Why I like Motorcycles

A 120r is a HD engine.

 

Just checked out. It's a race only crate engine. NOT street legal.
Offered for race only applications.
Around $6,ooo with 135 + h.p. and 137 lb-ft. of torque.
Pretty much a square engine.

 

I dont know how it wouldnt be street legal, I can put what ever motor I want in a bike here in cali. They dont check bikes.

This bike felt loose coming out of corners on the gas. at stock height it was still to low for me aswell. I am sure there are things that could have been done to the soft tail to make it corner like my bike, stock however, the softail is not my thing.

 

Yeah Right.THE first state that banned 2 stroke was California.
California also leads the nation in emissions regulations.
I remember reading about a Harley motorcycle { V-rod ? } a few years ago
that was drag ready.It was available to the public but had to be purchased
for off street use { Racing } only.

 

Ive seen big block chevys in bikes here. They dont have smog laws for bikes, we dont get checked. Cars are another story, even then its easy enough to get around.

 

I'm done replying to you.You are totally clueless.Any emissions laws regarding
exhaust originated in California.However that applied to bike manufacturers
who manufacture or produce motorcycles on a large scale.Not the mom & pop
clone V-Twin motorcycle market.
Anybody with half a brain knows that the state of California is where most
motorcycle regulations originate.

 

Are you literate? Did you actually READ the post you quoted?!

 

Cali laws do indeed suck. However, I live here. Do you? Cops generally dont mess with bikes, find the law restricting cubic inches on bikes for me. There is no such law for the public that I can find. Loud pipes are no big deal unless someone is riding like a (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*) bag. Cops are more worried about mirrors, license plate location and turn signals. Large bike manufactors may have rules about what they can do the bikes, but it doesn't carry over to the public.

 

I am just walking into this page of the discussion, but bikes have to pass strict emissions in CA, and are built differently specifically for the market by the big manufacturers.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/motcycle/onrdmc.htm

They tried (and failed thanks to the AMA) to impose new smog testing (read taxation) in 2009... and while that was defeated, they are ever on the hunt to interfere and restrict.

However cops really do generally leave bikes alone, and it should be noted that California is one of the only places where lane-splitting is legal.

 

With out a test, there is no real way of enforcement. I guess with that law on the books, a cop could give you a ticket to see the referee. I have never heard of that happening to a bike though.

 

Why is it believed that motorcycle manufacturers require "special" motorcycles for California? I would tend to assume that the all of their motorcycles are the same.

These regulations can not apply to custom motorcycles as they are not a mass produced item subject to the law as "no" factory emissions exist that can be modified on a custom motorcycle. Custom motorcycles are just like custom cars and don't have to meet state or federal emission or mileage standards.

For factory produced brand motorcycles the "enforcement" is generally based upon testing every two years for registration renewal and if the vehicle fails all that is required is a minimal "service" expenditure that over-rides the emission standard if it cannot be economically met.
.

 

Because motorcycle manufacturers are required to make "special" exhaust systems for California. Yamaha's version is called EXUP. There is a special valve preventing blowback, and the entire system is designed to burn more efficiently, creating more CO2... and the exhaust system is completely different to deal with the differing backpressure etc. Side effect being that it drains the (*)(*)(*)(*) out of HP as well. Your new California R1 blows lower on the dyno than any other states R1. California has its own special branch of government just to deal with this crap, and if your bike has less than like 10k miles, it has to have a C.A.R.B. sticker. This is known to most people who deal in motorcycles because buying California bikes means you have to change parts out and deal with red lights or install parts that trick the special system into thinking the California requirement parts are there.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/motorcycle1/motorcycle1.htm

Luckily the legislation require emissions tests every two years was killed, and the cops don't give a (*)(*)(*)(*). However if a cop is looking for a reason to hassle you, it is a great place to start.

 

What's the maintenance like on your bike?

I think mine is due. Seems like the carbs or valves (or both) need some attention... she's not accelerating like she use to. Also, the brakes are getting soft and I got some oil leaking from the left front shock.

 

What kind of bike do you own? I change mine every 3000 miles, valve adjustment and all.

 

What is the bike and year.
If the bike is run often, carbs tend not to be a problem. If it is stored over the winter without stabil in the fuel, yeah, they gum up... floats stick... can be a real mess. Properly winterizing your bike is a good thing to know. Valve adjustment isn't that difficult on buckets and shims... but before I get ahead of myself, I need to know what it is and when it was made.

Soft brakes usually means air in the lines, and they will have to be bled. I recommend using fast bleeders, which allow one person to do the bleeding. Steel braided lines will add additional firmness... and I like EBC race pads. Shock oil means blown seal. Again I would take this opportunity to upgrade, and get race springs. Could also be that the fork oil has gotten on the brakes on that side, making them feel soft. That can be very dangerous... so... you are going to need:
3 cans brake cleaner - $12
EBC Race Pads - $35-60
Progressive Race Spring build kit - $65-135
*Valve Shim tool - $20-35
*Micrometer - $20
Valve Gap Gauge - $5

If you give me the model, I will link you to specifically what you want to buy and instructions on how to do each thing.

 

First ride on my new (used) Burgman today. ME LIKE! Plan to ride at least a few hours tomorrow.

 

If a motorcycle is not being used for racing then why are so many people concerned about horsepower? Just curious because basically any motorcycle over about 500cc has more that adequate horsepower. Of course there is the "Big Dick" appeal especially when we address motorcycles or cars and there's nothing wrong with that but it really isn't all that important. More horsepower than you can reasonably use is still more horsepower than you can reasonably use. I love muscle cars for example and there's nothing wrong with that but whether the engine actually puts out 300 bhp or 375 bhp is really irrelevant. Hell, I even contempated turning a NASCAR "superstock" use at our local racetrack into a street machine (basically adding lights and a windshield wiper) where I'd have about 575 bhp (from a 358 cid normally aspirated engine and a cam so big that it had to idle at over 2000 rpm) and it would have be absurd but a lot of fun. Being a V-twin fan it's like having a 145 cid S&S engine chopper. It has great "Big Dick" appeal completely unrelated to functionality. No problem with that but it's really not realistic or even pragmatic but it also does look and sound cool.

Not to say that I support the California law but the fact is that many riders have far more motorcycle than they're actually capable of riding.

 

Valve adj. { Shim under Bucket } is no piece of cake.You have to get in there
and shift around the cam and hope you have a magnetic tool to catch those
little shims as you remove to check the space with the proper feeler gauge.
The worry is valves that are too tight. Not too loose.
Loose valves cannot ruin an engine.At least short term.But overly tight
valves will cause all sort of engine problems.From the combustion chamber
not dispensing the right amount because the valves aren't opening up enough.
Causing heat problems and the engine stalling.

 

Valves do need to be checked regularly...often, they do not actually need adjusting. I have seen several Burgman 400's and 650's with 75-80K that needed no adjustment.

 

After market cams and springs cause you to need to check them at oil changes. I usally dont make an adjustment, just check them.

 

True, some bike engines are more tolerant of valve adjustment than others. One that surprised me, was one of my vintage bikes, a 1980 Suzuki 1000 GSG that I restored a few years ago. The bike was running ok, and the valve adjustment wasn`t far out of spec when I reshimed the buckets, but the improvement was surprising. A couple of tips for reshimming.

The job isn`t hard, but it is fiddly, you do need a bit of patience, don`t rush. Screw valve adjustment can be done with the engine hot, but for shims let the engine cool down for 12 hours, and do it to the cold specs in the workshop manual. By making notes of the amount of error of individual valves before you take any shims out, then note their shim size as you do take them out, you`ll probably be able to interchange some shims and reduce the number of new shims you`ll need.

One important point. Never allow a magnet near valve components, or any other component of the engine, where magnetizing of that component could attract and hold, magnetic abrasives from within the lubricant.

 

Almost all.

However, how quickly you can pass a car in a 1 lane passing zone... makes a difference. How quickly you can get around a 3 trailer tandem truck on a short uphill entrance ramp makes a difference. If you want to tape your lights and run it at the track, it makes a difference. If you have a very small penis, it seems to make a difference. It is like the condom/gun theory w/ bike hp... rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. As to the skill of the rider... well... it doesn't take a tremendous amount of skill to twist the wrist going in a straight line. And then there is stunting... yanking the front end up is easier with more hp. Ripping the rear loose is easier with more HP. Also the numbers are important to people. "Damn... this 8k bike is faster than this 350k car by 3/10ths of a second"... then it is suddenly untrue. California is the only state in the nation with its own emissions standards impacting bike manufacturers.

Let's do the math on that as well... how much was the R&D EVERYONE had to pay for to create special systems for one state? How much to produce 2 completely different systems?

It's just crap all around.

It is also just exhilarating. From a sales perspective... they are harder to sell (Cali bikes outside of Cali) unless you have "fixed" them. Also changes the acoustics. A triumph speed triple is a beauty to hear... except in Cali.

 

The Burgman is not my particular cup of tea but there is something freeing in just riding, riding anything. My first bike was a 125cc in the 70's and I used to dream it was still in the garage for years after it was gone. Waking up realizing it was not there was always such a disappointment. The most fun bike I have had was the Suzuki TL1000. Awesome bike. Horsepower is fun, no matter what some say but my GF was glad when I sold it because she was sure I would get myself killed on it. Truth is, on any bike, it doesn't take much to get hurt if you are not paying attention and even if you are, sometimes there is nothing much to do but watch what is coming.

 

Not living in California anymore (I am a native Californian) I'm not sure how it came up with it's motorcycle emission standards but normally (or logically) these are co-created by the manufacturers and the government. Do you happen to know the history of how these emission stardards were established?

It's also a bit hard for me to believe that every manufacturer is producing a special motorcycle lines just for California. I can understand that perhaps one or two specific motorcycles might have been affected but I have a hard time believing that standards are so extreme as to force all manufacturers to produce special motorcycles for just for California.

I guess I just don't know enough about the standards, how they were developed, and which motorcycles are affected.

 

I live in the sportbike world, so I can only address the big 4 on sportbikes. Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year in R&D in the professional road race industry. Superbike, supersport, world superbike, and the mother of all... MotoGP. AMA superbike/supersport gets new tech from MotoGP, world superbike from AMA superbike, and translates directly to what they produce on the street. They are in constant competition, in every class, to produce a machine an inch faster than the other manufacturers. Sportbike shootouts are the biggest selling magazines, precisely for this reason. New riders read the mags and buy the one that "wins". This is their bread and butter. They must ALL meet CARBs standards in California. Then there is the REST OF THE WORLD. Not just the other 48 states, but every other country on the planet. A manufacturer cannot create a Cali emissions bike for the rest of the world in this highly competitive market. Everyone must make a California model.

CARB started in on motorcycles in the 70s, and got very restrictive in the 80s (as they addressed their terrible smog issues) with the birth of the sportbike (Honda interceptor). Then in the 90s, got a little meaner in the most popular categories.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/motcycle/onrdmc.htm

It is US race tech that matriculates into their production motorcycles. The US market is the bread and butter of the manufacturers... but I promise you... none of the big four are making CARB standard bikes for the rest of the US and world markets. All sportbikes have two models to deal with California.