R. Warshawsky
Active member
See? Right? 😆Yeah, well, I have some ideas…
See? Right? 😆Yeah, well, I have some ideas…
Thanks. I'll be in Vegas next week for work and will look them up. I have my stock suspension dialed in as far as it will go. I still have a mid stroke harshness in the forks when I hit any sharp bumps which is distracting.I ordered the suspension in the US. I got the fork cartridges from Motorrev Suspension, a great small specialist in Vegas. Highly advised. The rear shock came from Bellissimoto (I didn’t know Motorrev back when I ordered it).
I never did the math on my bike’s mods, but you could be close at 4k. The forks themselves, cartridges, shock, rear wheel, rearsets, the Secret Sauce…
The wheel may be smaller, but the bigger size tire compensates for it.So with the smaller diameter rear wheel you will travel less distance than before. Could you just refrain from clicking into sixth gear and saved lotsa dollars?
That raises 2 questions in my mind.The wheel may be smaller, but the bigger size tire compensates for it.
Thanks for the quick answer!!!No, it doesn't drop 13mm. the difference is marginal. As you can see from my previous post post it's actually taller then the 160/60-18 many people use while online calculators predict it to be smaller.
Also, the same tire size can vary between brands.
I love those bars - and the bike has real attitude and individuality with the changes you've made. Looks brilliant. Surprised you haven't done the exhaust though.So, the final touches. In the past few months new blinkers were added from motoism.
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And last week I replaced the stock bars with Protaper Carmichael bars. These are roughly 2" lower, and a little straighter. To get a bit more weight over the bars. Yes they are further away now. Gone is the somewhat lazy stock rider position. This made a bigger difference in how the bike feels than I had expected. Where it used to feel like the front wheel was "way down there doing it's thing" (a feel very typical for adventure bikes, and often blamed on the 19" front wheel), it suddenly feels a lot more direct. Especially in sharp switchbacks pushing the bike under you, and hanging off in fast sweepers. Highly recommended for those "sport riders".
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While riding today on Angeles Crest ( 60 miles of large fast sweepers, some blind, some open, others tightening halfway, average cruising speed around 75mph) with a buddy of mine on his Super Duke 1290, we switched bikes. Went for about 25 miles. From the get go the SDR1290 felt nearly similar to my FTR. The steering, the throttle response. The suspension is a bit more comfy, the front wags a tiny bit in long blind turns, where my FTR is rock solid yet turns in just as easily. No adjustment needed, within a mile or so we were riding as if we knew the bike for months. The adjustment from my stock bars to the low ones was bigger for me, than from my bike to his.
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We stopped at some point, and he said:"Damm, that chassis is so tight, but other than that, these bikes feel so similar!" I felt the same. The FTR engine feels a bit more raw, alive, while the SDR feels a bit more refined. Throttle response was very similar. The SDR felt a bit more "sport bike ish", while the FTR felt more like a big supermoto due to the lack of a tank hump. Shades of grey...
I'm super happy how my bike turned out.
Ha! For two reasons.I love those bars - and the bike has real attitude and individuality with the changes you've made. Looks brilliant. Surprised you haven't done the exhaust though.
Thanks, very informative as usual.Ha! For two reasons.
1. I like my bike a bit louder than stock, but love to keep it within limits (as Performance Bikes once wrote: if you plan on breaking the law by riding too fast, don’t draw too much attention)
2. Ryan from Lloydz insisted on keeping the cat, that’s the best setup for the FTR unless you’re installing the full Toce low. The cat doesn’t rob power and the resonator is actually good for midrange. I hate the looks though…