HARDCORE
August 7th, 2004, 05:07 AM
About 2 months ago I followed the link on RRZONE and purchased the VFR shift lever and rubber for my 2001 929. The part numbers listed are correct - ordering was easy, except for the 50 some-odd $ in damages. But in just 30 minutes of turning wrenches I had a fresh new setup: 1 up, 5 down! Now, I'll be the first to admit that after 20 years of riding, there is a definite adjustment to this, but I really like it. Already in a few instances I have been able to bang a gear higher during a left-hander sweeper that I would not have been able to do before. And if the bike ever goes down, the shifter is so close to the engine now that the frame sliders will completely protect it, so I never have to worry about it breaking off, unless it hits something in a slide.
Only once did I seriously mis-shift, riding hard in second gear at about 70mph, coming out of a sweeper, and not thinking "up" shifted into 3rd, only to find out right away that 1st is where 3rd used to be. Well, the engine bounced hard off the rev limited and my rear tire chattered like a mother, but the awesome CBR929 held a perfectly stable straight attitude. And that's a good thing because I was betwixt an auto on the right side of me and a guardrail on the left. That person must've thought I was a lunatic, hearing the engine scream beside him, rear tire skipping, and then just finding the right gear and blasting off. And of course there were numerous instances of slowing down for a light while pushing thru the trans all the way down to gear 5 or 6.
So that said, now I am very comfortable with this setup and I wouldn't go back to the old way. Of course I saved the orig. parts should I ever sell it, but I don't think I am gonna sell this bike. It's way too stable thru turns and during high-speed runs. If anything, I'll just keep modifying.
Lastly, after having my bike mechanic tell me for the 3rd time, I finally relented and swapped out the BMC high flow filter for my Honda factory filter. He told me that no matter if it's a K&N or BMC (all the same, he says) they all do the same thing: let way too much DIRT into the engine. For the 1 or 2 HP you gain, it's not worth the extra wear. I did the Akropovic full race, Power Commander and Factory Pro velocity stacks with the BMC filter all around the same time. Man, up around 8,9,10,11 it's awesome power on tap. SO very fast.
So after putting the factory Honda element back in, the only difference I feel is a very slight off idle dip in power, and that's only when she's cold. Soon as we get up to op temp, she's the same old C-BER. 135BHP and counting!!!!
Only once did I seriously mis-shift, riding hard in second gear at about 70mph, coming out of a sweeper, and not thinking "up" shifted into 3rd, only to find out right away that 1st is where 3rd used to be. Well, the engine bounced hard off the rev limited and my rear tire chattered like a mother, but the awesome CBR929 held a perfectly stable straight attitude. And that's a good thing because I was betwixt an auto on the right side of me and a guardrail on the left. That person must've thought I was a lunatic, hearing the engine scream beside him, rear tire skipping, and then just finding the right gear and blasting off. And of course there were numerous instances of slowing down for a light while pushing thru the trans all the way down to gear 5 or 6.
So that said, now I am very comfortable with this setup and I wouldn't go back to the old way. Of course I saved the orig. parts should I ever sell it, but I don't think I am gonna sell this bike. It's way too stable thru turns and during high-speed runs. If anything, I'll just keep modifying.
Lastly, after having my bike mechanic tell me for the 3rd time, I finally relented and swapped out the BMC high flow filter for my Honda factory filter. He told me that no matter if it's a K&N or BMC (all the same, he says) they all do the same thing: let way too much DIRT into the engine. For the 1 or 2 HP you gain, it's not worth the extra wear. I did the Akropovic full race, Power Commander and Factory Pro velocity stacks with the BMC filter all around the same time. Man, up around 8,9,10,11 it's awesome power on tap. SO very fast.
So after putting the factory Honda element back in, the only difference I feel is a very slight off idle dip in power, and that's only when she's cold. Soon as we get up to op temp, she's the same old C-BER. 135BHP and counting!!!!