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Brake lever: steel vs aluminum

Started by great white, May 23, 2017, 12:48:37 PM

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great white

I'm on a bit of a weight loss kick for my 89 FJ1200.

After bolting up a different exhaust, there's not a lot of places to drop big amounts of weight on the ol' FJ. So I'm after the little bits for now while trying not to loose the original FJ "look".

Not sure if it's been discussed before, but I dropped some grams with a simple lever swap.

1986:



1989:



So, half the weight, about 1/3 lb less.

Not a big difference when you're talking about a 550+ lb bike, but every bit helps. It was only 20 bucks shipped to my door so I figured why not?

:)

I'm swapping a couple things on the 89 that are steel that were aluminum on earlier bikes. Next up is the shift lever.

Still working on the exhaust. Got a couple kerker Slip ons that just showed up and a set of single wall header pipes. That collector is soooooome heavy thought. It's a spare collector, so I might cut it open and have a look to see what's what.

:dance2:

camo

keep us updated with pics mate....

FJmonkey

Get the RPM exhaust, it is super light. And swap out the swing arm and wheels. You could also apply the Mark Olson weight loss program.
The glass is not half full, it was engineered with a 2X safety factor.

'86 Ambulance - Bent frame, cracked case, due for an overhaul
'89 Stormy Blue - Suits my Dark Side

great white

Quote from: FJmonkey on May 23, 2017, 02:05:24 PM
Get the RPM exhaust, it is super light.

Don't doubt it and Randy sells good stuff, but it's not in the cards. I'm going with the Kerker slip ons for the look I want for the bike. Hence, wanting to "F" around with a stock collector to see what's going on in there.

Quote from: FJmonkey on May 23, 2017, 02:05:24 PMAnd swap out the swing arm and wheels.

Swingarm isn't going anywhere in the near future (IE: $$$). Tires I have to wear out before swapping, but there's a FZR750R front wheel and an FZR1000 EXUP rear wheel waiting in the rafters. Got my own metal lathe, so spacers and fitting the rear rim is not an issue.

Quote from: FJmonkey on May 23, 2017, 02:05:24 PMYou could also apply the Mark Olson weight loss program.

Now that I could certainly use......30-40 lbs worth of it....... :shok:

copper

Quote from: great white on May 23, 2017, 02:42:13 PM
Now that I could certainly use......30-40 lbs worth of it....... :shok:

You can lose half that with the RPM exhaust I think it saves close to 20 lbs. Just a touch more than the few grams you saved with the brake pedal. Also, I think someone on here may have cut the collector open before, if I recall there isn't much in there except air.


Pat Conlon

Quote from: great white on May 23, 2017, 02:42:13 PM
Quote from: FJmonkey on May 23, 2017, 02:05:24 PM
Get the RPM exhaust, it is super light.

Don't doubt it and Randy sells good stuff, but it's not in the cards. I'm going with the Kerker slip ons for the look I want for the bike. Hence, wanting to "F" around with a stock collector to see what's going on in there.


Yep, RPM's header is good stuff....but if you don't have the money, you don't have the money.
Don't despair.....
Replacing the stock mufflers with Kerker slip on's will save considerable weight.
Also, there is an alternative to the heavy stock steel collector box....I just can't find a picture right now.
It's a light weight 4 into 2 merge collector with a cross over pipe.... I didn't see it on FleaBay.
1) Free Owners Manual download: https://tinyurl.com/fmsz7hk9
2) Don't store your FJ with E10 fuel https://tinyurl.com/3cjrfct5
3) Replace your old stock rubber brake lines.
4) Important items for the '84-87 FJ's:
Safety wire: https://tinyurl.com/99zp8ufh
Fuel line: https://tinyurl.com/bdff9bf3

fj1289

Lithium battery is probably the next easiest, semi-affordable weight loss.  Do you have a corbin seat?  Replace it with stock.  Rider weight is the cheapest to remove!  I'm trying to do that now...

racerrad8

Quote from: great white on May 23, 2017, 12:48:37 PM
...there's not a lot of places to drop big amounts of weight on the ol' FJ.
We talked about large amounts of weight loss here earlier this year: 1100 & 1200 Weight Differences?

Randy - RPM
Randy - RPM

great white

Quote from: Pat Conlon on May 23, 2017, 04:23:04 PM
Quote from: great white on May 23, 2017, 02:42:13 PM
Quote from: FJmonkey on May 23, 2017, 02:05:24 PM
Get the RPM exhaust, it is super light.

Don't doubt it and Randy sells good stuff, but it's not in the cards. I'm going with the Kerker slip ons for the look I want for the bike. Hence, wanting to "F" around with a stock collector to see what's going on in there.


Yep, RPM's header is good stuff....but if you don't have the money, you don't have the money.
Don't despair.....
Replacing the stock mufflers with Kerker slip on's will save considerable weight.
Also, there is an alternative to the heavy stock steel collector box....I just can't find a picture right now.
It's a light weight 4 into 2 merge collector with a cross over pipe.... I didn't see it on FleaBay.

perhaps:



That's a UK sourced company I found that at. Would be pretty easy to build out of mild or stainless. Ti is a different story.... :wacko1:

Quote from: fj1289 on May 23, 2017, 04:40:08 PM
Lithium battery is probably the next easiest, semi-affordable weight loss.  Do you have a corbin seat?  Replace it with stock.  Rider weight is the cheapest to remove!  I'm trying to do that now...

Unfortunately, my AGM is less than a season old and I can't justify tossing it. I'd actually like to get something a little smaller (R6 has been mentioned) so i can fit the 600RR shock I've been playing with.

Seat is OEM.

Rider weight I coudl afford to loose for more than just the bike's benefit...... :sarcastic:

Pat Conlon

yep, that's it ^^^^

There is nothing you can do to the oem steel collector box (it's hollow) except replace it with something lighter.

If you have a '84 or '85 you can save weight by replacing the steel double wall header tubes with the '86 and later single wall stainless tubes.

I found this in the FJ UK Catalog


I like the smoother flow for gas merge, but it's a bit pricey: http://www.fjcatalogue.com/catalog/item/7168849/10020892.htm
1) Free Owners Manual download: https://tinyurl.com/fmsz7hk9
2) Don't store your FJ with E10 fuel https://tinyurl.com/3cjrfct5
3) Replace your old stock rubber brake lines.
4) Important items for the '84-87 FJ's:
Safety wire: https://tinyurl.com/99zp8ufh
Fuel line: https://tinyurl.com/bdff9bf3

great white

Quote from: Pat Conlon on May 23, 2017, 07:47:52 PM
yep, that's it ^^^^

There is nothing you can do to the oem steel collector box (it's hollow) except replace it with something lighter.

If you have a '84 or '85 you can save weight by replacing the steel double wall header tubes with the '86 and later single wall stainless tubes.

I found this in the FJ UK Catalog


I like the smoother flow for gas merge, but it's a bit pricey: http://www.fjcatalogue.com/catalog/item/7168849/10020892.htm

£199.00? Pshaw, I can bang that out in an afternoon in the garage. Methinks they have just a wee bit markup in there..... :sarcastic:

All my pipes are 89, so single wall.

Just for grins and giggles I chucked some stuff on the scale:







So lets see:

Kerkers = 2.1 kg x 2 = 4.2 KG
Stock collector = 3.2 kg
Headers = .8 kg x 4 = 3.2 kg

Total for stock system with Kerkers = 10.6 kg or approx 23.4 lb

That's actually not too terribly bad. If replacing the stock collector and coming in around at around 4 lbs (admittedly a WAG), you're still looking at 19-20 lbs.

Wonder how much the RPM system weights? 10-15 lbs maybe?

I also think I may be able to cut out some of that collector weight. While looking inside the collector, I can see it's lined with a stainless (?) mesh. That mesh is caked with soot from years of running. I'm thinking I'll give 'er a soak and see what comes out....can't hurt!

:sarcastic:

racerrad8

Quote from: great white on May 23, 2017, 09:38:39 PM

Wonder how much the RPM system weights? 10-15 lbs maybe?

No need to wonder, all of the weights are listed here: RPM S/S Exhaust System. The lightest is 8.5 and the heaviest 9.9 lbs.

Randy - RPM
Randy - RPM

great white

Quote from: racerrad8 on May 23, 2017, 10:05:22 PM
Quote from: great white on May 23, 2017, 09:38:39 PM

Wonder how much the RPM system weights? 10-15 lbs maybe?

No need to wonder, all of the weights are listed here: RPM S/S Exhaust System. The lightest is 8.5 and the heaviest 9.9 lbs.

Randy - RPM

That's pretty good!

:)

FJmonkey

And they sound really good as well. WOT with the induction growl from the UNI pods and RPM roar just adds to the KOOKALOO...
The glass is not half full, it was engineered with a 2X safety factor.

'86 Ambulance - Bent frame, cracked case, due for an overhaul
'89 Stormy Blue - Suits my Dark Side

great white

On my goodness! 899 USD.

Plus shipping and exchange would push me into the 1400-1500 cad range.

Too spicy for my blood with a $6,000 + landscaping bil currently hanging over my head.

Not a fan of pod filters on CV carbs either. Pass more air? Sure, potentially. But lots of jetting work required to get them to carburate properly, at least it always has been in my experience. Rather not open that particular can O' worms on this bike. Same with the induction roar, rather not on this bike. Heck, I may end up taking off the Kerkers if they're too loud for my taste.....