Too Cold

Even I have limits -- minus 30 C ambient temps, with a 40 km wind -- severe wind chill warnings out this weekend -- too cold to work in the garage... again, this is when things get broken if you force them.  Not fit for man nor beast.  Before the mercury really dropped, some more parts came in.  The hotbodies undertail appears to be a pretty good fit, with the stock tail section in place.  Hopefully the Auctmart tail fits as good as the stocker, and everything lines up OK.  Do need to trim a bit of it, though -- the 2000-01 rear subframes are different than the newer bikes, so a bit of dremel work is in order.  I think I will use metric riv-nuts in the undertail, rather than the cheap plastic stock rivets.  Going to use an m5, rather than the more common m6 size.  Might need to pick up some and a driver for installation at Princess Auto.  Looks like I did a decent job cutting the stock undertail as well -- things seemed to be trimmed up properly.  Hotbodies instructions were a bit vague on this.
The CBR1000RR front brake assembly showed up as well.  $150 for two radial front calipers, and a radial master cylinder with lines (although they are the stock rubber ones)... smokin' deal!  Just waiting on the adapter plates to mount them.  Coming from Tyga in Japan, I think.
Compatibility alert -- post 2002 slip ons DO NOT work with 2000 and 2001 bikes.  Bought a pair of new blue FMF canisters off ebay, but they will not line up properly.  While the muffler p/ns are the same, the headers are not.  As well the seller mis-identified his product as 2001-06 mufflers... can't be -- they are 2002-06.  Word to the wise.  I've already re-sold them to another buyer off of a forum, and am going to be going with the Jardine 2-1 full system.  More expensive, but under $500 for a full stainless exhaust system?  Excellent price.  Some dynos report a dip at 5-7000 rpm, but again this can be mitigated by the modification to the flapper valve system.
Speaking of which, I did get these mods done via the instructions on the Rogue51 website, and two aforementioned kits from ebay.

This is the aluminum cap that replaces the solenoid- controlled item in the intake snorkel.  Just seals off the hole.  No more valve.  Should also create a slightly louder intake honk, apparently.  All of this for noise emissions.... really!

This is one of 2 "PAIR" valve covers.  The original pieces had a hoses coming in and out of these, connected to a soleniod, etc. etc.  Typical honda genious, but complicated and a bit weighty.  This is from the rear cylinder.  The front is the same, although corrosion over time (despite liberal application of WD-40) had one of the bolts strip.  It did come off with my friend Mr. Vice-Grip, and the offending bolt replaced with a steel allen bolt.

One less hose leading to the airbox meant that a spout needed to be plugged -- nothing easily at hand made of rubber, so a cap from a dried out glue stick and some JB Weld, and the airbox is now properly sealed off.  When the weather warms up, this will go back on the bike.  Intakes are currently being protected by rags.  Not ideal, even with the rest of the bike covered off.

The wee box has all of the crap I was able to remove by doing these two modifications.  Considering drivability is improved, especially in the "meat" of the powerband, makes this a worthwide expense in money (minimal -- $40), and effort (a few hours).  Of course, I haven't tried it yet, but all information points to this being a good modification to do.





Headers are going to come off next.  Again, they are currently being regularly soaked with WD40 -- the last thing I want to do is bust off an exhaust manifold bolt.  Will wait until things warm up before I takle that task -- apparently the weather is supposed to break by next weekend.  Knowing me, if the temps at least get into the -20s, I'll be out there.  The main advantage of the Jardine 2-1 system is the substantial weight savings -- some claim 30 lbs difference between the oem exhaust and the aftermarket stuff.  I can beleive it, as the stock cans I now have in storage wouldn't look out of place on an 18-wheeler.  Some even claim that the weight difference is noticable while riding on the street.  I find that hard to believe, but if a manufacturer was to shave just 15 lbs off a bike from one season to the next, it would make pretty big news.  I might even try to weigh all the stuff for a real-world comparison.
Got an email from the sales rep from Auctmarts -- my fairings are apparently being painted as I write.  Somewhere in Hong Kong, I guess.  I understand they make a run of fairings for the various bikes they make kits for, and then store them until they need to be painted -- sorta painted to order.  From a business point of view, smart, as there is no unsold stock lying around.