Anything else to do to the bike?

[Vampwood]

Just recently went on a spree preparing the bike for next season after a cross country trip and wondering if I missed any nice mods/tuning options that others have done or looking for recommendation in general, been loving this bike so far.

List of stuff on the bike done:

-1/+1 front rear sprocket
Guhls Flash
FZ1 Rear shock (maybe worth going to R1 rear?)
Racetech front springs (Is it worth getting the gold valves?)
R6 Throttle tube
Coffmans shorty exhaust
Shadseat
Givi windscreen
KN airfilter
Spielberg SS brake lines
Givi Engine Guard

 

[HeresMyMind]

you can always gut the cat for more power? if you are doing a cross country trip i would change sprockets for the best highway mpg. also good side bags. a good emergency kit is always a good idea aswell.

-B

 

[Bagman]

What would be the proper sprocket setup for lower revs on the highway. I assume this will mean higher top-end, but less 'power.'

 

[97audia4]

Just recently went on a spree preparing the bike for next season after a cross country trip and wondering if I missed any nice mods/tuning options that others have done or looking for recommendation in general, been loving this bike so far.

List of stuff on the bike done:

-1/+1 front rear sprocket
Guhls Flash
FZ1 Rear shock (maybe worth going to R1 rear?)
Racetech front springs (Is it worth getting the gold valves?)
R6 Throttle tube
Coffmans shorty exhaust
Shadseat
Givi windscreen
KN airfilter

Get the AK-20 front cartridges for the front and Ohlins or Penske rear shock and go ride the piss out of it on the track. Get some good R&G sliders too.

 

[Vampwood]

Get the AK-20 front cartridges for the front and Ohlins or Penske rear shock and go ride the piss out of it on the track. Get some good R&G sliders too.

Which kit for the AK-20 is it? Looked briefly and didn't see one for the FZ8. I have the Givi Engine guards so I'm good on the slider front. Been thinking about the Ohlins or Penske, really worth going to it compared to the R1 rear?

 

[TorontoAlex]

How was your comfort level going cross country? With the shad seat i was really comfortable doing 2500km in 4 days. Im wondering if i could endure a month of it. Not sure if anyone else would agree but heated grips are a must for touring and i have been happy with my heat deamons for 2 years now.

 

[Vampwood]

How was your comfort level going cross country? With the shad seat i was really comfortable doing 2500km in 4 days. Im wondering if i could endure a month of it. Not sure if anyone else would agree but heated grips are a must for touring and i have been happy with my heat deamons for 2 years now.

We did 12,000 km, it was mostly fine as long as we had speed 130+, once we dropped into lower speed values I had to take a break every 2 hours, even with the shad seat. Longest day we did was 850 km and that was fine. No way in hell to do the trip on the stock seat.



I agree heated grips would help a lot, I actually got mild hypothermia on one leg in the middle of June no less lol!

Bring extra gas/siphon gear, FZ8 does not have the range on some stretches, ran out once and nearly ran out another time and this was with stock gearing and 42 PSI on the tires.

 

[TorontoAlex]

Where did you run out of gas? Youve peaked my interest now Id like to know where you went lol.

 

[Vampwood]

Where did you run out of gas? Youve peaked my interest now Id like to know where you went lol.

It was along a long stretch many hours north of Vancouver, we actually made it to a gas station but for whatever reason that station only is open on Mondays (it was a Sunday) so I had to stop there, had a nice conversation with a few others looking for gas while my father went with the jerry can on his bike and came back (CARRY SIPHON GEAR). Only delayed us an hour so wasn't too bad.

We flew the bikes down to Vancouver from Toronto for 800$ each, then rode a northern loop and took a ferry to Vancouver Island, rode a few days there, took ferry back to Vancouver and headed south through Idaho and South Dakota and headed back to Toronto from there.

You can see our trip here
Riding the Canadian and maybe US Rockies - recommended roads/routes

 

[reALIGNed]

you can always gut the cat for more power? if you are doing a cross country trip i would change sprockets for the best highway mpg. also good side bags. a good emergency kit is always a good idea aswell.

-B

Don't bother gutting the cat, it will not give you more power.

 

[HeresMyMind]

not true, there are dyno's showing before/after if it was tuned.

-B

 

[reALIGNed]

OK, perhaps a 0.0 1% gain w/o the tuner.........again, not worth it. And not to mention illegal in some states (gutting the cat). But installing a tuned program, of course there will be gains.

 

[Teslank]

adjustable forks!! (fz1 internals, r1 front end swap, ohlins, others...)
and rear performance shock!! (elka, ohlins, penske...)

 

[Weekend Casualty]

Love the R1 rear shock with the adapter. But if you have the cash to spring on an ohlins go for it. Impressive ride though! I'd never do that with the stock seat i have

 

[Vampwood]

Love the R1 rear shock with the adapter. But if you have the cash to spring on an ohlins go for it. Impressive ride though! I'd never do that with the stock seat i have

What about Hyperpro series of rear shocks Type 463 specifically which is a full adjustable setup versus getting an Ohlins monoshock without full adjustability. Cause the Ohlins full adjustable is crazy $$$$