[homer]

I'm interested to see how people are shedding weight from their bikes.

I was reading the battery thread and saw that it's nearly 4 lbs lighter than the stock battery.

So, Lithium Ion battery pack - 4LBS savings

What else can we do to shed weight from the bikes without turning it into a race bike.

Replacing the plastic bits such as the chain guard and fairing covers with carbon fiber bits is negligible.

I know replacing the muffler with a titanium system sheds major weight.


Let's get a list going of the mods and the weight savings.

Carbon Fiber wheels?
Carbon ceramic brake rotors?
Chain conversion?
Lithium Ion Battery?


Who has the lightest bike? The lightest street bike?

Homer

 

[antirich]

I know replacing the muffler with a titanium system sheds major weight.

-- Major weight savings, especially considering the muffler is top heavy. Full system will chop a pound or two off as well.

Carbon Fiber wheels?
Carbon ceramic brake rotors?

-- Can't/Shouldn't use on a street bike. CF wheels don't like pot holes, and neither will your wallet.

Chain conversion?
--- you won't notice this, more about cheaper/more common sprockets. Some rotational mass savings, but again, nothing you'll notice on the street

Lithium Ion Battery?
-- you'll need a 12-cell for street use, which i believe are about 3 lbs., but save on weight in the wallet as well ;-)

Starting performance will be stronger, and it'll last MUCH longer than the stock unit.

Besides all of that, there's not much you can do to chop of weight and still have a safe/street legal bike. I say 'safe' cause technically you can chop off parts of the frame, take off the mirros, lights, etc., but I wouldn't recommend it.

Stock wheels are VERY light as is, don't get sucked into the big $$ world of aftermarket wheels.

 

[MTNRider]

Biggest bang for the buck weight savings would be to dump the stock exhaust system and replace it with the full Arrow titanium. Don't remember the exact savings but it's somewhere between 15-20lbs I believe?

I must say though, I could not personally justify any of this for a street bike. Too much cost for no real benifit on the street.

.

 

[k473y]

............

 

[SoCalDaytona]

treadmill

 

[JazMan]

treadmill

Very effective weight loss there , LOL !! :rofl:

 

[homer]

Agreed, the bike is already a light bike. Most of the weight savings measures, you won't even notice on the street.

At a point, you begin to reach diminishing marginal returns.

So, I'm curious to know two things:
1: What can street riders to quickly, and inexpensively reduce weight on the street? Is there any crap on the bike that can be deleted without sacrificing driveability?

2: What do the obsessive/compulsive people do to their bikes to reduce weight? Carbon fiber body panels? (I've even seen a carbon fiber tank). Titanium bits and pieces? I'm sure that replacing all the steel nuts and bolts with titanium ones could save a few pounds at least.
Carbon fiber wheels? Those probably save a few pounds. I read somewhere that they now make carbon ceramic rotors that weigh several pounds less than the steel brake rotors..

An exhaust is probably the most cost effective per pound of weight loss (even though they are crazy expensive).

Just curious, that's all.

Homer

 

[MTNRider]

Honestly there is not much you can do "on the cheap" to reduce weight on a street bike. Rear passenger pegs are a freebie, maybe a few other small parts but nothing earth shattering.


Lots of stuff you can remove for a track bike though. :nod:


.

 

[MGFChapin]

Carbon canister, air intake flapper, exup valve and SAI system are all useless and add up in weight. You can get rid of them all for under $100. Nothing else will be cheap really but I'm a big fan of BST wheels.

 

[Viper_Byte]

A new set of Michelin Power Pures? They are said to be about 2 pounds (about 1kg) lighter than a set of comparable tires. I have just chucked them on my D675 and I must say it feels easier to turn and accelleration is much more free, so it is noticable, but not sure on the exact weight savings (above figures are stated from Michelin)

 

[homer]

A new set of Michelin Power Pures? They are said to be about 2 pounds (about 1kg) lighter than a set of comparable tires. I have just chucked them on my D675 and I must say it feels easier to turn and accelleration is much more free, so it is noticable, but not sure on the exact weight savings (above figures are stated from Michelin)

heh, very interesting! Thanks for pointing that out. Tires are probably the best and most obvious place to start. I didn't think that tire manufacturers put much thought into weight.

I'd assume that racing tires weigh much less.

So, with those tires, you're saving 2 LBS per wheel.

For Carbon fiber wheels:
Stock rear wheel ~ 14 lbs vs. BST ~ 4 lbs. (10 lb savings)
Front stock wheel ~ 11 lbs vs. BST ~ 6 lbs. (including hardware for mounting discs. (5 lb savings)

Brakes:
OE 310mm stainless: 3lbs 4.4oz vs. BrakeTech 310mm Carbon Ceramic: 1lb 5.6oz ( about a 4 lb savings per disc)

So, just by going with the tires, carbon fiber wheels, and carbon ceramic discs, you can save 25 LBS of unsprung weight! THATS CRAZY!

Homer

 

[MTNRider]

So, just by going with the tires, carbon fiber wheels, and carbon ceramic discs, you can save 25 LBS of unsprung weight! THATS CRAZY!

Homer

Crazy alright

BST wheels ~$3800 +
Rotors ~ $1000+ (each)
Special brake pads ~$100 (??)
Tires ~ $350

That's more then half the price of the bike just to save 25lbs.

If you have plenty money burning a hole in your pocket I guess it's no big deal but that's a LOT of cash to throw at a street bike.

.

 

[Viper_Byte]

heh, very interesting! Thanks for pointing that out. Tires are probably the best and most obvious place to start. I didn't think that tire manufacturers put much thought into weight.

I'd assume that racing tires weigh much less.

So, with those tires, you're saving 2 LBS per wheel.

Sorry Homer, but that is on the set of both tires, not each. I am not sure how much per tire, I would GUESS the rear has the most saving, but I cannot confirm. I should have weighed mine before I put them on.

 

[homer]

Crazy alright

BST wheels ~$3800 +
Rotors ~ $1000+ (each)
Special brake pads ~$100 (??)
Tires ~ $350

That's more then half the price of the bike just to save 25lbs.

If you have plenty money burning a hole in your pocket I guess it's no big deal but that's a LOT of cash to throw at a street bike.

.

Yea, I know... haha. I'm not going to go out and spend more in parts than my bike is worth just to make my bike weigh less.

This thread isn't really about the affordability of weight savings, I'm just curious to see what all is out there..

As we all know, the aftermarket is somewhat limited for our bikes.

 

[Smoke]

Shorty levers :coolgleamA:

Carbon everything ?

Unsprung weight in rotation > unsprung weight > weight, which is why extravagant prices are paid for lighter wheels / rotors.

Oh, and lost more than 1 kilos these last months, yay Saves time and money, too.

PS: weight savings claimed by Michelin are for the most advantageous comparison, and it's not for a very common size (non, I don't remember which one) and the respectable magazine which tested them found the real-world savings to be negligible. Any faster turning sensation was put down to more aggressive profile.

 

[MTNRider]

One of the biggest weight savers is to run the fuel tank on empty. That will save you about 28 lbs .... for free!



... of course you won't get to far?




.

 

[tooblekain]

One of the biggest weight savers is to run the fuel tank on empty. That will save you about 28 lbs .... for free!

... of course you won't get to far?

.

That's why in races they try and calculated how much gas is really needed to finish the race. And unfortunately they sometimes miscalculate and some run out of gas before the race finishes. In all seriousness though the most effective for weight loss would be carbon fiber rims and a race full exhaust. Everything else should be cheap because its mostly removal.

 

[RIDER]

Convert the bike to R/C,and control it from a helicopter.That's gonna save at least 150lbs.You could also run it naked,and remove the rear brake.Also,because you no longer need to sit on the bike,just remove the rear sub frame too.

 

[doublen675]

Stock exhaust removed and a lowboy fitted (Soon) Passenger pillions removed, tail tidy (Got rid of that heavy piece that the license plate attaches to. I was surprised by how much that weighed! Hmm...that's about it for me. I would guess the bike will shed 18 lbs.? Maybe more with those mods. :nod:

 

[decipral]

The only thing I have done is chop the exhaust. Low mount without CAT.

Things I can think of:
chop or change exhuast
Carbon Fiber fairings/fenders
Carbon heel guards
magnesium wheels
Titanium bits