@kwok

Did you test a drag with your modified R15 and P220? What is max rpm your baby can touch easily?

@kwok

Last night I took my baby to hyderabad outer ring road to test the top speed. It reached 45kmph in 1st gear at 8.5 - 9rpm, 70kmph in second gear easily at 8.5k rpm, but it was not able to go beyond 115kmph in 6th gear, I have good amount of acceleration left, so I accelearated it but no change in speed. While returning I checked it again, the wind was in opposite direction. At this time it was not able to go beyond 104kmph. Again I have good amount of acceleration left. Before giving it for first service the bike is awesome. The bike used to hit 110 in no time. Let me know what might have happened. I have checked the engine oil as well, it fine. The bike is no more smooth and the gear shifting is really hard. If I have to explain exatly how it feels like is running a vehicle without engine oil. What I have to do now...

Many thanks bro! I think I'll have to rename her as SuperStorm now.. haha!



My Stock bike used to hit the Rev limited in 5 gears easily but used to fall short on power to get upto enough speed to hit the rev limiter in 6th. So to speak on the new setup it gets there in no time especially in the lower 3 gears.

Its fast enough to take out the P220 FI. Haven't tested it against the carb but off late did swap bikes with my friend and while i was on his P220 S he just kept pulling away from me on my R15. He weighs a lot lower but post ride the torque on my bike felt comparable to the P220 S. Previously the R15 felt underpowered. Now it feels not too different but an addition of the Exhaust will further improve the torque. But topspeed I reckon it will beat the P220 S.

But consider this, the setup is so quick with about 32-33% lesser displacement. That's something you have to consider and it retains so much more potential than the Pulsar's engine platform for mods. Even with a few more mods will also retain it's reliability factor.

Shift to 6th gear only when you max out of 5th. 5th will go upto 130-131kph easily. If you shift earlier the bike will not pull in 6th. Do a run on a good decline. Stock bike wont go too fast on a flat stretch. Max I've done on my old setup was 132 in 6th with a good tail wind i reckon. At sea level i've found my bike to perform optimally.

@Kwokfist - You mentioned that after installing the new bore, the bike was rough during run-in, and post run-in it smoothened out, and u changed to semi-synth oil.
Now my question is, is the bike as smooth as the stock R15? And since i'm running synthetic oil right now, will i need to change over to Mineral for the running in of the new bore? (Joel sent me a e-mail and im planning to pick up the Big Bore Kit)

My bike's completed 13000kms in 6 months of Ownership and this thread of yours made me make up my mind to go in for the Big Bore. The R15 does lack low-end torque. It's manageable, but i'd love my bike to perform as you've described.

Cheers!

^neoakshay - This is the typical Indian way of thinking. Doubts even after the best of results have been proven. I have built the best bolt-on packages for the R15 and over development from my race engines. Still such questions arise, if its good, if its smooth, if its reliable, if its fuel efficient, if its noisy, if it has low-end torque etc.
Like I ve said earlier somewhere else, the bigbore is a must have for every R15 coz it bumps over 15% of power and increases nearly 10% of your fuel efficiency and its as smooth as stock. Its grunty coz of slightly higher compression and hence will feel punchy when revved.

I wanted to know coz there was not much mention of NVH after installing the Big-Bore Kit. I've already decided to buy it from you, jus getting my finances in order . One of the highlights of the R15 is its smoothness in operation. No disrespect to you at all Joel-sir.

Also, another thing i wanted to know is, is there any change in exhaust note? I know u said the engine itself is grunty.

Yamaha has tried to maintain a low friction package with the R15. The piston rings dont seem to have too much temper, internals are super light - piston, con-rod, crank, valve train and at the same time does not have very high compression. Which is why you have such smoothness.
However, the rings tend to generally loose grip and start seeping oil into the chamber after a few thousand miles. You also begin to loose compression and also end up getting mild traces of smoke with the exhaust gas.
With the bigbore kit, your compression goes up and also the rings are racing versions which hold cylinder sealing for longer than stock. Thereby improving your performance and keeping it very consistent for long.
The grunt increases and also the exhaust note turns more punchy. No rise in decibel levels as such though.

Thanks so much for all the info! Im 200% convinced..
I think we're really lucky to have world-class products courtesy YOU! 8-)

Cheers!

^There is nothing to convince here. I just stated the facts. Its all in the open, you can choose what you want.

Speed Test Report

Went to the beach road for some speed tests.

Location: 2.7Km 2-3Lane concrete stretch. Sea-Level, fully flat with a 1Km straight and some smaller ones with minor curves. Almost fully deserted late nights and no animals/people crossing the road.

Summary:

100 meters saw the bike doing 86kph and the top speed fully crouched on this road saw me doing 136kph average in almost all runs with the exception being it hit 137kph in one run. It took around 600-700 meters on the trip meter to get to this speed. Shifts were done at 10K RPM.

I'm running fully synth Agip 5w40. Bike's running quite smooth. But my old setup was grunty and felt a bit more vibey over my friends new R15 anyway. So i really can't complain because this doesn't feel too far off that mark and besides the vibes or roughness are nowhere close to the Pulsar or RTR. It's relatively quite smooth. I hope that answers your query. I frankly don't care, because whenever i swap between my '73 Jawa and my R165 Even the current setup feels butter smooth.

Edit: The big bore is almost as smooth as stock, only that it's much gruntier.

[QUOTE=KwokFist;545732]Before I begin I'd like to say that during the week spent in Bangalore, a few hours a day at Ten10 I realized that while the response is low online for these kits. Offline more people are upgrading their bikes. 2 R15s were kitted up when my bike was brought in for the works. RTRs etc were waiting outside to be worked upon. I came across R15s with just 8K+ on the odo going in for upgrades. I feel Joel's work on my bike needed to be fully appreciated, therefore I've tried to write down all the important details from this build.

And I felt I shouldn't have waited too long to get this upgrade. Here's why...

I'll begin with the review of my bike with the custom big bore high-compression 165cc cylinder-piston kit setup + reworked head with Altered port Geometry and improved cylinder head flow. It's a little peaky setup and the headwork does add to the overall setup but low-end and mid-range is mostly credit to the big bore as I'll explain in little comparison with my friend Uday's bike later.

Engine Characteristics: It has a noticeable grunt and free revving engine compared to the Stock setup. It felt a bit vibey soon (just a characteristic of the big bore, not any real issue) after assembly but after a lot of running it's very smooth now. Switched to fully synth Agip 5w40 after run-in and it feels smoother than stock now. Gear shifts are smoother and precise and overall the bike has a character unmatched by any stock R15.

Engine Performance During Run-In:

1. 900kms of Engine Run-in (Only 500 required): It was completed on the SL grade Yamalube Mineral oil present in the engine which had already run 1854.8 kms + 900kms including 450kms of Bangalore city commutes and ride to Mangalore. Stock bike was consuming a bit of oil. 870kms of ride on the big bore to Mangalore + 30Kms before oil change, there was no further noticeable drop in oil level.
   
2. Low-End Torque: Significantly improved to the point where the bike didn't feel sluggish when fuel was filled to the brim + 75Kg Rider + gear and minimum of 25Kg+ luggage. I was asked to keep the revs below 6K during run-in and for once I followed what I was told In Bangalore city traffic I never felt the need to go beyond 5K. During my trip back home, atleast 60% of the journey was completed in 6th gear alone.
   
   It has given life to the 6th gear and dose of adrenalin at triple digit speeds. While still running-in the bike pulled easily from 3.5KRPM+ with 75kg rider + 87 kg pillion in 6th gear. There's not much to speak about low gears here because the bike revs so quickly to 6K rpm that you'll be continuously shifting up to avoid going past it as there's no need to ride the bike in lower gears. It has made life easier in the city traffic. Never crossed 85-90kph during run-in.
   

Engine Performance Post Run-In:

1. Initial: I drained the oil over the evening at home and assembled it and refilled it with Agip Fully Synth 5w40 around 11PM. Warmed up the engine for a 5-6kms. On an empty stretch and full throttle from 1-6 gears and I was having an adrenalin rush.
   
2. Revs: Bike revs strongly towards it's rev limiter. Being a slightly peaky setup a slight increase in acceleration was evident around 8.5K-9.5K rpm. It retains a strong pull low-end and top despite being a near-linear powerband. There's plenty of torque for every kind of use.
   
3. Acceleration: It accelerates very quickly. While testing late night, my friend and I decided to drag against his stock R15 with the rider weighing 24Kilos lesser than me from standing still start and poor shifting on my end and partly crouched my bike was neck to neck with the stock and started pulling away when reaching 100Kph in 4th after which we stopped. With my weight it's leaps and bounds quicker compared to a stock bike. How I wish i was some 15 kilos lighter
   
4. Top Speed: This was a revelation but I had low fuel in the bike so maybe that's adds to the lower weight but on a slight decline I was doing 131kph sitting fully upright on the bike and 125 kph on flat surface. It may not have a higher topspeed over stock but it certainly gets there very quickly. Need to check the speeds again as my chain was fully dry with some slack, my air pressure was off the mark and I need to have more fuel in the bike. But nevertheless the bike gets to speed and stays there with ease. I wanted a good touring setup which can have the bike stay in 6th gear easily doing 120+kph upright with my weight throughout the day and I got what i wanted.
   
   At this point I'd like to mention that the distance it takes to achieve these speeds is cut down. Cant tell exactly how much but atleast 15-20% Will do some more rounds of testing soon and post what the best this setup has done.
   

Fuel Efficiency: This was a shocker: During Running-in on a full tank I got Excellent FE in Bangalore heavy city traffic with lots of idling at signals. On my trip back home it went upto 48+kmpl. Now the tank is near-dry and therefore on a full tank it's nearly 50kmpl (My Fuel Reserve Trip reset after some 20Kms) with the last 40kms done with a wide open throttle. During my trip to Mangalore with my friend who was on the P180 I constantly kept checking my tank as my Fuel Indicator never dipped (switched off the bike several times to check if it would correct itself) as fast as it would on the stock setup.

For those of you wondering. My stock bike with 25854.8kms on the odo before upgrade gave me a poor 35.xkmpl enroute to Bangalore without crossing 100kph to Madikeri (~150kms) and after that a decent 110-115kph and about 6 top speeds runs to 130-134kph on proper decline. So for 90kph touring my FE is up by 27%. I saved up nearly 300 bucks on two tank fulls after the upgrade. FYI. I still have some fuel left in the bike, havent filled since monday morning when I was leaving Bangalore. Probably another 10-15kms more to go.

Joy Of Riding:

It's of prime importance to understand that the gains maybe 15-20% over stock but you gain A LOT MORE MENTALLY. The pleasure of riding your bike and the ease of it. My trip in B'lore city and back home, never had me open throttle beyond the 1/4th mark depending on the gear and need to accelerate quickly. Perhaps 5-15% throttle and the bike was raring to go in every gear to 6K rpm. What I spent in upgrading it Im already getting back in terms of savings on fuel. Stock setup was fuel efficient to a certain number of kms and even after 25K on the odo it used to give around 36-40kmpl with total FE conscious riding and touch 138-140kph in terms of top speed fully crouched only on proper declines but at speeds higher than 120kph the fuel efficiency was nothing to write home about. But this setup has turned the stock on it's head.

Uday's R15:

With big bore + stock exhaust: Low-end and midrange similar to my bike and a good top end whack (I've only ridden it in lower gears it felt like it would do good speeds and I'm told it does) Later when the exhaust was bolted on the bike it made it more punchy throughout the powerband.

Joel's custom exhaust weighs approx 1.2Kilos and is 5.xx kilos lighter than stock. In terms of weight alone you are making your bike go a little quicker and you can lift his custom exhaust with your pinky finger. It's that light. Quality build. It looks and sounds great. It's loud, but then it's supposed to be loud. It's a performance exhaust after all.

With the exhaust + Big bore kit Uday's bike I felt it revved up quicker and freely than my own bike (considering my r15 has a reworked head) and this was noticeable while riding his bike. His bike had run 3K-4K kms on the big bore before exhaust upgrade.

Reliability: Many of you might be wondering how reliable this might be. Joel has spoken a lot about it already. I'd like to mention that there's oversize pistons available so when it's time to change, plonk in the next oversize and run the bike. It will last a long of time. I've learnt how much abuse the R15s Stock crank and clutch can take during my stay in Bangalore so not worried about my setup's reliability.

[B]Co
Kwokfist...its a nice upgrade...keep updated on more upgrades

Update

Went off-roading on some trails in Kudremukh. From a full tank filled to brim rode 307.3kms. Filled in another 6.8L of fuel later. Fuel Efficiency after hard riding, top speed runs and plenty of off-roading stands at 45-46kmpl.

Hit a max speed of 149kph on the Kudremukh main-straight with plenty of chain slack. Possible to hit the rev-limiter with the current setup on a proper decline with a some frictional losses controlled. Had almost 70-80% Fuel in the bike during the run! Good Setup indeed!

@Maypraja: Thanks, surely will keep everyone posted here!

@meghan - Bugger, you hit 149kph, thats just 1kph off the rev-limiter...how much more do you want with the stock ECU?. Dont be so greedy with a messed up chain kit and other things not in place .

Minor Update!

Haha I fixed the chain slack. Bike's running great! 1 Kph off rev-limiter? I thought I was 2 kph off :P. Need to surpass that this year

Checked the oil level after putting in 1200kms since oil change. Not even a little drop in oil level! Excellent package! Bike's run 2100+ kms since upgrade!

Rode Udhays R15 a lot.
The torque is spread through out the rev range.The torque at the bottom is the most impressive.Was a breeze to ride in the city.0-60 comes around in 3.6 secs & 0-100 comes at around 9.x secs NOTE-kept hitting the rev limiter which affected the timings!

Coming to the exhaust.It blends in well with the black R15 and IMO looks very good.Good finish.I felt tht the exhaust alone improves the overall performance.(i had ridden without the exhaust but not enough).
Exhaust note is very good.back fire sounds sweet.well it can be a bit loud at the neighborhoods though but its a price you pay for performance!

FE acc. to Udhay was around 45kmpl.Udhay was thanking Joel a lot at the Fuel Pump

I hit 141kmph in the 5th gear.i believe it should do close to 150 kmph.

Reliability-Well,too early to tell but its been running top-notch for i think close to 5k kms now!heard many have clocked a lot without issues.

Overall its a killer machine and this is WITHOUT the ECU & Filter!
@Joel
its some great work you've done man.

Thanks man. This is just one of those R15s. There are plenty of examples with miles and miles on the odo with the bigbore and exhaust, but they dont on xbhp. It will last a very long time.
0-100kph in 9.5secs with a good 50-60kilos rider is proof enough to the whole thing.
Remember he does not even have a headwork or anything, apart from the exhaust and my custom bigbore. Headwork and airfilter alone will take it to 9secs flat to 100kph. All that costs half of the Yamaha daytona engine kit. The ECU will be another icing on the cake.

Joel