS lines and possibly finding a better and more modern master cylinder (but you'd want the same overall size master, I do NOT know what size the OEM master is).


You said you're already lighter than most of the other guys, so you can capitalize on it further by getting rid of whatever you can (see air solenoid for example)

 

On my F4i, I had no problem keeping up with liter bikes on the street. But when we got clear road in front, they twisted and I just resigned to catching up later.

I agree about the suspension. When I got mine done it completely changed the bike and rider combo.

I've done the -1+2 sprocket change and didn't like it. Yes, you'll get more acceleration but you'll pay dearly on the top end. If you're better at launches then keep your standard gearing.

When I really got on it, I could go to the rev limiter and clutcless upshift to stay competitive.

Track riding is whole 'nother ballgame. It depends on the track. I recall one year on AMA where a team fielded a GSXR-750 against the literbikes and still placed near the top (that was during the reign of Mladin). I'm drawing a blank on the rider's name but as I recall M4/Emgo was the bike builder/ sponsor.

 

-1 +2 might be an annoyance if you ride a lot of interstate highways. I have -1F on my F2 and I can redline 6th at the end of Summit Points 3000ft front straight. If I had -1 +2 I would redline 6th too early and have to let off, wasting time/getting passed. Like I said before, I can go almost as fast on my track only F2 as I can on my 1k at the track, but I'm really riding the F2 hard to go that fast. All that horsepower of a big bike really gets you moving faster coming up to the turns so you have to slow down sooner, sometimes scrubbing off too much speed. I remember when in AMA racing Tommy Hayden ran a Kawasaki 636 in 750 supersport, he lead the race quite a few times but the grunt of the 750 was pass him on the big straight every time.