Bike - 2001 Honda CBR600 F4i, Silver & Black (Go Raiders! Ha!)
Rider – Peter V., 5’10”, 195 lbs.
Terrain – Back roads in Marin County , California . Mostly Bolinas/Fairfax Road (BoFax). I like the insanely aggressive riding, especially the hard climbing on the west side and up/down on the east side.
Handling:
* Penski 8900 series rear shock, w/ high & low speed compression, rebound, ride height, preload adjustments. 850 lb./in. rate. I got a good deal on this shock on ebay ($500). It is probably way more adjustment than I truly need, but its fun to play with. The important thing here is the increase in spring rate up from stock 800 lb/in. I figure that swapping just the spring on the stock shock would only cost $90. That would be a sizable improvement.
* Race Tech fork springs. .90 Kg/mm. rate. Stock is .68/kg/mm (progressive). Proper sag numbers attained. The front end is solid, comfortable, and tracks super nice.
* Race Tech Gold Compression Valve. Increases flow on compression stroke. I know better than to use these again. The stock parts are good, but need tuning..
* Race Tech Gold Rebound Valve. Increases flow on rebound stroke. I know better than to use these again. The stock parts are good, but need tuning. This was a waste of money. Sure I gain more tuning options, but the money would have done more good somewhere else.
* Red Line Shock Oil: Front: 60% Extra Light / 40% Light to replace stock Showa SS-8 10 wt. with the gold valve the fork is damped well, gets full travel and moves much smoother now. Rear: 64% Light / 34% Medium to replace Silkolene PRO RSF 5wt. Silky smooth damping on rough roads.
* I should have removed the oil lock from the fork. Would have gained more useful travel.
* Tire Pressure 31 lbs front, 31 lbs rear. Stock is 36 F/ 42R. That is of course for maximum load. I’m riding solo on street. I’m still working on this. The tires seem to be warming up well.
* Pirelli Diablo Tires. Stickier rubber over the stock Donlop D207s. Instant increase in lean angle. Much better wear than the Metzler Sportec M-1s I tried earlier.
Power:
* 15/49 Sprockets from stock 16/46. Much better pull requiring less poorly placed shifts on the roads I ride.
* 520 DID X-Ring Chain (110 Links). Light, low friction replacement of stock 525 X-Ring Chain.
* Mobile 1 15W-50 Synthetic oil. Stock Honda GN4 10W-40 is ok. GN4 is designed for a very wide ambient temperature range. I live in NorCal so I won’t be riding in weather below 50 f. My engine sounds and feels far more solid with the Mobile 1 oil in it, plus it’s cheaper.
* Two Brothers Racing Slip-on pipe. This pipe came with the bike when I bought it used. I prefer the sound of Stock pipes or even quieter. This pipe doesn’t look as nice as stock and the sound is much louder (although not insane) I got a stock pipe on craigslist for $50 and loved it, but as time went by, the need arose to reduce the massive weight of the stock pipe and also for the prayer for more power.
* Dynojet Power Commander, PCIIIusb, Fuel Injection recalibration. This is a must for any fuel injection bike. I wish that stock parts would adjust fuel. I don’t like how this part works, but I’m glad it does. An HRC ECU is available that is programmable, but requires the use of the HRC wire harness. Sorry, I need lights.
* Custom PCIIIusb Map. (not installed yet) I used to work at Factory Pro Tuning. I’m going to have them dynotune my bike in the next few weeks. The stock map for this bike/pipe is sort of off.
* APE Manual Cam Chain Tensioner. Gets get rid of that god awful CCTL noise.
Comfort/Controls
* Corbin pilot seat. The stock seat might be fine for racing, but it just plain sucks for street. Changing to this seat was the most important modification needed on this bike for street use. The Corbin was shaped for a slightly more rearward seating position. I like to choke up on the tank.
* Zero Gravity Double Bubble windscreen, Clear. Stock windscreen hammers you at highway speeds unless you are in a tuck. This windscreen gives the rider a bit more protection in the interest of comfort while sitting up.
* CRG Two finger adjustable reach levers. Super trick! I got these to improve ability to get to the clutch without having to roll my wrist or remove my grip from the bars. While the clutch lever helps with that, I’ve found that I love how the front brake lever ball is hooking just where I need it. These levers give the bike a subtle ‘works’ look and feel. What is with 4 finger levers anyway? We’ve come a long way since poorly designed clutches and front drum brakes.
* Goodrich Stainless Braided brake lines (Front) More is better. These give the front brake a stronger feel with less lever travel. Front brake feels better now and gets me on the brakes harder and faster. The twin line is of course better for performance than the 3 line (remember that hydraulic friction is a function of velocity squared), although the 3 line probably looks better.
* Intuitive Frame sliders. I hope I never use these. In case I do, I hope that some plastic will be saved.
* TCM Stock Rearset Relocator kit. It gives me 4 new positions to use. I like far up and forward the best.
* YellowBox Speedometer Recalibrator.
* Stopwatch. Mounted on the triple clamp. Timed runs of course.
* Silly little preload knobs that remind me of a Vincent Black Lighting.
* Goodrich Stainless Braided brake lines (Rear) (not installed yet) I might not install this part. I’m thinking that it would only help the rear brake lock up. I don’t like that.
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