Anyone run these? Anyone know if they actually are lighter than the standard aluminum ones, or just a lotta Bling-Bling? Just curious.
I weighed them and they were .5 lbs lighter - per bar (compared to my AL ones). I haven't crash tested them yet (knock on wood), but I have a feeling they would break, rather than bend, which could pose a problem.
And isn't there an amount of flex with them?
I was always going to get carbon bars for my mountain bike for the flex.
Carbon does kind of get brittle in the sun too.
How much did your AL bars weigh? Or how much do teh carbon bars weigh?
It's bling, bling.
You'd be better off buying a drill press and going to down on the small pieces.
Even then, you wouldn't have any significant weight savings that you'd see any real decrease in lap times.
I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I used a triple beam balance to make the comparison. Not all AL bars are equal obviously, so results may very.
They aren't bling bling at all surprisingly. I think I paid $20 for both of them.
$20!?? From where? Brand new?
LP has them for $40, and Ron Ayers offers them for less than $34.
Not bad.
SD: I know this mod would make no sense by itself, but a sub 350 lb SV and sub 165 lb me would be pretty appealing as far as helping lap times, no? Compare that to my old SV at 380 lbs on a race load of fuel, and me at 215 or so in gear, and it's a pretty big difference, especially since I'll be also + 4 HP or so. This provides a platform that can be very easily competitive in LW, and leaves me NO excuses. (I'll have a GOOD shock and fork rework, of course) And it's the little stuff that adds up! I've got some ideas, and been observing Ed Key's bike, and a couple other ideas I've seen from others. I don't have the $ for a bunch of Ti stuff, but taking unneeded parts off is free.
I may have a good chunk to spend on my next SV, and I want to build the SV of my dreams and ride the snot out of it. :D Also, until I have that SV, I have all this time to look at the 03 and newer SV and see what bits I can cut off, drill out, etc. I'll have it all planned out before I can afford to buy my next SV. Ride it on the street a couple hundred miles, maybe take it out to a BHF weekend to watch, and get the thing weighed, and then tear it down to rolling chassis with motor, and start building back up.
That's fun and enjoyable for me, especially if I have ample time to do it.
Speaking of new bikes: What do you think about getting a Brand new bike optimized a la GMD? Waste of time/$ or worth it?
Nate, it is the LP price. I bought them last season, so that might have been per bar. I don't remember exactly. It definitely wasn't as much as I thought it would be originally.
I agree that cutting a little weight here and there won't help your laptimes much. I had a lot of time last winter, so I tried cutting weight wherever I could. A buddy of mine always made fun of me about it. When we put our SV's on the scales at the GNF, my bike was about 30-35 pounds lighter than his. So something like that can make a difference.
I have an old 750 front end on my bike that feels like an anchor. Everytime I think about selling it and the hassle of replacing it, I just tell myself to ride the bike better instead. :D
Nate,
If you want some.. I've got a set that I never used. I'll sell it to you for $20 plus shipping.
The Rev Dr has spoken...
Sold. That's about the cost of Al ones anyway. I'll get to play with these on my new 30 lb capacity scale,(Accurate down to 2 grams :-)) and see how much they'll save for me when I get an SV again, lol.
PayPal OK? Drop me an e-mail at ninja250nate@yahoo.com with final cost to 53207 Milwaukee, WI and your preferred payment method.
QuoteSpeaking of new bikes: What do you think about getting a Brand new bike optimized a la GMD? Waste of time/$ or worth it?
Dave?
Thanx Rev!
QuoteThe Rev Dr has spoken...
I'm not either one anymore. I've decided to be a Gangsta now. ;)
QuoteDave?
I missed that....oops.
Optimizing? Yeah, we did that on mine. Will be getting it down to http://4and6.com again as soon as I can get time.
I'm supposed to know how to do things, but it does take time. The process put me in the ball park that I needed to be in to take a new bike out on the track and be up to speed with all the deveoloped bikes. Changed some things over the course of the year with their help too. We'll be able to see the changes that I made over the year too.
Awesome. Then I'll put it in the budget for the new bike.
Also, ekraft: My bars (Woodcraft, IIRC) weigh .345 lbs each, making the total weight of the tubes with ends .69 lbs.
I'm thinking the weight loss for the PAIR will be between .25 and .35 lbs.
I'm just curious more than anything to see the wall size of the tubing, and finding out if they do save any weight. 4 oz, well, I could not eat breakfast and lose more weight, I know it won't mean squat.
Ekraft - your SV is about what? 330? SS legal? Did you do any Ti or Al bolts, or just mainly chopping things off?
Nate,
I would guess the Woodcraft ones are fairly light to begin with. I think mine were heavier. So in the end, you're probably just getting them to look cool. Nothing wrong with that. :)
My bike weighs 332 pounds according to the GNF Suzuki scales. I have the stock wheels with a '94 750 front end, which is very heavy. The wheel, forks, triples .. all of it. It's heavy just pushing it in the pits. :)
I haven't done anything too fancy - just cut weight where it isn't needed. I haven't done any Ti bolts - I think that would be cool, but I don't have that much time. It would be nice to get a lighter front end and some aftermarket wheels, which I hope would put the bike in the 315-320 lb range.
I heard Ed Key had carbon bodywork and a carbon tank. I need to go faster on the bike before that will make a difference for me. :)
I haven't done anything too fancy - just cut weight where it isn't needed. I haven't done any Ti bolts - I think that would be cool, but I don't have that much time. I'd like to get a lighter front end and some aftermarket wheels, which I hope would put the bike in the 315-320 lb range.
I saw Ed Key had carbon bodywork and a carbon tank. I need to go faster on the bike before that will make a difference for me. :)
K, so standard Bodywork and tank, no aluminum fasteners, and you got it down to 330 with a race load of fuel, or what?
Not bad at all.
I'm shooting for under 350 with a newer SV, and I don't think that will be TOO hard.
Also, I didn't even know about carbon bars until someone showed them they got them for lighter weight. I don't really care what they look like.
Yes, 1 gallon of gas and ready to go out on the track.
Under 350 on a new SV should be doable without too much hassle. If you're keeping it SS legal, you can't change the subframe though. That's usually a quick place to drop weight.
Why can't I change the subframe? That's totally legal, in CCS.
Oops. Thinking WERA rules.
:D
Love the CCS SS Rules ;D
Well, I guess I'll aim for under 340 then, IF Al subframes are out for the 03+. No one has one yet, STILL, that I know of.
QuoteSpeaking of new bikes: What do you think about getting a Brand new bike optimized a la GMD? Waste of time/$ or worth it?
I'm just curious. Does you think it matters that it's a brand new bike vs. (I guess) and old, used bike, when you're considering getting it optimized?
GMD's optimization is something they only do to a bike after they've measured it and verified that it's perfectly straight (or straightened it, if needed). So I don't see why it would matter whether the bike is new or not.
In which case, the question would be: Optimization? Worth it or not?
To that, I can say that it was well worth it to me. I had my R6 forks completely done over by Traxxion, and bought the Penske triple adjustable shock from Traxxion also. I then spent a year racing the bike and going back to Max for tweaks. At the end of that, I was going no faster than I had been with stock suspension/setup.
At that point, I decided to spend the money and get GMD to optimize it. Kent (from GMD Atlanta) changed the fork preload spacer, the rear shock spring, ride heights at both ends (by *tiny* amounts - single digits of millimeters), and damping adjusters on both ends. In one weekend, I improved 2 seconds a lap at Jennings, and the next time I went to Roebling, I was 2 seconds faster there, also. I think the optimization was $550. You can't buy 2 seconds a lap for $550 any other way!
I give 70% of the credit for my championships this year to Kent at GMD. (and the other 50% ;) to Dick Suarez at Full Spectrum Racing in Orlando, for building me a motor that has run well and been competitive for 4 seasons now with nothing but an occasional oil change)
- Stu
I guess I meant brand new as compared to crashed a few times.
It seems that those that take in their new bikes are glad they did, so I guess I probably will
Ekraft: Total loss or no?
Yes, but I don't know if I'd recommend it. I've been burnt by it more times than it's helped me. :) I'd do that last. If you want to find some trick SV parts, check out www.brgracing.com. KC is the guy to talk to there. He's great to work with. Tell him you talked to me.
I've also thought about getting the bike measured. More than just having Max work on my forks. Not sure how much of a difference I would see, but it'd be interesting to do.
Yeah.
I see from your site pics you gutted the harness? Save what, 3-5 lbs there?
I've seen BRG's stuff. Definitely got some good things, there. That subframe is nice!
Man, I'm still kinda awestruck that you got 330 lbs without doing any real special stuff. :D
You can email me if you want. I can give you some more details. Our definition's of special may vary. :)
I thought they would've come with bar ends and caps. Guess not. :-/
Anyway, they save 112 grams per pair over Woodcraft bars, if I reuse the woodcraft bar ends and plugs. Looks like the IDs are a bit different, so I'd have to make my own plugs. I'll try and make some lighter ones. ;)
This is almost exactly .25 lbs. Now we know! :D ;)