Latest mod to the 750SS "ultralight"
in [Motorcycles]
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From: Twibil on 6 May 2010 22:30 On May 6, 12:09 pm, "." <an.gleann....(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > Whooosh! Nope. Not a bit.
From: Twibil on 6 May 2010 23:08 On May 6, 2:10 pm, Tim <tomorrowerolsdot...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > Well yes; but how much *weight* did you save for gosh sakes? > > Probably between 0.5 pounds and 1.5 pounds. But as you said: do that enough times and the bike will actually become lighter than air and you'll have to anchor it down whenever you're not aboard. Which reminds me. My old KTM 650 Adventure was the tallest bike I've ever owned, and came with only a centerstand -which was frequently inconvenient. And KTM never made a sidestand for the thing. Eyeballing the frame led me to conclude that the sidestand common to the smaller KTM dual-sports could be made to work and had the same mounting points, so I ordered one and after bolting it on discovered that it was at least 3" too short for the long-legged 650 Adventure: the bike leaned so far over to the left that it looked like it was ready to fall over at any moment. So I unbolted the sidestand, hacksawed off the last 1" of leg - including the skid- and found that the stand was made of nothing but good old-fashioned 3/4" thick-walled mild steel tubing. There's a steel-stock supply company only a mile from my home, so I took the tip/skid along with me and bought circa 6" of matching tubing, then clamped it into a V-shaped steel pound pole I had lying around and welded the new stock onto the stand. I then bolted the stand back on the bike and cut small increments off the bottom end of the new stock until I had the bike leaning just a taste too far over when on the sidestand; then I pulled the stand off the bike and welded the tip and skid back onto the end of the new stock. After grinding off the excess welding bead and spray-painting the whole thing black it looked as if it were a factory part, and the guy who eventually bought the bike was amazed when he saw it and said "Where did you ever get *THAT*!? I'd have *sworn* that KTM never made a side-stand for these bikes!" You're right: it's little things that make a bike your own. ~Pete
From: S'mee on 6 May 2010 23:39 On May 6, 1:01 pm, Twibil <nowayjo...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > On May 6, 8:23 am, Tim <tomorrowerolsdot...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > So, I've been looking for months on eBay and various Ducati forum > > classified ad sections, and finally today it arrived - my 1999 model > > year Ducati sidestand and mounting boss to replace the oem 2000+ > > sidestand and mounting boss on my ultra-lightweight 2000 750SS. > > (snip) > > > So now, in addition to the lightweight 5-spoke Marchesini mags (that > > replaced the much heavier oem 3-spoke Brembo wheels), the sidestand > > won't be weighing the bike down. > > > It's the little things that make a bike your own, don'tcha think? > > Well yes; but how much *weight* did you save for gosh sakes? First you have to understand that Grams cost cubic dollars when reducing weight. 8^) It's the same for bicycles, motorcycles, autos, aircraft, spacecraft and yes even boats. Not to mention camping gear! The more weight you save or shave the more cubic dollars you spend. <shrug> that's just the way it is and when you get to those last few possible grams those cubic dollars are backed by platinum, diamonds etc.
From: The Older Gentleman on 6 May 2010 23:46 Twibil <nowayjose6(a)gmail.com> wrote: > On May 6, 8:23 am, Tim <tomorrowerolsdot...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > > So, I've been looking for months on eBay and various Ducati forum > > classified ad sections, and finally today it arrived - my 1999 model > > year Ducati sidestand and mounting boss to replace the oem 2000+ > > sidestand and mounting boss on my ultra-lightweight 2000 750SS. > > > (snip) > > > > So now, in addition to the lightweight 5-spoke Marchesini mags (that > > replaced the much heavier oem 3-spoke Brembo wheels), the sidestand > > won't be weighing the bike down. > > > > It's the little things that make a bike your own, don'tcha think? > > Well yes; but how much *weight* did you save for gosh sakes? I reckon a high fibre diet would be more effective ;-) -- BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Triumph Street Triple Honda CB400F Suzuki TS250 Suzuki GN250 chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools
From: The Older Gentleman on 6 May 2010 23:49
Twibil <nowayjose6(a)gmail.com> wrote: > On May 6, 2:10 pm, Tim <tomorrowerolsdot...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > > > Well yes; but how much *weight* did you save for gosh sakes? > > > > Probably between 0.5 pounds and 1.5 pounds. > > But as you said: do that enough times and the bike will actually > become lighter than air and you'll have to anchor it down whenever > you're not aboard. > > Which reminds me. My old KTM 650 Adventure was the tallest bike I've > ever owned, and came with only a centerstand -which was frequently > inconvenient. And KTM never made a sidestand for the thing. > > Eyeballing the frame led me to conclude that the sidestand common to > the smaller KTM dual-sports could be made to work and had the same > mounting points, so I ordered one and after bolting it on discovered > that it was at least 3" too short for the long-legged 650 Adventure: > the bike leaned so far over to the left that it looked like it was > ready to fall over at any moment. > So I unbolted the sidestand, hacksawed off the last 1" of leg - > including the skid- and found that the stand was made of nothing but > good old-fashioned 3/4" thick-walled mild steel tubing. > > There's a steel-stock supply company only a mile from my home, so I > took the tip/skid along with me and bought circa 6" of matching > tubing, then clamped it into a V-shaped steel pound pole I had lying > around and welded the new stock onto the stand. > > I then bolted the stand back on the bike and cut small increments off > the bottom end of the new stock until I had the bike leaning just a > taste too far over when on the sidestand; then I pulled the stand off > the bike and welded the tip and skid back onto the end of the new > stock. > > After grinding off the excess welding bead and spray-painting the > whole thing black it looked as if it were a factory part, and the guy > who eventually bought the bike was amazed when he saw it and said > "Where did you ever get *THAT*!? I'd have *sworn* that KTM never made > a side-stand for these bikes!" > > You're right: it's little things that make a bike your own. > That's neat. Only mod I really made to the Ducati was attaching a remote release to the seat lock mechanism after the original key-operated lock detached itself and bounced away down a motorway... -- BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Triumph Street Triple Honda CB400F Suzuki TS250 Suzuki GN250 chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools |