boxertwinjeff wrote:Thanks for the advice PPan,... yes, a new throttle cam & assembly will make good sense, existing performance mods are S.R. 1000cc kit, Ikon rear shocks, Drilled Airbox same spec as my R90S with K&N filter, drilled out Dunstall RC Mufflers & a Dyna 111... Wont be touching Rear drive nor the Drum brakes, I use the /5 Steering damper quite alot actually when on the open road, helps firm up the front alittle... well feels like it does anyway....why do you say reinforce the Alternator Rotor?
Bear with me, I'll see if I can bring it together in the end...
The bit with your steering dampener doesn't sound right. The SWB has "quicker" handling than the LWB. Some prefer it. After some disasters (long story there, perhaps Duane can explain?) BMW stretched the wheelbase, quick. As in mid year and they modified all the parts on hand. I converted my SWB to long for touring duty. BUT, the thing should still track and feel solid. if the steering head bearing are off, even a little, it won't feel good. I often advise people not to be so precious about some adjustment. Not this one. Be as precious as you can get. If it takes three days, make it perfect and apologize to the Gods for your temerity later. If the bearings are loose they destroy themselves (brinnelling) quickly. Had this happen as a new owner (/5). Symptoms are weaving in sweepers and a feeling of instability, poor tracking. Worse with a load on the back. If really bad (frankly notchy feel when turning the bars) the bike is near unrideable. I replaced my bearings and learned my lesson on the adjustment. If the bearing is too tight again it feels unstable but the bearing won't get trashed so quickly.
Any time you have the top triple (the plate) off you service the bearings---clean lube and adjust. They are right there in your hand. On the open bike a very water resistant grease (boat trailer axle bearing grease) can be nice. A quick wipe of the upper outer race with a rag will tell the story--sorta. Knowing what are looking at can be a bit tricky. Get it clean---fine lines from the rollers are normal (esp. if the grease was really old) but if the lines are too wide you have brinelling. You look at the reflections in the metal at an angle to asses if there is there is an actual depression in the race. You can always assemble with the bearings cleaned and lightly oiled and feel them---works best the way you have it, no bars or control cables to mess up the feel. If it really feels good in the shop when slightly over tightened with oil, then re-assemble with your grease to perfection. Read up on the drill.
Fafnir has some literature on the web on bearing failure. Worth looking at.
If you have not fitted ground wires to the front turn signals you want to do that. They thread through the ears so they go in when the ears are loose. Maybe hook up later but get the wire laid with generous loops on both ends. Brown is ideal.
I did the K&N thing too. In fact I bought 2 so I wouldn't have to wait for one to dry after cleaning. Always one ready to go. Dead move. Yeah, I got suckered by their horseshit marketing hype. The filtering is very poor. They kinda admit this and a number of people have put up pages really confirming it. I was getting dirt streaking in the carbs and dirt sludge in the oil---and that was crap that had first gotten ground past my rings and cylinders. Then there was no performance gain...duh!. With CV carbs the actual throttle opening is a function of the venturi pressure. Increase the flow and you get less pressure, the diaphrams open the throttle slides less and you get a whole lot of nothing. I sold them to the next sucker. lesson learned. The bigger lesson is that if you really want bolt on horsepower you pay for it---and you have. You bolt on some cubes*. It works. You can also get something out of a windage can so you are burning less oil and the later style reed type breather valve for better crank case breathing.
With the 900 top end and the 75/5 gearing, the acceleration was considerable. The alternator rotor went. I didn't make the connection and bought a rebuild from the main rotor guru in the US. That went in 13 months. I call up the guru (he honored the warranty and sent another) and we discussed the problem. He said he was having problems keeping rotors together for a customer with a hot Guzzi. hmmmm... So I skived open the shoulder of one of the fiberglass wiring pipes. It was dry inside (no potting) and the wire was free to move. All those wheelies was rattling the wire around in there and it broke. I filled the pipes with hot epoxy. No more issues (16+ years). In a recent conversation with the guru he mentioned he had changed his potting methods long ago and no further problems with his product on hot bikes. 'ats why he's the guru. A stock rotor will likely be dry inside the pipes. You use hot 2 hour epoxy because it becomes water thin and penetrates into the pipe---but sets very quickly. Marine penetrating epoxy (for repairing rotted wood) is good but you need a teaspoon and that stuff comes in larger bottles.
I also broke the weld that holds the rear splines onto the rear drive spindle. It's a rare failure but I figure my riding style with the lower gearing contributed.
Then I was breaking spokes in the rear wheel. OK, so 'moderate' isn't my middle name. Clean the nipples in the hub and put a goodly smear of silicone over them so when spokes break the nipples don't fall into the hub and chew up the hub and brake pads. it's on the inside and doesn't show.
The 1000 cc motor makes a lot more heat but the /5 front cover lacks the vents of the later ones. So you don't get the cooling convection current over your electrics. lotta Kafe Kiddies miss this one in their haste to screw with the top cover--they kill the exit vents. If you're just going birding at the local kafe in the evening when it's cool out---whatever. But screwing up the engineering is the mark of the poseur. The later vented cover won't fit your block. Maybe an early 90/6? Dunno. But if you study the later covers you will see where you can add vents with out having to worry about water getting in. I'd go low on either side of the points compartment web--likely a pattern of smaller (8mm?) holes that looks right.
The added holes in the air cleaner cover are good for drawing cooler air---something you want.
The /5 has a shallow pan and no baffle. Fitting the later of the /7 pans (with pickup) fixes this and looks right. More oil and the baffle keeps it by the pickup under acceleration and braking---but you ain't gonna have braking. Pan just bolts up.
The pipes screw you---might look and sound nice but hard to set up (without a dyno) to get the tuning correct. It's not about flow--drill all you want, you just get a racket. It's about timing the air pulses from one end to the other and there is a lot to it. look at that race bike for sale. Never mind the angle of the intakes---look at the distance from the carb to the head. That's intake tract tuning. I think Motoren or somebody sells some extender sleeves---gets the carbs into your shins and you still need a dyno to nail the correct distance for the effect you want.
But I like loud pipes (I wear my 'loud pipes saves lives' sticker proudly) and I'll pay some power for mine. I'm working on pipe tuning this winter. Something is unbalanced somehow...
*as in cubic inches----more displacement.
12 days. Not bad.
