My old TL1000s

Got something you want to say but don't know where else to say it? This is the spot to post it!
User avatar
FZRDude
Co-Admin
Posts: 4807
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2004 3:20 am
Location: North-Left Coast, USA
Contact:

Post by FZRDude »

No really..... if you scroll quickly by.... (no not that quick).... the white ring gives the illusion of a single round headlight.
There are some who call me........Tim?
In Memory Of John "Silver" Douglas (Dec. 08, 2008) R.I.P. My Friend.

:wave: :popcorn :cursing :super-mad

spook
Dolphin-headed purple plasma TLR thing?
Posts: 3837
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:12 pm
Location: Melbourne. Australia

Post by spook »

Yep I'm with you Tim :poke The white race fairing pictured is going to be eventually 'grafted' onto the tlr lowers, and a ram air duct made to mate with th RS intake and hense feeding the airbox. :roll: It will have a single endurance racer style headlight on the opposite side. i have actually found a compact HI/Low HID that will do the job nicely.

But for now it's naked. Just finalising it for track tomorrow.

spook
Dolphin-headed purple plasma TLR thing?
Posts: 3837
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:12 pm
Location: Melbourne. Australia

Post by spook »

Some last minute ecu fuelling adjustments :)

Image

spook
Dolphin-headed purple plasma TLR thing?
Posts: 3837
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:12 pm
Location: Melbourne. Australia

Post by spook »

Here's a couple of shots from the rideday. No better place to shake down a new bike! To start with it was cold and wet, and I had a bit of an oil leak...

What could possibly go wrong??? :)

Image

As it started to dry out the leak got worse, and was starting to wet the rear tyre. The oil hitting the exhaust was upsetting some of the guys behind. So I put it on the trailer.

Image

All in all not the weekend I wanted but an interesting shake down. The road Dunlop roadsmarts didn't respond well to typical track tyre pressures, initially they where causing a wallow through the longer corners, which was a little disconcerting. Upping the pressures pretty much negated the sensation, and a surprising amount of heat was generated by the tyre in cold conditions. The rear only spun up on a couple of occasions. I think they will probably make a very good real world (ie: road) tyre.

I have a gasket now for the clutch cover, but little else has been done in relation to finishing it. We are in the depths of winter here, so I'm not in a huge hurry. Will have it finished for spring. I will get it to the track again in the next few weeks, oil leak fixed and have a little more serious go at it!

Have come along way with this bike, over 10 years now. So here is a re-cap of the story thus far...lol. :)

It looked okay at first:

Image

Then I did this to it :)

Image

Then it was like what the hell no rules now:

Image

need better suspension:

Image

Still plenty to do:

Image

hotcam
Help!!! I need a LIFE!!!
Posts: 1487
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:29 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by hotcam »

Good to see it lives and rides ok! Damn that looks cold, I can see the fog on your visor
-------
'95 FZR1040 '09 FZ1-S
"And they had a machine, a dream of a machine, with wheels and gears and perfect in every respect, and they lived on it..." -Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad"

User avatar
FZRDude
Co-Admin
Posts: 4807
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2004 3:20 am
Location: North-Left Coast, USA
Contact:

Post by FZRDude »

spook wrote:Image
It's probablly just me again, but the tail seems to be off a bit to the left again...... :poke


:ha
There are some who call me........Tim?
In Memory Of John "Silver" Douglas (Dec. 08, 2008) R.I.P. My Friend.

:wave: :popcorn :cursing :super-mad

spook
Dolphin-headed purple plasma TLR thing?
Posts: 3837
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:12 pm
Location: Melbourne. Australia

Post by spook »

No doubt about you Tim, you sure have a good eye! :poke

It was bloody freezing Cam, and slippery. Not really a fan of conditions like that. They wouldn't let slicks out on the track until late morning, which was a good call. So are you keen to come and have a crack shortly? :)

hotcam
Help!!! I need a LIFE!!!
Posts: 1487
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:29 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by hotcam »

Love to get out on the Sunday 18th July if I can and the weather ain't crappy. Will look into it.
-------
'95 FZR1040 '09 FZ1-S
"And they had a machine, a dream of a machine, with wheels and gears and perfect in every respect, and they lived on it..." -Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad"

haunter
Help!!! I need a LIFE!!!
Posts: 725
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:03 pm
Location: Urbana, IL
Contact:

Post by haunter »

bloody good work so far
88 FZR 1000 - SuperTrap, K&N, FP kit - sold
90 FZR 1000 - 1040, Ohlins, 91 USD's...some other stuff - sold

93 FZR 600 - rat/cafe/POS/Trackbike Project
03 SV1000S - bye bye
06 R6 50th Anniversary - slip on, PCIII, race rails

jjs777
Co-Admin
Posts: 1664
Joined: Sat May 24, 2003 2:05 am
Location: North Shore, Massachusetts USA
Contact:

Post by jjs777 »

good thread :)

spook
Dolphin-headed purple plasma TLR thing?
Posts: 3837
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:12 pm
Location: Melbourne. Australia

Post by spook »

Thanks for all the input :) Hope to have it finished one day....

Also, would like some input on the following...lol. Seriously.

So much has changed with the upgrades. One characteristic, that the track made evident, is the feeling that the front tyre is flat (roadsmart @30psi), and the tendency to wallow (sway slightly) through corners. Have I jacked the rear too much? Is it the tyres? Pressures? Or could it be other :)

Any feed back is appreciated.

jjs777
Co-Admin
Posts: 1664
Joined: Sat May 24, 2003 2:05 am
Location: North Shore, Massachusetts USA
Contact:

Post by jjs777 »

from what I read - the tillers had a instability problem causing folks to crash
whether it was just the rider or the geometry...seems interesting that you point that out in your impressions

I'll see if I can find the article...I just read it within the past week.

Okay..I was reading about tillers because there is a tlr1000r for sale around the corner from me...and I always wanted a v-twin.
So I was reading up on them.

jjs777
Co-Admin
Posts: 1664
Joined: Sat May 24, 2003 2:05 am
Location: North Shore, Massachusetts USA
Contact:

Post by jjs777 »

found the piece I referred to on wiki

Reputation
The TL1000R's sibling, the TL1000S, was widely known as a "widow-maker".[3] Some riders crashed, and blamed the bike's instability. Although Suzuki claimed that they fixed this problem on the TL-R, the reputation stuck and Suzuki reported "sub-optimal" sales on both TL models. The TL1000R was also criticized by many in the motorcycle press for being overweight,[1] and is faulted for its rotary damper rear suspension. Despite these setbacks, the TL-R enjoys a strong, almost cult-like following amongst its owners, who take pride in their bike's history and uniqueness.[citation needed]

I'm wondering if this is more like the old cbr900 when it debuted with the smaller diameter front tyre and steep rake...causing the instability claim - which honda then addressed.

sickle44
Help!!! I need a LIFE!!!
Posts: 3519
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:35 pm
Location: Edmonton, Alberta

Post by sickle44 »

Yes they did have a bit of a rep, but after riding a buddy's myself, a person can tell that the suspension issues are just like any other bikes suspension issues. The rotary dampers were actually a good idea, unfortunately, most manufacturers would never take the time to educate their customers on proper suspension setup techniques, which really is labour and time consuming enough with standard suspension compenents let alone a rotary damper which is apparently a lot harder to set up correctly, but great when they are. If I recall correctly the early S models were the real problem as some of them developed stress fractures in the steering head and were prone to breaking.

I myself would love to own either, although the R's body work, the tail-section mostly would for me, need a definite re-work, otherwise, I really like the machines and Suzuki's boldness to do something about the then winning Ducati Twins that were proving so problimatic for everyone on the race tracks back then. Hard to believe that's more than 10 years ago now, getting closer to 15.
Michael
Yes Yes I know, I said, I'm building a project YZF1070

Basement is done now, 850 finished and gone...
Gotta get the new siding up on the house.
Fixing the FZ1 up, cleaning up garage and then I might even begin

Big Jon
Help!!! I need a LIFE!!!
Posts: 847
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 11:09 pm
Location: Edmonton Alberta Canada

Post by Big Jon »

I almost bought an S (money in hand), the widow maker rep was only one euro mag, no one else was ever able to make them do the same things. I was seduced by the Ace and the rest is history, but a good friend has one. Once the damper dies he'll be replacing it with otherwise, but they worked just fine for the street.

spook
Dolphin-headed purple plasma TLR thing?
Posts: 3837
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:12 pm
Location: Melbourne. Australia

Post by spook »

They (the TLS) have quite sharp steering geometry standard, and a wooden rear end due to the rotary damper that transfers all input through the frame rather than absorbing it. You have got to remember that this bike in 1997 was voted iboty international bike of the year.

They will shake though, I remember years ago my brother came for a squirt up the road on it with me during one of the prior rebuilds, there was no damper fitted and when the front came down it shook like hell, we road it out but we gently then proceeded home with our wet tails between our legs :)

This time at the track I road the last couple of sessions without a damper fitted... and it didn't even twitch... I think I have already mentioned this... But if you had ever said this back in the shaking days i would cut some laps on it without a damper I would have have laughed. In fact I have never ridden a bike at broadford that didn't complain as it lifted off the hump in the back straight.

It has been interesting to look at the photos of the bike side by side up the page. I had calculated an increase of 20 mm in the rear ride height, but I think I have gone way over that. Front has been dropped 15mm also so I think partially I may be weighting up the front too much. The sway was interesting, though it almost disappeared completely as the pressure was increased in the front.

Anyway... time will tell. I'm on the lookout for an inclinometer, so will be able to measure it all up. This area is of great interest to me, and are looking forward to sorting this one out :)

Here's a pix. from the press article that killed the TLs.... Cheers


Image

hotcam
Help!!! I need a LIFE!!!
Posts: 1487
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:29 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by hotcam »

Looks like that photo is about to kill that particular TL too!

An old school protractor (and a weight on a string for vertical)
should be able to help you measure the fork angle, if that's any help.

Yes the hump in the back straight at Broadford is almost the only time I've ever
been able to get my FZR1k to give a slight twitch. That bump must be some kind of interesting on an R6!

I was quite surprised to get a wobble as it's quite a steady bike, doesn't twist up like all the old steel-frame stuff I was used to before.
The FZR has forks like treetrunks and a frame like the westgate bridge, so any twitch is an achievement. The FZR is also the only bike I've never gotten
a hands-off decel wobble at about 70kmh.

So if your TL is working well there, then I'm sure the huge improvement
you made in the shock etc is really paying off.

Hey there's a broadford track day on the 12th...
-------
'95 FZR1040 '09 FZ1-S
"And they had a machine, a dream of a machine, with wheels and gears and perfect in every respect, and they lived on it..." -Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad"

Post Reply