Exhaust, rear shock

[jd5]

By now I am sure most of you have seen this: 403 Forbidden

Although it kills it on the dyno, our ride finishes a disappointing third based on the reviewer's view of weak suspension (ostensibly caused by the position of the exhaust muffler so close to the rear shock, creating a heat sink - as discussed elsewhere on the forum) and weak brakes. I tend to agree with them on the brakes and am planning a simple pad upgrade and brakeline upgrade (and a bunch of other stuff to make Chad rich and famous).

Question, has anyone experienced the suspension problems the test riders talked about. I have not. Only been to one track day so far this year and haven't pushed that hard yet. However, other than the obvious Akra exhaust upgrade and possible higher end/smaller diameter rear shock upgrade what else could be done? Was thinking of going to a medium or heavier weight rear shock oil to offset the viscosity issues caused by the heat but don't know what they have in there now. Also, was thinking about tearing/slimming down the existing muffler to move it farther from the shock and maintain the existing underbelly exhaust feature, which I think is really cool.

Any thoughts, comments would be great!

 

[jd5]

By now I am sure most of you have seen this: 403 Forbidden

Although it kills it on the dyno, our ride finishes a disappointing third based on the reviewer's view of weak suspension (ostensibly caused by the position of the exhaust muffler so close to the rear shock, creating a heat sink - as discussed elsewhere on the forum) and weak brakes. I tend to agree with them on the brakes and am planning a simple pad upgrade and brakeline upgrade (and a bunch of other stuff to make Chad rich and famous).

Question, has anyone experienced the suspension problems the test riders talked about. I have not. Only been to one track day so far this year and haven't pushed that hard yet. However, other than the obvious Akra exhaust upgrade and possible higher end/smaller diameter rear shock upgrade what else could be done? Was thinking of going to a medium or heavier weight rear shock oil to offset the viscosity issues caused by the heat but don't know what they have in there now. Also, was thinking about tearing/slimming down the existing muffler to move it farther from the shock and maintain the existing underbelly exhaust feature, which I think is really cool.

Any thoughts, comments would be great!

Sorry, wrong link. It is this one from motorcycle.com: Beginner-ish Sportbike Shootout + Video

 

[jd5]

sorry, had the wrong link. The right one is from motorcycle.com: Beginner-ish Sportbike Shootout + Video

 

[mr-fabricator]

Foil wrap the exhaust is the next thing for me to try as i also would like to retain the under belly look .

Also trying to find or modify a "stubby " end can .

With regards to shock performance. I have mentioned elsewhere that i regularly do 30+ degree trackndays and one at 42 deg C !! Shock held up well . Well enough to take 1 second off the lap record held by a ninja 300 . And im not a racer .. just a track addict .

regards lee

 

[guzz46]

Nope, my bike handles like a dream, I was actually surprised by how well the suspension works, it's firm with really good feedback, but it still absorbs bumps reasonably well for a light bike, the suspension's at least on par with every other bike I've owned, the brakes are great too, plenty of power and feel, it's like they're talking about a completely different bike.

And for the record, I've changed my muffler to a G.P.R Powercone, which gives a little over 3 inches of space between it and the rear shock, and the shock feels no different.

Interestingly they weighed the bikes with a full tank, and the RC tipped the scales at 165kg, not 154kg, which seems to be the number floating around on the net, I suspected 165kg was it's true wet weight.

 

[jd5]

Foil wrap the exhaust is the next thing for me to try as i also would like to retain the under belly look .

Also trying to find or modify a "stubby " end can .

With regards to shock performance. I have mentioned elsewhere that i regularly do 30+ degree trackndays and one at 42 deg C !! Shock held up well . Well enough to take 1 second off the lap record held by a ninja 300 . And im not a racer .. just a track addict .

regards lee

Thanks, Lee. Will be trying something similar. Glad to hear you haven't had any issues either. May upgrade to the JRi Streetfighter shock anyway for size/clearance reasons, as well as the benefit of preload and rebound damping. Will let you know if I do anything creative on the exhaust front or just given into an off the shelf exhaust.

 

[jd5]

I hear you...that review made NO sense. On the weight front, some of the difference may be some added US/DOT required stuff (turn indicators, charcoal filter, etc.).

 

[s30series]

I posted this a while ago, but this cuts down a lot on radiant heat.

Ceramic coat both pipes, then wrap with Ti wrap. I can put my hand on the pipes while the engine is running for a short period. The rear shock after driving 30 minutes is no warmer than ambient air

 

[jd5]

Thank you for this. Good idea.

 

[s30series]

Ceramic coating is cheap. It cost me $50 to get the header pipe and front pipe for my Fuel exhaust coated. Ti wrap is from DEI bought off amazon. $17 i think.

So a total of like $75 and I have a nice cool exhaust. I'm sure my intake air temperatures dropped as well considering the pipe runs right next to the throttle body.

My fan barely comes on anymore. Before it used to go on off on off on off all the time. Since I installed the pipe last week, I think I've heard it twice.