Hi. I won't be able to make the Int rally this year but maybe for the future.
I have ordered and got some parts for my Bulldog, SW motech centrestand, Givi rack, fenda extender, tank pad etc so now I can start fitting them .
I am thinking of getting some crash bars, I spoke to Yamaha UK and unfortunately it would seem Yamaha have deleted a fair few of the official addons including the crash bars. Hepco and Becker seem to be the only make I can find that list some. What are your views on these please ?
I thought about crash mushrooms but it looks to me that where you could mount them is so high up I 'm not sure they would protect the engine much ?
Whilst talking to Yamaha UKs tech dept he brought the subject up of power upgrade kits, as in Jack Allens and the Topham kits etc. He reckoned these spoilt the power delivery and charcter of the bike, I am not sure how having more torque is going to spoilt it !?
You guys seem to rate them so I am somewhat bemused as to why he would say this as the Bulldog has been deleted form Yamaha s UK range so I don't see what difference it would make to them ?
I am thinking of some oval stainless steel exhaust cans with removeable baffles in a bit (2-3 months)
more so for some better noise but any extra power/torque is welcome
Then possibly 6-12 months down the line maybe I will think about a carb/airbox top upgrade kit.
Will having just the different exhaust cans make any difference power wise or will it be just a fruitier noise I will get ?
Not that I need one but what do you guys and girls do re rear shock absorbers as I haven't as yet found an aftermarket one ?
New Yamaha original or rebuild I guess ?
Regards Foxxy.
Hello Foxxy,
Welcome to the Forum. Both my son and I have GSG crashpads: m.
I have Laser Duotech cans. They can be fitted with the legal inserts (dB killers), the sport inserts, or with no inserts (open exhaust). I have tried them in all three versions, I like the sport inserts best, they give me sufficient noise. I have the carb stoppers and AIS removed, TDM 850 airbox and K&F filter. Main jets are 132 (Dynojet).
regards,
Ronald
Hi foxxy,
welcome at BOC.
In my opinion, we don't need crashbars.
we had some several crash here of members
but never after the slidderings problems with the engine, almost some scratches, but not real problems.
In 2009 I had a lowsider and a highsider crash, my crashpads should protect my fuel tank, but that doesnt work good.
Okay, it was close but bented so we have to repair the fueltank at both crashes.
Crashbars seem to protect the motor, but when you sliddering the tar the only real good stuff for me was the 10mm "sandro-stopfen" which protect the alternator cover on the left.
m
bye
Wolf
Thankyou for your replies.
The Laser duotechs look nice but a bit pricey over here.
I am thinking either Scorpions or Fuel cans .
Further reading it would seem the carbs have some kind of restrictors in them.
I guess you guys have talked about this, please could someone direct me to a post about them.
This is probably a daft question but if i find these restrictors and remove them do you have to rejet as well?
I guess this allows the slides to rise further , does this equate to more bhp? (if I don't rejet that is )
sorry If I am being dense here, as my son would call it I have brain fog at the moment .
Foxxy.
Hello Foxxy,
now I read all your questions and have time to answer them :
- about the crashbars : they look ugly and don´t "work" properly in case of a crash. Nearly all of us here have fitted their bikes with crashpads. With them you avoid the very costly dents in the fuel tank, should your bike fall over.. The best ones, by the way, are made by a member here ("Eddie".. just send him a PN) he even fits them with a cushioning insert do avoid damage to the frame.
If you want to avoid scatches to the cases you should fit the engine with the so called "Sandro-Deckel". It replaces the small plastic/chrome-cover on the left side of the engine, is made of aluminum, looks good too and resists even longer slides on the left side (just ask "Moppedwolf"..he tested it the hard way :( ) You can get it from the "Admin"!
- now to the engine upgrades :first you should replace the airbox-cover with one that flows more air...you can use one from the TDM or the aluminum-one included in the "Topham-Kit" (look at my Album) K&N Airfilters are sometimes recommended but in the Bulldog they have no advantage at all! The standard filter will do fine! The carbs have small plastic inserts in their covers that prevent the slides from being pulled up all the way. They are just clipped into the cover and can be removed by hand. By doing this you increase airflow to the engine which means - as you already noticed - that you would have to rejet the carbs...that´s not a big thing, but you should know what you are doing :wink: You get the best performance with jet-size 132 (included in the Topham-Kit or you can get them directly from Mikuni-UK) the needle-clip shoud be put in the second or third groove from the top. (a tip : when removing the float-bowl use a new screwdriver and be careful not to strip the small screws...replace them if possible with better-quality ones) When reinstalling the carbs be careful not to damage the rubber-ducts and to make sure, that the cable of the carb-heating ist properly connected...if not, you´ll have starting problems.
After putting everything together again, synchronise the carbs and adjust the CO-s c r e w so, that you have 4,5%CO +/- 0,5% with disconnected AIS !! Make sure that CO is measured at the proper point at the manifolds and not at the back of the silencers!! (again look at my album) And, very important, adjust your idle to 1.100 +/- 50 rpm not less!
All this applies to pre-05 models without catalysts.
The benefits of all this is an increase of around 7hp but better still and much more important an increase in torque to over 100Nm :-D The engine runs much smoother too and the vibrations between 3.000 und 4.000 rpm are nearly eliminated :-D :-D
And better still : these improvements do not in any way interfere with the Bulldogs reliability and near bulletproof-ness. (Tell the guys at Yamaha-UK to stop b u l l s h i t t i n g you...sorry) My bike, model 02, modified at "Krauses" in Dortmund right off the bat, has now 59.000k´s on the clock and has never needed a valve-adjustment yet!! I inspect it every 10.000k´s but up to now...nothing! And don´t believe that i carry or push my bike around...when visiting my daughter in Hamburg - 400 k´s from here - I´ve already had the Bulldog on the Autobahn at full tilt - touching the rev-limiter in fifth - for two hours without letting off. I know it wasn´t made for that.. :? ..but I just wanted to find out, what it would do. I only let go of the throttle at a gas-station and guess what...it ticked over just like that..
- about the suspension : what the Bulldog really needs most of all are better fork-springs! The standard ones are way too soft and can cause serious damage to the front exhaust header, the whole bike and you when it touches or rather crashes into the ground in right-handers :evil: The best way to avoid this ist to slip in a pair of "Wilbers" progressive wound springs ( http://www.wilbers.de" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) with their 10 weight suspension fluid. And if you want to top it all off, slip in their adjustable rear shock, specially made for the Bulldog. This really gives you an unparalleled ride quality..and no, I´m not employed by them and I don´t get any comission :wink:
Last but not least : one of the best tyres for the Bulldog ist the Michelin PilotRoad2 Sticks like glue even in the wet and is good for nearly 10.000k´s
Should you still have any questions...fell free to ask
greets
Axman
Hi.
WOW Axman thankyou very comprehensive answers.
Plenty there for me to digest.
At the moment I am in the middle of fitting my SW Motech centre stand.
Why are these jobs never as simple as they look on paper !
I am sure I read a post somewhere re fitting them and will look for it once I have sent this.
Having a look underneath first it seemed sensible to remove both the original exhaust cans for better access.
Now they are off I thought this is daft I may as well order and fit some new cans
Was going to wait but hey.
Guess what.................... ordered and hopefully arrive end of the week.
Thankgoodness for credit cards !
I am going to try and find the post re centre stands as the C shaped spring bracket has me a little Foxxed
(boom boom ) at the moment if i can't suss it looks like I will be ringing Germany.
The UK importers have never fitted one to a Bulldog so aren't to sure.
Thanks all again Foxxy -- Monday 10. May 2010, 21:26 --Hi ..... again.
Right telephoned SW Motech and spoke to a very nice lady who speaks very good english.
She confirmed re the C brackets location.
Then came all out WAR with that darned spring !!!
It was a war of attrition but not having a spring puller ( boy do I wish I had bought one when I got the stand)
I devised my own and eventually got the spring on ...... Phew.
I mentioned to the wife that I had ordered some exhaust cans..........................
lets just say I got the look that I am sure many husbands get at times.
Oh well sleeping in the garage isn't soooooooo bad
Ref the stand the bike seems very upright as in when on the stand it seems somewhat precarious
and wouldn't take much to roll off it !
Has anyone else found this ?
I will check it tommorrow, had a quick look tonight but it seemed mounted ok .
I fitted an SW Motech stand on my last bike a Hornet 600 and that wasn't as precarious as this one .
I weighed one of the Yamaha exhausts and it weighed approx 5 kg on the bathroom scales so it will be interesting to see what the new cans weigh in comparison.
Thanks again for your tips good people .
Regards Foxxy.
Hi again,
the precarious position of the bike on the centerstand has been matter of discussion here in the forum ...with no real result except to be careful..
I´m no fan of CSs, so I haven´t fitted one to my Bulldog (to me they are too bulky, too heavy and hang too low for spirited riding ) but I´ve heard how much of a pain it ist to fit the springs..without a proper puller. Next time, try a trick I learned : my two-stroke motocross bikes all had springs joining the exhaust to the cylinder...to get them on or off was always a hassle and more often than not resulted in the loss of copious amounts of blood and hours spent crawling on the garage floor looking for shot-off pliers and/or springs
Next time in the pits I saw a competitor doing it in a matter of seconds..: with a sawn-off coat-hanger Don´t try this with the cheap ones you give your guests to hang their wardrobe on...take one of those sturdy things your wife uses to hang her furs on..she´s already mad anyway, so...
And after avoiding the hatchet you´ll see : it works like clockwork
Greets
Axman
Hi Axman
Thanks re your idea of a spring puller/coat hanger. I was in a hardware store yesterday and found a metal hook on a bracket I think it is for a flower hanging basket ! it cost all of £1.
Lol don't laugh but with the combination of a cable tie , big beefy screwdriver (to act as the T piece handle) a strong split ring and the hook bracket thing I managed to get the springs on . I needed to add the split ring into the equation as the hook was too big to manouver the springs into place, by using the split ring it was thin enough to work. I used on ordinary one at first and it just unfurled so had to find a stronger one, but anyway it worked. Somewhat Heath Robinson but hey if it works.
Today I have fitted a fenda extender, Xenon blue tint headlight bulb, nicked your idea and fitted a mudflap and stuck it to the rear mudguard to cover that small gap exposing the rear shock , thanks for that .
Fitted an optimate lead to the battery. Decided to take the sidepanels off, strewth the screws had obviously never been out, tight or what . Then took the grab rail section off mega strewth those bolts were really tight
I have emailed SW Motech re my concerns about the centre stand but judging by your answer it will be interesting to see what if any answer I get . Having another look at it today , it looks like the flat plate at the top of the legs so to speak, When you put the bike up onto the stand this hits against the spacer and mounting bolt, this appears to be what stops the plate and therefore stops the stand from going any further back. With the bike on the side stand I can see where the coating on the flat plate is getting marked by the spacer bolt tube.
If I don't get an answer from SW Motech I am thinking of trying to file a small groove in the flat plate to allow it to settle further back in relation to the spacer tube if you get my idea. Obviously I will have to be careful not to weaken it, the plate is fairly thick and I am only thinking of a fairly shallow groove, but the way I see it the CS at present is basically unusable unless the bike is pointing up hill, so unless I can modify it so it works there is not much point in it being on the bike.
Regards Foxxy.
Good morning Foxxy,
just bacause I don´t like the CS that doest mean, that everybody else doesn´t like it either..
I´ll put your "problem" in the German section and I am sure, that someone has come up with a solution..hang on and I´ll see what I can get..
Regards
Axman
after the Telefoncheck with Axel,
Check the assembly