redkow97 Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Hoblick's Grom thread got me thinking about how one could go about removing weight from a bike without buying expensive rearsets and the like. With the Katana now in my garage, even a moderate weight reduction would be welcomed. This isn't a race bike, so I'm not going to do anything drastic, like cut the sub-frame behind the seat or anything like that, but I am looking into the following: - running without fairings. One is cracked, but they weigh quite a lot, and can be sold to finance parts and repairs. I would estimate they are 5-10 lbs. easily. - mounting a smaller headlight. The katana has dual-eye lenses. with a naked bike, a 7" round light would look better anyway, and I expect it would weigh less than the wider stock unit. - ditching stock gauges for Trailtech Vapors (I have researched this a little, but I'm not sure which ones to buy to make install as smooth as possible). That would eliminate a couple of lbs. for sure. - without fairings, I have considered cutting/grinding the body mount points off the frame. Nothing structural, but this seems like a lot of un-reversible work that probably won't yield a huge weight loss anyway. It's at the bottom of the list, but I think it might be worth it for cosmetic purposes in some places. - removing the center stand seems like a no-brainer, because the bike is so heavy, I can't get it up onto the center stand anyway... I needed help to do it last time, and I'm going to buy a paddle-type rearstand anyway... - I am going to experiment with taking off the large weights on the bottom of the stock pegs. This is for ground clearance, AND weight savings. My suspicion is that I will want to put them back on when the pegs vibrate too much... But I can at least grind them down on the outside end for better cornering clearance. Anything else I'm not thinking of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Al Z. Heimer Posted February 6, 2014 Popular Post Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Sometimes you just can't make chicken pie out of chicken shit. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonik Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 - running without fairings. One is cracked, but they weigh quite a lot, and can be sold to finance parts and repairs. I would estimate they are 5-10 lbs. easily. Is the gain from the loss of weight from fairing removal greater than the increased drag from the air that is no longer being swept away? I doubt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mango_sv Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 The 97+ katanas are actually fairly aerodynamic. They were the test mule for the busa. Although I like a streetfighter kat much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpoppa Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Lose the center stand. The rest...meh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted February 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 The 97+ katanas are actually fairly aerodynamic. They were the test mule for the busa. Although I like a streetfighter kat much more. yeah, I removed all the fairings to clean things up and start seeing what needs to be fixed, and after my 40th or 50th body screw, I decided they're not going back on... I would agree that the additional drag will decrease top-speed, but it should have a negligible effect on acceleration below highway speeds. The weight loss should prove advantageous in those scenarios. the claimed top speed with stock gearing is something like 143mph, and I may consider going -1/+2 at some point. That will largely depend on what RPM 80mph ends up being with stock gearing though. I want snappier acceleration, but I also have to be realistic about the fact that 90% of my riding will likely be commuting... So weight loss helps acceleration without sacrificing as much highway economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Kats are easy to get on the center stand, you're doing something wrong. From left side of bike lower stand until it contacts ground with left foot. Grab handle on left side of tail with right hand. Shift weight to the pedal on the center stand while pulling up and back on the handle and it should cam it's way right up. I know you're gonna take it off anyway but at least you can say you used it, and it will be handy until you get the paddle stand. Kats are ugly as fuck without fairings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad324 Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 With em too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Kats are easy to get on the center stand, you're doing something wrong. From left side of bike lower stand until it contacts ground with left foot. Grab handle on left side of tail with right hand. Shift weight to the pedal on the center stand while pulling up and back on the handle and it should cam it's way right up. I know you're gonna take it off anyway but at least you can say you used it, and it will be handy until you get the paddle stand. Kats are ugly as fuck without fairings.I have owned bikes with center stands before. Neither were hard to use. I can put all my weight on the katana center stand while pulling on the grab rail, and it still doesn't get up on the stand for me. As infrequently as I need it, it's coming off. I'll have it looking decent eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Hmmm. Well fuck it then. If you want to do an easy exhaust upgrade that looks a lot better than the 4 strands of spaghetti they call a header, a stainless bandit header bolts right up and looks sweet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnone Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Seems like a lot for so little loss as a % of total bike and rider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mango_sv Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 yeah, I removed all the fairings to clean things up and start seeing what needs to be fixed, and after my 40th or 50th body screw, I decided they're not going back on...I would agree that the additional drag will decrease top-speed, but it should have a negligible effect on acceleration below highway speeds. The weight loss should prove advantageous in those scenarios.the claimed top speed with stock gearing is something like 143mph, and I may consider going -1/+2 at some point. That will largely depend on what RPM 80mph ends up being with stock gearing though. I want snappier acceleration, but I also have to be realistic about the fact that 90% of my riding will likely be commuting... So weight loss helps acceleration without sacrificing as much highway economy.My old Kat was +2 in the rear with a top speed of like 135. But it would do a 12.5 quarter mile. Not too bad for a 20 yr old 500 lbs bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mango_sv Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 yeah, I removed all the fairings to clean things up and start seeing what needs to be fixed, and after my 40th or 50th body screw, I decided they're not going back on...I would agree that the additional drag will decrease top-speed, but it should have a negligible effect on acceleration below highway speeds. The weight loss should prove advantageous in those scenarios.the claimed top speed with stock gearing is something like 143mph, and I may consider going -1/+2 at some point. That will largely depend on what RPM 80mph ends up being with stock gearing though. I want snappier acceleration, but I also have to be realistic about the fact that 90% of my riding will likely be commuting... So weight loss helps acceleration without sacrificing as much highway economy.My old Kat was +2 in the rear with a top speed of like 135. But it would do a 12.5 quarter mile. Not too bad for a 20 yr old 500 lbs bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Gsxr cams will also do you some good. I helped the malaysianinvasion on his motor rebuild on a 92 kat. His head was shot due to a completely fucked spark plug hole. We pulled the top end, did rings, hone, gsxr head and cams with bandit header, custom mid pipe and my old vance and hines can off my fzr. Didn't spend enough time on the carb tuning tho and I guess it pulls like fuck till WOT and then shits the bed. I never got the chance to read plugs and tune it, then he had to lay it down into a curb to avoid running over the squid in front of him who broke his leg because he...well he was a squid, who cares?Shedding weight will help. Cams, pipes, jets and tuning will help more and is surprisingly affordable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bark615 Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 - running without fairings. One is cracked, but they weigh quite a lot, and can be sold to finance parts and repairs. I would estimate they are 5-10 lbs. easily. I just happen to have a set of Kat plastics at work..... 18lbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Seems like a lot for so little loss as a % of total bike and rider. I like the idea of using % as a measure of weight loss, but if you adjust the 'new' curb weight every time you lose weight, the next pound becomes a larger percentage than it was before. It's an exponential(?) or logarithmic(?) relationship. for the sake of argument, let's say the stock wet weight is 550 lbs. removing the fairings is 18 lbs. gone. That's a 3.2% reduction, which I admit is minimal - but it take the curb weight down to 532 lbs. The next 18 lbs. lost is a 3.4% reduction. And that relationship grows as more mass is removed. I'm not going to break my neck (or my wallet) to slim this fatty down, but easy stuff like the center stand can't hurt. Even if I only get it from 550 to 520, that's something... I'm only 175, and I don't foresee myself losing a lot of weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Your math is faulty. If I want to lose 10% of my body weight I don't recalculate every 1%. True weight loss % should be final weight decided into original weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Your math is faulty. If I want to lose 10% of my body weight I don't recalculate every 1%. True weight loss % should be final weight decided into original weight. I wouldn't say "faulty," but I understand what you're saying. You are using a constant for the starting weight, and I was adjusting the starting weight with each piece removed to reflect the fact that the second 18 lbs. should be felt as a larger change than the first 18 lbs. When actually riding the bike, I expect that to be the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 I see...removing unsprung weight might make more of a perceived difference, I wonder if there are lighter wheels and swing arms that would bolt right up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschoolsdime92 Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 sounds like alot of trouble to me. I'd just ride the damn thing =) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted February 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 Not looking to spend a bunch on a new set of wheels, just seeing what I can remove without missing it. So far, body work and center stand seem like no brainers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted February 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 I generally really like center stands, but the difficulty using this one and infrequency of need for it are deal breakers. Plus I can always put it back on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan_c_F Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 THIS LOOKS FAMILIAR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan_c_F Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 He's not lying about this center-stand, though. You have to put a lot of heft into it -- I'm well over 300 lbs and I've stood directly on the thing, with one foot, and it still took a pretty solid jerk backwards to get it up onto the stand. It can be done, but I'd shudder to think about what it'd take to do it without 3 decades of poor nutrition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad324 Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 they must have put that center stand in a crappy position then, mine's pretty damn easy to use and the VFR has a little bit of weight on the Kat I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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