Wrangling the Retro - XSR700 Mods

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Refitted the ECU today after the reflash. I'll just reiterate: have the battery disconnected when you fuck about with the ECU!

Also to do: Stage 1 air intake. Sounds kewl, right? Well... (You can scroll back up for the removal of the tank.)

Here's the factory snorkel:

https://i.imgur.com/VKxWZFa.jpg

Which has a bit of depth to it:

https://i.imgur.com/iCm9f8S.jpg

And you can see the "tide line" here:

https://i.imgur.com/99GOqjh.jpg

So what is a Stage 1 intake? Erm...

https://i.imgur.com/BBDdyhh.jpg

Basically a 3D-printed uPVC part that might look the biz but doesn't really do much beyond keeping the air filter in place. That being said my hi-flo filter is the same as the OEM in that it also has a screw at the bottom. Really cheap filters skip that screw and rely on the lid.

Anyhoo, not sure how much the "cone" would affect airflow:

https://i.imgur.com/cZLCuZL.jpg

(Note: this printed part just sits on top of the filter. DO NOT tighten the screws all the way down, just enough to take the slack.)

And as a bonus this is where the oxygen sensor used to be

https://i.imgur.com/hD2yrF7.jpg

Now to start the bike. Oh noes! The engine management light is staying on, whatever shall I do?! This is a "thing" apparently and just needs clearing with an OBD2 reader which I had at the ready Time to get out on the road and see what this reflash has done.

According to the blurb:

- Remove Throttle-by-Wire restrictions
- Standard engine braking reduction
- Disable Injector Decel Cut
- Professional fuel map modification to suit exhaust
- Removal of all gear based or speed dependent restrictions
- Optimized timing maps
- Reduce Fan Temps to keep the bike cooler

Took it up the A3 and then came back on the small roads. Things I have noticed...

Noise - no whip-cracks when changing gear, decel is now a light burble. Not sure if that's an improvement aesthetically but it certainly confirms the bike was running too lean. Still sounds nice dropping down a gear through tunnels

Throttle - much, much smoother! Like going from Kettle crisps to Skips Trying something perverse like 15mph in 3rd gear might be a bit lumpy but potato lumpy not snatchy as it was before.

Engine braking - probably a quarter of what it was. The standard CP-2 engine braking is dramatic to say the least.

Handling - yes really. Slow speed handling is much improved due to the new throttle / engine braking combo.

Economy - no idea yet but the "ECO" thing on the LCD still flicks on and off the same as before. (I thought it might come on in Close-Loop mode but obviously not.)

In conclusion someone took a belt-sander to the rough edges. If you do a load of slow-speed urban stuff then definitely worth getting the reflash
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Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Zen Dog]

Do you think the Stage 1 intake means there's a risk of water getting in there in really heavy rain now? It's obviously a lot less sealed against that possibility than it used to be. Or does it just not really get wet under there and/or you don't really ride it in the rain so it's not worth worrying about?
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Current - '94 VFR750FR, '00 VFR800FI Previous - '10 Street Triple R, '92 MZ ETZ301, '05 TTR250, NSR125R, KMX125, "Honda" Win (chinese copy of an old Honda design with a C90 engine)
My bike trip around S.E. Asia 2010/2011

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As promised here's the air intake with the seat off:

https://i.imgur.com/CXNQ5DU.jpg

The cone thing might catch some water if the rain was really coming down:

https://i.imgur.com/pWA5GzP.jpg

But then the seat is very snug against the tank:

https://i.imgur.com/x1QjdJb.jpg
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Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Zen Dog]

Looks pretty protected to be fair.
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Current - '94 VFR750FR, '00 VFR800FI Previous - '10 Street Triple R, '92 MZ ETZ301, '05 TTR250, NSR125R, KMX125, "Honda" Win (chinese copy of an old Honda design with a C90 engine)
My bike trip around S.E. Asia 2010/2011

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Upcoming for the weekend if the weather isn't too bad...

The "Flat Tracker" seat has turned up. "Go to this website for instructions..." Huh? I thought it was a drop-in replacement
Turns out there's also a metal plate in the box so you can do the whole rear-subframe/mudguard delete that seems trendy these days. Errr... no thanks! Still, pretty good value for a very specific XSR 700 seat with all the fittings (and then some.)

Hoping it's at least bearable for an hour's riding. It doesn't look much different height-wise but it's certainly narrower which is still a help. I'll take some side-by-side photos with the old seat.

I'll add to that a common mod: XSR 900 handlebars. They have a shorter profile but the same angles as the 700. Fitting is trivial as the 700/900 switches are almost identical, at least on the original models, with all the index holes in the same place. (BTW XSR handlebars are 1" for the mounts going out to 7/8" at the ends whereas the MT07 is 7/8" throughout.)

Why? A change is as good as a rest and I'm thinking the 900 ones will couple nicely with the seat change. Supposedly it gives the bike a bit more of a "racy" feel. I do occasionally get the feeling I'm riding a lardy dirt bike such is the ergonomics. And there's nothing terminal about these mods, can easily go back to the old parts and punt my mistakes onto eBay
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Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[grr666]

The Spacker (Sport Tracker) had a flat tracker style seat, it was a different shape and height to the standard
Mark 1 MT09 seat, definitely making the bike somewhat taller. Funnily enough it's still for sale in Fowlers where they
have it priced up at just £500 quid and change less than I paid for it new in 2016. It would already be gone if they weren't
trying to squeeze an extra £1600 odd quid out of it than they gave me as part ex.
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Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[Easy-X]

Finally got some time to try the new seat. It'll look something like this:

https://i.imgur.com/F9L8sWE.jpg

Bear in mind the plastic's currently unpainted. Weighing up either satin black or silver/aluminium. The latter would only be if my paint guys can do an approximate match of the tank covers.

Some comparisons with the old seat:

https://i.imgur.com/wdPn1GT.jpg

And at the lowest points:

https://i.imgur.com/aiJDQID.jpg

Versus:

https://i.imgur.com/hfQPU1n.jpg

Yes, there's a difference but also as a single seat I can drop the pillion pegs which always, always get caught up on my bike cover

Unfortunately the new seat isn't a drop in replacement I have a Givi rack for my topbox and the mounting tabs interfere:

https://i.imgur.com/txN80rR.jpg

I'll have to shave off about 5~10mm for the new seat to lock in place To be continued...
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Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Easy-X]

Between shit weather and work being busy this has been left far longer than I would have liked. Anyhoo... broke out the Dremel:

https://i.imgur.com/sNkxGF0.jpg

Just a first pass (I went at it with some 240 grit later on) but enough clearance either side to get the seat on, or so I thought. Still wouldn't "click" with the seat/lock mechanism How the fuck to see what's going wrong? Yamaha to the rescue!

https://i.imgur.com/zoG7xNR.jpg

4 bolts removed and the relevant panel comes off. (Note the two holes, more on them later.) I can now flip over the new seat and...

https://i.imgur.com/EAsVnej.jpg

...bugger, not even close. The seat has rubber feet, two of which sit on this panel. I just went for it with some pliers and with a bit of brute force an ignorance and "click!"

https://i.imgur.com/5hW1hLe.jpg

Even so, the seat can move about a bit. Looking at the factory seat there are two "fingers" matching the previously highlighted holes:

https://i.imgur.com/GRt6C11.jpg

Adds stability and takes stress away from the locking mechanism. Bit tricky to replicate though. I'm sure it'll be fine
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Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter