i know the peeps that started antigravity batteries ...they are good people and are deep in the ducati world...met the owner at a few track day events and talked to him frequently on the ducati forum when the hypermotard first came out...his mission was to the best,lightest weight battery on the market and it looks like it was mission completed...ive never used one on my motorcycle but i do have one in my 34 dodge race car...its a 347 stroked hemi with an 8-71 blower pushing 1200 hp and the battery hasnt failed me once even after sitting for over a year....

 

Quick update report on the new gearing (30T front & 68T rear belt pulleys). Really really good, everything is much more usable in the gearing ranges. don't have to slip the clutch anymore if going just around idle speed in traffic. 2nd gear is excellent and I no longer have to drop to 1st if in a slow corner, 2nd just pulls right up. Same for 3rd. 6th on freeway is still plenty economical, and the bike actually pulls now instead of just twisting the throttle and it going nowhere.

I found that the bike likes a bit of a different tune for this gearing. I went back and revisited one of my older tunes that was a bit too "hot" on the advance timing tables, always gave me a bit too much ping if I hit hard throttle from 3rd / 4th, unless I threw a ton of gas at it - Ran one of these tunes around today with some tweaks and changes, and the bike really woke up even more. It may be because the bike gets up into the optimal rpm band quicker and there is less torque effort needed to rev out under load. Not sure of the "why's" behind it but the adjustments did make a diff.

Overall still very pleased and would not want to go back to the stock pulleys.

 

Well that encourages me to add this mod to my future work list (after the combination motorcycle hauler / garage / RV currently in progress is completed! )

Jim G

 

Makes you wonder why they didn't build the bloody thing like that in the first place. HD R&D have a lot to answer for.

 

I am pretty sure HD is building its current bikes with that too-tall gearing simply to be able to pass the drive-by sound tests. It's very hard to make a large displacement, pushrodd V-twin quiet enough to pass those tests. A too restrictive exhaust is one result. A too restrictive intake is another. And too tall gearing lowers the rpm enough to make a difference in the testing.

It's similar to what the auto manufacturers did for recent decades to hit the MPG targets mandated by The Government, until they finally got the technology (more precise fuel injection, direct injection engines, variable valve timing, etc) to produce good enough REAL MPG that they could start dumping at least some of the too tall gearing.

What bothers me though is that HD has made it either very costly or outright impossible to get more appropriate gearing via genuine HD parts. That was not the case in the past. I wonder why the change in parts availability.

Jim G

 

Yep as Jim said it has to do with regulations for noise and pollution. if you look at HD's from say 2007 / earlier they all came with overall gear ratios designed for better performance in the 3.15 area. Then after 2007 it all went to crap and overall ratios were made taller at 2.8. The final nail in the coffin is in the stock timing and fuel maps- They have purposefully reduced hp/tq in the off-the-line areas by limiting fuel and spark advance. Although, HD had a big push to make bikes "new rider friendly" and these changes also made the bikes less jerky for novice riders, less chance of messing up a brand new motor by excessively lugging it.

I think these changes are what helped keep HD alive and offer a solid running, rider friendly bike. However, I agree that HD should offer a "SE performance drive pulley kit" for all model lines of bikes. These parts are readily available but of course listed for other bikes and takes some hunting, e.g. rear pulley for sportster and front pulley for trike. I can't see this messing with EPA / noise regs any more than the other available SE parts.

Don't even get me started on the car mfr's - they have all the good tech in their Delphi systems, no longer use MAP-based tuning (it is all MAF-based now), and you've got GM cars like the Corvette cranking out serious HP while getting exceptional gas mileage and town driving manners. Not only that, the aftermarket tuner devices are very robust, have excellent data log tuning capabilities, and are not overly expensive. There are a lot of incredibly knowledgeable tuning experts to be found in related forums.

HD's version of Delphi is stripped down and missing a lot of the tables that help dial in optimal power while preserving economy. Still MAP-based. O2 sensors are used ONLY to help meet emissions reg's and the way the stock fuel maps are set lean (14.6) in the idle and cruise areas make for very hot running bikes. You'd be hard pressed to find ANYONE who really understands all of the tuning tables and settings and how to optimize them for tuning.

I hope HD continues down the performance path- They are dropping service and support for the Buell next year I think and AFAIK they don't have much of a replacment- sure you've got the Street 750 and 600 but they are kinda lame compared to their Euro counterparts. The styling is also ridiculously tame, and it does not really appeal to either HD riders or sport bike riders. The VROD remains solid but not much going on with it.

Then you've got the Breakout, which is an exceptional design and an amazing leap forward in HD's R/D design of the FXS platform- albeit with a few functional caveats like really bad choice of tires and front suspension. You design a bike that looks like it wants to go fast and rip it up, but then hamper it with bad handling, excessively tall drive ratio, no corner clearance and crappy rubber. What's up with that?

IMO I'd really like to see the FXR reintroduced (that would be a hoot!), maybe a sport variant akin to the older cafe-style FXR's, and some further development of aftermarket custom parts for the Breakout- things like rear fender kits, a decent bike-specific passenger backrest, better seat / handlebar / riser options, etc, to help support this model as the new exciting custom bike that it is. I don't think HD is going to be riding the bagger gravy train forever, fads come and go.

 

As long as middle aged and older men remain their main demographic baggers aren't going anywhere. The Breakout caters to a younger demographic based on looks alone. It still has that chopper look and feel and that's a fad that has been long gone for a while. From an aftermarket stand point I think the low sales numbers of the Breakout is what's holding back aftermarket support. Its still and will probably remain a niche bike. Walk into any dealer and they'll probably have 1 but I doubt you'd rarely ever see more than 3 on the floor and if so they've been there for a while. Go to that same dealer and they'll have 15 Street Glides and sell them all in a month. I think more and more people are honestly looking at comfort more when purchasing a new bike. I don't care what you do to a Breakout to make it more comfortable, it will never ride as good as a touring bike. But with that said I traded in my Breakout last Thursday and by Monday they had it sold so what do I know lol! I liked my Breakout and glad to say I owned one

 

Are you kidding??? The Breakout does not have even the MAIN component of a "chopper": the HIGH and very raked out front end.

To me, the Breakout has more the look of a civilized drag bike. Very long and VERY low. The handlebars are only 34" off the pavement and very relatively straight. The seat about 24". It has that very wide rear tire and that very relatively skinny front tire. These are drag bike, not chopper, appearance features.

Jim G

 

Yeh but 10+ years ago those same middle aged and older men were riding around on custom fat-***-tire $40k choppers. no doubt that baggers are the ultimate in plushy riding experience. but not everyone rides a bike for that reason. If I want to go somewhere in comfort I take the Benz. lol

To me, and lots of others, it is all about the road experience, non-insulated and in your face. That may change once I get older, or if my primary riding was all freeway / long distance. The BO is definitely not a 200+ miles-per-day ride bike without substantial comfort upgrades.

I'm not sure but I believe the BO's lower comparative sales numbers are due to lower unit production and not due to lack of sales. Every time I go into a dealership all of the BO's are sold. There was a new black one at Glendale last week, only one they had, it was already sold. The service guy sez they sell almost as fast as they come in, and the CVO's are usually "pre sold". But true HD makes a lot more meeting the touring demand currently in progress so undoubtedly they have production focused on these models.

 

Correct- The BO is more of a "Pro Street" type of drag bike. Not a chopper.