Diff'rent Strokers

[waggytee]

Hi all,

While I'm waiting for my bike to arrive, I was thinking of what worthwhile upgrades there are for the SDR? (if any). I tend to keep my bikes pretty much factory standard and aren't into bolting unnecessary stuff on.

So far I've bought a nice small electronic tacho but the other things I was considering are:

1) Tyres - I know these are perished on my bike and so need to change them - I'd prefer to keep to the OEM size (90/80/17) so the choice is pretty limited (i.e Michelin Pilot Street, Pirelli Angel City or Conti Go) - has anyone gone up a size on the front and noticed any great difference?

2) Exhaust - I'm hoping there's nothing wrong with the OEM one on the bike however again does anyone have any experience with worthwhile weight savings or REAL power benefits from aftermarket? - the choices look pretty sparce anyway but the following is available in the UK.

https://www.facebook.com/performancefabrications/posts/yamaha-sdr200-pipe/2103232366462135/

3) Battery - The OEM ones look pretty small anyway, however having changed to a lithium one on my track bike I couldn't believe how light these things are now, so this may be an easy way to save some weight

4) Rider diet - This is perhaps the most obvious upgrade to save weight, and may take a while to aquire

James

[StrokerBoy]

Welcome James.

My missus has owned her SDR for 12 years, but it's not had a lot of use to be honest.

It had an ugly flat-bar conversion on it when it arrived, so we swapped the front-end back to stock and tidied it all up a bit. The rear shock seized after a while so that was replaced with a brand new afternarket one. Build quality is typical late 80's Yamaha so you need to keep on top of stuff to stop it deteriorating. The brakes seize up often. Currently there's a fuel-tap repair kit waiting to go on to fix a leak. It's on standard-size tyres which are well past their best. Despite being on a maintenance charger the little battery is rubbish so it's worth forking out for a good quality one. It's still on the standard pipe 'cos they look and sound good, my mate had an aftermarket one on his which I almost ran over when it snapped and fell off...

I keep suggesting she sells it as neither of us have the time to do anything with it any more, but it'll no doubt continue to sit in the garage being ignored.

[waggytee]

Thanks for the Welcome.

I've read on here that the fuel taps can be problematic so will be one for me to check as well as a good poke around everywhere else.

If the videos on YouTube are anything to go by, I like the sound of the stock pipe too and they look right on the bike - I think it was James P's post on here which said that the stock pipe is 6kg hence me thinking of alternatives to shed a bit of weight.

[mboddy]

If it was mine I would fit Bridgestone BT39SS in 90/80-17 and 120/80-17 TL.
The SS are soft race tyres.
https://www.bridgestone.com/products/motorcycle_tires/products/battlax/bt39ss.html
We can get these in Australia and I have run them on a number of bikes.
If they are not stocked locally then either ask the Bridestone dealer to import them for you or import them yourself:
https://shopee.com.my/bridgestone-battlax-BT39-BT39SS-i.140322162.4248236923
The front will be easy enough to find:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/234695970865?hash=item36a4f85031:g:kdoAAOSwBqZjIqlO&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoKivazMvqz04IhQ5i5M9mhGTeaycLn0pcFbxH%2Fl3%2F75yt9DajIqYFy0rnN8TIKAhUSccx7mcIIWmoSdHhTakcHf0EJEiwg%2BYzlZcz1h9bBDacNy9%2Br0D30bGRYLQ%2BlXQ4z8up0fiYNEO%2BDuTXaZEob0tDL%2BFG0FAdB99t7aFhK%2BZjpcXMD%2F4Q1ZJxJwcl13JWfIdiiVsjFSZM4a23RLMhXk%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7TOvqy2YQ
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/354074820845?hash=item52708100ed:g:RWkAAOSw6WhijCUL&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoKHhaOEjrtlMOJV%2BXQL2cv88WNa0BJeg7XNRXAXK9kX%2F%2BKsXzZHkS276a3JYTunZhTNhY1LZax%2FWXqLpqa3c7DwEhaaKHrA7PsoV9Uhso4mHtX3BD31cWc4s7hEPa%2FvbInbAXSuq6%2Bnh%2FF5AFbRIoGZzy5P7%2FQk4dLKOHpHFd9i2PwRBNRcNO%2Bc2C7yfWKtoPk%2FXlFckNkqHdY8QfuqaQI4%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7bOvqy2YQ
Rear in France:
https://royal-motorbike.fr/en/road-tires/215062-bridgestone-tyre-battlax-bt39ss-rear-120-80-17-m-c-61s-tl.html
If you cannot find a 120 rear then you can use 100/80-17 or 90/90-17 or use another 90/80-17 front.
I won races on my 250 using a BT39SS 90 on the back.
Fantastic corner speed with narrow tyres.
_________________
Yamaha TDR250, Yamaha TZR250 2XT, Yamaha R1-Z

[SP_BOTT]

Here you go if you fancy an exhaust. A bit pricey for a S/H pipe, especially as you only get one I've been looking for a while, but at the sort of money they are now, I think the standard one will do. Especially as it doesn't get ridden.

http://www.geckomotorcycles.co.uk/magento/parts-yamaha/sdr-200/engine/2tv-yamaha-sdr200-jackal-race-exhaust-flange.html

[waggytee]

Thanks for the tyre advice - I'd much prefer those Bridgestone tyres however didn't seem to appropriate find sizes in the UK. I've just heard that my bike shiping is delayed so I may have a bit more time to spare in arranging some tyres so will look into the import / direct from Bridgestone approach.

Yes, I'd spied that second hand Jackal pipe also (with the 5bhp power gain claim ) but like you thought that was a bit pricey - I'd like to moan about people taking the **** with pricing things but if there's limited availability and you want one I guess they think somebody will pay - they probably will, but just not me