Navanman's Suzuki TLR1000

Bitubo Rear shock !

Navanman — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:55:18 +0000

Its a well known fact that one of the biggest design flaws of the TLR was the hydraulic rotary rear damper - this was a complicated system designed by Suzuki as a real alternative to the traditional centre mounted mono shock. A great idea in theory but in practice it just did not work !! With the roatry system and when pushing the bike hard thrrough corners the swing arm had a hard time keeping up. The stock POS was just to slow.

Fortunatly all is not lost, there are a few shock manufacturers who make kits for the TLR, Ohlins, Bitubo and Penske to name but a few. The Penske and Ohlins units are hard to find and very expensive ! A high quality and good performance alternative is the italian made Bitubo Rear shock. This a fully adjustable shock with a seperate resevoir which replaces both spring and rotary damper unit onthe bike, ohlins and penkse only replace the rotary part.

The Bitubo unit weighs tonnes less than the stock damper and it works brilliantly, set up is real easy and the necessary guide and tools are supplied in the box from the factory !

Heres a pic of the shock on the bike

heres a pic i borrowed from www.tlplanet.com - the bitubo unit versus the stock unit !!!!

This great shock is available in group buys on both www.tlzone.net and www.tlplanet.com

Get yourself a winner !!!

GSXR 1000 K2 Speedo Conversion !!!!!

Navanman — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:22:58 +0000

Lets face it - the TLR is an old school machine, and as a result has some old school parts, like the SRAD Gauge cluster seen in older GSXR750’s and 600’s ..One of the coolest mods you can do to your TLR is to swap out the antique instrument panel and replace it with a modern digital panel. I used a panel from a K2 Gixxer 1000. This mod does require some rewiring of the headlight harness as the signals sent from the TLRs ECU are different to that of a Gixxer one. This loom modification takes about 20 minutes, its best fo you aquire a spare loom to do the rewire in case you ever want to go back to the old gauge for fault code reading etc. Everything works as it should ont he Gixxer gauge except for the water temperature sensor, againt his is a wiring issue and hopefully some day i will work it out, for now though i operate my radiator fans on a switch. If im sittign in traffic for a prolonged period i turn on the fans manually.

Check out this picture of the stock POS Gauge and then compare it to the new GIxxer cluster below - Gixxer wins hands down !!!

Very little modification is required to the stock gauge / headlight holder to accomodate the Gixxer gauge !

And now everything back together - looks cool huh ??

You can find Gixxer 1000 gauges on ebay for as little as 100 Euros, a spare headlight harness which will need to be rewired can be had for as little as 20 Euros !!!

Rated TLR Adjustable Rearsets !!!!

Navanman — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:06:45 +0000

Heres the first of my many modifications to my TLR !!! These are CNC’d billet rearsets which I got through a group buy on www.tlzone.net !!! These are fully adjustable rearsets and give a huge weight saving over the stock gear change and brake lever arrangment !

Give me a shout if you require some more information on how to get a set of these quality sets for your TLR !!!

The History of the Suzuki TL1000R

Navanman — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:08:19 +0000

The TL1000R is a [full fairing] racing-oriented version of Suzuki’s popular TL1000S . The TL1000R was launched in 1998, one year after its sibling, the TL1000S. Unlike the TL-S, the TL-R was designed to compete in the World and American Superbike Championships, although it achieved only one race win before Suzuki pulled the plug on the TL racing program, in favor of the lighter GSX-R 750 as its Superbike entry. The TL-R took aim at Ducati 916 both in the Superbike Championship and in consumer sales. The R shares basic engine architecture with the S but has special components including forged pistons, stronger connecting rods, and a much stiffer frame. The engine tweaks given to the TL-R made it known for its very good top-end horsepower^, (as compared to most V-twins that make better bottom end power). The TL-R was offered in Yellow, Blue/White, Black, and Red. Suzuki stopped production of both TL models in 2003.

The TL1000R’s sibling, theTLS , was widely known as a “widow-maker”. Some riders crashed, and blamed the bike’s instability. Although Suzuki claimed that they fixed this problem on the TL-R, the reputation stuck and Suzuki reported “sub-optimal” sales on both TL models. The TL1000R was also criticized by many in the motorcycle press for being overweight, and is faulted for its rotary damper rear suspension. I have removed this factory P.O.S and replaced it with a Bitubo Shock , its fanttastic and I will post some installation pictures on this later, I also replaced the stock sterring damper , its rubbish , I have fitted a Bitubo Steering damper whihc is fully adjustable Despite the reputation for being a handful to ride, the TL-R enjoys a strong almost cult like following amongst its owners, who take pride in their bike’s history and uniqueness.

I will be posting more extensivly , information on all the modifications I have done to my bike.

The day which heralded my return to 2 wheels

Navanman — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:17:38 +0000

Well the day finally arrived for my baby to come home ! On Saturday the 12th April me and my good friend Antal collected collected the TLR from the shop arrived 5 months of work and heart ache - it was great to have ride the TL again but my triumphant return to 2 wheel transport did not go with out incident …noting serious at all i hasten to add !

Basically I got wet ont he way from the shop to Navan … very wet , the kind of soaking you can only get on a motorbike when you are caught in a heavy downpore with no wetgear .. and to topt hat off i ran out of petrol … so Dutchie aka Antal had to navigate his way back to my house int he jeep to get the secret landmower petrol stash to get me going again … fun and games ! I also put on my new arrow cans during the week, they sound and look awesome ..im very happy with them , heres some pics i took after i put the m on and had brought the bike for a sound check test ride So what have I done to my beloved TLR you ask ?
Well here goes !

Bitubo Rear Shock, Bitubo steering damper, GSXR Gauge conversion, Airbox Modification, iridium spark plugs, Vandriver (of tlzone.net fame) Tail risers, rear brake resevoir, billet sprocket cover, aluminium pressure plate , stainless bolts and gold coloured retainers, just waiting on the clear clutch cover to finish that off ! Rated-TLR (also of tlzone.net fame) CNC’s Billet Rearsets, Powerbronze hugger, steel brake lines front and rear, Sintered brake pads, double bubble screen, PIAA Xenon Headlight Bulb, Cable Clutch conversion, DiD Xring chain , and last but not least a pair of beautiful Arrow cans - did I mention they also sound awsome ?
I have a Power Commander 2 ready to be installed, hoping to get a custom map sorted on a dyno for it some time this year …..

My 1998 TLR in all its glory !!!

Navanman — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:17:05 +0000

A New Site and a New Start !!!!!

Navanman — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:46:24 +0000