Mikelly

So we didn't have success over the weekend. Just not getting the system to fire up yet. I'm sure it's something minor but very frustrating. I moved on to removing the trans to fix the leak and install the LWFW. If I can't sort the fuel injection within the next week or so, I'll ship it off to the pros. Not going to lose another season over this car... Make no bones about it. This car will be running within a few weeks. It will be available to a buyer or sorted and tracked by April. Mike

That's pretty damned quick... I like it...

Well I got a late start and ended up quiting early because "grandpa" duties were needed. In the process of doing work on the Zcar, I did manage to get the fuel plumbing buttoned up and I managed to pull the wires all the way out of the pins on the connector for the distributor. I'm going to extend that harness today so it doesn't happen again. Hope to have her running in a bit.

If all goes well tomorrow, I'll be reporting that the Zcar is running under its own power, again! Stay tuned! Mike

Finally got the last parts for my fuel system in. I will get back on project tomorrow night and wrap up the plumbing and maybe start it by the weekend. Mike

The CCWs currently on the car are 18X11 with a backspacing of 4.75 inches and the fronts are 18X9 with a backspacing of 5 inches. The new CCWs I've ordered will have a greater offset, We went with 5 3/8 backspacing on the rears and 5 on the fronts. Mike

I considered one of these recently and like this version a LOT more than the 350Z... Nice color and options! Mike

Not so sure. In the winter time if I didn't drive the 996TT at least once every few weeks, the battery would drain on it as well... I think putting a trickle charge on anything not started more than once per month is a wise decision to extend the battery life of anything from lawn tractors, to motorcycles and cars. Mike

Nelsonian, I pinged a few guys in the Porsche Community and several in my DE instructor core network and found that all of them commented on having it on trickle charge while not in use. That tells me that it would probably be OK, but would require a 2Amp trickle to keep it at the ready. Mike

Been down with a pulled muscle in my back for a few days. Chiropractor was snapping me like a twig yesterday and it felt soooo good! I'll attempt to crank over the motor today... We may be read to take her to EB3 Motorsports for some tuning here in the very near future.

The OEM bags are re-branded V35s. The dealer wants $1000 for the bags and the hardware... Yea, I'll probably not get them from the dealer... Ugh... I'll probably have the ECU remapped and do either an Akropovic. What I'm finding is that there's a bunch of stuff available for the Z1000 but not for the N1K... Go figure... And I got to test out the heated grips today on a little 1 hour ride... They work very well and i was able to get by with just my summer gloves and the controller set to 40% heat. Was nice being "warm!" Mike

Guys, keep in mind those weights are wheel AND tire combined. I'm using a Hoosier this season, which is about 5 pounds per tire lighter than the Victoracers on the car. That is a contributing factor. Also, I'm using 18s. If you can run a smaller diameter, you will probably save even more weight. Also on the Battery, I ordered mine online thru an ebay vendor. Mike

Givi makes good stuff for sure... Mike

We're going to weigh everything to confirm this, but it looks like we're going to be able to reduce our total weight on the vehicle by possibly 90 pounds. Swapping from carburetor supplied fuel system to the FAST efi was a net push, due in no small part to the complex nature of the fuel system we were using. Now I'm not going to use two pumps, the surge tank, and other related parts. Instead, we have one, tiny pump and one tiny regulator. We did add 8 injectors, some wiring and an ecu, so we're thinking that it's a net of maybe adding 5 pounds. The front wheel/tire combo we're going with is a net savings of 12 pounds per corner. The rear wheel/tire combo we're going with is a net savings of about 10 pounds per corner. The fidanza flywheel is 10 pounds. the information in my build book on the CAT flywheel shows it measured by the builder at 32.3 pounds, so that's another 22 pounds shaved off. The Braille Battery is saving me 23 pounds over the 38 pound Optima Redtop. So far that combo should be good for 89-90 pounds. I hope we can get this car into sub-2600 pounds. When we corner balanced it before Watkins Glen, she weighed in at 2709 without driver. So we're atleast on the right track now... Oh and the total bill came due for the CCws... Getting them in the sizes I wanted with black anodizing on the outer shell and the center ran more than I expected. Total was $3275 shipped for the LM20s. Mike

I installed the SWMotec Blaze bag system this past week, along with a set of Oxford HeaterZ grips... Bike only needs some sunshine so I can put some miles on her... Unfortunately it snowed last night and we have freezing rain this morning... SW Motec bags ran $280 and are very cool... No hardware visible when you don't want the bags on the bike... And the grips were only $80 thru TwistedThrottle.com: Mike

Yup... the whole wheel. Mike

It's just aluminum plate bolted to the mounts. Thanks for the compliments. Ordered the wheels from CCw in 10x18 and 12x18 in anodized black. Mike

Wonder how many sets of tires they went thru shooting that?! Was awesome! Mike

Yesterday Tom & Brittany Harris and Zeke Harouff came over to the house for a while. Brit kept the wife company while Tom, Zeke and I installed the remainder of the XFi system into the car. I have to wire up the coil (2 wires), the key on (one wire), the fan main, the fuel pump main and pump at the cell, and check a few more odds and ends, but it looks as if we'll be ready to make the system function within a few short days. Then it'll be off to the Dyno for some fine tunning. I also have to order the bits for the traction control sensor/harness lead. Other than that, we've made good progress since the system came in. I may call CCW later today and go ahead and order the wheels... Still will need to drop the trans and resolve a seal issue, along with installing the new lwfw, and then install my driveshaft safely loop. Mike

John, I got that itch on track with my old Kawi back in 2002-2003 timeframe...I loved that green ZX9R so much and regreted selling it. That was a chief decision to sell the FJR and find something more "sporty". Glad Kawi made this bike... Here's a nice youtube clip of the new bike both one up and two up with luggage on about half way thru... You can see the relaxed ergos... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP-NFKua0EU This bike has the best mirrors I've ever had on a motorcycle... 29 years of crappy mirrors is why I mention this. Also, the stand over height is decent. I'm 5'9" and have about a 30 inch inseam. I can almost flat foot this bike. Shorter wheel base and those tires make for lots of grip and confidence, even new and in the wet it didn't wiggle. Power on was very predictable. Once I get some break in miles on it, I'll see how it rotates and slides thru corners. On my ZRX1100 I had no problems with getting the rear light enough to slide thru corners. Not sure this bike will be any less neutral in handling. Also, I've already ordered the SW MOTEC soft bag rail system for this bike, as it is easier to remove when not in use... And I plan to get a trunk to go along with that for now. I plan to buy the hardbag system from Kawasaki or thru Givi (Kawi rebrands the V35) and I'll buy heated grips and a 12V plug kit or two. Beyond that, I'm just going to ride it for a while and enjoy having a more sporty bike again! The FJR was a nice commutor, but totally uninspiring to just "ride" for enjoyment. I loved the conveniences of the bags and the heated grips, the glove box and the comfy soft suspension. But it was such a pig and so heavy to try to push thru the twisties. I'd honestly have gotten to the point of selling it sooner, had I not crashed it Nov. 2010. That crash forced me to re-evaluate my riding, the bike, and myself. Took 18 months to decide that it wasn't so much me, but the bike and me... We just did not have a happy marriage. Hopefully this new fling will blossom into full love and I'll keep this ride for a long time. Mike

This came in the mail for me... Gotta order the battery, and the wheels. Mike

Yea even though it warmed up today, the roads were damp... I did my best to get the tires scrubbed in, even on damp roads... 138HP and 97ft# of torque! It's pretty "peppy"!! Mike

So I found that I'm not a true hardcore sport touring guy. The FJR I had was great at gobbling up miles. Totally uninspired miles, but miles. The longer wheel base really didn't allow me to have the fun I prefer to have when on two wheels... So today I traded it in on this: Already working on those new tires... This bike is really a comfortable bike to ride because of the location of the footpegs and the higher bar location. They make hard bags for it that I'll get over the next 45 days. So far, I'm liking it a lot! Mike

Holy crap that's a lot of wire... Not bad going into the engine bay... Now it'll get ugly... More later... Mike

Well I got a delivery today... Guess I'll get started wiring this weekend... Mike