Recent content by Michael Moore

  1. M

    Electrical bikes :))

    Are you looking for a pedelec type of bicycle or an e-motorcycle? The answer you get may depend on which question you are asking. As with anything else, there's no 100% reliable vehicle, electric, internal combustion or human-powered. I watch a Zero forum because I know a couple of guys here...
  2. M

    I hope to be working on my CTX soon

    Steven, there's a video shot of a couple of Voyagers on the Severn Bridge in England, which is known for a lot of nasty side wind. It isn't a problem, a lot of development was done to get the aerodynamics working properly. One of the things to watch on aeros is that the Center of Pressure...
  3. M

    I hope to be working on my CTX soon

    That's why there will be a seat back and the rider is also moving forward and down. The typical chopper/cruiser with no seat back and the rider emulating a parachute makes no sense to me, I'm going for a Porsche/sports car seating position (which is what Dan Gurney did on the Alligators)...
  4. M

    I hope to be working on my CTX soon

    I'm doing a feet forwards (FF) conversion on the CTX; there are some sketchy details on progress to the beginning of the year on my website http://www.eurospares.com/HondaCTX700.htm The KTM 250 is a 50 hp/50 pound two-stroke engine and I've got 125GP/Moto3 wheels/brakes for it. My plan is to...
  5. M

    I hope to be working on my CTX soon

    The CTX project bike has been mostly sitting unmolested this year, but I'm hoping that will change soon. What is happening to change things? I'm finishing a 15 month project of emptying 500 sq feet of warehouse storage space filled with 30+ years accumulation of bikes/parts. With luck the...
  6. M

    Trouble in Paradise.

    Ralph, let me recommend some reading that will make a lot of this suspension stuff make sense: http://www.racetech.com/page/title/Suspension%20Bible Note: A good friend of mine did all the graphics in the RT book. If you want a solid grounding in different types of dampers (front and rear)...
  7. M

    Trouble in Paradise.

    The CTX and NC use the same swing arm and links (and it appears the upper damper mounting position on the frame), the extra travel is gained in the damper. Both models have dampers with the same compressed length giving the same ground clearance at full bump -- the NC has a longer extended...
  8. M

    Trouble in Paradise.

    Your modification of the links may have moved you into a different area on the suspension curve/changed the wheel rate. You should not presume that spacer/preload mod alone (without the link modification) would give the exact result you have gotten. I've ridden bikes with well-sorted Emulator...
  9. M

    Trouble in Paradise.

    You can set sag all you want, but if the spring rate is wrong for the load then it is wrong and sag isn't going to be more than a small band-aid on a wound that never heals. Spring preload adjustment is for making minor changes in ride height when there are modest changes in load, it doesn't...
  10. M

    Trouble in Paradise.

    FWIW, the stock CTX rear damper has about 40 mm (1.575") stroke with a claimed 4.3" of travel and the NC-spec HO 070 Ohlins is 56.5 mm stroke. The overall leverage ratio is roughly 2.7:1 which is on the higher side but not outside the normal range. There have been plenty of MXers with 3:1 (4"...
  11. M

    To kick tires or not to kick tires

    Add dealing with major metropolitan area traffic (I'm in San Francisco) and I think it gets worse. I've got very few street miles since racing was always my focus. But the bike-friendly/fun roads that I can get to have all got 40-60 minutes minimum of major freeway traffic between me and them...
  12. M

    seems some folks are gone?

    In 1971/72 I worked part time at a Suzuki/Triumph/BMW dealership in New Mexico. We had one of every model (except the MX bikes) as a demonstrator which doesn't seem to be the case with dealerships these days. You could walk in and ride a Trailhopper or a Trident, they were all ready to go.
  13. M

    What you going to do in 2018?

    I'll keep plugging away at my CTX FF conversion in the hopes I might get to ride it at some point this year (I only had the one last year after I bought it and then immobilized it to start fiddling). I've already made some progress this year with some CNC brackets and I've been playing with...
  14. M

    Pro Oiler Improvement

    As a slight derailment, I had a couple of Zero electric bike owners stop by for a visit a few weeks ago. The Zeros have a belt final drive and they sure are quiet. I've heard e-bikes with chain drives and there's a surprising amount of noise from the chain.
  15. M

    Foot Boards

    I don't know how the floorboards are on a CTX, but I sat on an NM4/Vultus and as soon as me feet were on the floorboards I thought "wow, this is soooo comfortable, why haven't I experienced this in the last 45 years?"
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