Ok, everyone likes buying goodies for their bikes... But a lot of us don't have the extra income to dedicate into turning your hobby bike into a grad prix racer...
Lets dedicate a thread to modifications that cost little to nothing to do that really add power, speed or even just style... Lets set the limits at stuff someone can do themselves in a normally stocked garage.
WARNING: Anything you do to your bike, is your doing... While I can show you what I did on my bike, I did NOT do anything on your bike. These are just recommendations. If you choose to complete any of them on your bike, you do so at your own risk!
Here's my first contribution:
My Ported Exhaust Flange
Stock CatEye exhaust port on head: 15mm x 20mm radiused rectangle
Stock CatEye flange on end of header tube: 15mm Circle
A lot of this metal that is blocking the exhaust is just the metal flange that is welded on to the pipe. This material can be cleared with a Dremel tool and a metal grinding bit.
If you don't have a Dremel, then get in your horse and buggy and go down to the dry goods merchatile and pick one up. Now were in 2005, and a corded model doesn't cost that much. Between grinding and cutting, it'll probably be the most versatile power tool you'll have.
With the gasket lined up on the engine exhaust port, check to see that it is the same size and shape as the engine exhaust port.
If so, trace the shape onto the flange thats welded onto the exhaust pipe. Thats the widest you can go. Now, I stuffed piece of a paper towel down the pipe (far enough not to get hit by Dremel bit) to keep the shavings from falling in.
I start in the corners, and push them out to the side and then up to the line on the top. Your mostly just widening the hole, so the top and bottom will be a refinement. When you get to the weld material, proceed with caution. You could be grinding off extra weld, but you also could be grinding off the weld that holds the pipe together. If your grinding weld from the flange/pipe joint, check it often while your doing it, and check it for stability before using it.
Once you start getting closer to the desired shape, you can gain the final width by grinding a bevel down to the weld (the width of the flange) on the sides.
Compare to your gasket again, and see if theres any more cleaning up/smoothing out that can be done on it (Remember, air likes a smooth surface to pass over!). When it's good to go, turn it upside down and dump the shavings out of the pipe. Now pull out the paper towel (if you forget this step you won't be happy).
Admire your work for a second! When it's bolted on you won't get to see it...
Now, just bolt it back on (with the gasket of course), and Go! You've opened up that pipe by like another 25% and let your bike say AHHhhhhhhh!!!
Total Cost: $0 (if you have the Dremel and bit)
Net: 1-2 MPH
OK, to make it worth a new thread, here's another one...
Like a lot of products that come out of China, some of these bikes lack a little finishing refinement. Sometimes this leads to the bike looking more like a toy, and less like a real full size motorcycle.
On my CatEye, the outside of the farings are nicely painted, but the inside is unpainted white plastic, except for the shots of overspray around the edges, and through any holes. This can easily be fixed for $5 and a little time.
Needed:
400 grit sandpaper
Paint thinner
Masking and Electrical tapes
1 can Krylon Fusion spraypaint for plastics
Masking paper (newspaper)
The paint said sanding is not required, but I do it anyway. A quick sand with 400 grit paper will give it a lot better surface for the paint to adhere to. Then wash off with wet rag and let dry. Finally, put thinner on a clean rag and rub down the surface to be painted. USE CAUTION NOT TO GET THINNER ON ANYTHING YOU DON'T WANT STRIPPED OF IT'S PAINT (LIKE THE OUTSIDE OF THE FARING! The thinner dries in seconds, now on to masking...
Precisely masking for overspray is the key to a good paint job! I like to use electrical tape because of its flexibility, and width. If you want to mask a curved edge, stretch the electrical tape (lengthwise), and it will bend around corners with ease. Surround all edges you don't want painted and around the lights/holes with the electrical tape.
Then come back through and cover the rest of the non-painted side with paper, and masking tape the edges down to the electrical tape. Go over all your tape edges, and make sure its pressed down, and no air bubbles that will allow paint to seep under it.
Turn it around and look at the side to be painted. Are there any holes in the masking that will allow paint to shoot where you DON"T want it to go? Is there any overlapping tape that is going to block the paint where you DO want it to go? Trim off all extra masking and patch any holes, and your ready to paint.
Start with a VERY THIN coat, this is like a primer that will help future coats grab onto the plastic. After that, give it two more light coats and it should come out awesome! I used Satin Black paint, and it had great coverage. Other colors may need more coats for desired coverage.
Allow paint to cure overnight before peeling tape. If tape leaves glue residue it can be polished off. If it doesn't easily come off, spray a little WD40 onto a rag, and wipe it with that. That will melt down any glue thats left, then you just have to wipe the oil off!
Darkening the inside camouflages a lot of the wires/cables that are inside. It looks a lot better, and the best part is it only cost $5.00!
I wish I could change the name of this thread to AtomicFreebies!
Here's another one...
I just read a post on here to throw away the mixing container (that comes with some PB's), and go to a motorcycle shop and buy one. Their right that the measurements that come on the container are WHACKED! This isn't rocket science, but you do want it to be close.
But with a little measuring using water, you can re-mark your own measurements!
I used the cap that comes on my 2 stroke oil (Castrol Super 2 stroke), and filled it level with each capful.
Put 20 caps of water in the fuel container and marked (with fine tip sharpie) it "Gas 20:1", then added 1 more and mark that "Oil 20:1". There's a small dose of 20:1 mix
Add 4 more caps (already has 21) mark that "Gas 25:1" and add 1 more cap and mark Oil 25:1. There's a small dose of 25:1...
Now add 14 more caps and mark "Gas 20:1" and add 2 caps and mark "Oil 20:1". This is a double serving of 20:1 mix.
now add 8 caps and mark "Gas 25:1" and add 2 more caps, and mark that "Oil 25:1".
This is a double serving of 25:1 mix.
Then I scribe the lines into the plastic so they don't wash off with the gas.
Also, you can measure the oil before adding it to the gas (for Castrol, a capful or 2). If you pour from the oil bottle directly into you gas container, you may not get the correct amount, and you cant take it back out after its added.
REMEMBER: The more precise you fill the caps, the closer your measurement will be in the end.
Now you have a little quick fill mix container with accurate measurements! Not as cool as a motorcycle store container (with all the equations printed on them...), but it works and it was free...
I wish I could change the name of this thread to AtomicFreebies!
Here's another one...
I just read a post on here to throw away the mixing container (that comes with some PB's), and go to a motorcycle shop and buy one. Their right that the measurements that come on the container are WHACKED! This isn't rocket science, but you do want it to be close.
But with a little measuring using water, you can re-mark your own measurements!
I used the cap that comes on my 2 stroke oil (Castrol Super 2 stroke), and filled it level with each capful.
Put 20 caps of water in the fuel container and marked (with fine tip sharpie) it "Gas 20:1", then added 1 more and mark that "Oil 20:1". There's a small dose of 20:1 mix
Add 4 more caps (already has 21) mark that "Gas 25:1" and add 1 more cap and mark Oil 25:1. There's a small dose of 25:1...
Now add 14 more caps and mark "Gas 20:1" and add 2 caps and mark "Oil 20:1". This is a double serving of 20:1 mix.
now add 8 caps and mark "Gas 25:1" and add 2 more caps, and mark that "Oil 25:1".
This is a double serving of 25:1 mix.
Then I scribe the lines into the plastic so they don't wash off with the gas.
Also, you can measure the oil before adding it to the gas (for Castrol, a capful or 2). If you pour from the oil bottle directly into you gas container, you may not get the correct amount, and you cant take it back out after its added.
REMEMBER: The more precise you fill the caps, the closer your measurement will be in the end.
Now you have a little quick fill mix container with accurate measurements! Not as cool as a motorcycle store container (with all the equations printed on them...), but it works and it was free...
THIS IS A GREAT TIP! (Provided to me by StrayDog63)
WHen I took my gas cap off to do it, it was vacuum sealed on, and made a suction sound when I took it off! It doesn't happen any more...
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StrayDawg63; Heres a tip to help fuel flow on the gas cap take it off and take it apart use a drill bit the same size or the next size up but no bigger. Use drill bit to clean up the hole you don't need a drill just use the drill bit and now you will notice a piece of rubber thats just under the hole we will call it breather tube even though it's only 5/16"of a inch long cut the very end off to make that hole a little bigger and this will help some on fuel flow...
And now for this episode of AtomicFreebies...
I read a post where someone recommended a Proline $100 bike stand... After I got off the floor from uncontrollably laughing... I decided to set out to make myself a stand!
This fits my bike perfectly (after all, it's custom sized), holds the back wheel about 3" off the ground, and can hold the weight of my CatEye WITH ME SITTING ON IT! It's real sturdy and the bike balances on it well.
Needed....
TOOLS:
Saw to cut 2" wide lumber (I used a miter, could go manual)
Jig saw (again, could go manual)
Drill
counter sink bit (not necessary, but keeps wood from splitting)
Phillips bit
MATERIALS:
1- 2x6 or 2x8- 12" long (Base)
1- 2x4- 10" long (Body that attaches base to uprights)
2- 2x4- 3" long (Uprights that bike will sit on)
10- 2 1/2" - 3" long screws (I used #8 x 2 1/2")
First take your 3" uprights and with a jigsaw, cut a V shaped notch into them - 2" wide at top and down at a 45 degree angle. These are what the bottom bar (below the swing arm) that the pegs are mounted to will sit into.
Mark the 10" 2X4 where you want the uprights to be mounted. First find the center of the 2x4 and evenly space where you want the uprights to be. Make sure they clear the peg mounts (mainly the bolts) and the body (comes back further on the left side), mine have a 2 1/4" gap between them.
Counter sink two screws in each THROUGH THE BOTTOM of the 10" 2x4, and into the UN-notched end of your short uprights. Make the screws about 1" apart towards the middle of the upright, and COMPLETELY sank below the surface.
Now turn over (so the notches are facing up) and countersink 2 more screws through the 2" sides of the uprights, and down into the 10" 2x4. Now you have 2 screws from the bottom (in the middle) and 2 screws from the top (in the outsides).
Your widest piece (2x6 or 2x8) is your base. Screw through the ends of the 10" 2x4 (OUTSIDE of your uprights), into the base. Two screws (a screw outside of each upright) will hold the base on. Gravity does the rest...
Mine ended up painted flat black, just because it was the first can of spray paint I came by. If you wanted to get fancy, you could paint it to match your bike or paint the layers different colors. What ever floats your boat...
This plan worked for me, and my CatEye but you can freestyle it... I recommend dry fitting the wood together and measuring against your bike. I pre-drilled all of the screw holes with a countersink bit.
I had every item for the build, so the grand total for my stand was $0.00!
*Claps wildly* GREAT info Atomic Biker. This thread should be stickied, these mods will save you tons of $$ and give you some nice boosts. I wish this thread was around when my middy was stock. Although im still building that stand
OK, now I'm running out of freebies... Here is a good one though...
The OEM pegs on my CatEye made a better kickstand than functional pegs!
When I first got my bike, I tried to bust a U-turn on a narrow street and dug in my peg and almost dumped it. As you might have guessed from the posts above, my immediate thought wasn't new pegs but to improve the stock pegs for FREE!
Here's my simple remedy...
All you need is:
A computerized milling machine (or a hack saw).
2 small washers
With a hack saw, I cut about 1" off the end of the pegs (in to the second pre-milled line from the end).
Next, I used my trusty Dremel to smooth out the sharp edges and round out the corners.
When I put the pegs back on, I slipped a little washer inside, between the peg and mount. This stopped the peg from flopping around and it lightly locks back when opened. I also dripped a little Loc-Tite in there while I was at it.
There's still plenty of peg to rest a shoe or boot on (about 4" w/ mount), but say good-bye to burying pegs! Having a miniature bike with full-size pegs doesn't make since anyway (just kiddin').
Total cost for 2 washers... NADA!
DISCLAIMER: I like this setup! It works for me and the tight turns I want to make... If your not sure you want to go the full distance, you can cut it at the first milled line from the end. But remember... If you cut it, you can't put it back on...
so was it pretty easy to remove all that because i was thinking about doin that because my bike does not have a place to plug the charger in for some reason so the electric start is useless to me.
Not too bad, take the recoil off and put aside. Remove the nut that holds the bracket that has the starter paw on it and then thread the bracket off. Next remove the four bolts that holds the tube which houses the starter and toss it. Loosen the bolt that holds the armature on and with a screw driver put some pressure to the back of the armature by prying against the engine housing. Tap on the loosened bolt in the middle of the armature, it should come loose. Discard the armature and remove the key in the crankshaft. All the bolts that you removed to this point are useless. You will have to come up with new bolts to remount everything. Once you go to remount the recoil it needs to be shimed out away fron the engine about an 1/8 of an inch. You may have to play with the shims to get them right so the bracket with the starter paw doesn't rub the recoil.
Shortly after recieving my X7, I removed all electronics. I Also removed the starter which reduces rotating mass. Here is a pic.
I LIKE having a starter on my bike! A lot of people dump them for weight, and the such, but I'm not trying to remove the conveniences/features to make it faster... I'm just trying to make it the best bike it can be, for free/cheap of course.
You guys are like having a conversation in my mods thread. How about starting a "removing electronics" thread?
EDITED: Sorry for the above. Its not my thread, its PBP... Post what ya like...
Last edited by AtomicBiker : 02-06-2005 at 11:51 PM.
Another free mod which alot of you might not like to do..but..here it is.
Basically, remove the rear tire guard and the metal piece holding it on. I weighed both pieces together and they equaled a pound in weight. I know it isn't alot, but every pound counts.
I'm not sure what a rear tire guard is???
Yeah, lightening the bike, hard tires, no brake drag are all "gimmees"... Not really modifications to the OEM bike parts that I was talking about.
I want to preserve (or improve) the full function of the bike, while polishing the package as much as possible for free. Thats what my "AtomicFreebies" thread was about.
Removing parts has been covered now a couple of times, now lets move on to mods that improve the function or style of the bike without hacking off parts.
Well, alot of people like the look of a "naked bike" or a bike without the rear tire fender. I don't see why this couldn't be included as a mod. As I remember the name of your thread being "FREE mods", not "free mods not included taking parts off." Just let them post the mod that they got as we are all trying to learn and help others get their bikes to the look and performance that they want.
Taking parts off your bike is a simple way of lightening your bike... It has been covered already (posts 10-14), do we need a separate post for each part you can take off?
To cut to the chase, you can take off the body, top cover, fenders, windshield, seat, electronics, chainguard, kickstand, grips, valve stem caps, and any other part that you don't actually need for the engine to run, wheels to roll, and hopefully steer and stop.
In addition, you can take off your helmet, gear, clothes, shoes, and all body hair (I personally wouldnt but all would make you lighter).
Like I said, I started the thread with the idea of preserving (or improving) the full function of the bike, while polishing the package as much as possible for free. Hacking parts off doesn't do that for me, but again...
I'm not stopping anyone from posting here-
OR
Starting a new "Things to Hack Off" thread.
PS: I Don't recommend taking off your helmet or body hair...
And thanks for the footpeg shave idea, i did that one yesterday! 
