| Author | Message | ||
     Scs1 |
Cheers to the next 40k. Big thanks to badweb and Al at American Sport Bike for helping me keep her runnin. Howdy old tubers. Long time no talk. Just wanted give an update on the old (silver) White Lightning. She's been a great bike for me. First off, it's just a sexy machine. I get so many comments and questions about it. But it's not just good looking. These old tractors can lay down some pretty impressive twisty runs. I can't recall being passed on that bike...except in the long straights, of course. Once you get it dialed and get used to the power "curve" and geometry, it's quite a thrill. I've put 31,000 miles in its torturous seat (only 200 on the new custom Corbin). Mostly all back road miles. It's just not a highway machine, and I don't want it to be. We've ripped roads all around California. Done many trips up the coast into Oregon an Washington. It never once left me stranded, even after three unfortunate asphalt encounters. Many quirks in the beginning. But I like to call them upgrade ops. Below is list of recent upgrades. Some failure replacements, some performance upgrades, many lessons learned. FAILURE REPLACEMENTS 1. Exhaust hanger retro kit. Caused failure #2 2. New OEM 2.5" header. Developed fractures from #1. 3. One OEM shock replacement. That failed too. See upgrades below 4. Broke a belt. Replaced it with a chain 5. Packed the V n H header three times now. 6. Two failed intake seals. 7. Replaced the front rotor with the newer version. It didn't fail. I just didn't like its rattle. 8. Ignition relay blew. 9. Rear wheel bearing got a little crunchy. Caught it in time and replaced it. 8. One failed fork seal. PERFORMANCE AND HAPPY UPGRADES 1. Mikuni carb 2. Race ECM 3. Vance n Hines can (came with the bike) 4. Buell race intake, then got the American Sport Bike version 5. Some Banke goodies. Frame brace, shifter, brake pedal, oil cap. 6. Penske shock. 7. Reworked forks by Lindeman Engineering. 8. Baker clutch kit. 9. Pro taper dirtbike bars. Required a little modification. 10. CRG levers and mirror. 11. Baker chain conversion kit. 12. Breather relocation and puke can. 13. Wrapped the header to cover a patch of road rash. Below are a few pics. +++ jpeg +++ 74745q9 +++ +++ And Here's a link to my earlier report....Thankfully, Ive learned a lot since then. Archive through February 27, 2010 » 1998 S1W, 17,000 mile report. Thanks for reading, Nate | ||
| Scs1 |
ipad pic uploads not working. I'll add some pics later | ||
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| Natexlh1000 |
My X1's first year was in the shop every month with one thing or another but I did manage to put about 20000 miles on that year  After that, nothing NOTHING broke until about 42,000 miles and that was only a gasket. The first 20 is a shake down period. I wouldn't buy one of these used unless it had the correct amount of miles | ||
| Al_lighton |
Nate, that chain looks pretty tight to me..... and a chain is VERY unforgiving of that. Best to pick it up by the passenger peg mounts, disconnect the shock, and run the arm through it's full travel to know that it won't bind. Al | ||
| Scs1 |
I totally agree, Nate. They seem to improve with miles(and subsequent repairs). Let's call it coming of age and leave it at that :-) Al, I'll post a couple pics with questions....now that I have your attn. Thanks, Nate | ||
| Scs1 |
Al, Thanks for the heads up. I recently tightened the chain a bit, I mean a bit(.5mm or so). Because it's been rubbing on the little frame cross member where the battery mounts since I installed it. I never noticed how bad it was till recently. See pics below. While SLOWLY tightening, 1 flat at a time, I had a large friend bounce on it while I checked deflection. It never did get too tight, but I'm sure that method isn't 100% accurate. Sounds like I should do the unhooked shock test.  | ||
| Scs1 |
Guys, as always you were right. Thanks again. Glad I caught it before any hard riding. Using the method recommended by Al, the chain got too tight around the bottom of travel. Swing arm just shy of level with the bottom passenger peg mounting bar....that seemed be the tightest. Nate | ||
| Dannybuell |
I have had drag bars on my S1 for over 90,000 miles. I tried superbike bars for about two weeks, I like my drag bars! |
