23 November 2008

As I was doing some updates and realised I haven't posted an pics of my bike! So here it is. Haven't got many - cause I'm too busy riding!

It's maintenance time and I checked the service book and realised that unless you do more than 6000km you only have to service the bike every 12 months! Fantastic cause I'm still under and it's already had the service done with the recall!

Apart from that the Hayabusa is running perfectly. The engine is freeing up but much more to go. No signs of any problems form the bike what so ever.

5 April 2009

Since the last update (so long ago) I've managed to get a track session in. The experience on the track is something that everyone should do at least once in their motorcycling life. It doesn't matter what sort of motorcycle you ride it's the experience that's most important.

There weren't too many riders at my session but enough to accomplish what I was there for. Basically to follow my mate's modifications to a CBR1000RR could accomplish - but more on that later.

A stock standard Hayabusa on a track is still ultimately soft. It's been many years since I last took the 1st generation Hayabusa on the track but I left with a similar impression in this regard. That said, the handling feel and braking has improved from what I remembered. What I thought (and confirm) was really obvious was that in gear speed times were better than the original. It really goes in that familiar Hayabusa brick wall fashion but with a bigger wall pushing you along... You just don't realise how fast it is until you realise that other bikes cannot keep in the straight. (Due to the hardness of the initial suspension setup I am guessing that if I turned up the pre-loads it could get quite responsive.)

That said, it all stops when you reach the first corner. Unless you're skilled it is best to brake early. Sure it still inspired confidence... definitely better than the original - it just requires a better rider than myself to do it. Anyway overall without a side by side comparison it's just my feelings on the day.

So that latest version is definitely better than the original, still handles really well on the track faster in gear performance and brakes better. Nothing new - which is why I'm running out of inspiration for things to write about the new one!
Next week or so I'll write up about what I noticed on the track on a modded bike vs a smaller capacity bike. It was very interesting.

14 April 2009

You'd expect that a modified real sports bike on the track would be hard to beat. Well you'd be wrong! You see these bikes are designed to be the ultimate from the factory for the average motorcycle rider. Any more power or suspension setting without consideration for factors like gearing ratios, tyres, suspension set up and of the rider skill and the list goes on your faced with a situation that requires an experienced and skilled technician to get it right!

21 June 2009

It's been awhile since the last update - busy with writing up my trip to Tasmania to escape the build up daily stresses. Back to the track session...

Basically whilst I enjoyed my riding and I did not even attempt to push myself to going faster. Yes getting old means you just enjoy a more laid back approach to things in fact I was actually enjoying watching the others improve their riding and one case probably over do it. Anyway back to the purpose of my visit to see how well the CBR was modded.
As I said before it takes a lot of still to mod a bike for track performance from the original setup these days. In that regard I think yes the bike is faster and much more alive. Almost 250cc like in terms of agility but suspension firmed up to almost maximum however there where issues with the fuel injection power curve. The dips in the factory dyno settings are there for a reason and removing them is not an easy task. I do not know how others seeming get smooth mountain like curves without causing problems with the torque - funny that. I see some charts on the web and see a lot of Photoshop work that's for sure! You need a combination of both to get the best performance.

So the main problem with the modded CBR1000RR was that there was too much power too stiff setup, incorrect ECU settings and standard gear ratios and not experienced enough to use the new setup. Should have done one mod at a time rather than as much as possible! It was not just the one thing that made it quite scary to ride. The bog standard 600cc sporties where going just as fast in the cornering sections BTW. I have to be diplomatic for obvious reasons!

Mind you know we have some experience with the bike! We know its faster than the standard bike purely based on power output. It's not a drag bike so we have to workout the ECU settings matched to the standard gear ratios and what gears we where using for the majority of corners. This is going be complicated... Hopefully Brad will allow me to post the details soon.

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