Question time...

[Tiger]

 :-\...Of ALL the up-grade's you have done to your "V"(s), which ONE do YOU consider the best of the bunch, and why. Initially, one "Up-grade" per person and then open house... ;) It will be interesting to see how many option's we can log... 8)

8)...of the many up-grade's to "The Mistress" I have to say that the installation of a full fairing, with working vent's, has made a huge improvement to ride comfort... 8) No more "bobble head" doll effect and the vent's extend the riding season a wee bit to... 8)


                              8).......TIGER....... 8)

[Night Vision]

does removing the moss from the carbs count?

no?

ok then, guess I'd have to say.....

tapered steering stem bearings - biggest noticeable difference/bang for the buck

[h2olawyer]

Wow - where to begin?  Done so much, it's hard to decide which is best.  But, to make a choice - I'd have to say the tank liner.  It made the bike rideable again & allowed me to put on all the other upgrades in the first place.  If that's considered standard maintenance, I'll second Night Vision's nomination of the tapered steering bearings, for the same reason - plus the bike handles better than new with them.

H₂O

[Mystery Shopper]

'83 risers for an '82


Why?
because a set will be coming up for charity auction next week!!! that's why  :D

[Kenny]

TIGER-Tiger...  Thats a hard one.
  I am going with the Euro Gearing as it makes the "V" a great long haul (read NO Vibration machine (just ask Dorothy! Can't wait for the Open House portion!!!

[Brian_Matthewson]

Tiger...
No question for me...a throttle lock! This poor man's cruise control makes long highway days possible!
Brian

[YellowJacket!]

I have to go with my first choice, tapered bearings.  Theres a second and third choice for later too. ;D

David

[Lucky]

That is a tough one, but i'm going to narrow it to a catagory, instead of one thing:

suspention \ handling
and in that catagory i'd say a fork brace, but good tires, the 83 front end, balance tube, 83 rear shock all had a big contibution.

Adding the full fairing would have been a waste without a suspention that could handle the extra weight & my 215#'s.. and still allow me to carve out twisties on weekends...

--Lucky

[louthepou]

I'd have to say the clip-on handlebars; not that it makes the ride better or more comfortable (far from that) but because it's the most significant change I've made to my ride!

Lou

[don_vanecek]

does removing the moss from the carbs count?

You said it Night Vision, I'd say the biggest improvement in all the years I've had my V is getting the carbs to work right-it was a no fun hitting that famous dead spot from 4-5000 rpm every time you shifted though the gears. I think this counts as an upgrade since the cure (in my case anyway) is not factory stock, cleaning of course, jets, restrictor plates,tank liner and fuel filter.  

[MotorPlow]

Tappered Head Bearings for sure. No more head shake. Just makes the bike more enjoyable.

As my bike came with a full fairing and progressive springs, a very close second and third would have to be heated grips and a heated vest. I now ride all year 'round.

[Brian Moffet]

Tapered bearings followed closely by my Corbin saddle.

Brian

[Scott_Mc]

Upgrades have been few...

Nice set of Metzelers.  Cornering confidence makes them worth it to me!  The factory Dunlops were luggage :P and not as good to begin with.

Got to learn about this tapered head bearing thing. News to (newbie) me!

[Tiger]

.......Got to learn about this tapered head bearing thing. News to (newbie) me!

:)...Scott...don't be blue, 'cause thing's are new to you... ;D :D ;). Here are the one's I got from eee-bay recently. They where great to deal with...The original set didn't arrive...I e-mailed them, explaining lack of delivery and they sent out another set with an apology... 8)

    http://cgi.ebay.ca/Yamaha-XZ550-XZ-550-Steering-Head-Stem-Bearings-Kit_W0QQitemZ220010446531QQihZ012QQcategoryZ10490QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

                          8).......TIGER....... 8)

[supervision]

  The combination of 83 brakes and bars, because it made slowing so much better, and got rid of the flexy feeling of the 82 bars.  Later I added the steel lines and the brakes got even better.  I am of the thought that the extra weight of the second  brake is taxing the forks, would like to try a better single caliper on the one disc, as a test.   Anybody running one big caliper?

[Scott_Mc]

Thanks Tiger,

OK as not to thread-jack, I did a search for "tapered" to get more info and all I got in the results were the posts in THIS thread?  Is the search function about useless or did I do something wrong?

...I am of the thought that the extra weight of the second  brake is taxing the forks...

I don't know what you are smoking but I'd like some ;D

[Lucky]

try searching for "steering head bearings", or "steering stem bearings"

he's not smoking anything, 83 Visions have dual brakes up front, take a close look at my bike, or any in the gallery & you'll see 'em., but i doubt they are taxing the forks...

--Lucky
Go Red Sox!!

[Brian Moffet]

After 43000 miles, I don't see any signs of damage because of the extra weight of the second front brake.  My front end looks to be in great shape (barring the corrosion, not caused by the second brake  ::) ) 

And yes, I've been completely through it  ;)

Brian

[Ron_McCoy]

I have to say the same category as Lucky, suspension/handling.  Katana forks, steering head bearings, Ninja brakes, quality tires, and 83 shock. No fork flex, no headshake, tremendous stopping power, and no pogoing at the rear makes for lots of fun in the twisties.

Ron

[supervision]

  Sorry, what I ment by taxing the forks, I was refering to unsprung weight to dampen and extra rotating mass in the second disk.