He comes, softly, stealthily, like a racoon raiding garbage in the night, heralded only by the music of Ennio Morricone.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]He bears no tools, no parts, just a greasy white laptop and some Lonelecs almost out of electrons, managed by a prodigious, if hairless, brainpan.
They call him...Roper.
I had the excellent good luck to be able to get a day of his time, and a suitable place, ti ringrazio tanto Gugliemo e Moto Grappa!
The mission: Rollerize and map Black Betty, a procedure when done in concert hereafter to be known as Roperizing.
He was kind enough to let me get my fat mitts in there and do some of the entry-level work, though I snuck in behind him and did the shims and seals on the right-side exhaust valves when he wasn't looking. Now I don't feel so useless. If they shit the bed you'll know why.
Roper: Watch those fasteners, they seem to be made of cheese.
Me: Yep, not even cheddar, brie.
The result, with some important work remaining to be done:
The bike is transformed.
It is, no shit, a metamorphosis.
Here ya go:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Yeah.
Feels like it’s lost 100lbs. Feels like it's gained 50 Ft/lbs.
Feels like my dreams of a hypermotard.
Squirt. Squeeze. Sweep. Squirt. Repeat. I fear for my license.
Rollerizing quieted the valvetrain, though a bit of noise is returning. Seems.
Going back to the paper air filter element improved induction sound and helped the new map.
Tossed the snorkel.
Thus far I have only had it out in two weather conditions, warm and dry, cool and damp for a total of about 200 miles.
Fueling has been very good, best ever and consistent in both cases. This is new. No popping or snorting. Might miss that.
But no surging at steady state, no abrupt transitions, no bullshit. Not gonna miss that.
Whether only subjectively or in reality, the engine running better is having a succession of interesting consequences.
I’ve already mentioned that the bike feels lighter, bigtime. That will be power, torque especially. The other must be strictly subjective but real nonetheless. The bike is generally more tractable and seems to handle better, this because it is not surging, and the pronounced on/off throttle snatch is just about gone. Weird, I know, it also seems to shift a -hair- better, not saying much, as Betty, the bitch, always seems to be on the verge of grenading its cogs.
Because everything is better, now I can actually toss it into a perfectly normal turn with my so-called brain focused on the cages, the road surface, the trajectory, rather than all that plus contemplating what idiocy the motor might deliver me, and how to cope with said idiocy.
That’s big.
Thank you. Can’t say that enough.
There’s always a downside, and mine is that now I’m more aware of my suspension deficiencies. All in good time. I don’t have the place or the skills for proper flogging anyway.
Remaining to be done:
Ride it like I stole it
Do not flush. Stick to a normal oil interval
Adjust throttle bodies/reset TPS (expect a smoother engine after this)
Bleed hydraulics
Learn Guzzidiag, play with CO2 trim (need basic explanation effect)
Increase shock spring preload, decrease (slightly) compression/rebound
Decrease fork spring preload, decrease, (slightly) compression/rebound…reduce oil volume 40ml+viscosity by .5 (which 1st?)
Find stronger shock spring? Better Shock?
Find local Showa expert.
Install EBC FA244 HH pads up front
Oh yeah, install “GRiSO” sticker on tank.
Pete mentioned the Arrow Titanium bits, any other goodies you folks like that are not lipstick on a pig or farkle?
What mirrors you like? I see mostly elbow.
Gotta track down a fuel smell...
Wait, what's that?! Is that oil on my boot again?!
Roper: There. You see? Easy as pulling a greasy stick out of a dog's bum.
Me: Yeah...I see...(What's the stick doing up the dog's ass, Pete?)
Subject: Black Betty, TWGOE 
Wed Aug 01, 2018 11:53 am
