Sorting the Hornet/919

strika · 02-08-2006, 8:12 PM

Hi all!

I recently (4 weeks ago) purchased a new 900 Hornet/919/CB900F (just to keep everyone happy

). It is my first departure from a full on sports bike in 20 years. Funnily enough, it is also a little like returning to my roots, as I commenced my two wheeled life on a 1977 CB400 Supersport!

I race bikes still at club and occassional state meets (older 1995 ZX6R's) and traded a 2005 Kawasaki 636 on the Hornet. So while I am enjoying being able to be comfortable on the commute to our favourite riding spots, once we get there, I am starting to run into clearance problems.

I have set the suspension front and rear for my weight, and it is perfect, and the bike steers fast enough. However, on those occasions where you really need to lay it on its side, it grinds the pegs and eventually the rear brake pedal on the ground.

I am not keen on going down the replacement shock road, as it is an expensive option for a road bike in my opinion. I have also looked at having the standard shock lengthened and re-valved, however once again it is heading into shock replacement dollars so has been discounted from the equation.

I am almost at the point where i may have to drop the bike into a motorcycle engineer to have them manufacture some sort of eccentric adjuster for either the lower or upper shock mount.

Is there anyone out there, who may have done this mod, or know of an alternative solution????

I have read several posts on Hornet forums about replacing the rear shock with a unit from an F3 600, however I would be concerned regarding spring rates and valveing once again.

Any Ideas would be greatly appreciated.

CBRVFR · 02-08-2006, 8:15 PM

If you're not otherwise displeased with the suspension, how about some rearsets? Or you may have to lean off more than you'd think necessary for a road bike to preserve ground clearance.

phobiaphobe · 02-08-2006, 8:18 PM

You need rearsets.

strika · 02-08-2006, 8:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBRVFR

If you're not otherwise displeased with the suspension, how about some rearsets?

Forgive me, I should have explained some history.

I replaced a 2005 636 Kawasaki with the Hornet for errr.................. age and injury related reasons

Part of the problem was peg position. So once again I am reluctant to raise the pegs for this reason.

I have seen some nice Sato (I think) rearsets which even have the pillion pegs for the occasional trip with my wife. But once again I don't want my comfy steed becoming uncomfy!

CBRVFR · 02-08-2006, 8:48 PM

Well, if you like the suspension and adding equal amounts of ride height through shimming the shock and repositioning the fork tubes isn't gonna work, you'll have to hang off more, or get shorter footpegs ( I'm presuming the hero blobs are gone, right?) and levers.

Or, take a different line, or *gasp* slow down !

strika · 02-08-2006, 8:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBRVFR

Well, if you like the suspension and adding equal amounts of ride height through shimming the shock and repositioning the fork tubes isn't gonna work, you'll have to hang off more, or get shorter footpegs ( I'm presuming the hero blobs are gone, right?) and levers.

Or, take a different line, or *gasp* slow down !

Suspension is sorted well. I just need a rear ride height solution. If you have seen how they are set up they have no link, and are mounted fairly tightly into the back of the spine sub-frame and nestled into a niche on the swingarm mount. So thats the issue. If it was an easy one I could machine it up on a mates lathe. But I was just seeing if anyone had done this mod.

And whats this crap about slowing down?????

Jayfooey · 02-09-2006, 3:40 PM

try going project919.com lot of info there...

I replaced my stock rear shock with an Ohlins...
you can find part#'s on Project919.com

strika · 02-09-2006, 3:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayfooey

try going project919.com lot of info there...

I replaced my stock rear shock with an Ohlins...
you can find part#'s on Project919.com

Yeah thanks, I have surfed thru every thread on there relating to rear suspension but thus far found nothing. I am off to an Engineer Methinks.

sheepofblue · 02-09-2006, 4:09 PM

Yoga followed by a CBR1000RR

Jayfooey · 02-09-2006, 8:27 PM

Did you read this?

F4i shock

strika · 02-09-2006, 8:42 PM

Yeah thanks, I've seen that one too. Problem is, it is people working on trial n error!

They will have to revalve and re-spring as it is a different set-up. And as mentioned prior, I see nothing wrong with the standard Honda shock, as a matter of fact it is damn near perfect for the road. I just need a little more clearance is all. I will trundle off to an engineering shop in the next few weeks and get them to sort it!

ratdog · 02-26-2006, 12:34 AM

strika...why are you changin the shock to solve your problem?

the hot setup is a 19" rim out back and some rearsets...then tell me your draggin something, i've posted the offsets for several poplular rearsets and a few have positions very close to stock (0 up and 10mm back) yet offer greater offsets for those 'fun' times

if you just want to lift the rear there's a spacer available that is bolted to the shock mount...it's on ebay often

strika · 02-26-2006, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratdog

strika...why are you changin the shock to solve your problem?

the hot setup is a 19" rim out back and some rearsets...then tell me your draggin something, i've posted the offsets for several poplular rearsets and a few have positions very close to stock (0 up and 10mm back) yet offer greater offsets for those 'fun' times

if you just want to lift the rear there's a spacer available that is bolted to the shock mount...it's on ebay often

Woohoo! If u read thru my past posts, u will see that a rear ride height adjuster/adapter is exactly what I have been looking for.

I like the current seat to peg position, so didn't want to go down the rearsets path if I could do something else. I wasn't aware there was an adapter available, so had looked at getting one made up here in Oz, but two engineers I showed it too, made too hard for them signals, and expensive quotes to go with them!

So was going to have the standard shock lengthened as a last resort.

Any Idea what the name of the spacer manufacturer is??? Otherwise I will try n search ebay for one. Thanks for the heads up.

Oh, BTW, you say the hot set-up is a 19" rear wheel????

I thought they went out with Gixxer 1100 H's????

ratdog · 02-26-2006, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strika

Any Idea what the name of the spacer manufacturer is??? Otherwise I will try n search ebay for one. Thanks for the heads up.

Oh, BTW, you say the hot set-up is a 19" rear wheel????

I thought they went out with Gixxer 1100 H's????

lol...oh what a dope i am

...yep, you know i'm meaning 18 or +1 from stock

...helps w the rear brake and add just a little somethin to the ride height

lemme see if i can scare up the spacer info

just thought the adjustable rearsets might offer the best of both worlds, but it's a minor pain to change them up for a days riding

ratdog · 02-26-2006, 11:15 PM

okay, can't find it cause they...sold it sold it sold it !!

arrrgghhh...i'll ask around on my chopped liver site and see if anyone grabbed the details

for some reason i'm thinkin it was coming from down under

strika · 02-27-2006, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratdog

okay, can't find it cause they...sold it sold it sold it !!

arrrgghhh...i'll ask around on my chopped liver site and see if anyone grabbed the details

for some reason i'm thinkin it was coming from down under

Thanks ratdog, really appreciate it if you can find it. Still can't believe it's that hard to find a rear shock spacer in this big wide world we live in, but I gues there aren't that many guys moddin them to make em go around corners better!

I still don't get what u mean with the 18 +1 though???? Sorry, maybe I am a little slow. Correction, I am a little slow!

ratdog · 02-27-2006, 9:35 AM

Found it !!!

or rather wphistory over on the Nest pointed me in the right direction...

turns out it's from Germany (Lohr)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-Hornet-919-900-Tailriser-for-better-handling_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35592QQitemZ46 11747544QQrdZ1

ebay item 4611747544

ratdog · 02-27-2006, 9:39 AM

as for the other stuff...

going w/ a larger rim for the rear wheel changes a couple things, improves handling and rear braking from what i was told

the fella that passed this info along is a well known racer on the west coast, he shared the info when he dropped by my pit one day down at VIR

strika · 02-27-2006, 3:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratdog

as for the other stuff...

going w/ a larger rim for the rear wheel changes a couple things, improves handling and rear braking from what i was told

the fella that passed this info along is a well known racer on the west coast, he shared the info when he dropped by my pit one day down at VIR

Can you still get grippy tyres for 18" rims???????

While I am all for handling improvements, I am a doubting Thomas on the fitment of an 18" rear wheel. I havn't seen anyone break a lap record with one fitted to any of the Moto GP bikes, or WSBK's since Freddie Spencer were a lad

ratdog · 02-28-2006, 8:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strika

Can you still get grippy tyres for 18" rims???????

While I am all for handling improvements, I am a doubting Thomas on the fitment of an 18" rear wheel. I havn't seen anyone break a lap record with one fitted to any of the Moto GP bikes, or WSBK's since Freddie Spencer were a lad

well, if u'r lookin to break lap records or compare your ride to motogp bikes, i'd say ya bought the wrong ride

as for the riser...hope it works for ya, a few pesos...but it might be just what the doctor ordered

strika · 03-01-2006, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratdog

well, if u'r lookin to break lap records or compare your ride to motogp bikes, i'd say ya bought the wrong ride

as for the riser...hope it works for ya, a few pesos...but it might be just what the doctor ordered

Thnx for the heads up once again!

Not really looking for a comparo to moto GP or WSBK's with the Hornet, but I am coming off 20 years of crotch rocket ownership, anddue to back probs I cannot ride sports bikes anymore for any distance. Hence I bought a Hornet, but just cause I can't cope with sports bike riding positions, doesn't mean that I want to ride around like Grandma Or Grandpa!

Sooooo therefore i need to get the Hornet steering OK and having enough ground clearance so As not to grind half of the bottom of the bike away around the turns

The rest of the bike is damn near perfect. Brakes are adequate, Suspension works OK, plenty of power for me right out of the box. Just want it to steer like a good one should is all!

I had a good look on the net for that adjuster and found a mob in Germany who sell them. They emailed me a pic too, which I have studied, and I am sure the pic is not the right item.?????

They say it is a swingarm mounted adjuster, not sub-frame or top of shock mounted. But the pic they supplied shows A different mount set up, which makes me think that this is an adjuster for maybe an Ohlins or other brand shock.???? I will so some more investigating before I order methinks!

ratdog · 03-01-2006, 1:19 PM

i was kidding bout the motogp stuff...i trust the emoticons tipped u off

i understand about the turn in and clearance issues...a 65 series tire up front instead of the stock 70 helps a bit w/ the turn in

as for the adjuster...the group(mob) in deutschland selling them, same as the ebay posting?? would have guessed it would work for stock shock as well as aftermarket, but did not inspect that closely...

also, in my posts on the nest and project sites, noone mentioned actually having purchased the unit, so i've zero feedback to report...yours would be the first

pls keep us updated on your progress

cheers
-rd

strika · 03-04-2006, 6:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratdog

i was kidding bout the motogp stuff...i trust the emoticons tipped u off

i understand about the turn in and clearance issues...a 65 series tire up front instead of the stock 70 helps a bit w/ the turn in

as for the adjuster...the group(mob) in deutschland selling them, same as the ebay posting?? would have guessed it would work for stock shock as well as aftermarket, but did not inspect that closely...

also, in my posts on the nest and project sites, noone mentioned actually having purchased the unit, so i've zero feedback to report...yours would be the first

pls keep us updated on your progress

cheers
-rd

Yeah the emoticons tipped me off!

I took the bike into a mate to look at yesterday, and he thinks he could make one. He has access to a cnc machine and some nice chunks of high grade billet alloy. So once done I will post some picces and some feedback.

I am going to raise it by about 20-25 mm. Which should have it steering like that GP bike I want it to be

bodster · 03-05-2006, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strika

Yeah the emoticons tipped me off!

strika · 03-05-2006, 4:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratdog

i understand about the turn in and clearance issues...a 65 series tire up front instead of the stock 70 helps a bit w/ the turn in

-rd

A 65 series front tyre you say!!

errrr no in an answer! I race Supersport bikes over here in OZ (Just a humble club racer now, too old for the state n national series) And hate,hate,hate,hate,hate ...just a little bit, 65 series fronts

Sure they turn in mint, then let go horribly at full tilt. Nah not for me thanks!

Once again, it's not even an attempt to quicken the steering that I am after, just more ground clearance really. Once on it's side, it steers OK to a point. Sure you can't push the front too hard, like you can a full sports bike, as it does start to get a little grumpy, but it's OK for the road. I just want to be able to turn the thing without the pegs, then the LH engine cover touching down.

I spoke to some HRC guys at the World Supers at Phillip Island Yesterday (Jealous???) and they think a fireblade 919 adjuster should fit as apparantly they share the same top shock mounting set-up?? I will investigate this also.