[3sexy5u]

I read once, and I’m not sure if it is correct, but someone said, as the stock tensioner foot cuts into the tensioner button, it then applies less tension to the chain, allowing more slack, and thus changing the timing slightly. Don’t shoot the messenger, I read that though, not sure if it is true. I would think the spring loaded tensioner plunger would just put more pressure to make up the difference, but maybe not.

You're correct that the tensioner does eat away an indentation in the button. I have an example I can take a picture of at home.

The main issue with the spring plunger is that its just not strong enough in high load situations.

 

[Upgrayedd]

You're correct that the tensioner does eat away an indentation in the button. I have an example I can take a picture of at home.

The main issue with the spring plunger is that its just not strong enough in high load situations.

I wrote that. Someone copied and posted it?

 

[Ninelives17]

Header came in today! Threw it on after work and went for my first real ride in about 6 weeks. The last couple of rides were very short due to problems. I actually left my city of residence and visited the city next door! Baby steps, lol.

Now that I have a new non-cracked header, my fuel base is 81 instead of being over 100. Sounds way more reasonable since it has a larger than stock injector.

I noticed my wideband jumping from 13.2 to 25.5 sporadically. Random at first but eventually hanging completely at 25.5 . I can wiggle the wire at the sensor and it will go back to 13.2. Turned off autotune to keep it from ruining all the green dots on my screen. I guess it must have gotten damaged when the O2 bung fell out. It looked fine, wire must be damaged inside of insulation. I have a new sensor ordered

Started getting the famous koso TB 3000 rpm idle about halfway through the ride. When I got home I re-adjusted the idle screw to get an 1400-1500 idle and that seems to have fixed the issue

Still early in the break in but I can tell the bike has a lot more torque than before. Climbs hills much easier, no tucking required. Revs WAY faster than before, maybe the lightened flywheel? Maybe the ported head? Both? Excited to get the sensor fixed and rack up some miles!

P.S. I bought Hard Racing's Brembo kit....... with the rotors. Kinda wish they would get my Gold Enkei's back in stock so I could swap everything at once. Need DingerBuilt to get his Titanium rotor bolts back in stock too.

 

[dubSolo]

@Ninelives17 this is great to hear man you are going to be pleased with your new setup...

 

[Ninelives17]

New sensor came in, installed and put over a hundred miles on it. Bike runs great! Idles fine, no driveability issues, all green fuel trims on the autotune. I went back to a 15T front sprocket, 36T rear still. Bike definitely lost some acceleration and hill climbing power. It is quite noticeable, but.......

It does have it's perks! Normal tuck, down a decent hill. It definitely has more to give, might have to superman it one day... lol

 

[dubSolo]

New sensor came in, installed and put over a hundred miles on it. Bike runs great! Idles fine, no driveability issues, all green fuel trims on the autotune.

With that many miles you are ready for wb closed loop... Watch how much better afr is at idle and motor more responsive when you do this

 

[3sexy5u]

Nice!! 15/36T is my favorite gearing for street.

 

[Ninelives17]

With that many miles you are ready for wb closed loop... Watch how much better afr is at idle and motor more responsive when you do this

I turned that on late last night before coming home, probably 20 miles or so. But it was all wide open so I did not notice, I will ride some more tomorrow and pay attention. Thanks!

 

[Ninelives17]

Nice!! 15/36T is my favorite gearing for street.

I'm still not convinced, I lost a lot off acceleration and hill climbing ability. I have been on www.gearingcommander.com today trying to figure out what I want. I'm thinking of keeping the 15T front but going to a 37T or maybe even a 38T rear. Seems like mine starts to drop off power about 11k rpm. I should still be able to hit 80mph at 15T/38T but get back some hill climbing torque. 80 is probably too fast to be going anyway, never thought i'd have to truly worry about a ticket on the grom. Lol

 

[3sexy5u]

I'm still not convinced, I lost a lot off acceleration and hill climbing ability. I have been on www.gearingcommander.com today trying to figure out what I want. I'm thinking of keeping the 15T front but going to a 37T or maybe even a 38T rear. Seems like mine starts to drop off power about 11k rpm. I should still be able to hit 80mph at 15T/38T but get back some hill climbing torque. 80 is probably too fast to be going anyway, never thought i'd have to truly worry about a ticket on the grom. Lol

Ahhh, I didn't notice you went from 14T to 15T, not 16T to 15T.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Wow, 83mph. Not bad at all. Glad to hear you’ve gotten everything sorted out.

I still can’t break 79mph. I tried again the other day on the same, huge downhill. It bounces off the rev limiter at 10,000rpms. If I raised the rev limiter, I’m sure it would do it. On flat ground, it does much less of course. Got caught by 4 sport bikes on the next climb. I think they were amused.

Did the bike somehow lose some acceleration from the ported, big valve head or solely from the 15t front sprocket?

I purchased a Kitaco 36t rear sprocket last time I ordered from Webike. I still have not installed it. I’m interested to see how the bike performs with it. I might need to pick up a Renthal R1 chain like dubSolo runs to make it work. Not sure if the G-Craft swingarm has enough chain adjustment to squeeze that 36t in there with the stock chain or not.

So far I haven’t paid much attention to whether the bike is performing any better after reducing so much rotating weight.

The biggest differences are the suspension, brakes, and tires. They are all substantially better. The bike handles bumps way better, is more sure footed, and the stopping power is ridiculous.

I’m going to stop spending money on the Grom for a while and just ride it the way it is. I’m trying to “upgrade“ some other stuff in my life right now. Priorities...

Ok, I might send the throttle body to Grom Fatherz this winter to be taper bored. But that’s all!

 

[Ninelives17]

Did the bike somehow lose some acceleration from the ported, big valve head or solely from the 15t front sprocket?

Solely from the sprocket change, the bike definitely feels like it makes more power everywhere. I had heard I would be sacrificing some low end power with the 34mm throttle body because I'm still 125cc, but it sure doesn't feel like it! I rode it around for awhile at 14T/36T before installing the 15T. Before I was partial throttle maintaining, or full throttle gaining speed going up hills, now I'm losing speed at full throttle. I think my overall average speed was better with the 14T, so I think I will keep the 15T and experiment with a 38T rear to see if I like that better.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Did you install the Brembos yet? Which calipers do you have? Are they the P34 front and rear?

 

[Ninelives17]

Not installed yet, been to busy racking up miles! I think they are the p34 front and rear. Two piston. I just ordered the kit from Hard Racing, comes with calipers, brackets, braided lines, and rotors. I will be swapping out the rear tire in a week or two, probably install rear then since the wheel is off for the rotor swap. I keep hoping the gold rims would come back in stock so that I could just install new tire and rotors on them instead. Still over 11,000 miles on only two rear tires isn't bad.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Not installed yet, been to busy racking up miles! I think they are the p34 front and rear. Two piston. I just ordered the kit from Hard Racing, comes with calipers, brackets, braided lines, and rotors. I will be swapping out the rear tire in a week or two, probably install rear then since the wheel is off for the rotor swap. I keep hoping the gold rims would come back in stock so that I could just install new tire and rotors on them instead. Still over 11,000 miles on only two rear tires isn't bad.

Yeah, those gold wheels are no where to be found lately. They look great, but I think I’ve decided to stick with black wheels. After I ride to the end of my street and back, I can take my finger and rub it around the rim, only to find it is covered in black dust. Crazy. I believe the black rim hides that dust much better. I felt like the gold wheels would need to be cleaned very regularly. Maybe.

 

[Ninelives17]

Yeah, those gold wheels are no where to be found lately. They look great, but I think I’ve decided to stick with black wheels. After I ride to the end of my street and back, I can take my finger and rub it around the rim, only to find it is covered in black dust. Crazy. I believe the black rim hides that dust much better. I felt like the gold wheels would need to be cleaned very regularly. Maybe.

Everyone else has told me the same thing, I still want em. Lol. Dirty gold rims are better than dirty black rims! Gogrom are still saying they are coming, just like they did 5 months ago, the money is ready. All I can do is wait and hope. By the way, your aluminum swingarm looks great on @Hairless bike. We will be putting some miles on it soon to see if it last longer than the stock one. I need you to give your Gcraft a rough life to see if it last, I think I will buy one if my new oem one cracks.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Everyone else has told me the same thing, I still want em. Lol. Dirty gold rims are better than dirty black rims! Gogrom are still saying they are coming, just like they did 5 months ago, the money is ready. All I can do is wait and hope. By the way, your aluminum swingarm looks great on @Hairless bike. We will be putting some miles on it soon to see if it last longer than the stock one. I need you to give your Gcraft a rough life to see if it last, I think I will buy one if my new oem one cracks.

Yeah man, I think you just gotta install those gold wheels and not worry about it. They look sweet. They look very “Honda”. I’m probably too OCD for them. Well, I’m probably too OCD for most everything...lol. It’s exhausting. Trust me.

So glad to hear that you guys got that Kepspeed swingarm installed. It is a pretty good looking piece for the money.

I’ve been riding the new G-Craft swingarm as much as possible. So far it is fantastic.

The weather has been perfect. Blue Bird days. Dry air. The leaves are starting to change color at higher elevations. Doesn’t get much better than that.

The bike handles really well now. I don’t think I realized just how low in the stroke that front fork was riding previously. The Ohlins fork kit is working out great. It never did weep a drop of fork fluid. Still need to install the Ohlins stickers.

The rear suspension just works. Almost never think about it. I believe the Ohlins rear shock is adjusted pretty well. The sag feels perfect. It does well even with the wife on the back. I think you will love a G-Craft swingarm. They are a work of art.

Remember, I mentioned that G-Craft doesn’t provide any way to attach the rear brake line? I ordered a pair of stainless steel brake line clips from Core Moto. They literally fit the Spiegler brake line grommets perfectly. Ended up mounting them to the inside of the fender hugger using some black stainless DLC coated pan head bolts from ProBolt, along with stainless lock nuts. Looks pro. I would recommend this if you get a G-Craft swingarm. Keeps the brake line up off of the swingarm. Not the best photos, but here you go.

One of the best things in my opinion are those Kenda KD1 Kwick tires. They are dirt cheap, but handle really well. The speeds I ride at (pretty quick, but certainly not race pace), I don’t feel like I’m anywhere near their limit. One of the best bang for the buck upgrades.

If I had to sum up the suspension, brakes, and tires.....I would describe them as “confidence inspiring”. The bike just feels much more capable.

 

[Ninelives17]

Have you tried the Michelin power pures? Curious if you have and still prefer the KD1 tires? I have only used the stock IRC and the Power pures, no complaints on either but prefer the power pures.

 

[Upgrayedd]

I ran the stock IRC tires. They weren’t awful, but I never really trusted them at more serious lean angles. I always liked the Michelin Power Pure tires from everything I had read. Was going to try a set, but then decided to do something stickier. The Kendas were cheap and got excellent reviews, so I went that route.

Where you live, the Michelins are probably a better choice. You mentioned previously that there aren’t a lot of turns there. I bet they last a lot longer. Here, the curvy roads are endless. Having something sticky is really nice. They are so cheap, I don’t care too much about the mileage. Changing them is a bit of a pain though.

I don’t ride in the rain like you either, so I’m not sure how the Kendas would be in the rain. On twisty roads they are a dream. So far they seem to be wearing well.

 

[Ninelives17]

Thanks for your feedback, I hope one day I get to ride on some of those awesome curvy roads!