What have you done for your T7 today?

[AZJW]

1 minute ago, winddown said:

 

Well there you have it, who would have thought.  Yes my old knees struggle sometimes transitioning between sitting and standing, I'll definitely lower them.

 

Since we're on the topic of 'secret knowledge',

1/  how do you maintain a steady grip on the throttle standing, while not 'modulating' it over the bumps?  Also

2/ I find it difficult to take sharper corners standing, it's like I can't get the bars to turn far enough.  Should I be lowering my upper body, elbows out and all that?

Both situations came be helped by gripping the tank more with the knees and relaxing the grip on the bars.  Weighting the pegs will help initiate turns with less input on the bars as well.

[winddown]

10 hours ago, Tenerider said:

Yes, at least for me and my long legs! It sets them back and down, but only a little bit.

 

Back as well, an added bonus, every little bit helps.  I said above I'd definitely lower them, but I'll ride them for a bit in the factory config, just so I can see the difference.  Odd they didn't mention this in the paperwork?  At least the provided the exploded diagram with the little rebuild kit

[winddown]

1 minute ago, AZJW said:

Both situations came be helped by gripping the tank more with the knees and relaxing the grip on the bars.  Weighting the pegs will help initiate turns with less input on the bars as well.

 

Shet!  How am I gonna remember all this...  Thanks

 

I'll tell ya one thing, I'm super glad I bought that little old xl250 to practice technique on, I don't want to have to go to that "Dropped my new bike" thread, just yet.

[Tenerider]

7 hours ago, winddown said:

 

Back as well, an added bonus, every little bit helps.  I said above I'd definitely lower them, but I'll ride them for a bit in the factory config, just so I can see the difference.  Odd they didn't mention this in the paperwork?  At least the provided the exploded diagram with the little rebuild kit

Yes, they say you shall write them and they'll send the instructions. Luckily, somebody else here had posted the picture already, so I didn't have to contact them

Maybe it's different on other bikes, that's why.

 

Thanks for your two questions regarding steering and throttle control when standing, same problems here

[DonaNobisPacem]

Having finally decided that I've had enough of turning into pitch darkness, I've bit the bullet and bought the Cyclops Aurora LED light kit. I'll probably do the actual install over the weekends, but here's a photo of the kit in case anybody was curious what it comes with. Hopefully this addresses the issue of the sharp cutoff for the headlights, last a long time, and most importantly not fry my ECU in the process.

 

 

[NeilW]

6 hours ago, DonaNobisPacem said:

Having finally decided that I've had enough of turning into pitch darkness, I've bit the bullet and bought the Cyclops Aurora LED light kit. I'll probably do the actual install over the weekends, but here's a photo of the kit in case anybody was curious what it comes with. Hopefully this addresses the issue of the sharp cutoff for the headlights, last a long time, and most importantly not fry my ECU in the process.

 

 

I love mine. Install was straight forward- Here is my review. I went out at 1am on a moonless night on a straight stretch of freeway to see what they would do. I used a towel to cover other lights. It was fun. Here is my review  

Cyclops Auxiliary Light Kit Review [Yamaha Ténéré 700 Project Bike]

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Cyclops Auxiliary Light Kit Review: Installing the Washington-based company's two-inch Aurora LEDs was easy, and the result was illuminating.

 

[DonaNobisPacem]

I woke up particularly early today so I decided to install the lights with my extra time. As Neil said, the install was pretty straightforward. Still took me around 2.5 hours though, less than an hour for the actual install and the rest cable managing the damn thing to my standards since the instruction manual wasn't particularly helpful in that regard. Now I just need to wait until it gets dark to do the final adjustments and see the difference in person.

Edited July 29, 2022 by DonaNobisPacem

[Lewie]

On 7/25/2022 at 3:53 PM, Lewie said:

Finished the led rear indicators 

MT10 -

 

 

[Wintersdark]

On 7/26/2022 at 4:15 PM, winddown said:

 

Well there you have it, who would have thought.  Yes my old knees struggle sometimes transitioning between sitting and standing, I'll definitely lower them.

 

Since we're on the topic of 'secret knowledge',

1/  how do you maintain a steady grip on the throttle standing, while not 'modulating' it over the bumps?  Also

2/ I find it difficult to take sharper corners standing, it's like I can't get the bars to turn far enough.  Should I be lowering my upper body, elbows out and all that?

 

1/ Tenerider's absolutely right as the primary thing there: loose grip on the bars, more weight on the pegs.  I'll also add: grip down onto the bars, ideally in line with the forks - your wrists should be straight. Keep your elbows high, don't let them come down. So bounces up from the front end push the throttle into your hand, vs. causing you to twist the throttle.  So when you stand, you're going to want to reposition your hands, not keep the hold you had when sitting down.  

 

The end result is that impacts up on the front wheel can more readily be absorbed through your shoulders and elbows instead of your (significantly more fragile and throttle controlling) wrists.  Thus your elbows and shoulders work with your knees as a suspension for your body, and voila! "Weightless Rider" (See also: Bret Tkacs as mentioned below)

 

On 7/26/2022 at 9:19 AM, Tenerider said:

I call it the "Bret Tkacs mod", it puts the bars roughly 1cm closer to the front/dash. Noticeable better when standing, less "gripping down", more "gripping up front".

The bike feels a little bit more nimble, too (reacts better to steering input - in a good way).

Yeah; was just curious if you were flipping them forwards, or back.  

 

I've a long history of wanting my bars moved back, just because of being very tall and prefering an upright posture, and initially I'd done that on my T7.  It kind of helped, because with the stock configuration when standing I was excessively bent over and it was exhausting to ride standing, so before mods I really couldn't stand on the bike for more than a minute or so.  Tkacs' video about geometry was really helpful there, mostly because he highlights how a wider base on the rider triangle adds stability when standing.... And thus my risers, which got my body into a more neutral position allowing me to stand, but it also reduced the stability I had while standing.  And that's something I'd definitely noticed, where when I'm standing but in a relaxed position (less "attack position" and more just standing) balancing my weight forwards and backwards was quite challenging.  

 

Once I got the lowered pegs, that helped immensely, and I've been considering flipping my risers forwards.  Just haven't had time yet with doing absolutely insane hours all summer.  

Edited July 29, 2022 by Wintersdark

[Ray Ride4life]

Washed him after the trip, still have to remove a lot of tar i picked up somewhere but tomorrow i will first install the rapid Bike Evo, remove the charcoal canister and get my left grip re-glued.

[SpencerChedid]

Made my own trail stand out of a pair of used crutches. It was not my idea though. I found this idea while researching for trail standings on the market and decided to give it a try.
Turned out being very solid and collapsable.

Edited July 29, 2022 by SpencerChedid

[Wintersdark]

I've always wanted to make one of these, but can't find these kinds of crutches anywhere - at least, not without costing far more than just buying a "proper" trail stand. 

[BADDANDY]

7 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

I've always wanted to make one of these, but can't find these kinds of crutches anywhere - at least, not without costing far more than just buying a "proper" trail stand. 

Estate/yard sales.

[Canzvt]

Go to a thrift store - Restore/Value Village...and look for crutches or an old aluminum cane that is adjustable. That's what I did... Seen a few at lower end Pawn shops too.

[SpencerChedid]

23 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

I've always wanted to make one of these, but can't find these kinds of crutches anywhere - at least, not without costing far more than just buying a "proper" trail stand. 

Found a pair on Kijiji for $20 you can't beat that. Go ahead and find you a pair.

[Black99S]

On 7/25/2022 at 11:39 PM, anth said:

Very simple Tomtom holder to the nav bar.

Two pipe clamps! 

 

 

Add a couple drops of gloozit beneath the clamp rubbers to stop rotation on gravel bumpy roads. This clamp has worked on my Africa Twin for 45,000km so far.

[Rider 101]

7 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

I've always wanted to make one of these, but can't find these kinds of crutches anywhere - at least, not without costing far more than just buying a "proper" trail stand. 

I'll give you some for free! ( if you were in Oz ). Left over from an altercation with a roo and subsequent rescue chopper flight. 

[Ray Ride4life]

I always like creativity but i think that is quite a bulky stand.
I'll keep it with this one.

Portable Motorcycle Jackstand -

---

The ideal tool for travelling on a motorcycle without a center stand. Handy for road side repairs of a flat tire or lubricating your chain anytime anywhere.

 

[AZJW]

5 hours ago, Rider 101 said:

I'll give you some for free! ( if you were in Oz ). Left over from an altercation with a roo and subsequent rescue chopper flight. 

Bummer on the helo ride.  I used to do that for a living and my passengers were usually in tough shape and their view was restricted to the ceiling.  Hope they took good care of you and you recovered quickly and fully.

[Ray Ride4life]

Changed the sparkplugs, removed the charcoal cannister and installed the Rapid bike Evo.
What a stupid placement of parts, especially that piece of plastic on the right side with te connectors stuk to. You have to take all the connectors of to get the plastic out of the way because all the connectors where stuk on there with the wrong side.
Didn't put the plastic back, not needed so another useless part gone.

 

Tomorrow a test ride.

Edited July 30, 2022 by Ray Ride4life

[Ray Ride4life]

Went back to the garage, forget to re-gleu my left grip.

[Wintersdark]

On 7/29/2022 at 6:05 PM, SpencerChedid said:

Found a pair on Kijiji for $20 you can't beat that. Go ahead and find you a pair.

Hah I've been looking on Kijiji, and the odd (super rare) yard sale.  Calgary is terrible for used stuff, though.  I've seen two pairs of these, and in both cases they wanted more than $100.  A "proper" trail stand can be had from Fortnine for $60: 

FortNine | Verifying Browser...

 

 

[Wintersdark]

On 7/30/2022 at 1:08 AM, Rider 101 said:

I'll give you some for free! ( if you were in Oz ). Left over from an altercation with a roo and subsequent rescue chopper flight. 

Pretty far from Oz   That sounds like an awesome story, though!

[Rider 101]

It was a little interesting. We had booked and paid a safari to Botswana. Needless to say we didn't go that year.

 

[Rider 101]

T7 is now packed up ready for the Bridge to Bridge ride in a couple of weeks. 

Wheel bearings greased, new chain, Acerbis tank test run.

New tyres will be fitted when I get to Brisbane.

 

RideADV's Bridge to Bridge #5 the original and the best. Brisbane to Sydney - 13th to 20th August 2022 | RideAdv

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  RideADV.com.au is proud to announce the next ride in the Yamaha Australia and Adventure Moto supported “B2B” (Bridge to Bridge) series. The Bridge to Bridge events pay homage to...

 

I have done a couple of their rides and they are good value.