Just picked up RC36 and already a problem on the way home

Discussion in 'Mechanics Garage' started by 2wenty, Jul 10, 2019.

  1. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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  2. 2wenty

    2wenty New Member

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    Thanks, just wanted to make sure.
     
  3. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    Someone who should not have been working on motorcycles or any internal combustion engine was obviously turning a ratchet to tighten that spark plug! I remember being in the pits and someone had a torque wrench tightening a spark plug, granted it was a TZ125 and all, but I had to scratch my head and ask my employer who was in ear shot and paying me as a mechanic and asked him, "whats up with the torque wrench?" his reply was that the doode had no feel. I trust my feel better than a torque measuring tool in that situation, there is a crush washer that you "FEEL" slip when it compresses, much like a crush washer on your oil drain plug, (don't wana go there, have seen many hacked up!)

    Anyway, interesting fact on your bike, is that they did change the front turn signals to clear ones and added the amber bulbs, also it still has the weak rubber brake lines along with those reflectors near the front fender. If it was mine I would get a decent stock muffler but that is just me, Mr. Subjective. Nice score and nice pictures! Peace outtie
     
  4. 2wenty

    2wenty New Member

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    Hey guys sorry for the delay. I guess the RR was just a fluke. I recharged the battery and been riding the hell out of ever since. Starts and runs fine every time now.

    Now I need to sort the suspension. Been riding in through mulholland a lot and it doest seem to like that too much. Suspensions is too sh$t and the bike is kinda heavy for such tight turns. Up on the crest its not too bad but it does take quite a bit of work to hustle it. Especially with ten year old tires. Feels like trying to rip a lazy boy recliner around. But oddly enough still turns better then my duc 1098 ever did.

    Unfortunately my bike doesn't have any adjusters on the suspension other then preload, which is already dialed in the best I could and its not really great.

    I kind of want to leave the parts stock since the bike is so clean. I wonder if it would be worth it to get the fronts that have the preload adjusters and rebuild those.

    Also does anyone know if the rear shock is rebuildable? I wonder if it would be worth buying the one that has the damping adjuster (mine doesn't). I don't really want to frankenstien it with other bike parts if possible. Not sure if I'm going to sell it yet, so Id rather keep the parts original VFR.
     
  5. Terry Smith

    Terry Smith Member

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    I have changed the suspension in all my bikes, and never regretted that for a moment.

    Take a look on the Racetech website and I'm sure you will find some suggestions for fork springs and Gold Valves. My experience is that their suggested recipes for spring weight and shim stacks are pretty close to ideal. Obviously it's your money but I would suggest do the springs and compression valves first and then think about whether you need to do anything to the rebound. You can often re-use the stock rebound valve body and just add/subtract some shims (which you'll probably have left over from the compression valve kit) to make any necessary changes. External rebound adjustment is nice to have but you can get the same ride result without it. Or you can probably buy a complete drop-in cartridge/spring/adjuster if that was your wish, or mix and match OEM parts from other bikes (e.g. the VTR1000F Superhawk).

    For the shock you should I believe have a rebound adjuster as well as preload, the more preload the higher the back end will ride which will sharpen up the steering a bit. You can also slide the forks up into the triples a bit (10mm? watch out for contact between the fender and fixed bits on full compression) which will drop the nose for a bit more agility.

    You may be able to get the stock shock rebuilt with a tailored spring but given the age your money might be better spent on aftermarket stuff like Nitron or similar. They can also fix you up with an adjustable length shock if you want to get even more ride height.
     
  6. 2wenty

    2wenty New Member

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    Thanks Terry for taking the time to help me with some great info.

    Ill take a look at the racetech site. I also ran across some older posts where people suggest daugherty motorsports for rebuilding the front fork. I guess they used to do a 929 rear shock setup too. Theres also a new Ohlins rear shock on ebay right now for the 750 too, but its $1000+. I dont really want to put that kind of money into this. Im still torn between keeping this thing low miles and selling it or just going for it and use it as normal. Ive already put over a thousand miles in less then a month and it only had 7,700 on it when I bought it (whoops).

    I guess if thing can handle fairly well when its setup I may keep it. Now that Im back into the swing of riding I can definitely ride faster then it can go. I can't brake into turns at all or it'll just push (since it bottoms out super easy). Ive been getting around it by just dropping a gear right before the corner then dumping it in but the honey moon period is over and id rather it be able to handle correctly.

    Oddly enough there is no damping adjustment on the rear shock. I looked and I don't see anything. I know wheres it supposed to be, but its just not there. Another weird thing is I stiffened up the preload a bunch and it handled even worse. It just wouldn't turn in. I backed it off and it falls into turns easier but its way to soft. Any bumps in turns and its bottoming out front and rear.

    Ill try lowering the forks and see if that helps in the mean time.
     
  7. 2wenty

    2wenty New Member

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    Before I try and lower the forks, this is what it looks like. Do I measure 10mm from the ring?

    IMG_8649.jpg
     
  8. Terry Smith

    Terry Smith Member

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    The circlip on the fork pipe normally will sit flush on top of the handlebar. You should be able to slide the fork tube up from this position by 10mm without the risk of any interference between the guard and things like the radiator or horn bracket.
     
  9. 2wenty

    2wenty New Member

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    So it looks like someone already lowered it a little then?

    Last night I lowered it a touch more, id say its about 7-8mm. I can def feel a difference when I did a short ride. Gonna need new tires soon, seems like its loading the front a lot more. Might move it back up a hair guess we shall see after new tires.
     
  10. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    I lowered my fork tubes like this. One bike has a full race tech gold valve set up in it, the other just has some traxxion dynamics fork springs along with 7 weight earl. I think there is 18mm showing? If you ask me, I can do the measurement. Peace :mech:
     

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