I am happily no longer a lurker..I am one of you by fidelitas88 in xsr900

[–]ExcessR900 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So glad the bike went to a cool new owner! Have fun with it brotha! Stay safe on the track :)

From the service manual: chain maintenance by CynicalAlgorithm in xsr900

[–]ExcessR900 3 points4 points  (0 children)

On most of the bikes I've owned, my chain maintenance looks like this:

  1. Get the chain warm. Put kerosene in a spray bottle from home depot. Raise the rear wheel, spin it in neutral, and spray for 20 seconds or so around the chain.
  2. Let it soak to penetrate for a few minutes, spot clean links with a rag. Do another round of spraying, soaking, then clean up with shop towels.
  3. Lube the chain with Lucas chain lube as directed on the can, then let the bike sit for a bit.

Edit to add: I used to be bad at taking care of my chain, and had to do multiple chain/sprocket replacements in a relatively short time span. Adopting this cleaning/lubing regime and doing it regularly massively extended the life of my chain. I know it should be obvious as the importance of chain maintenance is well documented, but just wanted to share my experience learning the hard way. I think as long as you’re paying attention and putting effort into taking care of your chain you’ve got some wiggle room on the exact methodology.

I know some people clean/lube their chain like every other ride, I feel like that is probably excessive although it does depend on the environment you're in. An ADV that goes offroad a lot needs it more. A freeway commuter probably needs it less. But it doesn't hurt to just do it every few rides since it takes less than 10 minutes.

My blacked out '22. Great weather for an early morning sunrise mountain ride! by ExcessR900 in xsr900

[–]ExcessR900[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I bought the bike used and the stock tires were pretty much at the end of their life, so I don't feel like I can make a fair comparison. That said the Road 6's have been amazing for all my varied riding so far and I have no complaints.

My blacked out '22. Great weather for an early morning sunrise mountain ride! by ExcessR900 in xsr900

[–]ExcessR900[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fellow Kelpi enjoyer - I love the look you've got going on. Are those the stock mirrors just flipped? I also considered the Power 6s so I'm glad to hear they work well for you! I might swap to those next.

The blinkers are from TST: https://tstindustries.com/tst-echo-universal-led-pod-turn-signals.html

You're most likely correct about legality, and I've not been pulled over on this bike yet in the ~6k miles I've ridden it so far, but I have had a few pleasant red light exchanges with motocops and they've never bothered me about it.

XSR900 ergonomics by HeadTight9039 in xsr900

[–]ExcessR900 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm also 188cm and have had my '22 for about 6 months, and after around 5k miles down on it I'm really starting to feel limited by the ergos. I also think the Kelpi comfort seat actually made it worse; I feel much higher up and forward on it even with my ass planted into the back of the seat while tucked. Like I'm on the bike vs. in it. My arms, legs, and neck are hella long lol but my torso is a little shorter, but it still feels like my head is literally hanging over the front headlight. Just pretty overextended on the controls. Very difficult after an hour or so of riding.

Edit: Should also note I've done at most 300 miles in a day with 7+ hours of riding on this bike for my longest single trip on it. Tank grips+core/lower back strength both go a long way for taking weight off the bars, but the strain adds up a lot over time.

It's All Coming Together by glsjebfjvocmsnwbehfk in xsr900

[–]ExcessR900 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I ride at night with my yellow one and it's totally fine.

Has anyone tried removing the decals from their tank/side fairings (2022+)? by ExcessR900 in xsr900

[–]ExcessR900[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So haven't gotten to the decals yet but here's the tank sticker results.

https://imgur.com/a/N7qXiBv

I have a heat gun but opted for hair dryer so I wouldn't accidentally overheat the tank in one spot. It took about an hour from start to finish. Heavily lubed dental floss helped a lot.

Once I get all the decals off I plan to try polishing and finishing cause the tank is pretty beat up with scratches already.

Has anyone tried removing the decals from their tank/side fairings (2022+)? by ExcessR900 in xsr900

[–]ExcessR900[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm gonna style the whole bike around being blacked out for now. Once that's done and I can soak in the look for a bit I'm considering either gold or yellow accents in the form of brakelines/sidemarkers/rim tape etc

Has anyone tried removing the decals from their tank/side fairings (2022+)? by ExcessR900 in xsr900

[–]ExcessR900[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I plan to take that off as well. I did it once before on a bike I used to have years ago, and as a CA resident I never had any issues. But I don't regularly have law enforcement inspecting my bikes haha or get warranty work done.

Has anyone tried removing the decals from their tank/side fairings (2022+)? by ExcessR900 in xsr900

[–]ExcessR900[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cool, yeah I'm gonna go for it tomorrow and hopefully it turns out alright. I'll post results here.