Hello - Here's my bike... in case anyone is interested???

Hello folks... I'm a newbie really, so I thought I'd let you have alook at my 55 Plate Cat.

I'm pretty sure it's a Yank Import. I've just tidied up the arse end with a custom hand-made undertray (just couldn't get the one I bought off eBay to fit without hacking at the luggage hooks so I fabricated my own from fibre glass and painted it), tail tidy, allycator blinkers, aluminium mesh in the rear fairing holes and a 30mm lift.

Hope you like it.... (Actually, I don't mind really - I love it and I suppose that all that matters isn't it).

Joey[url=][/url]

Love it! Looks the business! Welcome to the site. I see you know your way round a bike, could be a very useful addition...

very nice - and you solved the mystery of the pics in the end obviously!

Very nice mate.....welcome.
Cheers
Rosco

Welcome in and a very nice bike there mate

Hi & welcome nice looking bike.

Hello and Welcome MagicJ

My first order of business was to answer your PM so didn't see you had solved the 'pic' issue. Glad you managed it on yer own .

Nice looking bike. Be good to see you out and about on one of the ride-outs maybe.

Cheers

Thanks for the welcomes and bike compliments everyone.

Glad you like what I've done to it.

If anyone's interested I'd be more than happy to give them details on how to make their own undertray. It's nothing fancy, and very subtle, but I think it finishes the bike off nicely and hides the standard plastic undertray with all it's ugly notches, rivets furrows, recesses and holes.

It's the type of addition that people who don't own Thundercats don't notice and several people thought it was totally stock.

I'd also recommend the 30mm lift too. Not a major, major difference but definitely noticeable (and for me a nicer and better handling ride) in the twisty stuff. Easy and inexpensive job.

Anyway. Thanks again folks.

Cheers

Joey

Hi and welcome! Bike looks fantastic :whoop:

Hi, bike looks fantastic. Nice shade of blue-same as mine . Mine is an american import aswell.

I've been thinking of raising the back end but was worried about high speed stability. What's it like?

Did you use the shorter dog bone links to jack up the back end?

Cheers,

Woody

Welcome....Love the bike, I really like the blue 'cats.

Ellie

Welcome aboard

Nice cat

ellie wrote:I really like the blue 'cats

Woody wrote:Hi, bike looks fantastic. Nice shade of blue-same as mine . Mine is an american import aswell.

I've been thinking of raising the back end but was worried about high speed stability. What's it like?

Did you use the shorter dog bone links to jack up the back end?

Cheers,

Woody

Yeah I used the shorter bones. It was something I'd planned on doing not longer after getting the bike last year but the handling was fine and so I shelved the idea. Then, this year I was tidying up the rear end with an undertray.

The first one I bought from eBay looked like it might foul the hugger if I ever bottomed out (okay, not likely very often but still a possibility). Because of this I decided to go for the jack-up. There are a few places over here that sell the bones and you can pick them up on eBay pretty cheap. But everything I found was either 15mm or 25mm. That didn't sound like much of a lift to me and I thought, "If I'm going to do this I'd like to feel the difference afterwards... I want more lift". (I jacked up the backside by 22mm on my previous bike, a 2000 Jap Import FZX750 and while there was some difference it was nothing to write home about and didn't really improve the handling much).

I managed to find a German company (Bike Farm MV - address below) that does bones in all sorts of sizes and so I ordered from them. I went for 30mm - somewhere in the middle of what's available. They go from 15mm, which is pointless to 45mm which I think might be a little extreme and could result in a little instability. They're really good quality... I'd say as good as, if not better than the originals. I gave them a few coats of red enamel before fitting too - just to make them stand out a bit and to hold back any furring / corrosion. (You can just about see them on my pics).

Fitting is easy and I'd recommend a paddock stand and a car jack to keep the shock compressed. You can then let the shock drop at your own pace by lowering the jack gradually.

Just sitting on the bike it immediately felt more.... erm.... erm... I dunno... just more "ready" I guess. People go into loads of detail about why they make a difference - talking about damping, rebound and compression rates but basically it means that your back wheel is in contact with the ground for longer. This gives more grip and traction. The bike does turn into bends quicker... it feels more nimble and for me I like the way it looks too. Stability hasn't been affected at all. I'm no Valentino but I have been known to hit the limiter on occassion and I haven't noticed any downsides to making this modification whatsoever. I like the twisty stuff and this, for me, works a treat.

If you do it, don't be expecting a different bike afterwards... just a different feel. That said... I'm sure some of the difference is just in my mind! I've heard people say they couldn't notice anything.

Here's the company I got them from.... the payment details on the site sound a little bit complicated but don't worry.... you can pay by Paypal. You just need to wait for them to send you an e-mail with the information in.

http://www.bikefarmmv.de/EN/tail-riser/index.php

Hope this info helps.

Cheers
Joey

Looks mint mate - blue is next best colour after mine

Cheers Joey,

great help, thats pretty much what i was hoping you would say. Looks like that'll be my next mod- gotta fix the car first though. Why is there always something more important ( less interesting ) you have to shell out for?!

Woody