Topic: What is everyone stripping off to save weight?

[scottly]

You have to add the caliper and hanger weight to the rear wheel to be equal
 The 24 lb dymag wheel with tire I got has a wrinklewall on it, so I am thinking a street tire will add around 4 or more lbs.

The caliper and hanger weigh 3 pounds. I'm getting new tires next week; I'll weigh them before mounting. 

[754]

The other thing to consider (Weight-wise)when changing rear wheel is MC , pedal and linkage.. the stock crossover shaft and pedal are very heavy on F & K models.. same with the main footpegs.

[Anti-Johnny]

Are there comstar wheels that will swap out to say my 75 750k without machining?

I've also been looking at smaller gauges and getting rid of stock switches.

[scottly]

I know I can take more weight off my pegs, linkages, front discs, and battery box, but I have to concentrate on getting the bike together in the next few days for the relay!!

[754]

The 77/78 F swingarm is 5/8 wider than the 78 and down K arms,  If you run the early sprocket carrier, it will probably fit your arm. You will need rear mc mounts and may need to build pivot or add a pivot sleeve in a more convenient location, if you cant get it to work on a K frame. So , a bit of machining..

[754]

Got some weight  that are amazing;
 05 R-6 rear wheel
 alloy 17 x 5.5"rim(less tire), includes disc mounted, 48T 520 sprkt mounted with cush drive, axle and swingarm internal spacers, nut & washer...19ish lbs

 gets even better, all that PLUS;
rearbrake caliperand mounting, brakeline, M/C, res, linkage footped bracket and bootguard, missing only 1/2 the footpeg..
All
that & the wheel stuff..23 lbs...
 That is at leat 23lbs or more less than the
 stock parts it replaces!
 So change pips, lose c-stand, go kick-ony, and change rear wheel.. 10% lighter bike!!

[OldSchool_IsCool]

I removed ALL the parts from my bike!  Now I can do seven, maybe EIGHT miles per hour for up to 50 yards!  Then I have to laydown and take a nap.

[BobR]

Deadthread revisited...

  First and foremost is the stock exhaust. Ive read stock weighs 30lbs. My 4into1 weighs maybe 10 lbs. Thats 20lbs right off the top. Centerstand -Mine didnt have one when I got it and dont need it. As 754 mentioned it blocks up quickly. Turn signals. With just those parts Ive probably taken close to 30 lbs off the bike. Im going to replace the tail light assembly and the front fender too. All this is primarily for asthetics and practicality (I wasn't going to look for the original exhaust) but it does reduce significant weight. Will it go faster? - a little. Does it feel lighter when riding- Never rode a stock one but I bet it does. I was looking at the stock footpeg brackets-they look heavy. Wish I was a machinist-I could have a field day, lol!Bob

[BomberMann650]

Best weight reduction; the rider.

[seanbarney41]

BobR, that's a good start...get at some that unsprung stuff...wheels, brakes, suspension...

[BobR]

Best weight reduction; the rider.

  Aint much to save there. Im at 155 now...Bob

[slikwilli420]

This subject is near and dear to my heart. There are tons of places you can save weight. The big things have been covered like losing the starter, smaller battery, lighter wheels.

It gets interesting when you start thinking of ways to "add lightness" which is all about replacing things with lighter versions. And I mean EVERYTHING. Look at every piece and part and see what weighs the most and is cheapest to do and get that done first. A 400lb bike in street trim is possible for a 750.

Anything that doesn't reduce the performance of the bike is up for grabs. My racer is 393 wet right now and I have plans for another 20lb or more.

[Don R]

 Carbon chain guard? unsprung weight, carbon seat pan, heck mold some carbon fenders. Remove the center stand and slip it back in when you need it.
 Surely there's a 7" plastic headlight lens somewhere. LED taillight, those stick on led light tapes have no housing. one for running one for brakes.  Trim the dyno and shifter covers, Titanium bolts and nuts, aluminum handlebars, aluminum or carbon headlight ears, or a tab off the billet triples and no headlight ears. Early right control and no left control pod. The gas tank has to weigh a bunch, maybe a plastic manx tank? Aluminum dry sump tank or maybe mag. carbon license plate bracket molded into the rear fender

[BomberMann650]

Best weight reduction; the rider.

  Aint much to save there. Im at 155 now...Bob

Lucky you, I haven’t been 155 since the 4th grade.

But I’ve lost 30 lbs since I was forced onto a better diet.  That’s worth 2 horsepower i reckon.

Or would it be cow pow?

[PeWe]

More cc + cr will help to compensate the riders excessive amount of tasty pasta, fries, chips (crisps), etc after 6pm.

I do mot see the weight of the bike as a problem on a CB750 street bike, look and function are more important. A fairing might be something if the speed must reach beyond 200-220km/h (125-135mph).

Edit: Hindle 4-2-1 feels very light. Replace the 4-4 with center stand must make bike much lighter. Always have a little amount of fuel will save too, but boring to not feel free to cruise around.

[754]

Some of what I plan to run in near future.
Alloy Storz XR tank.
Flattrack wheels with Sun or Akront rims, one will be a knockoff.
Single switch on bars from 72, Magura clutch lever.
Lighter front end, maybe, have several.
Aluminum rear fender.
 Alloy pegs.
Grimeca caliper and master cylinders.
Alloy sidestand, no centerstand.
Number plate for front with built in headlight.
Aluminum oil tank and battery/electrical box.
Kick only.
One instrument or lighter ones.
Probably more..

[PeWe]

If a CB750 can't look like a CB750 to save weight, change the bike. There are many bikes for small money with plenty of power and cheaper parts.

[Yamahawk]

Carbon chain guard? unsprung weight, carbon seat pan, heck mold some carbon fenders. Remove the center stand and slip it back in when you need it.
 Surely there's a 7" plastic headlight lens somewhere. LED taillight, those stick on led light tapes have no housing. one for running one for brakes.  Trim the dyno and shifter covers, Titanium bolts and nuts, aluminum handlebars, aluminum or carbon headlight ears, or a tab off the billet triples and no headlight ears. Early right control and no left control pod. The gas tank has to weigh a bunch, maybe a plastic manx tank? Aluminum dry sump tank or maybe mag. carbon license plate bracket molded into the rear fender

If you use a diode and 220-330 Ohm resistor in line with the tail/brake wiring, you can use one LED strip for the brake/tail light combo. I made a cross out of two strips, for a tail light once and it worked great for braking and tail light. Just put the wire for the BRAKE light on the other side of the diode/resistor, and they both will light the LED strip. Run the tail light wire into diode/resistor, then tie BRAKE wire into the LED side of the diode/resistor. the lowered voltage will dim the LED strip, and then the added voltage from the BRAKE wire will give full brightness when activated. Works well!

Beer and fat chicks!

Here's his long lost riding buddy

MoMo,
   It's a Beautiful Day! My favorite album of the Day! White Bird, Girl With No Eyes, Hot Summer's Day... and Time. Some great music by David and Linda LaFlamme. Good to see the album cover on your Avatar! I had the 8 track 1st, then the LP, then the CD... still have it! Love the harpsichord along with the electric guitar in Wasted Union Blues! They had a contract dispute with Columbia Records back in the early 70's and they pulled all their stuff from the record stores. It wasn't re-released until YEARS later! Marrying Maiden was another good LP!

Now as for the weight savings... every 7lb is 1 hp... I need to gain at least 2hp, the easiest way to get better performance is to lose a couple pounds from the spare tire!. Can you imagine how many horsepower this fella and his riding buddy are wasting?? :O
Charlie

[rotortiller]

Take your lazy ass down to the gym and work off that big 5hit bag, then your bike will accelerate much better than stripping and swapping parts. LOL

[754]

 I can make bikes look nice,and cool,.. easier than making myself look nice..

[innovativems]

The things I've tried to lighten the bike are similar to 754's list

Wheels are a big one.  Get new hoops can save quite a bit in going to alloy.  Every bracket and mount on my last bike I did aluminum.

A thinned and drilled brake rotor is much lighter.  I had my crank lightened by ape which shaved a couple lbs.  A factory seat can be quite heavy.  Swapped battery to lithium will shave a couple lbs too. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gschuld]

Since I’m a fan of vintage references:

Circa 1974 

George

[slikwilli420]

Great article George. Nice to see some like you and Frank and Scottly among others taking it seriously rather than telling me to get a faster bike or take a dump.

This can be as much fun as actually building a bike. It's another facet to the whole thing. There are tons of things that can be done to make these better and the detractors have no place here. If nothing could be made better we would still be in the dark ages. As long as it improves safety or performance (or both) it's with changing out. Designing lighter parts has taught me tons about bikes and materials.

[MoMo]

MoMo,
   It's a Beautiful Day! My favorite album of the Day! White Bird, Girl With No Eyes, Hot Summer's Day... and Time. Some great music by David and Linda LaFlamme. Good to see the album cover on your Avatar! I had the 8 track 1st, then the LP, then the CD... still have it! Love the harpsichord along with the electric guitar in Wasted Union Blues! They had a contract dispute with Columbia Records back in the early 70's and they pulled all their stuff from the record stores. It wasn't re-released until YEARS later! Marrying Maiden was another good LP!






Yamahawk,  I have two copies of the LP,  only play one and save the other just in case.  I saw them live at the New Orleans Pop Festival somewhere around 1968.  It is in my top 10 of all time favorite lps.  Sorry for the thread hijack guys but is cool to see another Beautiful Day fan....Larry

[gschuld]

Slikwilli, I think that you’ll find that everyone diving down the rabbit hole of weight reduction will need to decide for themselves where their limits are.  And not just in time and money, but also aesthetics.

If you are thinking of maximum weight reduction only, the temptation is to install very modern components where possible.  Such as Supermotard type rear spoked wheels or super light modern cast, spun, or forged wheels(carbon anyone?).  Modern front ends, etc.  Many here embrace the modern on classic look. 

Then there are those like what Patrick Bodden did when building his cb750 based formula 750 racer.  He was determined to use period OEM Honda parts, combining all manor of Honda only/70s only parts along with some clearly hand made parts(as could have been made 40 years ago), to build his racer. 

You are racing a bike under a specific set of rules for AHRMA Sportsman 750 class, so your options are more narrowed down.  And you have more significant need for high performance parts that can stand up to the rigors of road racing.

But even within the racing rules, you can skew toward one direction or the other.  More “period correct” vintage in appearance or more modern looking in the details.

Just something to consider.