My New Babe

[vifferman]

I'm going to call her Elka.

Elka - meet the KiwiBikerers.

KiwiBikerers - meet Elka.

[Supermoto Junkie]

mate.....very sexy......i bet that spends a few nights next to the bed before it heads for the garage......

[Kendog]

Hope it's not just a 'rebound' babe.

[Swoop]

Mucho bling for the wheels!!

I look forward to hearing how much difference it makes.

[Blackbird]

Corrr..... what a beaut. We shall have discussions later Ian. Just taking a break from changing the Blackbird plugs, an effing nightmare

[necrolyte]

Hey baby, how you doin'

[Usarka]

a penis pump???!!!??

[The Pastor]

a penis pump???!!!??

your penis is that small????

[Laava]

Hope it's not just a 'rebound' babe.

That was shocking!

[vifferman]

I took yesterday afternoon off to install Elka, and of course it was a much bigger job than expected, even though Elka Suspension included some fantastic instructions complete with coloured photos. Unfortunately, I came up against a few snags. Firstly, I decided to take the wheel off to give me more room. Unfortunately, the Satantune up-pipe was in the way, so I had to take that off. Then when Kerry fitted my new Storms he had done the nuts up to 15763 footpoundkilotorques, so I had to use a 17 metre long pipe on the socket bar to loosen them.
Next, the instructions say to remove the OEM shock out the bottom, then unbolt the top mount (a fork with threaded bolt). After over an hour, and contemplating removing the swingarm or sawing the catcon off, I decided to unbolt the mount THEN remove the shock.
Then I decided I should set the ride height before I installed the shock. Hmmm.... eye to eye, the Elka is 9mm longer than the Showa. John at Elka is investigating this for me.
Lastly, Elka have set this up so the remote reservoir mounts on the back of the right-hand pillion peg bracket. That is also where the Satantune mounts, so there's no way I want a hot zorst next to the reservoir or its hose. So, I'm sorting out (again with John's help) a mounting place on the left side.

So.
The VFR's currently got no rear wheel, no muffler, and no rear shock. Once I've sorted that out, I have a set of Sonic Springs and some new forkerl to go in the front, so that means it will be without front forks and a wheel for a while.

[boomer]

Sounds complicated.. surely you'd have been better of buying a shock specifically for your bike bro..???!!!


It's all part and parcel of havin fun tho huh!?! * waiting for episode #2

[Finn]

Very clever. A penis pump disguised as suspension.

[Blackbird]

Hmmmm.... looks like I don't need a conversation with you after all Ian as it doesn't look like they do a shock for the 'bird and after your experiences...

BTW, how are you finding the Storms? They are still the best tyres for the 'bird I've ever had, esp. in the wet. They are getting fairly close to replacement and I'll be sticking with the Storm rear but will be trying a Viper front because a: Some of the UK 'bird riders are getting excellent results with this combination and b: because I'm getting one free

Cheers,

Geoff

[vifferman]

Sounds complicated.. surely you'd have been better of buying a shock specifically for your bike bro..???!!!

Actually, not only was it built specifically for the VFR800, it was custom-made for me!
The only thing was I told them I wanted a left-hand mount for the reservoir, and I'm not sure if they've mounted the hose to cater for that or not.

[vifferman]

Hmmmm.... looks like I don't need a conversation with you after all Ian as it doesn't look like they do a shock for the 'bird and after your experiences...

Actually, Geoff, they didn't make one for the VFR either! MY "experiences" aren't that bad - the biggest thing was wrestling the shock through the hole in the single-side swingarm: there isn't much room, and the catcon was in the way. The reservoir's only an issue because of the V4: the rear header pipes snake all over the place, and give off a lot of heat. A Blackbird install should be a doddle.

The length thing isn't a big issue - the shock has adjustable length for ride-height, but before I adjusted it down I thought I'd check with Elka, because they might have deliberately set it long. Or my Showa might be heat shrunk.

A member of the VFRDiscussion forum who lives in Canadia decided he wanted a new shock, and after some investigation decided Elka might be a go. Vlad Plakht at Motoworld who rides a Triumph 675 and who'd organised a group buy of Elka shocks for 675 owners then organised one for VFRD.
Elka borrowed two VFRs from Canadian owners and custom-built 22 shocks: 12 for '02-'07 models, and 10 for the '98 to '01. Each one was made according to the owner's weight, riding style, and what features he/she wanted.
I opted for the lowest-spec model, with no high-speed compression adjustment or remote preload. I'd have liked the HS comp adjustment, but I'd already discussed price with Karen and consequently the NZ$ dived and the shipping was also more than expected (around $100).
With the group buy, I saved (IIRC) about $150, and even with shipping it came in at ~$250 than a comparable Ohlins.

I'm sure you could use your contacts to organise a group build/buy via Motoworld too. All you'd need was someone in Canadia who could lend Elka a bike for a week so they could do the testing and dynotuning necessary.

BTW, how are you finding the Storms?

Fantastic!
I hadn't expected much difference to what I had on, as the rear tyre wasn't much different. But even allowing for the "new tyre feeling", there's an improvement in feel, grip, and therefore in my confidence, especially in the wet. Yesterday was the first "moment" I've had, and that was due to accelerating over a lane marking that had been painted over with black paint or tar. A momentary spin-up and split second of alarm and then all grippy again.
Kerry @ Motohaus asked me if I wanted a Viper front, but I wasn't that happy about how the last front tyre (Azaro sports) had worn, so I decided to stick with a Storm front.