Suspension Upgrades

[EMS]

I sent that pic to my suspension guy, who pointed out that the shock reservoir is very close to the luggage rack, and that the shocks will rotate a bit as the suspension compresses. Not a huge issue if it needs to be clearanced, but definitely another thing to check.

Phil: Coming back to an earlier discussion, that is the reason why the Ohlins 146 shock will not fit the CBX. I did a trial installation on a frame with the 146es and it is almost impossible to access the adjustment button on that shock. That's why Ohlins specified the 140 for the CBX.

[Syscrush]

Phil: Coming back to an earlier discussion, that is the reason why the Ohlins 146 shock will not fit the CBX. I did a trial installation on a frame with the 146es and it is almost impossible to access the adjustment button on that shock. That's why Ohlins specified the 140 for the CBX.

With the YSS shock, the adjustment button remains easily accessible despite the tight clearance to the reservoir arm, as it's positioned on that notch shape above the reservoir.

[Syscrush]

Got some nice mail today...


This sticker has to come off, but I also had to get a good shot of it first. :)


Traxxion Dynamics was displeased with the quality of the powder coat the first time it was done, so they sent it back to have it blasted off and corrected. I never saw the bad coating, but I can say that I am very pleased with what finally made it to my door.

I'm not really a fan of powder coat for parts that aren't mostly hidden - but these look very good so I might backtrack a bit. There is some orange peel, but not more than on a good (not great) paint job, so probably worth it to have the tough finish.



Brand new fork tubes and caps.


The other one has a "C" on it. No external preload, though. I was expecting it, but now I see it's an extra cost option and we didn't discuss it. I may or may not upgrade in the future, we'll see.

[Syscrush]

My Pro Taper bars arrived today. And when I opened the box, I was very upset to see that I was sent the CR High bend when I ordered CR Mid. But I pulled 'em out to get a sense of how they look and try to imagine the fit, and I'm actually down with these bars.

So, it seems that this was a case of 2 wrongs making a right! I thought that they'd be more like an ATV bar, but they really look and feel like they're going to work quite well. They seem like they'll be a very good compromise between the Tomaselli clip-ons that I have now vs. the stock handles both in terms of height and reach.



They definitely need to be cut down as much as possible (I can probably take 1.5-2" off each end and still fit the mirrors & controls), but the rise, sweep, and pullback all seem very nice. I'm excited about getting them on the bike and dialing in the fit.

Even though it won't be visible most of the time because of the GPS mount, I think that the beefy 1-1/8" bar is appropriate for a bike of Perry's heft.

[Rick Pope]

I suggest you leave them as long as practical, at least to begin with. You'll be amazed at the different feel and control you'll get out of having a bit more leverage.

[NobleHops]

I suggest you leave them as long as practical, at least to begin with. You'll be amazed at the different feel and control you'll get out of having a bit more leverage.

Not to mention the knife blade that narrow bars sometimes insert right between my shoulders. Rick makes a good point Phil, these old sleds are heavy to steer with narrow bars. Sometimes I wish for wider bars and lighter steering, and you can always lop them shorter later.

[Syscrush]

Thanks guys.

I've owned bikes with wide-ish bars, and clip-ons of varying degress of aggressiveness, and I know what is workable for me in terms of comfort. Even with the narrow-ish Tomaselli's, I don't miss the width.

I won't know for sure until the bars are on the bike, but I'm feeling very good about this bend, and about the look. Apparently the graphics can be lifted with acetone, and that's what I'll be doing.

The bar clamps/risers and my GPS mount are waiting for me at the nearest (but still very distant) KTM dealer - I should get out there on Sat to pick them up.

My lowered pegs also arrived today. It's raining parts. :)

[Jeff Bennetts]

I believe the rule of thumb is to pick a length that is parallel to your shoulders give or take an inch, I still have a set of adjustable CB1100F bars that come in handy for finding a comfort level before buying new bars

[Syscrush]

Picked up the bar clamp assembly and GPS mount from the KTM dealer. I had this setup on my 690 and was very happy with it, so I'm swapping the same onto my CBX.

This makes 3 bikes in a row for me with KTM Duke parts on it. I used Duke mirrors on my SV650, then had a Duke, and now Perry gets some Austrian bits.





The mount is adjustable for tilt up & down, and has a quick-release that leaves only the base plate on the bike. I think I'll probably flip the mount around so that it brings the GPS closer to the rider so there will be less chance of it blocking my view of the idiot lights. We'll see when it's test fit on the bike itself.

[Syscrush]

What was the outcome of the Harley fork cap fitting the 81/82 CBX fork tube?

The 39mm Showa forks used on Hondas (CB and CBX) have the same cap thread as the 39mm Showa forks used on Harleys. This is basically just a confirmation of what others have already observed.

And Traxxion don't do a preload adjuster for the 39mm caps for the same reason as Cogent - their adjuster just doesn't fit into forks smaller than 41mm.

[bikeymikey748]

Phil baby, looking good. Your timing is perfect too, seems the weather is finally changing for the better.
If it helps, my arm just clears the rear engine cases. I had to grind off two casting nubs ( on the arm ), but other than that no prob.
The arm/shock combo looks, very, promising

[NobleHops]

Phil baby, looking good. Your timing is perfect too, seems the weather is finally changing for the better.
If it helps, my arm just clears the rear engine cases. I had to grind off two casting nubs ( on the arm ), but other than that no prob.
The arm/shock combo looks, very, promising

That fork is going to be the berries.

[Syscrush]

Swinger ended up clearing the engine cases. We did the test fit with the 14mm pivot bolt before drilling out the frame. It wasn't clear to me if it would be better or worse with the 16mm bolt so I was concerned until it was done.

As for timing... I don't expect to have it all done before late May. All of that machining for the front end has to happen once the electrical work is done (relocating the fuse block and wiring the keyless RFID setup).

[Syscrush]

That fork is going to be the berries.

If all goes to plan, the custom triples should be kinda subtle but sick as hell for those who know what they're looking at.

I have some concerns about how the front wheel will look with the big brake setup, but I'm excited about having the increased power & feel.

[Syscrush]

OK, I picked up the bike yesterday, and spent today cleaning it as well as I could. I posted some pics in the engine detailing tips thread.

It frustrates me a lot, but I've decided that I'm riding the bike basically as-is for the rest of this year. Timeline because of a long series of inefficiencies & delays with various vendors & mechanics is the main reason, but my wife and I also bought a house that closes in Sep, and so all funds are channeled into downpayment between now and then. When it gets cold again, the bike goes to the fabricator for phase 2.

As it sits now, the bike has had the following done:

1. Swingarm pivot bolt upgraded from 14mm to 16mm.
2. New aluminum Trac swingarm.
3. Custom-valved YSS 4-way adjustable shocks.
4. All-new custom wiring harness.
5. RFID-controlled keyless ignition.

One of my goals was a modest increase in ride height, which is part of why I went for the length-adjustable shocks. As it turns out, the bulkier swingarm ends up raising the rear a fair bit on its own (due to increased distance between the centerline of the axle and lower shock mounts on the box-style swinger). The shocks at minimum length might be shorter than stock shocks, too - I don't know.

As a result, on the center stand, the tires are actually both (barely) touching the ground on a flat concrete floor. The stock sidestand has been rendered useless/dangerous - the bike would lean over so far on that stand now that it would not take much to tip it over. I will have both stands modified to make the c-stand more useful and to make the sidestand usable again. The other updates that will be done ASAP are fabricating a new chain guard, muffler mount, and c-stand stop, plus touching up the Knight lowering pegs so they'll fit (those jobs I will do myself, with the help of a kind & generous buddy who will do anything for a chance to finally ride a CBX).

The shocks aren't dialed in just yet, but they feel 100x better than the crappy no-name aftermarket garbage that was on there before. It helps the whole bike so much that the front seems a little less awful now - still, I can't wait to get the AK-fitted front on there! Right now, the rear is just a bit firmer than I'd like, so I'm going to back off the preload a bit (I will measure and set sag to be sure, but I'm almost certain that it needs a little more sag / less preload), and take out some compression damping.

The RFID setup is slick, and so far I'm happy with it.

Work that remains TBD includes:

1. Get those sessy front end parts on there!
2. Dial in the carbs on a dyno w/sniffer.
3. Replace the plug wires with something I like the looks of better (probably black braided).