+1So nice
I vote āheatā.
+1So nice
I vote āheatā.
I would leave them in their original color because heating a metal will alter their strength but that is just me and my nerd side being paranoid of everything related to safetyMail arrived a day late so I was getting a little impatient here but it was well worth it.
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I canāt describe how much I love the look and finish of AEMās product here, but memes never let me down In fact I think I might be a bit sad to actually install these because theyād make an awesome ornament on my shelf
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The one thing I have to decide now is whether to hit these ti sprocket pins/nuts with some heat to make them nice and blue like my exhaust or leave as they are. Thoughts?
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Good call @craig bush & @HKMP7, I think it would look nicer (but).
I also appreciate your metallurgy knowledge Howard, so it probably pays to leave them as they are for now. Do you think the colouring process requires enough heat to change the structure of the metal too severely?
I will do some more reading about this treatment of titanium to come to a better understanding this weekend.
Hi Guys,Agreed re: heat - through normal use the parts are subjected to SOME level of heat. Is it enough to discolor them?
At what temp does the strength of titanium start to degrade? It must be relatively high - Ti is used in moderate/high temp applications like connecting rods.
The Akrapovic is the hardest to fix, but perhaps some metal polisher can work on it and lessen the cosmetic damage or even fix it...Not a lot been happening the last few weeks, other than my little incident (slow lowside/drop) so been sourcing parts to replace & upgrade what was damaged.
Fortunately there was no major injuries to the bike (or myself) although just enough bits here and there to make the job a bit expensive & inconvenient.
Front to back these were:
ā¢ cracked magnesium fairing stay
ā¢ bent clip on which also marred the top triple clamp
ā¢ broken steering stop on the lower triple clamp
ā¢ rearset was a bit mangled (although this saved nearly all my fairings and swingarm - big relief)
ā¢ bottom fairing chipped where the gear lever squashed it
Finally, and the most heartbreaking discovery was the Akra muffler made brief contact with the asphalt and left a small scratch
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*bottom right you can notice where the steering stop failed*
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Part 2 will include everything Iāve ordered so far plus a few options I have which Iām hoping for some suggestions on
The first drop is the hardest Iām not too worried by it but Iāve been thinking of ways to conceal the damage and protect in case of future drops. So far havenāt made much progress hahaThe Akrapovic is the hardest to fix, but perhaps some metal polisher can work on it and lessen the cosmetic damage or even fix it...
Hi Andy,I was just thinking, thereās a lot better (crappier) bikes to practice working on and learn new skills but so far Iāve managed alright.
Dealer wanted $250 to install the chain and sprockets. F that, how hard can it be? The tools I needed put me in that cost realm anyway so Iāll be ahead next change.
The motion pro pbr tool is amazing, makes the job really easy.
Couple before and after pics before I highlight some learning points.
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Now despite my double and triple measuring then confirming again I was breaking the new chain at the right length I still ended up one link shorter than I really needed - what this meant was I had to rotate the axle around to the very shortest position in order to fit the master link.
Unfortunately during this process, which I didnāt notice at the time was some slight contact made between the sprocket and swingarm at its very shortest position.
Due to the small increase in diameter thanks to the extra 2 teeth the paint was conveniently scratched on the arm. Once the fitment was complete I tightened it again to increase the gap but hopefully others can take my experience and learn. Also to be more observant as youāre working However in the back of my mind now (and further down the track) Iād like to strip the swingarm down and have it coated either a deeper black to match the wheel or maybe magnesium engine colour. Hmmm (long term project)
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All in all Iām satisfied with the result and look of the new hardware.