Today after work I braved the cold and took my bike for a ride. I was determined to use a tank of gas to try and see if the work I had done was worth it, and as a 'shakedown run,' prior to going to Daytona, what if-anything I needed to address.
I have a UFO Dragstar 4/1 w/Dynojet Stage 7-kitted carbs. I have my stock carbs on a shelf, so I can return the bike to "stock" by swapping the aircleaner, carbs, & exhaust.
First, let me say that if you have a poor relationship with your neighbor over your bike, which usually is due to a loud exhaust and/or using poor judgement in the neighborhood as-far as speed, then this system will utterly destroy any shred of lingering possibility of goodwill that may have remained. It is LOUD! Your neighbor w/his $32,000 CVO Harley dresser who thought 'straight pipes, a Kuryaken air cleaner and a Power Commander' is the ticket to "big horsepower, because listen to how-loud it is," after hearing this beast bellowing above 5-grand, which is pretty-much valve float and a futile effort at generating "big Harley horsepower" for him, will never voluntarily commence a conversation having anything to do with increased performance or high horsepower from his ride. He will slink-away when he sees you come rumbling into earshot, and he'll have plenty of time, because people can hear you coming from a half-mile away!
The loping-idle we all-love is there in abundance and the Bar & Shield (TM) contingent will be the color of timscue's ride because their rides sound like a vocal tuber, not a big-block fuelie waiting to own the quarter-mile.
There is a trade-off: the engine may idle OK, but mine does not like abrupt throttle openings below 3000 rpm, you need to roll-into the throttle, which makes stop & go driving a pain. Even then, it occasionally will snort and such, like a Florida thoroughbred running in a high-stakes race, because the best ones are a bit-tempermental. Think of that gorgeous woman you hated to put-up-with but did, because of "the benefits..." I can live with it, the engine runs at a normal temp, and I haven't changed it over to Water-Wetter yet.
When you are about halfway into the rev range, say at 4500+, and decide to "see what happens," well be-sure that you give it your full-attentiion, because the bellow of exhaust and the way it begins to accelerate will grab your attention, and with this much sonic reward (or curse depending on your point of view) hitting VBoost becomes a whole 'nother experience. It power-wheelies on the throttle-alone, no clutching or excess revs required. If you lean forward a bit in 2nd, and get it about 5K, grabbing a big handful of throttle will allow the rear to do a rolling burnout, prepare to buy a new tire sooner than expected.
Remember that first ride where you felt the VBoost, and got comfortable with it enough to be able to summon it without thinking this was gonna "end-badly?" Here that feeling is all-over again. You know it and so-will everyone within several blocks. If you're anywhere within earshot of a law-enforcement officer, they will probably stop slurping their Dunkin' Donuts coffee, brush the big crumbs and confectioner's sugar off their shirt, and start looking for "who's pissing in my territory." :damn angry:
Another fact to mind is my fuel mileage is down to about 23 mpg. I admit to cruising up a gear around the cops, to try and minimize the sound, and down a gear everywhere-else, to hear the bike crackle as I roll out of the throttle, maneuvering in traffic.
Bottom-line, it's loud. Protect your driving privileges, just pull to the side and stop until the gendarmes get a few blocks away. If they are on your right, directly abreast of you, fake that you ran out of gas, and push your bike to the curb, engine-off. If you don't, blipping the throttle will earn you an invite to display your papers to the not-friendly and pissed-off L.E.O. who wants to know "why you have a defective muffler." :confused2:
Now for the other part of my weekend work-a new headlight, a 7" shell into-which I fitted a-gasp!-Harley Davidson Bar & Shield (TM) lens and halogen bulb. I used ebay rubber-insulated double machine screw clamping brackets on the downtubes, with included ears, black-anodized, to mount it. There is no vibration evident in the filament, something I couldn't say about my Kawasaki Blue Streak H-1 500 two-stroke triple's headlight, which had a high-frequency/low-amplitude movement of the filament like a Bowery drunk in the D.T.'s after a day without his liquid diet.
The light output from this install is so-superior, I just don't know why Yamaha used such a crummy headlight, especially-given the bike's performance. I always felt as-though I was outdriving the light's output by 70 mph. No longer! I intend to get a HID 5K bulb/system of ~55 watts, I'll have to see what's in there now, I honestly didn't look. I had a 55/100 watt bulb in the stock headlamp, that was better than stock, but this light is so-superior, it's like someone mounted two additional stock headlamps to their bike. It has a sharp horizontal cutoff, and the flood of light across and to the sides of the tarmac is no-comparison to the anemic stocker. I encountered no movement of the housing, it stayed where I had adjusted it to, and never wavered. I made one slight adjustment when it got dark, and left it there.
I also installed a Superbrace, and I think it is helping, the bike holds a line well, but I think that's probably-due to a fresh rebuild of the forks, All-Balls steering head bearings this season, and a pair of radials. The Superbrace is nicely-polished and now I have 'bragging-rights' fo having installed such a superior fender mount and brace. If I don't tell you about it by the second beer, I shouldn't be drinking and riding anyway, right? :rofl_200:
So, as I was about a half-mile from the house, and the bike began to run on two cylinders, I kicked-it up a gear and idled to the house, cutting the engine as I entered the driveway so I wouldn't let my arriving-home from work wife hear too-much of the UFO, as she thinks a loud exhaust is an annoyance and a "waste of money."
No-good she heard it, "what's the matter with your exhaust?" :confused2:
I got out of my leather jacket, stowed the riding-gear, and after walking the dog, I grabbed a LED mini-flashlight, popped the gas cap, and peered into the House of Volatile Aromatic Hydrocarbons to see 'who was-home.' I might have had a cup of gas left, and had avoided a push-home.
unk:
