I wish I had more time to post on here, I'm loving all the input that's coming in. I completely understand that suspension tuning on bikes is nothing like suspension tuning on cars, but the theory behind them is the same (springs are springs, dampers are dampers, and suspension travel is suspension travel. From an engineering standpoint, it's easy. From a figure-out-what-actually-works-for-the-bike standpoint, I'm planning to stand on the shoulders of giants and steal someone else's rake/trail/swing-arm-angle/etc settings as a base point, and tune from there.
I've been riding the snot out of this thing, and racked up enough miles to warrant some real maintenance this weekend. I uncovered quite a bit that I'd like to improve on to make the electrical system more robust, and all the squeaks and squawks coming from the suspension and brakes are a bit unnerving, so once I have a proper budget I'd like to visit those for maintenance. I'm starting to feel comfortable on a bike now, with many hours spent in empty parking lots working on figure 8's, swerves, emergency stops, etc. I've also been taking advantage of the awesome winding roads we have here in NH (if you end up in the area, hit 43, 202, 202a, or 107 for winding hilly scenic countryside). I'm growing into the power levels of the bike more quickly than I'd expected, and might even consider some power adding for next year.
These carbs are horrifically bad. I hate them. I've worked with Mikuni BST carbs in the past, and car carbs (DCOE and quadrajets on my Datsun 240z's, primarily), and they were both much more elegantly simple than these keihins. I don't know if they just tried to meet some emission standards and screwed everything up in the process, or if Keihin just doesn't design carbs very well, but I am NOT impressed. I'm seriously considering swapping some BST's on this and tuning them for the engine. After shakedown and a base tune, that would simplify my life and I assume it'd free up some power in the process. I might have a spare set of BST36SS carbs, which are oversized for the cb750, but I could jet them down to accommodate it. I've read that the cb900f engine was a direct swap into this frame, as well. No clue if that's a valid claim or not, as I haven't had much time to research. It certainly intrigued me, though.
As I said, this weekend was a maintenance weekend. I'd had some difficulty shifting, so I adjusted the clutch cable (which was a little bit of a pain, since there are three separate places to adjust it). It's MUCH better now, but it feels like some clutch plates are warped still. I changed the oil as well, and picked up some new spark plugs. The old plugs were in pretty good repair, and it looks like each cylinder was burning well. That was a big plus. While I had the plugs out, I ran a compression test, and the results were underwhelming, with 165psi, 160psi, 150psi, 151psi (it should be 170psi +/- 14 psi, with even-ness across cylinders being the most important factor).
Pumped the tires up a bit higher than Honda's specifications, which recommend 28psi in the front tire. I went to 38psi, which is what Dunlop recommends, and didn't notice much of a difference. The rear wheel has a few bent spokes, and I'm not quite sure how to address that. Can I just buy new spokes? Do I need to disassemble and rebuild the wheel? Are a few spokes a big deal, or should I just keep riding it?
I've been looking for new grips as well. The current grips are this terrible foam that's old and greasy and clumps apart in my hands whenever I ride for more than a half hour (which is several times a day). I still don't even know how to swap grips, or if there's something special I need to research with the cables, but that's going to be my first modification, I think.
I've also been looking at new bars. Because I have no windscreen, anything over 60mph gets WINDY. I'd prefer to be a bit lower, and I've been considering straight bars (which are about 3" lower and farther forward than my current bars) or clubman bars (which are about half that difference). Any input would be greatly appreciated.
I'll take some real pictures tomorrow, but for now I'll stick you guys with this, just after the compression test and tank reseating:
It's up on the center stand, it isn't actually THAT tall. In the background, you'll see the Nighthawk 750. In the garage is a Speedmaster, and a 2006 T100 Bonneville in the other bay. This may be MY first bike, but it isn't my first experience with bikes. I also helped out with my buddy Keith's XS650 build:
While that's the opposite of what I'd like to own, I can't help but admire the build quality and attention to detail that's gone into it.
