[akshayhonda]

I still remember back in 2012/13 when S1000RR launched in India so did the Nuda. i used to stay at Singasandra and used to do my evening runs to ecity and back. There is a BMW showroom on the way there. One fine day I see two motorcycles inside of it. One was the Nuda 900 which was a test ride bike also I believe and other was the Gen1 S1000 in shade of bright yellow and a test ride bike in motorrad colors came later.

The Audi showroom nearby had a R8 too.

I never could even gather courage to enter the showroom to see the bike up close forget daring to ask for a test ride. Moreover due to financial aspects than anything else!

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by Deepakea83

I own a Ninja ZX-4R. I am interested in the Akrapovic Slip-On Line Carbon exhaust. From which store did your friend buy it?

Also looking forward to your impressions riding the 4R

Awesome man! Beautiful bike the 4R. I'll DM you once I have the info.

I also hoping to ride the 4R soon. Once I get it for some decent distance, I'll post an impressions post here.

Originally Posted by akshayhonda

I still remember back in 2012/13 when S1000RR launched in India so did the Nuda. i used to stay at Singasandra and used to do my evening runs to ecity and back. There is a BMW showroom on the way there. One fine day I see two motorcycles inside of it. One was the Nuda 900 which was a test ride bike also I believe and other was the Gen1 S1000 in shade of bright yellow and a test ride bike in motorrad colors came later.

The Audi showroom nearby had a R8 too.

I never could even gather courage to enter the showroom to see the bike up close forget daring to ask for a test ride. Moreover due to financial aspects than anything else!

I know exactly which showroom you are talking about, I too spent time ogling at the bike whenever passing by.

It's the same thing I also felt back in the day about visiting the showroom or TDing the bikes. IIRC they used to give the S1000RR also for Test rides without having to jump through any hoops, which they don't do now. No test rides for superbikes it seems is the new policy for BMW, the GS range is available for TD though.

Cheers
Krishna

[krishnaprasadgg]

Went on the usual no-fixed destination plus breakfast ride over the last couple of weeks. Here are a few pics from the rides. I think I'm going to start posting less from the smaller breakfast rides because the photos seem to be getting repetitive.

Had a heartwarming incident happen during one of the rides. While me and Xaos636 were taking a water break 2 kids came running out from the opposite side of the road, one of the kids asked us if we could wait while he went and fetch his brother so that he could also get the see the bikes. Since we had ample time on our hands we decided to wait there while the other kid bolted on to bring his brother. What followed next was a detailed photo session for the kids with them sitting on the bike and allowing them to start up the bikes and blip the throttle too. The kids were very respectful and sweet so was more than happy to indulge them in their requests.

Hanging out with a young fan, while his friend went on to fetch his brother

So anyway, lesser of the usual pics from the next posts so enjoy these one more time

As usual, Xaos636 has been my partner in crime for the early morning rides, I think we have been riding together for almost 14 years by now.

During the last week's ride, the bike finally rolled over to 45,000 KM on the ODO. That also means it's time for an oil change and regular maintenance.

Finally, 45k has rolled on!


The happiness didn't last long

While on the ride back I was super chuffed about hitting 45k and looking forward to future rides my happiness was short-lived when I spotted a few drops of dark oil spots exactly below the rear suspension linkage.

And the leak has been confirmed!

On closer inspection, my heart skipped a beat. Yupp the worst possible thing has happened, the rear shock seems to be busted.

Rode to Highlander and got the bike fully washed, especially the suspension linkage area to observe if the shock springs a leak again.

Cleaned up, going to observe for the coming days on how much of an active leak we have

The bike was parked for about another 5-6 days and so far no oil dripping has been observed. So it's either the shock has fully leaked out which doesn't seem to be the case because it does not feel like the bike has 0 damping in the rear, or the other option is that the leak is only happening when the bike is ridden for a while when the fluid is heated up and gets thinner.

I will be taking it for one more careful ride to observe and will report back. Anyway, now I am at a crossroads do I do a rebuild or should I get a new replacement shock? Tough decisions to be made.

Anyways, looking at the positive side, the rear shock took almost 45k KM worth of torture in our road conditions before giving out.

Anyways, another thing that was noticed ever since the rear tyre change was that my portable tyre inflator which screws onto the valve register 0 psi for the rear tyre no matter how many times I try screwing it on, while it shows the correct pressure for the front. That's when I noticed the spring-loaded mechanism that locks the valve and retains the air is pressed in more than usual in the rear valve stem.

The silver one is the old / damaged one, the bronze one is the new one

Got a replacement valve and swapped it out in the rear valve stem and now I am getting proper readings with the screw-on type portable air inflator.

Anyway, that's about it for this post. Here are a couple more pics of the R1 all cleaned up.

One with Xaos636's beautiful blade, some folks might notice something different on the Fireblade. Brownie points if anyone can find it out.

As usual here is the ODO pic as the parting shot

Cheers
Krishna

[ex-innova-guy]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

One with Xaos636's beautiful blade, some folks might notice something different on the Fireblade. Brownie points if anyone can find it out.

Attachment 2635935

Attachment 2635937

#69 Nicky Hayden decal on the fairing.

Attachment 2635956

OT: Can never get enough of the vRS pictures after each ride. :-)

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

#69 Nicky Hayden decal on the fairing.

Bingo!

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

OT: Can never get enough of the vRS pictures after each ride. :-)

Enjoy a few of just the VRS then

These 2 pics below have been clicked by a good friend who is an amazingly talented photographer Abu Abraham

Cheers
Krishna

[Cyborg]

Krishna please continue your updates with photographs as you always do. I assure you we don’t find them repetitive

Hope the oil leak isn’t something serious.

Happy, safe riding.

Cheers

[akshayhonda]

Hey Krishna (And Ivin too. Off the post) DO NOT post the VRS or the Virtus pics here man. Im not that financially well to do yet. Im happy with my 85K done i20 diesel (Making it up)

I cannot be jumping into the Slavia 1.5 DSG prestige bandwagon and some more to bring it up to spec just yet. Please be considerate :P

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

Krishna please continue your updates with photographs as you always do. I assure you we don’t find them repetitive

Hope the oil leak isn’t something serious.

Happy, safe riding.

Cheers

Will post, but with lesser of the repetitive poses, will need to put in a bit more effort from my side is all and I am super lazy when it comes to taking pics on rides.

The oil leak looks to be serious, though the shock is not fully out of oil, it is progressively leaking for sure, at times I can see oil droplets on the floor too, and not to mention while riding the lack of damping is felt evidently now, but will need to find time to get the rear shock removed to have a look. I have been mulling over rebuilding the shock for a good number of months now. But the issue is finding a place that has the right tools to get it done. The rear shocks are pressurized shocks and as per Ktech, it needs 10 bar of pressure. To be able to pressurize it and keep it within the correct spec specialized equipment is required. I am in touch with a few shops and I am considering my options.

Will be keeping you guys posted on this as it develops.

Originally Posted by akshayhonda

Hey Krishna (And Ivin too. Off the post) DO NOT post the VRS or the Virtus pics here man. Im not that financially well to do yet. Im happy with my 85K done i20 diesel (Making it up)

I cannot be jumping into the Slavia 1.5 DSG prestige bandwagon and some more to bring it up to spec just yet. Please be considerate :P

Cool cool. Let's stick to bikes only in this thread then.

Cheers
Krishna

[Sok]

Lovely pics and write ups of your progresses and hiccups with the crossplane.
Can I know whats the design name of the shoei x-fourteen. It looks nice.
Your posts I must say costs me a dent on my wallet . Previously when you had shared your pics of your Arai Dani Pedrosa, it was love instant for me and next thing I did as you can guess there's the same ordered and being shipped to me.

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by Sok

Lovely pics and write ups of your progresses and hiccups with the crossplane.

Thanks for the kind words Sok.

Originally Posted by Sok

Can I know whats the design name of the shoei x-fourteen. It looks nice.

The Shoei X-14 is the Marc Marquez replica livery which he ran for the 2019 Twin Ring Motegi Japanese GP. It's a limited edition run, not easy to come by but I think there are still some for sale in International markets.

Originally Posted by Sok

Your posts I must say costs me a dent on my wallet . Previously when you had shared your pics of your Arai Dani Pedrosa, it was love instant for me and next thing I did as you can guess there's the same ordered and being shipped to me.

Well it's some of the best helmets money can buy so I guess it's a good influence? Haha...Jokes aside. Some of the livery on these helmets are just so intricate and a work of art. It's just amazing.

Cheers
Krishna

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

I will be taking it for one more careful ride to observe and will report back. Anyway, now I am at a crossroads do I do a rebuild or should I get a new replacement shock? Tough decisions to be made.

Love your updates @Krishna!! I keep feeling I should re-locate closer to you.
This way there can be 2 R1s together and I can take your help in maintaining mine as well.

Do keep me posted on what you decide on the rear shock. I might need your help on it as well. Will msg you.

From what I know, there is nobody in India who can Re-seal a Rear shock in India.


Best of Luck!!
Rachit

[gururajrv]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

Cool cool. Let's stick to bikes only in this thread then.

Cheers
Krishna

I will certainly do not mind having some pictures of that sexy looking vRS

Or a link to the other thread where vRS of yours is being posted; I can subscribe to keep my eyes happy!

[VijayAnand1]

Krish, you sincerely deserve a raise for all the little tantrums the bike's throwing at you, and yet patiently playing the catch-up game keeping up with her. My sincere thoughts and recommendation would be to simply replace the shock unit -- re-building works, definitely not against that, but those intricate seals and correct oil level/grade in the reservoir/tube make a difference.

The close proximity of the exhaust pipe, coupled with age, the seals dry up and eventually give up. The same used to happen with the Duke 390's rear shock seal going bust often. If you'd touch the rear spring after a spirited ride, it would be hot to touch and hence the frequent failures.

Rebuild if necessary for the time being if things go south, perhaps, a used one (in under budget) or a new one which is all the more better.

Good luck and keep registering the chronicles.

Cheers!
VJ

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

Love your updates @Krishna!! I keep feeling I should re-locate closer to you.
This way there can be 2 R1s together and I can take your help in maintaining mine as well.

Do keep me posted on what you decide on the rear shock. I might need your help on it as well. Will msg you.

From what I know, there is nobody in India who can Re-seal a Rear shock in India.

Best of Luck!!
Rachit

Thanks for the kind words as always Rachit,
Come down anytime. We can make a full-on blast out of it. Also whats better than working together on bikes with friends, I feel like a broken record because I keep saying this often .

Will keep you posted on the shock part. Don't want to post anything prematurely so in due time will post here.

Actually, quite a few shops here do reseal rear shocks and it does work well(as in not leak again) for many. But the issue is I want it to be done right, with the right tools and with the amount of usage I have, it has to take the abuse and mileage that it will be subject to on good and bad roads, dry or wet conditions and also next few years Track conditions as well. And since with any rebuilt shock, there is no guarantee how long it will last. Same as rebuilding alternators or starter motors or any such "sealed" components. The life of it is in the perfection of the rebuild and it's tough to gauge that just by looking at it. So we never know.

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Krish, you sincerely deserve a raise for all the little tantrums the bike's throwing at you, and yet patiently playing the catch-up game keeping up with her. My sincere thoughts and recommendation would be to simply replace the shock unit -- re-building works, definitely not against that, but those intricate seals and correct oil level/grade in the reservoir/tube make a difference.

The close proximity of the exhaust pipe, coupled with age, the seals dry up and eventually give up. The same used to happen with the Duke 390's rear shock seal going bust often. If you'd touch the rear spring after a spirited ride, it would be hot to touch and hence the frequent failures.

Rebuild if necessary for the time being if things go south, perhaps, a used one (in under budget) or a new one which is all the more better.

Good luck and keep registering the chronicles.

Cheers!
VJ

Vijay! Macha thanks for the kind words. What's life without some tantrums from the people or things we love? Am I right or Am I right?

And yup, the more time I am spending on reading up and watching videos of how a proper rebuild is done, the more I am thinking maybe a new unit makes more sense.

I explored the option of used shocks, but again the problem is the life it has had before this is a big question mark and if it fails I have another expensive paperweight that now leaks oil, which makes it a bad paperweight, so yeah. Used shock is out of the question anyway.

While I say that a new shock makes more sense, what also needs to be considered is that a new OE shock comes at close to 80-90k INR while rebuilding shocks from proficient shops was quoted to me from a range of 25-40k considering it just the work of new seals. Considering just like the front fork stanchions, if it has scoring marks then the new dust/oil seals are prone to crack and leak again, the damper shaft if it's scored the whole point of spending that much money rebuilding the rear shock is quite useless. While a new set of Front fork seals comes in at 4-5k and the labor for rebuilding is cheap we can play that game relatively easier than a 25-40k bill each time the rear shock has to be rebuilt.

So why the high price for rebuilding the rear shock, it's a bit more labor intensive and requires more amount of technical know-how and professionally curated equipment for the same to be done safely and correctly.

For example, the actual rebuild kit which includes the seals, copper(?) sleeve, and the lock nut is pretty cheap at 35 Dollars from K-tech.

But now look at the whole host of tools you require to do the job properly. The complete set of tools you'd need together is around close to 2k Dollars. And that's why shops that do have proper equipment charge you proportionally for the job. But the due diligence that we need to do on whether the shop has the said equipment is very important.

As far as a shop is concerned it's a good investment, but how many of them have the equipment is the question, sure, maybe it can be done without all these tools as well, but somehow I do not like to entertain the idea of having a critical component on my bike be rebuilt without the proper equipment, especially when the said components proper functioning can mean the difference between life/ death.

P.S: Also in case the damper shaft and/or other components inside are also damaged, the cost of repairing goes up and some parts might just not be available to be replaced so at that point buying a new shock is the only way to go.

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

But the issue is finding a place that has the right tools to get it done. The rear shocks are pressurized shocks and as per Ktech, it needs 100 bar of pressure. To be able to pressurize it and keep it within the correct spec specialized equipment is required. I am in touch with a few shops and I am considering my options.

So a mistake from my side in my previous post pertaining to the pressure required in the piggyback canister. It's not 100 BAR but 10 BAR instead. I know small mistake right? Yeah, maybe not

Stock specifications of the front and rear shocks for the R1

I have asked the mods to edit that post as well so it's not going to be misleading to anyone in the future.

Originally Posted by gururajrv

I will certainly do not mind having some pictures of that sexy looking vRS

Or a link to the other thread where vRS of yours is being posted; I can subscribe to keep my eyes happy!

@gururajrv Haha...I know, I had almost started writing a thread about the VRS too, but got lazy tbh and a few other factors too came in the way, and decided not to post about it.

Cheers
Krishna

[Deepakea83]

Thank you Krishna for sharing the info on the Akra slip-on exhaust for the ZX-4R.
I must say that i love the Yamaha YZF-R series. I have a '18 R15 with me
I'm grateful Kawasaki made the 4R or rather dared to bring back the 250/400cc supersport class.
Glad you like the 4R.