Anybody with a Sport-Touring Motorcycle that Tours?

[MacDoc]

Quote Originally Posted by slowbird View Post
Balaclava works well for me in this regard.
COOL! didnt think of that :P i really should pick one up to try it out

Me too - Oxford makes a very thin one that works as a helmet liner and also keeps earphones in place but as a newbie rider stick with earplugs - leave the tunes for later.
The Oxford makes getting a helmet on and off a breeze

[chiller]

That's a cool looking ride. Any stills?

Bike just before I got the new suspenders re-done. Hence the springs are still black and not blue :P

[MacDoc]

Doesn't the windshield flex a lot??
Bike has nice clean lines but the screen looks strange.

[YamaMana]

Damn that's a fine looking ride. Don't know why it's run under the radar. I've looked at the ZXR1100 in the past but the Zepher appears to have much nicer flowing lines. New though, they are not cheap! Papa's gotta start saving

[Triple]

Bike just before I got the new suspenders re-done. Hence the springs are still black and not blue :P

A nice looking ride! I can see that making a great touring mount. How many kilometres on the motor?

[chiller]

Doesn't the windshield flex a lot??
Bike has nice clean lines but the screen looks strange.

Windshield flex's a bit ... but you know what i've found in my touring mileage ? For touring you go big or you go home for touring... the less wind you need to fight the longer you can go before being tired...

Damn that's a fine looking ride. Don't know why it's run under the radar. I've looked at the ZXR1100 in the past but the Zepher appears to have much nicer flowing lines. New though, they are not cheap! Papa's gotta start saving

I spent 3 years looking for a Zephyr 1100 ... not easy to find a clean one. They remind me of 70's bikes without the headache of owning a 70's ride. The stock suspenders and brakes are a bit lacking but once you re-do those your good to go. the motor needs a bit more mid range to be competitive in todays market, but I was able to get my hands on the last new ignition advancer in the world :P ... A dealer in UK had one still new in the package, the paper and wrapper were all yellowed hahaha

A nice looking ride! I can see that making a great touring mount. How many kilometres on the motor?

motor has 37k on it.

Since I ride an ST1300 for long hauls, this is a good 'medium range' tourer ... the ST does my 1k+ days ...this is ok for the 500-800km days ... more then 800km and you def. wish for something bigger ...

incidentally, I guess because I'm "done" modding the bike now, I listed it to see if anyone wants it.

[Triple]

motor has 37k on it... I guess because I'm "done" modding the bike now, I listed it to see if anyone wants it.

I noticed some discolouration on the headers. Is it running lean?

[Vlad]

Bike just before I got the new suspenders re-done. Hence the springs are still black and not blue :P

Very nice indeed, I've never seen cleaner and better flowing lines than those of a Zephyr, from my old 550 to this 1100.

I have noticed some bad sides on mine and I suspect other models are not much different:

- Fork is under-engineered overall. Springs are very weak and there is no preload adjustment. Adding spacers helps, but not by much. Replacing front end would be the best, but progressive springs should be done as a bare minimum.

- No passenger grab rail. The seat is also sloped towards the rider portion, so riding with a passenger (especially braking) is a pain.

- Speaking of the seat, mine was good for about 500Km days in relative comfort. More than that and you are looking at sitting on one *** cheek most of the time so the other one can relax a bit.

- I had no issues with rear suspension (I was riding solo with no luggage 95% of the time), but I found the rear brake a little too easy to lock.

- Upper body riding position was fine, but legs were cramped with footpegs too high and way too much bend in the knees. Riding in tight jeans for more than half an hour was practically impossible. On the other side, almost anyone could flatfoot that bike.

- Exhaust can was done at about 50,000Km. Still holding together and looking OK from the outside, but rusted inside.

- Aftermarket support in North America is practically nonexistent. I gave up trying to find anything that was designed specifically for Zephyr, so I left it bone stock.

[chiller]

I noticed some discolouration on the headers. Is it running lean?

No ... if anything it is running a bit rich ... you can sometimes smell the extra fuel from it running rich ... I have not done anything to the carbs (other then having them sync'ed) ... so this is the way it came from the factory

[chiller]

The front suspension worked ok but steered a bit like a truck ... I have since replaced my front end with one from a ZX-11 ...I took the forks and the wheels off it and then put the brakes off a ZX12 onto the wheel, everything bolted up except I needed a new spacer for the front wheel since the the Zephyr front end was just a bit wider then the ZX front end. I then re-suspended with Racetech springs that are now 1.2's ... the stock was a .85 which was soft and mushy ... EBC pads were just put in 2 months ago and now it handles the way it should have handled 20 years ago ...The ZX front end gives me preload and rebound control. I have yet to fully dial it in but even unmolested feels a ton better.

The rear end I found that I was maxed on the preload for my weight and type of riding (with luggage 99% of the time) ... so I got new RaceTech springs and collars for the back ... I forgot what the specific digits were but they were roughly 40% stiffer then the stock ZRX spring. I also swapped out the old Zephyr shocks and put in some that were fully adjustable (preload, compression, rebound) from a ZRX1200 and had them rebuilt. The rear is now light years ahead of where it was...

Passenger grab rail was easy, i found the optional ones from a 750 bolted right up... i also was able to procure a old new in box rear sissy bar that I used once. It just too bad that the dealer out of europe didn't take care of the box since there was a slight tear in the corner of the vinyl... tho I ordered the rack from Germany and found that took care of the duties better then the other 2 (luggage and backrest for passenger use)

I have no problems with the legs, perhaps you are lankier then me... I put the sliders onto the bike and found that I can use them as mini highway pegs when my leg does cramp up ...

the seat is 'ok' meaning it is ok between fuel stops ... but I like to move around on my seat so I don't sit in 1 position for very long anyway ...

You are correct that aftermarket here is non-existent ... overseas have lots of stuff tho, so I have been getting mine from various overseas markets ... the only thing I got here was the suspension ...

Very nice indeed, I've never seen cleaner and better flowing lines than those of a Zephyr, from my old 550 to this 1100.

I have noticed some bad sides on mine and I suspect other models are not much different:

- Fork is under-engineered overall. Springs are very weak and there is no preload adjustment. Adding spacers helps, but not by much. Replacing front end would be the best, but progressive springs should be done as a bare minimum.

- No passenger grab rail. The seat is also sloped towards the rider portion, so riding with a passenger (especially braking) is a pain.

- Speaking of the seat, mine was good for about 500Km days in relative comfort. More than that and you are looking at sitting on one *** cheek most of the time so the other one can relax a bit.

- I had no issues with rear suspension (I was riding solo with no luggage 95% of the time), but I found the rear brake a little too easy to lock.

- Upper body riding position was fine, but legs were cramped with footpegs too high and way too much bend in the knees. Riding in tight jeans for more than half an hour was practically impossible. On the other side, almost anyone could flatfoot that bike.

- Exhaust can was done at about 50,000Km. Still holding together and looking OK from the outside, but rusted inside.

- Aftermarket support in North America is practically nonexistent. I gave up trying to find anything that was designed specifically for Zephyr, so I left it bone stock.

[Vlad]

... so I got new RaceTech springs and collars for the back ... I forgot what the specific digits were but they were roughly 40% stiffer then the stock ZRX spring. I also swapped out the old Zephyr shocks and put in some that were fully adjustable (preload, compression, rebound) from a ZRX1200 and had them rebuilt. The rear is now light years ahead of where it was...

Now that we told everyone what a fantastic bike Zephyr is and how well yours is maintained and equipped, why don't you tell us how much you want for it?

[chiller]

Now that we told everyone what a fantastic bike Zephyr is and how well yours is maintained and equipped, why don't you tell us how much you want for it?

haha, actually there's a ton more mods LOL ... eg. I got an oil filter kit for it so it now uses spin on oil filters removing the need to take the old style filters out of the motor ... makes it easier to change oil and also less mess and cheaper since its a car oil filter ... plus installed an oil temp guage :P

I posted it up on the trader asking $5k for it ... i figure its a decent price for what it is ... i spent 4500 buying the bike 3 yrs ago, put roughly 3k in work into it and asking 5k for sale ... i get alot more enjoyment I find modding the bike then anything else :P ... plus no one steals bikes that look like this so theft is never a concern and the insurance is butt cheap on it ... I think I'm paying 550 / yr on it :P

Sale price would include a bunch of stuff that I haven't listed as well, eg. I have a full exhaust for it 4-into-1 header combo with a D&D pipe that I have not had a chance to mount or undecided if I want to mount. etc. etc.

[Vlad]

I got an oil filter kit for it

I remember that drop-in PITA filter, man was it messy. I didn't know there was a way to adapt it, but you did the right thing. I have the thread adapter for my Bandit so I can now buy better than OEM filter in any car parts store.

I posted it up on the trader asking $5k for it ... i figure its a decent price for what it is ...

Definitely decent. I hope you sell it soon to someone who will appreciate it.

plus no one steals bikes that look like this so theft is never a concern and the insurance is butt cheap on it ... I think I'm paying 550 / yr on it :P

You can say that again . I forgot the keys in my Zephyr several times downtown and no one touched it. $550/year sounds about right too, you can't get better than that on anything worth riding, let alone touring on.

[chiller]

I remember that drop-in PITA filter, man was it messy. I didn't know there was a way to adapt it, but you did the right thing. I have the thread adapter for my Bandit so I can now buy better than OEM filter in any car parts store.



Definitely decent. I hope you sell it soon to someone who will appreciate it.



You can say that again . I forgot the keys in my Zephyr several times downtown and no one touched it. $550/year sounds about right too, you can't get better than that on anything worth riding, let alone touring on.

There's a company in the states that makes oil filter kits for Kawi's, they made them originally for the Concours1000 (old ones) but I called and asked if they would fit it for my bike, they said they weren't sure (at the time it was not on there list) I said I would buy one and that if it did not fit could I return it? they said sure if it didn't fit they'd take it back if it did fit then I was just another customer paying for it :P



just to keep the thread consistent here's a break down of the parts :

Mods start from front to back :
-ZX-11 front forks
-ZX-11 front wheel
-ZX-12R brake rotors (wave style)
-Racetech 1.2 kg/mm fork springs
-Forks rebuilt with new seals
-EBC HH+ brake pads (installed a month and a half ago)
-Galfer red braided steel lines (front brakes 2 line kit and also clutch)
-Pro Grip soft gel dual sport grips
-Heated hand grips
-Throttlelock for cruise control :P
-National Cycle F15 windshield
-35w dual front fork fog lights
-Twin Fiam Freeway Blasters
-GSG sliders
-Proper wiring with fuse box and relay system (from CASporttouring.com)
-Oil filter adaptor kit (now takes car spin on oil filters) ~ no mess
-Engine oil temperature guage
-Factory Pro Shift kit (new de-tent arms with ball bearings instead of stamped steel shifter assembly and high strength spring ~ really improves shift action and removes the 2nd gear miss shifts)
+1 to front sprocket for reduced RPM while cruising
-Krauser rack adapted to fit a Givi Monokey (used parts from an ST1300 adaptor kit
-ZRX1200 rear shocks rebuilt and valved with Racetech blue springs (forgot the kg/mm but is roughly 40% more stiff then stock)

-full exhaust system 4 into 1 with D&D end can that I have not installed yet

To the new owner I can provide 1 oil filter as a spare to the one I bought :P

And you will get all the spares I have left over:
- Stock rear shocks / springs
- oil filter assembly (pre kit installation)
- stock front wheel (18") with rotors
- stock front axle
- stock sized front sprocket


http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum...04#post1778504

[pyro_]

Still working on getting my current bike setup to tour but here is what i used to sport tour on:

2001 Triumph TT600



Modified with:
Driving lights
Fog lights
heated grips
BMW sport grips
Motovation lever skinz
Voltmeter
BlueSea fuse box
Hook ups for electric clothing
Gadget Guy GPS mount
Zumo 550 gps
After this pic was taken also added a touring screen

[chiller]

Still working on getting my current bike setup to tour but here is what i used to sport tour on:

2001 Triumph TT600

haha, that's supersport touring :P

[pyro_]

Guess it all depends on where and how far, i used to go very long distance touring on it 15-18+ hours days. would not be able to do that on most supersports

[inferno]

My tour last year. 4000km in 5 days @ Smokey Mountains


My first tour. Lots of lessons were learned