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This is a great story man!
And for everyone saying moto is not affordable, it can be and still have amazing equipment.
Glad you understand. I’m really financially conservative so I’ll be pretty stiff for a while. Plus it’s a truck load to even have the thing to begin with!!!
Publish your dream list in here and let’s see we what we can pull off before you start worrying about The College Fund.
Signed,
A Dad that’s spent/spending thousands on College Application Fees 🤣
Great idea, I'm in for a bit of support.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
This is why I love this site, this is so rad.
I ditched the judder springs and put on the ride engineering link, +1 on the rear sprocket, dunlops and Kawi torque specs on the engine mounts. Other than that she’s all stock.
I have fussed with the idle - it flames out on me sometimes riding off road which is a little annoying. (Better without the judder springs)
Turns excellent like almost unbelievable how easy it is to turn. Smooth power - plenty of torque off the bottom.
It’s been an excellent bike for me - I feel just as comfortable on this as I do any other Japanese bike.
Planning to race some GNCC’s on it next year and vet motocross races. I couldn’t find a single Suzuki in the 2024 GNCC results for the 3 hour races….. which makes me want to gncc this thing even more.
I’m a simple man.
Suspension setup right (prob gold valves at home). A cost-effective exhaust - have you seen the size of the stocker? Guts seat cover. 280 rotor on the front. Some engine hangers (if my modifications to the stock don’t work).
If I won the lottery I’d get some triple clamps with PHDS mounts lol. Those are the things I’m keeping a lookout for😂😂 if you come across anything of the sorts for the banana bike i will be tempted, maybe even succumb LOL
And @seth505 - nobody can say their sport is as tight and cool as ours. I really believe that too.
Stock valving? I see like these two polar opposites with the shock - some don’t have an issue with it and some hate it. I wonder where I’ll land lol!
Do you have apple cash?
Yeah stock valving on the shock.
It hasn’t done anything crazy to me since I have had it. I’m around 190-200 and ride softer east coast moto tracks.
People rave about the KYB shock so I’m sure at some point I’ll get my hands on one to see what the fuss is about.
I just took a class on doing suspension work and I’m planning to play with some different valving from Powerband Racing and do some “testing” to see if I can come up with anything I like better.
A stock sized Galfer Tsunami works really, really well.
Go build the Guts seat on their site & send me the screen shot of your build.
I’ve got some wheel ideas…spares are always nice to have and you really need an 18” for those trail days…the RMZ is AWESOME on the trail…
What pipe are you thinking?
Just chop a couple of inches off the silencer, that's what I did anyway.
Front brake is spongy, but has plenty of stopping power imo. Instead of a rotor, get a steel braided line.
Trust those of us with the KYB shock, that is the single best thing you can do for this bike.
Congrats! Love the zooks, best looking bike IMO.
Get the Yosh for it, nothing looks better, they work great also.
I agree, that bike looks killer.
Forgot to tell you. Keep fresh fork bushings in that thing. For some reason the Suzuki would wear the bushings and the outer tubes. I replaced mine every 20 hours and they always needed it. My Kawi doesn't wear them so bad.
Don't over rev that thing, I was replacing valves at 50 hours. My Kawi's never moved.
Which bushings did you go with? Do you have an OEM part number by any chance? Is it 28 and 29 in the diagram?
https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/suzuki/motorcycle/2024/rm-z450/front-fork-damper
28 & 29 SKF or OEM is the way to go imo.
If I’m not mistaken Sandusky rides a lot of deep sand which could contribute to faster wear on the bushings if the oil is getting some contamination. Or it’s just different tolerances in the bushings and fork compared to his kx experience.
Pit Row
OEM Honda Seal and Bushing kit is much cheaper than Suzuki OEM.
I just put a set in mine - any 49mm Showa kit.
I have nothing constructive to add, other than this thread is absolutely awesome! It has several layers of what makes moto the coolest thing in the world, pure commitment, hook ups on parts, setup wisdom..
Whenever I start to think “vital stinks” a couple of these show up and remind me why this place, and this sport are the best!
Well said,Sir! I wish the best for all of you.
Need to put a full tank of gas in Big Yellow and weigh it….Box Stock…and then let’s get started.
First of all, that moto Tetris job is a work of art. Great job.
Next, I'd go Yoshimura for your exhaust. That's the factory brand and they go together like PB & J.
We’re going for a fun weekend in charlotte working with Operation Christmas Child. Next week and weekend… big yellow, affectionately known as Suzy, is getting assembled and we’re getting acquainted. I’m literally giddy over it I can’t wait lol.
What's "operation Christmas child"?
Just asking for self awareness..
Is it ridiculous to ask a suspension tuner to send me a shim stack on a bolt? If you owned a shop would this be annoying? Personally I’d love to mail out shim stacks “as is” with a piece of cardboard in between and zero warranty worries. I want to do my own work but I don’t know how to do shim setups.
I have found some old, used KYB shocks from 06-08 Kawi's that are in the $50 range. Overhaul kits for these KYB units are $70. I've got a used spring for $50 so at this point things are looking about even compared to getting a new spring for the BFRC. I just don't know how the valving in a the shock will feel. On the bright side, the gold valve kit for this shock is also $150. Pretty awesome price on all of this setup.
Thoughts?
RideJBI has DIY kits. They are more than what Ithink you are looking for, but worth a look.
If you’re experienced and equipped to do shocks, ignore the following..
I wanted to save some money when I got a leaky shock on the KTM I was riding in 1984 (yes, I’m old..). I did the rebuild per a WP manual, everything seemed fine. Went out to test it, it felt good over a few smaller bumps so I sent it into a set of sorta deep desert whoops. I’m not sure how long I was asleep, but I know that the dust had completely settled when I woke up from my trail nap..
The guy who re-rebuilt it said it had a lot of air in it.. and I haven’t tried to do a shock since..
I think you might have a hard time convincing a tuner to do that. Because if the results aren’t what you want it looks bad for them and they won’t know that everything is done correctly. That said there are people with enough knowledge on this site that could probably recommend a good stack for you to try. And for it to be worth it for them they’d have to charge a couple hundred dollars for a few shims.
So my ebay offer went through. I got a shock for $35 dollars lol. Full KYB rebuild kit was $70. We'll see how this plays out.
Post a reply to: So I found a good deal on my dream bike while out of town…