Moto-Brian

Considering you can just use your foot to lift it and that you really need two hands to do the axle, hold the brake caliper, etc., this thing look bulky. Kind of a neat idea, but for at least $100? Nah... Watch the guys at an AMA or WERA event and see how they change tires... These are nowhere to be found.

They are night and day... The 2000-2003 750s were awesome. I loved my 2000 and 03 I raced... The 05 I had was just better all around. Easier to go faster and was smaller which helped a lot, too. The 06-07s are the same kind of step up from the 04-05s. The 08/09s are not as big a step, though...

That Carmichael guy is a fag and sucks.

Chris- What you are missing is that the forks WORK TOGETHER AS ONE UNIT... Hence why on some older bikes they had a spring on one side and oil in the other or even air... They both bolt to the triple at a central point and THAT'S where they work as one unit. Unless the fork is bent, it isn't relating to the seals or lack of oil or hell, if there isn't a spring in one tube... If the right fork was out of oil and the left form was fine and you hit a pothole on the bottom of the right fork tube base, it would have to bend the axle in order to make the bike go right... VERY unlikely scenario, but the axle would have to bend before it went one way or the other due to a fork... Chain could easily be mis aligned in the back and pull it one way or the other... A brake could bind slightly and pull it to one side or the other. Not a fork tube... And as far as it leaking when you got it home. If it were leaking a lot (Oil always looks worse than it is), it seriously could have been from just starting. Know how many fork seals I have seen leaking right away at the MX tracks? MX bikes are prone to fork seals leaking from even little things like dirt particles. When they start leaking, it is noticeable right away. Can happen seriously one minute after it was perfectly fine. Stop the blaming here w/o facts and understanding. Again, not standing up for anyone, but truth be told, the seals COULD HAVE EASILY STARTED LEAKING ON HIS WAY HOME and WILL NOT CAUSE A BIKE TO PULL.

Again, the seals could have been fine for them. Also, the forks being that soft as you say, it would have been almost completely out of fork oil... All I am saying is that it could have been ridden by them and checked throughly and not had any signs of a fork leak. They also could have not seen any motor issues at the time, either. They do not ride these bikes daily and thus, once checked, they are put on the floor and sold. Sitting with a leaky fork seal would have shown it's head instantly and they either would have had to clean it everyday or fix it...

Just a note - a fork without even any oil in it will not cause the bike to pull to that side. The forks act together as one unit. If it pulls, it could be a bent fork possibly, but I doubt that's the case. I just wanted to make mention that putting in the wrong rate spring and the right one in the other just simply makes the fork bottom out or dive quickly - not pull... As far as the seal leaking on you and not them - again... possible that it was not leaking when they rode it or had it on the floor. That would mean that a floor guy would have had to be cleaning the fork as it seaped the entire time it was at the shop as oil would have been easily noticed while it was sitting... All I am saying and NOT defending one way or the other, but these are allogations that cannot be proven and yet are really opinions. Do I think the motor should be taken care of by Middletown? I think you have the answer in Aaron working it out. The fork seals? Could have happened earlier and never was noticed by the dealership. Much like a lot of riders do not know their forks are leaking until there is a puddle under the bike... Could have happened the minute they stopped at the first stop sign. Seals have to start leaking at some point and as it stands, it could have started the minute it was ridden again after sitting in the showroom... Happens.

You want funny? Ask Flounder to come and adjust your chain for you. THAT'S funny!

We would take a fresh complete engine build and run her on traditional oil from Kawasaki (as an example) through the course of Saturday through the practices. On Sunday, we'd run the same oil through the morning practice and drain it and run full synthetic at noon through the rest of the day and through the season. 1000 miles is more than enough time to be able to switch... BUT, my suggestion is to listen to your dealer. IF something goes wrong, you are covered... Do as they say and you'll be safe...

In your opinion... Again, multiple oils will be suggested and none are going to be proven better or worse... All are pretty good.

I just read this topic... One thing to consider, not all car companies suggest synthetic. I was told by the Infiniti dealer (Two different ones, actually) that Nissan doesn't suggest using Full Synthetic in the G35 coupes. Why I have no idea and neither did they, but I use Mobil1 in ours and not sure the issues if i do... It's just what they told me... As far as bikes go? Believe what you want, but in racing, we use full synthetic all the time. We have never had issues relating to oil. We've had bottom ends with over 60 hours on them and no blueing or such that indicated the oil was an issue... Currently, I use Motul 300V (I think that's the number - looks like antifreeze!!). Stuff is slicker than the Man Butter Flounder uses on his toast...

It obviously didn't occur right away with the OP. They test rode it and I am sure they went through it. A lot of dealers take in trades and go through the stuff, but they don't do leak down checks and they don't do things like compression checks if everything runs fine and works good. Thus, the "as-is" statement... If they went through the motor with a fine tooth comb, they'd offer a warranty.

Aaron is a great guy and probably should have been told about this from the start or approached first. Usually, the owner is the last to know type of deal. I know Aaron and he's a stand up guy. The thing with used bikes is that dealers are not put under the same guidelines as a personal owner. A private owner who would sell the same bike would get away scott free. A dealer has to do the right thing even if the bike is used and sold "as-is". With used bikes, you can run a COMPLETE check of everything and never know the valves are shit in the bike. It may not show any signs under normal operating conditions that it is about to let go. Like the forks seals. Fork seals leak at some point and the moment they started, could have been with the second owner. Same with the motor. Seeing the dealer is taking the OP's word that he didn't abuse the bike (I don't believe he did at all - just saying as an example), who is to know if he did or did not? I think if Aaron did the right thing, that means something and means a lot about the integrity of the owner. I am glad you got in there and talked with him. I also respect you even more for the apology and think you are a stand up dude. That takes balls and typically, when a dealer does do the right thing, their actions are never stated.... Good on you. Good luck and I hope it turns out the way it should.

Any pics?

No worries. I always have my notes with me in the trailer...

Well, it isn't going to gain HP. What it really does is allow the HP to move the bike with less effort. What that turns into is the bike will go quicker with less input from the motor and thus, being more efficient and spinning up to speed quicker... No free hp, but will free up hp... Make sense?

Little concerned over the fronts. The Braking/Galfer rotors are TRUE full floating rotors and they are still prone to warping. After some time, of course, but for racing, I'd be leery of doing the fronts... with the stock carriers. The rears? Do it. It looks cool, but it is really true about the weight. At least a pound lost in rotational mass. You can also send them to Reuben as he has a source that does this. I think it is done via water, actually... Not sure. He'd know, but I do know the guy on the WERA board knows what he is doing and has good feedback about them...

Thanks for your response, Matt. I have even more respect for you and that post. I think you do great work and feel you are a solid suspension guy and tech for motorcycle performance. You have a good reputation. As far as Jensen goes, Robert and Reuben go way back and they are friends. Friends tend to help each other out and he can be a sounding board for Reuben at times. At the track, we are a community of friends that rarely is seen in other sports. You want to beat the hell out of them on the track, but off, we don't share everything, but set-up questions can be answered if the circle is tight enough. Suggestions, if you will or address issues one is having that another is not. On the rider competition thing, I don't think it would prove anything due to the fact that the rider is still at MINIMUM 80-90% of the equation. I've seen top WERA National guys ride stock suspended bikes at a pace that would embarass most seasoned racers at the regional level. But, I think it would be a fun day and would certainly come and watch. What's really cool is that there are such good suspension and motor guys so damn close to us all around here. Also, the fact that they are both seemingly cool people and are passionate about this sport. Cheers, Matt.

Heats are used in MX racing. Not WSBK. WSBK runs two seperate point awarding races in the same weekend. Here in the States, we call them double headers. It's simply something that WSBK has always done. Just two races per weekend...

Because the Aprilia that is allowed to race with the 600s is a sub 1000cc twin. No Ducatis are allowed and that's the issue. The Rotax 1125 Buell is similar to that of the DUcati 1098, but the 1098 isn't allowed to run... Well, it is, but in the same class as the 1000s. Oh, and they had a Buell in the 1000 race and it didn't finish last!

Just do a search for Attack Painter and you can get his info as I posted it before. For future reference. But, for now, it is: Paul (AKA Attack Painter) 5909 Headley Road Gahanna, OH 43230 614-394-2195

Man, if you hadn't said anything, I would have thought it was one of their blck cannisters. The bike looks great. With a few red/white accents like maybe doing the Yamaha tuning forks or something to match the M4, it would be cool. Attack Painter - you gotta watch that dude. Reason being, if you aren't careful, he'll make your bike look so damn good that you'll wanna keep her inside and protected from the dirt gremlins. Looks great. Love the gloss black!

Who's this guy you speak of? Sounds shady...

Why were you told to keep it quiet? That's really weird, man. Were you told to keep it quiet by Graves or by the previous owner because they had the motor on loan or something? It can't be good to be told to keep it quiet... If it is because the motor isn't SS spec, that's not an issue. It could have easily been a built FX motor... Plus, no way to trace it back to a bike that ran in SS and won any money. Trust me, SS racers cheat all the time... This wouldn't be a surprise to know it was in a SS bike and the guy was winning races with an illegal motor... Never got torn down? Too bad. PM me and give me the low down, but seriously, outside it just being a guy who bought a motor that was touched by Graves and he slapped it in his own chassis, it's really no big deal. We have guys that buy ex=factory bikes COMPLETE and race them or just track day them. It's common. I know a guy who bought an ex Yosh bike for track days. Painted it up to not let everyone know and at first look, it was not really noticeable - until you saw the trick Showa rear shock and other bits of unobtainable... I'm just slightly confused and don't mean to get you in trouble in any way. Not sure outside your wife or something that you'd get in trouble, but if it was to be secret and quiet, why did you even post anything?

How many miles have you put on the bike? How long have you had it? The fork seals thing is something that can happen... The motor? Well, the 06s are known to have issues, but have them tell you who the previous owner is. If the bikes was raced or track days a lot, it is suspect to having motor issues. What did Reuben see that caused him to think the motor is shit?

Why? To fool his buddies? Once that thing hits the back straight at any track, it's going to be evident it isn't stock... It's like my bike - it's an ex Vesrah bike. That way it is and runs, nobody would believe me if I said it was a street bike simply race prepped with some goodies... The fact it wheelies from exit of the keyhole and every gear change it lofts the wheel, it surely isn't 165hp street bike turned race bike... I think it is cool track porn to know it is a Graves motor... Especially if it is FX tuned... The track day guys have more tricked out bikes than most racers have. We see it everyday through tech and it is really cool to see the amount of passion they put into their bikes.