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matty

matty

Border raider.
Joined
Feb 8, 2022
Member Number
139
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575
Location
England Scotish border
I am firmly of the opinion that weight in a motorcycle however big or small, needs to be ght need. as light as you can possibly make it practicaly. and if you are modifying a stock bike weight reduction is a factor i like to pay attention too.
Everything must weigh something, and to get the latest and greatest lightweight components has a price. And i suppose if your filthy rich and not just filthy like me, then throwing your bounteous finances into the mix could potentially have the weight reduction job sewn up.
But Carbon fibre frames aside and looking at modifying your stock whatever with the aim of improving its performance then the subtle attention to the details all can add up to an overall surprisingly lighter package and often with little more than a bit of thought and careful selection of any replacement parts you might need could save ounces and ounces make pounds.
Leaving this with the obvious , that if its no longer there it cant weigh anything, i look at must i still retain that and if not it is gone and wola instant weight loss. Obviously considering all aspects before omit ion of the said component first.
I would like any like minded souls on here who are interested in saving a few lbs or a lot of lbs to share their findings, just how much lighter was the aftermarket x for your y and what did it save with the carbon fibe tail tidy etc etc.
Even tyres they vary in weight, any details?
Here is a link to a thread of an old now largely forgeten motorcycle forum started by a guy clearly interested comited to in saving weight of a dr350 and himself , ok you might not have one of those but lots of info usable elseware thought i would link it here.
www.advrider.com

The DR350 and I go on a diet

Greetings to all. I recently had the opportunity to purchase a 1995 DR350. After bringing it home we started it enough to determine there were no weird...
www.advrider.com www.advrider.com
 
There are several trade-off’s that need to be considered in this discussion. Weight is not always the enemy, in some cases weight brings us strength or durability. Even in the world of modern materials. Weight can add stability for road going bikes subject to cross winds and eddy currents from traffic.
 
Weight loss (obsession) for bikes is pretty much useless unless you are racing. Spending fortune for unobtanium materials for a street bike rarely brings benefits noticeable on the road. There are some changes you can make to make your bike handle better and/or be more comfortable but weight loss for its own sake is rarely effective.
 
That's true, but some areas are particularly useful to shed weight from. I bought a shinko tire once that was quite heavy adding right at a full pound on one tire. You feel that pretty easy.

A new exhaust on my Yamaha took 10lbs off the bike. You can't feel that whatsoever.
 
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Amos Malone said:
Weight loss (obsession) for bikes is pretty much useless unless you are racing. Spending fortune for unobtanium materials for a street bike rarely brings benefits noticeable on the road. There are some changes you can make to make your bike handle better and/or be more comfortable but weight loss for its own sake is rarely effective.
Click to expand...

Light is right :deal
While riding, extra mass is noticed during acceleration, braking as well as side to side transitions.
While not riding, extra mass is noticed just about every time you lift up the bike from the ground.

For those times when extra weight is "required", just bolt on some lead pieces as ballast :lol3
 
Amos Malone said:
In theory you're correct. But let's say you have 200 kg bike and remove 4 kg. Regular rider will not notice 2% weight difference. Not under acceleration, not under braking, not in side to side transitions. Regular humans are just not that accurate. Unless you count the Placebo effect that so many suffer from :-), but that is just as effective if they believe a weight has been removed, even if the weight is in fact the same.
Good rider is not using full acceleration, braking, or side to side transactions outside of controlled racing environment. Outside of environment without things at the side of the road that will kill you if you hit them, or you kill someone, without doctor and ambulance on standby at the trackside. He is always holding a lot back. Just in case a person steps onto the road in front of them, a car driver unexpectedly moves into their lane.
The rare rider who is in a race environment, who has the talent to notice and utilize the weight difference, will not be asking for weight advice on a internet forum. With full respect for the advice offered there. Which often has good truth hidden among the :topes.
Click to expand...

Partly agree with that, especially the placebo effect :lol3
Regarding the 4kg difference in your example, yeah it probably won't be noticed at all (thinking battery/muffler replacement, or similar) - but swap out the stock wheels for fancy cf or mag ones = big change. Of course, that's more than just plain weight shedding (and unsuspended at that) as they also spin.
Almost dropping the bike at standstill and need to put out a foot and catch it? Every extra kg counts, particularly if it's high up on the bike. (top box full of beer vs no top box)
 
I'm not super trained professional, but over thirty years of riding experience (and some years racing) must count for something. Right? :lol3
So, in my experience. Good tires, sorted suspension and rider training will help you ten times more than losing few kilos from the bike.
Now. After having put the good tires on, sorted the suspension, and learned to ride under professional guidance (to prevent you from having bad riding habits). Maybe then you can benefit from lighter bike. Maybe. But you have to be riding against someone, maybe just against a clock, to confirm if that's the case. Guys like Marques and Rossi don't have meetings after every race to discuss how to lighten the bike.
EOR. Now I'll have some :drink
 
The OP points to a winter build project. Emphasis on piece by piece weight reduction. Cool. Excellent idea on its own merits, particularly far North long winter with a heated shop.

Performance enhancement project? Completely different thing. School. School. School.
 
I am of the opinion if a person owns the bike.......

Do whatever you want to it, it's your bike. Change it however you want, take off weight, put on weight.

Whatever you think makes it the way you want it. After you do it and don't like it?

Change it back. It's your bike.

Just my $.02 worth.
 
Weight has it's place as mentioned above. My KTM 350 weighing around 250 is miserable on the slab. Whippy, quirky, generally an unstable sort (yes I have a steering damper). However, coming down a steep, deeply graveled hill into a T intersection, she whoas wonderfully. Same cannot be said of 500 pound adventure bike, ABS or not. Kind of a pucker experience actually. But same said bike on the slab is a wonderment of calm and serenity.
 
We're keen to shed weight on all sorts of things on the outside of our bikes, but I've rebuilt several bike engines and am always surprised how heavy some internals are. I've often wondered what it's be like to go inside an engine and really start lightening things.

Lots of drive components inside engines could be lightened but the OEM can't afford to sink money in to it. Cam chain gears can almost always stand to be skeletonized. That's a big spinny thing. I've seen oil pump gears that were as hefty as transmission gears. There doesn't need to be that much mass to drive an oil pump, it's just a result of chopping out the easiest shape and it reaching the things it needs to reach. Used to be a company that offered a service to lighten CB750 charging rotors. They were taking THREE POUNDS of material off. There's no way you couldn't feel that.

A gasket set and a winter spent massaging things would probably be time well spent.
 
So this is the opposite of what most of you all have mentioned but maybe food for thought, When I had the rotopax on the tail of my DRZ thta little bit of weight mayde for a huuuuuge handling difference whereas the one time I had the same rotopax full and in my backpack it was hardly noticeable. Weight is important, but where that weight is place(or removed) is even more important
 
psykown said:
So this is the opposite of what most of you all have mentioned but maybe food for thought, When I had the rotopax on the tail of my DRZ thta little bit of weight mayde for a huuuuuge handling difference whereas the one time I had the same rotopax full and in my backpack it was hardly noticeable. Weight is important, but where that weight is place(or removed) is even more important
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Thats the thinking that OEM’s went on a binge of mass centralization.
 
Shinyribs said:
We're keen to shed weight on all sorts of things on the outside of our bikes, but I've rebuilt several bike engines and am always surprised how heavy some internals are. I've often wondered what it's be like to go inside an engine and really start lightening things.

Lots of drive components inside engines could be lightened but the OEM can't afford to sink money in to it. Cam chain gears can almost always stand to be skeletonized. That's a big spinny thing. I've seen oil pump gears that were as hefty as transmission gears. There doesn't need to be that much mass to drive an oil pump, it's just a result of chopping out the easiest shape and it reaching the things it needs to reach. Used to be a company that offered a service to lighten CB750 charging rotors. They were taking THREE POUNDS of material off. There's no way you couldn't feel that.

A gasket set and a winter spent massaging things would probably be time well spent.
Click to expand...

It also comes down to rideability, all that spinning stuff keeps the motor running well (not too erratic or "hot"), plus it provides a nice gyroscopic effect when riding.
 
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