Shaving weight (6th gen)

KillerKingdon, I have the same blessing/curse, I am 6'3" and only weigh about 174 lbs. Skinny. But it makes me be able to go windsurfing in less wind, rock climb like a bandit, and go faster on my bike!
If you ever want to see the dramatic difference weight can make, throw a passenger on there! I have had a few on that make my bike accelerate like a scooter!
I am going to toss the center stand and get some paddock stands this summer, that should save some weight...
My girl loves to ride on the back, but if she didnt, I would get rid of the passenger pegs. Only problem is, on an ABS 6th gen, the right peg holds the shock adjuster... bollocks!
fotomoto, other than the already stated mods (cans/centerstand/bodywork) what saved big weight on your custom 4gen?

 

Gee, I think the topic of this thread is shaving weight from a 6th Gen . . . .

 

Using a cbr front end and a vtec rear allowed me to reduced the required fairing plastics from 22 pieces to 10, glass headlights to plastic, smaller/lighter upper stay and instrument panel, SS/CF exhaust, no passenger pegs, and several other little things. Weight reduction wasn't the #1 goal of project rather updating the looks and performance were so the savings could have been greater still by not using the heavy ass VTEC subframe and larger 5.5 wheel. I loved to get the subframe made out of aluminum. Yum.

As for removing the centerstand, I guess that's a valid option if you don't ride far enough from your garage to need to service your chain.:wink:

As Alaskan so astutely pointed out , this was not on a 6th gen. I thought my experience might shed some light on how drastic or expensive it gets on a VFR when serious weight reduction is wanted.

 

run low octane only a quart,run only 2 quarts lite wieght oil, 1 quart of (lite) water with no calories.. those get you heavy, remove every other bolt replace with titanium,and lose the valve stem caps, remove fairing,windshield dash, run open head exhuast, drill holes in wheels ,frame,triple clamps,sprokets,chain,brain remove bothfenders back n front pegs mirrors airbox(open fi) remove throttle housing just pull the cable,drop rear brakes only one rotor up front with one brake pad,and one fork tube(lower oil level through out spring) remove seat ride on frame.get a 9volt battery replace reg battery,ohh stick finger down throat everytime you eat.....then we will get serious

 

Buy a 1.5 jerry can and only ride 50 miles, gas weighs a lot.

 

Why not go on a diet, SOW?

 

Lithium battery. 1.5 lbs., $125. Best bang for the buck.

 

Only have to look to myself before worrying about removing or lightening bike! More to lose than difference between '03 & '14!

Remember a pint of water weighs very close to a pound, if you are worrying about 1.5 lbs in a battery, your own weight will go up and down more than that in a day!

So be careful how many pints you have! and I don't mean water.

 

I should have been more clear. I replaced the battery in my SuperhawkVTR with a lithium battery. L ithium is 1.5 lbs., stock was 10. Saved 8.5 pounds from the standard. Next battery in my VFR will be a lithium. Haven't weighed a VFR battery but I 'm sure it's at least 10 pounds. Plus, the battery is mounted pretty high.

 

This thread was over 6.5 years old...

 

For those with the talent to feel the difference of 8.5 lbs, then the investment is worth it, plus they are great batteries.

 

:tsk::twitch::kev::smash:forget about removing the center stand-one bolt is a problem-you need to take the headers off to get it out! All ways something to screw me up! I am not taking the headers off to save 3 pounds.

 

I was able to get my 05 ABS model down to 480.6 Lbs. by getting rid of everything I did not need on the bike. That is with a bone dry fuel tank:

Delkevic header
TBR Vale exhaust - but I did mod the Delkevic Y-pipe to make both of the TBR mufflers active
Fender eliminator
Remove the center stand
Removed every piece of emissions equipment and hoses - PAIR valve, evaporator canister, Removed all the airbox flaps and snorkels, etc.
All kinds of other needless nuts, bolts, clips, reflectors.

Besides the stock mufflers and headers, I have two boxes of stuff that never went back on the bike. The bike has never suffered as a result of getting rid of all the extra bits and pieces.

I still have the LBS/ABS systems in place.

The single most effective mod to the feel of the bike related to weight was to use a 3rd gen (Longer) Ohlins on the rear to hike the rear and decrease the rake on the fork. Bike felt 100 Lbs. lighter after that mod. You lose trail on the front end with reduced rake and the bike oversteers a bike. I modified and F4 triple clamp that has less offset to fit with the VFR steering stops. It adds back the trail to the front end and the bike handling is magical! Of course, I also have modded F4 internals in the fork to get me rebound adjustment on one leg and compression adjustment on the other leg.

I just love this bike. I have had all kinds of motorcycles since I was 16 years old and I don't know what I would replace it with:

 

I have 2 bos one carbon muffler-19 pds less, shoie battery 4 pds, 520n chain 4pds, I never fill up tank unless going on a really long trip- I never do that. that's it for me-this is a heavy beast-never going to be light.:bounce:

 

Maybe it was "The Tread From The Dead..."

 

The big weight savers that are realistically possible are:

1.) Replace pipes and headers (stock is insanely heavy).
2.) Get lithium or iron-whatever battery
3.) Get Corbin seat (it's the lightest by far between stock, Sargent, and Corbin).
4.) Remove center stand
5.) Run fender eliminator and remove rear pegs and sissy bars if u never ride 1 UP.

I think if you did all these mods, you would ditch a lot, like 30ish pounds if not a bit more. The most serious weight savings thing is probably the wheels, which are unsprung weight as well. From what I hear, that shit is expensive though.

 

I have found Corbins to be substantially heaver than Sergeants. They use a fiberglass base that is very heavy. I think you got that one backwards. Sergeants use stock plastic pans.

 

yeah... the corbin seat is a patio paver wrapped in leather.

 

Thrift stores have diet books for aboot a quarter. So if you are 5'9" and weigh 350lbs. The weight savings would be two-bits.

No pix necessary on this one. Especially posed in assless chaps or thongs. TIA

 

Ah, coulda sworn from that three seat comparison someone did that Corbin was the lightest, but I was remembering wrong. Lightest by far is the stock seat!