Seeking LSD advice.
Lyndy's bike is not finished (v1.1, seeking to upgrade to v1.9). Several more goodies are lined up (and have already arrived), but need to be installed.
The question is:
Pay someone to do it?
Or do it "ourselves" (note: ourselves means - eager members of the DFWM doing it with us).
See... we don't' have the equipment. lift, tools, and knowledge to do it ourselves. But the great thing about the bike, and the community, and you guys is that just about anything is possible for a DIY.
What we're faced with at the moment:
Raise ride height, front and rear.
Remove existing stock bars and install clip-ons, Rizoma grips, bar ends, new Pazzo levers.
But we don't know if we even have all the right parts, or spare parts in case something comes up.
Pros:
DIY = fun, and learning, and a reason for people to get together, share knowledge.
Pay = confidence in job done right, safety.
Cons:
DIY = safety concerns if not done right, project could take a long time, inadequate tools/facilities
Pay = money, not learning anything, no grease under fingernails to show that you're cool like that.
Discuss.
Don't know anything about raising the ride height, but everything else can be done fairly easily. It's fun to work on bikes and satisfying. I say make it a day and we can all do it, but that's easy for me to say because I prob won't be doing the work. Would love to help in any way possible.... Happy decision making!!! ;)
Quote from: Bonwilder on August 16, 2008, 10:01:55 AM
Would love to help in any way possible.... ;)
Funny, that's the same thing we're thinking about our involvement in this effort. [laugh]
Just do it. It's good for you both. Sarah's always happy when I have her help me work on her car. She loves to learn the ins and outs...and what have yous.
I almost never pay to have stuff done on my cars...and now bike. I'm consistently surprised at how easy this thing is to work on. I guess because half the pain in the arse about working on a car is having to crawl inside and around things having nothing to do with what you're trying to work on.
Case in point - it took me about 5 min. to pull the tank two days ago for paint. Imagine pulling the gas tank from my car! :o
Well, I have zero skills at wrenching and I intalled the bars that are currently on the 600 and all the mods on the S4R. So, if I could do it in my garage, multiple people could surely make it right. Make a day of it, and have Lyndy start sweet talkin someone with a lift.... [thumbsup]
That is all pretty easy stuff to do. I've done all of it except raising the front, which I still don't know what you mean by it. By doing that you would be changing the geometry of the bike and thus changing the handling pretty drastically.
There are some really really knowledgeable peeps among you, so it would not be a problem I'm sure.
Plus, you can find directions for most of what you asked here.
Quote from: El Matador on August 16, 2008, 10:54:46 AM
That is all pretty easy stuff to do. I've done all of it except raising the front, which I still don't know what you mean by it. By doing that you would be changing the geometry of the bike and thus changing the handling pretty drastically.
I think it was already lowered when Bon (mmmm.......bon bons <drool>)bought it from Eurosport. Damn little people got make it hard on everyone else...
First do you need to raise the height? Geometry change may be a side effect. If it's a comfort thing, consider rearsets [thumbsup]
You'll need to measure the stock set up and keep record of it somewhere in case the adjustments are less than desirable
Tools - most of the bolts and fasters are pretty standard metric socket sets or in your basic metric allen/T-handle sets. If I recall the M600 has the "hoop" over the rear wheel. I think David know more about the details of adjusting that.
Clip ons are pretty straight forward. Just take your time and get familiar with the process before you dive into it. Take pics each step of the way, so that if you find a fastener that doesn't have a home you can located its origin.
Have fun, 14t sprocket a painted belt covers while your at it :D
MTC you have 666 posts :)
(http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/849/15919240bm5.png)
Quote from: El Matador on August 16, 2008, 10:54:46 AM
That is all pretty easy stuff to do. I've done all of it except raising the front, which I still don't know what you mean by it. By doing that you would be changing the geometry of the bike and thus changing the handling pretty drastically.
Yeah, I'm concerned about changing the geometry, but I don't think it's configured "stock" right now. I believe this was done for the original buyer of the bike who was pretty short. Look a this pic. See how far out the top of the triple the fork comes up? I'm thinking we want to "raise the front end" by making the tops of the fork tubes relatively flush/even with the top of the triple. Even in this pic you can see that it sticks out about an inch or more.
Plus, she wants to put clip-ons on there - so they will either need to go above or below the triple, and no matter which is chosen, the current setup won't allow that.
(http://www.barneephife.com/pics/duc/thelmalou/P1050963.JPG)
Quote from: bryant8 on August 16, 2008, 11:01:25 AM
First do you need to raise the height? Geometry change may be a side effect. If it's a comfort thing, consider rearsets [thumbsup]
You'll need to measure the stock set up and keep record of it somewhere in case the adjustments are less than desirable
Tools - most of the bolts and fasters are pretty standard metric socket sets or in your basic metric allen/T-handle sets. If I recall the M600 has the "hoop" over the rear wheel. I think David know more about the details of adjusting that.
Clip ons are pretty straight forward. Just take your time and get familiar with the process before you dive into it. Take pics each step of the way, so that if you find a fastener that doesn't have a home you can located its origin.
Have fun, 14t sprocket a painted belt covers while your at it :D
B8,
As Tommy pointed out, the bike was already lowered by Eurosport for the first owner of the bike. So much for measuring stock geometry. I don't think's it really a riding comfort issue, but more of a inseam issue. Lyndy is 5'11" and when she's stopped at a light her legs are still bent pretty far (almost looks like she's still got her feet on the pegs ;) ). So we're looking for a little more "seat height", through whatever means are available without making the bike strange to handle.
Sprocket and belt covers are on the list that will finally bring the M600 to final v2.0! [thumbsup]
That does look a bit much, here's a pic of my 620 with the stock bars still on. The top of the forks are not flush with the triple
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/2767884207_a79540b519.jpg?v=0)
You may want to look at ducati.com and see if you can hunt down how much the forks stuck out stock.
Or call AMS and see if Jeff's around [thumbsup]
Lowering the forks so the top of the stanchion tubes fit flush with the top of the triple clamp is no biggie. That's where they should be, go look at a stock (and I do mean stock) 600 and see. Maybe look at Lisa's 600, if the tubes are in the original stock position. I see by the pic that you are right, the front was lowered by raising the tubes in the triple clamp.
The back I don't know. I've never owned/worked on a 600 but don't they have a non-adjustable ride height rear suspension set up? Good question for Bryant, Lisa or Scott.
the six nine fiver
(http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/7287/vistadelpilotoym2.jpg)
You should have about 3 cm of tube above the triple. another option to consider are cyclecat fork extenders, they look sweet and give you an aggressive position that is not too aggressive.
Quote from: El Matador on August 16, 2008, 11:01:48 AM
MTC you have 666 posts :)
(http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/849/15919240bm5.png)
no I don't
Quote from: mtc on August 16, 2008, 10:48:02 AM
Make a day of it, and have Lyndy start sweet talkin someone with a lift.... [thumbsup]
Hey *** when's the next time you have the house all to yourself?? :-* [moto]
Yeah, I had two people help me when I put my Rizoma clip-ons on; the best thing to do is take pictures of where the cables go in relation to the instrument cluster. Some cables go around and some go under the gauge set... Unfortunately it's really easy to put it all back together wrong and then realize when you go and ride that the throttle cable doesn't have enough length when you turn lock-to-lock...
Don't ask me how I know [bang]
Does the rear suspension on the 600 have an adjustable "dog bone"? It is my understanding that only a relatively small amount can be adjusted from the actual ride height on a 600-series bike if the suspension is all stock. The good news is that if the bike was just "lowered" on a stock rear set-up, then I would think it could be returned to correct ride height with little effort.
Additionally, looking at the low-ness of the top triple combined with a slightly lowered rear suspension might explain any weird handling issues like "nervous" steering when going through corners or feeling like the front end is really light when cruising down the freeway (I rode a friend's bike once that had the front lowered on the triple tree by two inches - it was freakin' scary).
All the rest of the stuff - new grips and levers - are pretty straight forward. An air compressor with a needle tip used for inflating footballs is perfect for getting grips off without damage. A very small amount of dish soap and a lot of water will get the new ones on. I've never had to use grip glue - once the water evaporates, they aren't going ANYWHERE.
Phhew, what is up with these moto-related posts from me lately? [laugh]
Anyway, I'd love to help out with your project Lindy and Jim if you need it [thumbsup]
Wow! I just clicked on the last post in this thread and saw Lisa's post and mistakenly thought it was one of mine because it was so long! [laugh] But I quickly knew it wasn't when I saw all the paragraphs!! [clap] Won't catch me doing something like that! NEVER! Come on run-on sentences!!! ;D
Quote from: El Matador on August 16, 2008, 11:31:48 AM
the six nine fiver
(http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/7287/vistadelpilotoym2.jpg)
You should have about 3 cm of tube above the triple. another option to consider are cyclecat fork extenders, they look sweet and give you an aggressive position that is not too aggressive.
You say 3cm? from the pic, it doesn't look like more than an inch. Just my thoughts.
Steve
as fas as suspension set up, why not get a professinoal to go out and do a set up on the bike for you first? It's usually very cheap (20-40 bucks to have it done) and it'll give you a good idea of what you can do to help your other ergonomics issues
Quote from: sdlrodeo on August 16, 2008, 05:52:13 PM
You say 3cm? from the pic, it doesn't look like more than an inch. Just my thoughts.
Steve
You're right, I broke put the measuring tape today and it was 1.5 cm. I should really check what i'm saying before posting advice [bang] [bang] [bang] [bang]
Quote from: hiero on August 17, 2008, 07:59:26 PM
as fas as suspension set up, why not get a professinoal to go out and do a set up on the bike for you first? It's usually very cheap (20-40 bucks to have it done) and it'll give you a good idea of what you can do to help your other ergonomics issues
Randy McCarter (Mechanic in residence, Warehome)
(817) 706-8870
He made sure the suspension was set correctly then adjusted it for my weight. Money well spent - a night and day difference.
Another vote for Randy here. If you are feeling funny about messing with it yourself or having our ham fisted efforts "helping" out then give Randy a call. He could do this in his sleep, plus knowing him, he will see many other adjustments that could be made to make Lindy more comfy on the bike and do those too... handlebars, lever angle, etc. Another benefit is if Scott's not there you can go inside and drink all his beer! Oooops, did I just say that? Never mind. [bang] [laugh]
Quote from: ThelmaLou on August 16, 2008, 03:36:59 PM
Hey *** when's the next time you have the house all to yourself?? :-*
Thelma Lou's hitting on *** ?!? I'm so konfuzed :P
Quote from: fastwin on August 18, 2008, 06:13:11 AM
Another vote for Randy here. If you are feeling funny about messing with it yourself or having our ham fisted efforts "helping" out then give Randy a call. He could do this in his sleep, plus knowing him, he will see many other adjustments that could be made to make Lindy more comfy on the bike and do those too... handlebars, lever angle, etc. Another benefit is if Scott's not there you can go inside and drink all his beer! Oooops, did I just say that? Never mind. [bang] [laugh]
+ 11tyb (that's a lot) for Randy!
He's worked on all 7 of my bikes- new tires, balancing rims, 24k service on the K bike, 6k on the PS, new brake pads, changing fluids, adjusting suspension, clip-ons, quick-turn throttle, balancing carbs, fitting bodywork, install rear shock, repaired leaky gas line, & even un-sticking a frozen motor!!