When i posted that message, i had only got the costs, went there only on Saturday will post in more detail later. I changed the fuel filter myself at ~11k. Will do the next change at 20k, coming up in 3.5k.

Most guys charge 200-250 just for changing the cover and slightly shaping the foam so i think they would easily charge 500 for such a mod job. I'm telling ya it took 3 hours, i feel so bad for the dude. It's only coz he considers me a friend he charged 250.

I didn't have a cam when the work was being done so i couldn't take live photos. It's actually very simple if people can understand what i'm trying to say. There were no changes made to the plate.
The original foam was cut straight across just at the point where it starts to rise upwards to the rear seat. Note, now the front seat is just right for me (5'4"), but taller riders will probably have to cut it further back. Dunno, maybe a taller rider can try my seat and see. Then the top and sides of the rear edge corners of the front seat were rounded. Now i see that the sides will have to be curved even more, so i might do that sometime or leave it and do it next year when i change the cover again. You can see what i'm talking about in the first pic, 9.jpg.
The rear foam now has a concave shape kinda like this _/--. Even more than on the stunner. I wanted a straight, vertical edge like |--. If the rear foam was cut vertically downwards at the front edge, there would then be too much gap between the front and rear seats. IMO vertical gap between the seats like on SBKs etc is fine, but horizontal gap looks terrible. So we stuck an extra wedge of foam on the rear seat to bring it forward and give it a vertical edge like this |-/_/--. End result is |-//--. I hope you guys can understand my horrible explanation. Then like on the front seat, the top and sides of the front edge of the rear seat were rounded, again i see the sides will have to be rounder more and maybe the top rounded a little less. Again see the first pic. Two separate rexines were used, stuck on and stapled to the plate, but tucked under the foams at their cut edges. I'm really happy with the result. And it grips great, no more slides. A smoother rexine should be used to facilitate easier hang-offs when cornering, but i don't do that on my bike so it's fine.

The front seems a little skinny compared to the TVS 90/90 which looks even beefier than other 90/90s but i'll bet the grip is much more even though it's narrower. 1350 is a good price considering the 90/90-fs is 1450. Zapper Q 100/90 should be 1750, that's the company price, mrf exclusive dealers can't charge you more or you can complain to the company, it's different if you buy from a regular dealer though. Anyways, good change.

I checked out an FZ yesterday, the front tyre which is a 100 section, sits on a 2.5" rim, and the rear which is 140 section, sits on a 3.5" monster! Everyone should be aware of rim size requirements if going for oversize tyres. Fitting a wide tyre on a narrower than recommended rim will distort and round the profile, even the width and contact patch will be narrowed.

Allright, but i'll suggest to change the filter at 5000-7000kms.

Now it's cleared, i thought you cutted the plate....
Will go to the seat guy and will ask him to do this....

The "pictorials" helped...
and that pic num 9 was useful.


Though the R15's front is superbly grippy it looks skinny for the front end of RTR.
I think that 100 from the FZ will be superb with the 100/110 Q at rear.

you go for 110 as there's only 1000bucks of a diff in both (100 and 110)

PS:

you changed the palm grips to the original FIERO grips??
I'am thinking of changing them too as these are too thick to grip.

Day 3 SVC update

Phew! It's finally over. Went to Amma motors, chembur sat morn at 9:30. It actually looked tinier, dirtier and worse than even kapoor tvs at vashi, but the mechs were good and the work was done satisfactorily. Explained the issues. Something that really pissed me off was them not following company recommended procedures and actually saying that the company will say anything, it's not always practical. First was the company recco of greasing the cone set bearings every year. They say we never grease it. Just change it when it fails. I said if you greased it on time, it wouldn't fail so soon in the first place. Second was the company recco of cleaning the oil sump filter every alternate service. They say it doesn't need to be cleaned. They call it the 'drain bolt filter'. Claim removing the 3 bolts that cover it usually strip the thread and then it becomes a big problem. They say all the necessary cleaning happens just by draining the oil and changing the oil filter. I'm going to take this up with the service head on Monday and see what he says.

Anyways, they opened the steering, replaced the cone set, i felt the old one didn't have much damage, just was too tight, but figured might as well change since the fork was being opened too, otherwise i would have to open the whole damn thing again later. The leaky right fork seal was changed and the oil was filled. They sent it to a turner to change the seal. Regular servicing was done (washing, oil/filter change, air filter cleaning, and chain). They used some imported German chain spray it wasn't mentioned if it was safe for o-rings but i didn't bother because the chain/sprockets are pretty old, will change after the rains. Best part is they didn't charge extra for the spray while kapoor tvs wanted a 100 bucks for spraying the chain over his already whopping 275 service charge! I asked him if he's gonna empty the whole damn can on my chain! No one had the tvs chain spray and esp not the 100ml one so i'll buy that later. Also had the rear brake pads changed, they were worn down to the end of the groove. Couldn't have cut it closer.

Here's a breakup of the costs:
Rear disc pads 350
Oil filter 30
Cone set 280
Fork oil seal 85
Fork oil 80
Fork/Cone set labour 150
8th paid servicing charge 170
Lathe work charges 60
Total 1205.

Now, in the morning i touched a max speed of 125 going there. Coming back it wouldn't go above 118 (when the bike was new it would do 128 and pull to 132 after some time). I dunno if the 118 top was due to the hotter weather when coming back ~5pm, or the new shell advance vxs (Rs. 300) i added. The earlier sprinta 5000 was a little low, the mechass didn't measure it but said it was ok! Maybe the sprinta itself or the fact that it was low contributed to the higher top in the morn.

I rode Atul's bike which had the fz front and while it was a little harder to turn at slow speed (didn't try a fast run) it wasn't too bad. Very nice tyre. But it does ideally need a 2.5" rim while our front is 1.85". The price diff isn't an issue, i want the skinniest tyres which will grip sufficiently. I'm looking for performance hehe So i think the 90/90 fs is fine for the front. Earlier i was thinking about the 90/90 Q for the rear but after seeing shreeda's pics of his 100 Q, i think the 90 might look too skinny at the rear.

It's amazing how much we have in common. I always wonder why people add those thick foam grips, they actually reduce the level of control you have. There's a reason why bike manufacturers around the world have a pretty standard size for grips. Plus i have small hands, so i found the original grips too thick. I had the fiero grips on my RD and just like the RTR grips, i found them a little too hard too. I then changed to the cbz grips and have had them on all my bikes since. And they cost only 20-25 each. Superb grips, perfect size and softness. Just like they use on the CBRs!! They're a little longer, i had to move the left switch inwards, right switch doesnt need to be moved. The left grip one will slip right on, the right one needs too many mods to fit direct to the right switch throttle holder. So an easier option is to break/cut the plastic body of the right cbz grip so you can get the grip rubber off. You will have to cut off the rtr rubber off the throttle grip and the slide on the cbz rubber. You will have to trim a bit of the inner edge of the rubber so it fits nicely where it meets the switch. You'll know exactly what to do when you fit it.

Excuse my crappy photo editing but this is what i meant the edges should look like. He stretched and pulled the rexine at the corners and fixed it to the plate instead of nicely tucking it away under the foam. Not really noticable unless you're a stickler like me, so i don't think i'll touch it just yet.Kinda raining here so i probably shouldn't open and shape the thing now.

^^^^
why the lathe charges???

And at what RPM till your bike shows the "PULL"??
Mine shows till 9800-10000..(earlier it was till 10500)

My bike virtually PULLS till 115-118 then it backs off, takes time (not much if i'am croutched) to get to the 125, then takes min and a half to get to its speedo indicated 130-133 kmph top speed.

The trick to achieve higher top speed at the speedo in RTR is to rev it bonkers (read 10000) at every gear and specially in the 4 the shift clutchless to 5, fully croutched.

Nice mod there, and didnt atul tell you about his usual complains about loosing air pressure :P

The thicker foam padding to the handle bar is a boon for offroaders...

Then 90/90fs for the front should be zero'ed.

I'll agree with the 100 Q at the rear, it might be the camera angle but the 100 Q is surprisingly looking as same as the other 100's.






I enquired about the grips of the original FIERO the dealer was not having it, i hate grips of RTR they are too thick and makes my palm pain too...
will go to the SC again, the another one and will enquire about it, as they look sexy and they're of perfect thickness to suit the palms.
The FIERO shared it's grips with the HAYABUSA....

But they have tendency to "shrink" over a period of time exposing the inner white plastic, and i dont know how the rubber shrinked??
My Fiero's left grip shrinked in the third year, and i noticed every Fiero suffering from this.

They sent the forks to the lathe to change the fork seal. Dunno why, maybe they didn't have the tools. Looks like it's holding for now. I hate when fork seals blow, such a biatch to fix.

Pulls maybe 9.5-10k. I can touch 125 without crouching, but i weigh about 50kg . Crouch might get me 128-130. Whatever, the insane power when it was new is gone, it's either the tappets they fuked when i asked them if they could reduce the noise (BIG MISTAKE NOOBS!), or the engine has lost compression due to worn rings/bore, which could also be why it drinks oil.

Forgot to mention this earlier, Amma motors didn't have a compression gauge, they said only Innovative at bhandup which is a sister concern of theirs, has one. They also didn't have the Fi software and cable to check the CO etc, so i'll have to get both these done elsewhere.

No he didn't! Hehe. I dunno why tubeless bikes have so many air pressure issues.

About the seat mod, i think the foam is maybe too thick for a split design, so thinking of shaving off the top. And i don't like the front end which curves upwards.

Yeah, a lot of people including me have complained about palms hurting with the rtr grips, it's both due to the grip pattern, and the hardness/thickness. Most people's solution is to add foam grips, thereby making it even thicker. Maybe good for a sledgehammer, but not for rossi levels of throttle control Btw, even the fiero grips are harder than the cbz's, i don't remember if they're much softer than the RTR's.

LOL @ hayabusa

They shrink because of the sun, over time the heat makes them harder too. At 23 bucks, i change the cbz grips every 6 months to a year. I'm gonna change the throttle right now, it's getting a little harder and i need a super soft, sticky grip for the rains. While my friend's fiero has super hard, shrunk grips too, with the cbz, they seem to just get hard, not shrink. Maybe something with the fiero's material.

Rear brake pads

Forgot to mention this in my svc update. My old rear brake pads had HT written on them and so did the new ones. Original TVS packing with 'KIT PAD SSY REAR - RTR EFI' written as the part spec. Another dude came in to change his 180's rear pads and they got him the same one, with efi, not 180 written on it. But his pads had NISSIN written on them. I went nuts right there in the shop. Nissin for 350 bucks! Sadly i forgot to bring his packing with me so i could compare dates/batch numbers etc to see how he got lucky! Didn't someone say that the RTR pads could be used in CBZ/ZMA ?

Edit: While i was waiting for the bike to be serviced in chembur, i wandered around and found a parts dealer selling pirellis and other indian tyres. When i asked him about the Q and the Geo, he said there's no indian bike with a pattern as grippy as the Geo! But he also said the Q is good, then started to say all tyres are good. LOL. So i told him, all but TVS
@nox, how's your geo doing and exactly where is innovative when going via the airoli-mulund bridge?

Yeah, the front looks skinnier compared to the stock tire. But though not very aesthetic, it's an outstanding tire! Now I can handle the corners with a LOT more confidence. I searched with a couple of MRF dealers, but they said they're not being shipped for past one month. Even the Yam showroom people said R15 front, if delivered now, costs 1500. So when when I was hunting for the Q, I was desperate to get it at any cost

Then 500 is quite reasonable. And it's an awesome pictorial guide you have provided there. Very useful

Originally posted by julianpaul View Post

They sent the forks to the lathe to change the fork seal. Dunno why, maybe they didn't have the tools. Looks like it's holding for now. I hate when fork seals blow, such a biatch to fix.

But why they sent it to lathe, it has nothing to do with the lathe machine.

Originally posted by julianpaul View Post

Pulls maybe 9.5-10k. I can touch 125 without crouching, but i weigh about 50kg . Crouch might get me 128-130. Whatever, the insane power when it was new is gone, it's either the tappets they fuked when i asked them if they could reduce the noise (BIG MISTAKE NOOBS!), or the engine has lost compression due to worn rings/bore, which could also be why it drinks oil..

At 50 kgs it should be touching 135 easily!!!!!
i weigh 75... ur bike with you has much better power to weight ratio than mine....

lost compression will put a big dent on the top speed department no doubt.

Originally posted by julianpaul View Post

Yeah, a lot of people including me have complained about palms hurting with the rtr grips, it's both due to the grip pattern, and the hardness/thickness. Most people's solution is to add foam grips, thereby making it even thicker. Maybe good for a sledgehammer, but not for rossi levels of throttle control Btw, even the fiero grips are harder than the cbz's, i don't remember if they're much softer than the RTR's.

The FIERO had the most firm grips, and the RTR has the softest i have come across,but they're of no use as they are just too thick. i hate pulsars grips, they virtually act as a accupressure to the palms...

Still the design of the FIERO grips are the best i've came across.


NISSIN pads for 350 bucks......
sounds yummy!!!!

and yes the RTR pads can ve fitted to ZMA....


The bolds here comes standard with the MRF's.....

I weigh around 82. With upright riding, RTR touches 118 with ease, 121 with little delay. 125 with ease in crouch and 130-131 with a little delay in.

Actually till 120 the bike is very eager, 120-125 it starts to back off and takes time to touch 130-133 while showing strain.

In my case, That drop of 2kmph might be because 7kgs added to your weight or 100/90 geo back there at rear.

Because of Geo, it has lost top whack a bit than before, but i am okey with it for the grip offered by Geo.

Wow. Very neatly done. It looks like a fitment straight from the company!!

Aalsi TVS!!

This seems to be new characteristic in RTR. Remove any bolt on crank case and it comes out with the thread.