Saving weight

[Becksy]

I have been flirting with an F900XR recently, enjoyed the manoeuvrability of it and the fact that its a bit lighter than my 2016 S1000XR. It's a great bike did a couple of test rides, nearly swapped to one, but decided to stick with the S in the end.

It got me thinking though on ways to make my bike lighter. Mods that I have already done, some of which add weight, some lose weight include removing pannier brackets, added BMW engine guards and fitted a carbon front mudguard. That's about it, a few other small bits and pieces.

Ideas for saving weight that I am looking into:-

1. Change the exhaust, should save a couple of kilos, but I don't want an exhaust that is louder. Thinking BOS or Cobra.
2. Fitting a lithium battery

I know I could change the wheels, but that will be more than I want to spend on mods. Any ideas folks?

[BobT]

A cheap SS exhaust like a Dominator (less than €200) will save about 4.5 kgs. It will not be any louder as the silencing is in the cat.
A Lithium battery should save about 3 kgs. My Ducati battery was 3.6 for a standard Gel and about 600 grams for the lithium.
Total saving would be about 7kgs. If you think that it will make a difference to how the bike feels the refuel with 10 litres of fuel and see how much heavier it is feeling as that is 7.5 kgs.
I would bet that 99% of riders will not feel the difference and 1% of riders will not tell the truth.

[Becksy]

Originally Posted by BobT

A cheap SS exhaust like a Dominator (less than €200) will save about 4.5 kgs. It will not be any louder as the silencing is in the cat.
A Lithium battery should save about 3 kgs. My Ducati battery was 3.6 for a standard Gel and about 600 grams for the lithium.
Total saving would be about 7kgs. If you think that it will make a difference to how the bike feels the refuel with 10 litres of fuel and see how much heavier it is feeling as that is 7.5 kgs.
I would bet that 99% of riders will not feel the difference and 1% of riders will not tell the truth.

You are no doubt right on that last point. Mainly thinking about it being lighter for manual handling. That is quite a saving on the battery.

[af1-windy]

Here's me thinking the XR is a featherweight after my Tiger sport.. Maybe the Tiger had it's weight high up but when I threw my leg over the XR on the side stand, I gave it a big tug (as I would the Tiger) and very nearly threw it over the other way.. 

 :821:windy

[BobT]

Here are my original writings on the battery, I actually got the weight of the standard battery wrong, it was heavier than I stated, the pictures on the scales tell everything.

wordpress.com/post/ducatistbike.wordpress.com/342

That battery was fitted to my Ducati 848 many years ago and was moved to my 939 Supersport in between. I have only just sold the Supersport so it is still going strong after 6 years. It has more cranking amps than the standard and has no problem turning over the high compression Ducati. Never once needed putting on a charger either.

[Winger]

When I started reading Beckys post I wondered how far he would go before the dreaded Money was mentioned 😀, there’s loads that can be done, no point even going into what...because it ain’t cheap, can you make a difference? You can transform the bike but it costs.

[Salem]

Removing the centerstand (if you have it) saves 2.5 - 3kg. I keep mine in the garage, just attached it (w/o springs) when needed for service work

[BobT]

Originally Posted by Salem

Removing the centerstand (if you have it) saves 2.5 - 3kg. I keep mine in the garage, just attached it (w/o springs) when needed for service work

That is funny because both of our bikes have centre stands and we have never used them. I have an Abba Skylift so have no need for the centre stands.

[the bartender]

Stop having 2nds and deserts. That's' going to have a bigger impact on performance, and is free.

[Salem]

Originally Posted by BobT

That is funny because both of our bikes have centre stands and we have never used them.

Bike looks a lot better without it

Originally Posted by the bartender

Stop having 2nds and deserts. That's' going to have a bigger impact on performance, and is free.

At 6'3" and 180 lbs I could loose another 10, but like to eat and drink too. But I'm indeed not a desert guy. Prefer salt & pepper to sugar, and that seems to work. I like the seldom pancakes in the morning with salt & pepper for instance