New member to say hello

My bike as far as I know and ride her won't power wheelie....please take note I have not given her full throttle on the road as the back tyre will spin out. However she never seems to want to raise the front when I have been off-road even on a flat field...she just spins the rear....makes sense.
My rear tyre is slightly larger than stock being a 140/90 profile which makes the bike sit very high...which I guess will make the wheelie more difficult ?, but I am running 13 front with a largish 50 rear so should in theory be easy to power wheelie ?.
Maybe with a 17" rear rim and road tyres things would be different ?

Watch this guy tugging the front end to get it up ?.


And another using the clutch.....

Now that you mention it I think I do that. Not so much pulling on the bars but shifting your weight forward to back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljoHRP_QWso&t=1m6s

Mauser wrote:My bike as far as I know and ride her won't power wheelie....please take note I have not given her full throttle on the road as the back tyre will spin out. However she never seems to want to raise the front when I have been off-road even on a flat field...she just spins the rear....makes sense.
My rear tyre is slightly larger than stock being a 140/90 profile which makes the bike sit very high...which I guess will make the wheelie more difficult ?, but I am running 13 front with a largish 50 rear so should in theory be easy to power wheelie ?.
Maybe with a 17" rear rim and road tyres things would be different ?

Mate i think when the weather turns warm again we need to get together and compare ( the bikes of course )
Do you know some XR guru here in UK who might know whats the problem ?
BTW i am running 14/48 setup ( stock )

Mad Frosty wrote:

Mauser wrote:My bike as far as I know and ride her won't power wheelie....please take note I have not given her full throttle on the road as the back tyre will spin out. However she never seems to want to raise the front when I have been off-road even on a flat field...she just spins the rear....makes sense.
My rear tyre is slightly larger than stock being a 140/90 profile which makes the bike sit very high...which I guess will make the wheelie more difficult ?, but I am running 13 front with a largish 50 rear so should in theory be easy to power wheelie ?.
Maybe with a 17" rear rim and road tyres things would be different ?

Mate i think when the weather turns warm again we need to get together and compare ( the bikes of course )
Do you know some XR guru here in UK who might know whats the problem ?
BTW i am running 14/48 setup ( stock )

Sounds good.... I only know Paul at xr650r.co.uk but he's miles away so cannot really do any tests on his bikes compared to mine; don't get me wrong mine will pull away in 5th from stationary without any problems and will happily spin the rear wheel in 5th riding down the lanes...you know the grass you get in the middle of the lanes ?, love doing that lol.
Cannot think of anything else which would cause any performance issue's ?, maybe the valves need adjusting ?.....anyone comment on poor performance from incorrect valves ?, no rattles from the top on my baby though ?. I have not checked them sincegetting the bike 2 & half years ago; she starts first kick and doesn't miss a beat so never think to check them.

I think my valves need adjusting , because i can hear them more than i like too . The engine is deffo healthy , the compression is incredible . On the tarmac it pulls like mad , i have only done one atempt to do a wheelie
in third gear , failed but then i might be too soft with the bike if you know what i mean .
Do you run the stock carb on yours Mauser ?

Yes stock carb...all i have done really is service the front forks with some new oil....I did a write up here....

http://www.xr650r.co.uk/service/forks.shtml

Might be worth checking yours as the old stuff is described as whale snot

This is the video i was on about , right in the beginning you can see the power lift
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRyPLAoPirg

I have two bottles of Silkolene PRO RSF 5 and new set of genuine honda fork seals + dust seals waiting for new springs to arrive , i hope its the correct viscosity because it feel bit " runny " in the bottle , i am thinking that thicker oil might be better but i dont have a clue about suspension really

My buddy just changed the fluid in his bone stock XRR forks. He started flushing things out and used 15w and he said that was ridiculously thick and significantly changed things. Went back to 5w and all was good, once he got all the 15w out that is

The guy in the video is standing when he does that while going up hill. If you cant get the brp to wheelie in those conditions I recommend not standing on the little lever by the right foot peg and turning the throttle more

I have checked the fork job before but did not realized it was you who did it , should have open my eyes more -
the clues :
1- very clean carpet in the workshop
2- kawasaki ZX12R in the backround


You are welcome to do mine if you want

Mad Frosty wrote:I have checked the fork job before but did not realized it was you who did it , should have open my eyes more -
the clues :
1- very clean carpet in the workshop
2- kawasaki ZX12R in the backround


You are welcome to do mine if you want

LOL! That wasn't me No carpet and ZX6R's My buddy did his and said it was a piece of cake but I didn't care cuz I'm terrified of suspension. I've got a set of CRF450 forks that need new seals so I'll be taking my first set of forks apart soon. Ship me yours and I could use them to practice on

MA$TER_E wrote:My buddy just changed the fluid in his bone stock XRR forks. He started flushing things out and used 15w and he said that was ridiculously thick and significantly changed things. Went back to 5w and all was good, once he got all the 15w out that is

The guy in the video is standing when he does that while going up hill. If you cant get the brp to wheelie in those conditions I recommend not standing on the little lever by the right foot peg and turning the throttle more

You have me thinking now , i might have pushed on the rear brake lever when doing the test ( fear and panick kicks in when riding new bike

MA$TER_E wrote:

Mad Frosty wrote:I have checked the fork job before but did not realized it was you who did it , should have open my eyes more -
the clues :
1- very clean carpet in the workshop
2- kawasaki ZX12R in the backround


You are welcome to do mine if you want

LOL! That wasn't me No carpet and ZX6R's My buddy did his and said it was a piece of cake but I didn't care cuz I'm terrified of suspension. I've got a set of CRF450 forks that need new seals so I'll be taking my first set of forks apart soon. Ship me yours and I could use them to practice on

Sorry mate that was adressed to Mauser , the link he posted showes him doing the fork service , his OCD its worst than mine

Mad Frosty wrote:I have checked the fork job before but did not realized it was you who did it , should have open my eyes more -
the clues :
1- very clean carpet in the workshop
2- kawasaki ZX12R in the backround


You are welcome to do mine if you want

Well spotted Frosty....never noticed the back wheel on the 12 in the pictures. It's not the perfect guide but it was aimed to give some idea as what to do, I pinched the method from other users. After all they only got the method from the book at some stage lol. My seals were not leaking so never did the full strip down, looking online it doesn't appear to be a big job just need the proper seal tool to push the new seals in....saw some on ebay.

Mauser wrote:maybe the valves need adjusting ?.....anyone comment on poor performance from incorrect valves ? I have not checked them sincegetting the bike 2 & half years ago

2.5 years, no, YEARS?
This is typically Mauser yanking, or trying to, our chain. Anyone knows that adjusting valves one does when you change oil ie every 1500/2000 kilometers.
If it's not........ you know what you do wrong.

BuRP wrote:

Mauser wrote:maybe the valves need adjusting ?.....anyone comment on poor performance from incorrect valves ? I have not checked them sincegetting the bike 2 & half years ago

2.5 years, no, YEARS?
This is typically Mauser yanking, or trying to, our chain. Anyone knows that adjusting valves one does when you change oil ie every 1500/2000 kilometers.
If it's not........ you know what you do wrong.

I kid you not Burp ?, no joke I have not ever touched my valves since owning the bike ?, I have probably done 1,200 miles tops, she sounds great and starts first time...so never bothered to check them.

Your more of an expert on the 650R than I will ever be so would a bike with in-correct valve clearances perform badly but still sound and start OK ?....does this explain why I cannot wheelie from the throttle as earlier posts ?.

1200mi in 2.5 yr = 760km per year?
How often do you start it Mauser?
No biggie then yet, but time to check them anyway!
So, off the tank, brew a cuppa & clean the feelers, then dig in. Make a habit of this, ditto oil changing: at least twice a year if you lurve it but once (in spring) is minimum, even if you don't ride at all.
Oh, with such low mileage a pure synth will do for you. You see, a mineral will seek the sump more than a clinging synth, it'll still be lubed the day you eventually start it.
Look, if it never wheelied then I hunch it's you, not the bike (decorked & all) unless you've got a long gearing on.
But yeah, theoretically it could be the valves if (a lot of ifs!) but I'd not worry, just set them.
However, I am more tempted to say you ride so little that your petrol is fouling the carb - ever taken it off and checked/cleaned it?
But, eh, nobody here is fully honest! A power wheely only a handful of bikes do really spontaneously, the Kawa S2 triple (1971) still springs to my mind. A bit of tugging or leaning back (often both) helps at lot to loft the front, or rolling off & on (so the forks 'kick' you up), or if it really struggles feathering the clutch. The pig however lofts easily, indeed on the throttle, and a teeny weeny bit of help will see you seeing yer arse quickly!
So set the tickers and go out and try - atgatt pls?

I ride for about an hour a time covering about 15 - 20 miles down narrow lanes, don't reach much more than 50KPH on the occasional straight. Not been out much lately due to weather and family etc. Carb is spotless; I use silkolene semi synthetic same as what goes in the ZX12-R, talking of power bikes the 12 kicks out 170ish bhp and even with that much power she won't easily power wheelie....needs a hump bridge in second gear and slight acceleration to raise the front...then again I am not a big balls rider so I never open her up fully specially in low gears...took her up to 170 once or twice....now that's fast.....



300KPH is 186 and mine hits the rev limiter when it gets there lol.

Anyway might check the valves over Xmas.....thanks for the input

Used to ride road sport bikes , and did some illegal speeds but never felt scared , the new bikes are incredibly well designed and can take high speeds with smile , i mean doing 120mph ( about 190 kmh ) feels like lesure sunday ride - you dont feel the speed . When i ride the XR on a "tractor's only " field roads / green lanes the fastest i went so far was 125 kmh ( 70 mph ? ) and it felt " VERY INTENSE " in other words that was the first time in my life i got scared on a bike , i was forced to slow down in the bent when i have realized that i am sliding and nearly hit the fence , as you can see i am not used to be of the tarmac , this is whole new world for me but i am getting there

I have heard that the XR is very sensitive to incorrectly set valves , but i take everything from the net with pinch of salt

In my case the clickity clack noise its a good indication that the valves need attention , strangely it starts 1 or 2 kicks

I'm here because the leisurely 120mph Sunday rides finally caught up with me. Was out on an asphalt assault ride and came very close to getting a ride to jail and toys taken away. Lucked out, paid the fines, took the classes, sold one of the ZX6R's and converted the other to a track only and bought the XR. Just after the ticket I lost two friends to wrecks on the street this year so I'm taking it as a sign to get off the street.

Besides, if you wana ride a wheelie or do 100mph out in the woods knock your self out. Like you said and for me its very similar, 65mph on the XR in the right conditions can be terrifying. I've been scared a couple times on the XR now. To be scared on the ZX I've got to be going pretty fast and the odds are I wouldn't survive an off on the street. So I keep it on the track now.

I have crashed 14 times ( and counting ) all road bikes , i was lucky so far but i know what you mean , too many friends who are not here anymore . I got bored with sports bikes , tyred of revving it up all the time , the size of them ( even the 1000ccm + ones feel like they are made for dwarves ), stupid riding position , hard suspension , and the biggest problem is that you have to stay on the solid road , with offroad bike you have more freedom only your bravery is the limit Or i just have grove up finaly

Nickname Kamikaze sums it up well enough

Know what you mean about small bikes Frosty but the 12 isn't a small infact most riders buy the 12 for the bike size....
To be honest I would sell the 12 tomorrow and keep the piggy if I had to choose between them, I find the 12 great to ride and power is mind blowing but boring as there is only 1 decent road around where I can go.....up to Matlock which gets a bit boring all the time...end up going faster and faster and only a matter of time before the piggies catch me.
I can chuck my textiles on and go down the lanes for an hour and not see anything apart from the odd horse...no worries about coppers with speed guns and I just chill out.

Mauser wrote:Know what you mean about small bikes Frosty but the 12 isn't a small infact most riders buy the 12 for the bike size....
To be honest I would sell the 12 tomorrow and keep the piggy if I had to choose between them, I find the 12 great to ride and power is mind blowing but boring as there is only 1 decent road around where I can go.....up to Matlock which gets a bit boring all the time...end up going faster and faster and only a matter of time before the piggies catch me.
I can chuck my textiles on and go down the lanes for an hour and not see anything apart from the odd horse...no worries about coppers with speed guns and I just chill out.

Dont get me wrong i love bikes from vespa to harley , but just got tired of " racing " on the public roads , i have realized that if i slow down i can see more of the world around , and god what a beautiful place this planet is , so much to see and so little time .
I nearly bought the ZX 12 some years ago , lovely bike and great engine , descendant of the first real hypersport tourer ZZR 1100 ( i am honda/kawasaki man ) the looks are not for everyone but you can say that about most new bikes . Had few years break but missed the riding too much , decided to return but try diffferent aproach this time

Welcome to the forum!

Sounds like the smartest decision to me. And the privilege of a long life means burying those we like and love. I'm 53 and I've buried four very close friends in the last 10 years. It's health reasons now but 20 years ago I lost alot of friends to racing of one sort or another.

MA$TER_E wrote:I'm here because the leisurely 120mph Sunday rides finally caught up with me. Was out on an asphalt assault ride and came very close to getting a ride to jail and toys taken away. Lucked out, paid the fines, took the classes, sold one of the ZX6R's and converted the other to a track only and bought the XR. Just after the ticket I lost two friends to wrecks on the street this year so I'm taking it as a sign to get off the street.

Besides, if you wana ride a wheelie or do 100mph out in the woods knock your self out. Like you said and for me its very similar, 65mph on the XR in the right conditions can be terrifying. I've been scared a couple times on the XR now. To be scared on the ZX I've got to be going pretty fast and the odds are I wouldn't survive an off on the street. So I keep it on the track now.

Bump wrote:Welcome to the forum!

Thanx