How to cut weight down on this bike

[FAST851]

I was looking at the bike today and noticed all this extra wight that could possibly come off. Things i noticed were the center stand, the cargo tie downs under seat, then theres a little bracket thats on the left side near the chain. I know that it doesnt sound like much but wouldnt any little thing help? Also i was looking at some aftermarket pipes what kind do you guys recommend and how much weight is saved by going to an aftermarket pipe compared to staying with the factory one? Any help would be greatly appreciated

[DayKat]

When I bought mine, the PO had removed the centerstand, passenger grab bar, rear pegs, cargo rails and chain guard. Said it was to lighten it.
Right after I got it, I reinstalled all those components. I use everyone of them and didn't notice a bit of change in handling or power due to those "heavy parts. kind of silly if you ask me unless you want to drag for lap times and gain maybe .5 secs.

Ever feel how heavy the passenger grab is? Srprised me!

[versionpardner]

This has been discussed before but this should get you started and no its not the smart alec use the search link

http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=72565&highlight=weight

[The CyberPoet]

Might also want to read:

http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=73856

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Genkenx2]

Here's my tip..

First take out the frame, that heavy steel thing does nothing but add massive weight to the bike... then you duct tape the engine (or weld if you got it) directly to the gas tank. Now you gotta get yourself an R6 Subframe, that'll give you a lighter tail.

Of course after that, you gotta duct tape (or weld) the front forks directly to the gas tank, but make sure that you don't weld it too tight otherwise you won't be able to turn the forks.

Ditch that swing arm too, I find that a couple of sturdy aluminum poles do the job just fine.

..

Let's face it, a heavy bike will always be a heavy bike. But hell even at 500 lbs or so, the Kat isn't that heavy, it handles fine and it feels pretty damn good.

[md86]

Good point ! Try riding a cruiser for a while . ANY cruiser . I thought the Katana was a featherweight when I went from my Virago dresser to IT .

[Nero]

There's a guy here in town that wants to lighten his busa by taking sh*t off of it. He's 5'9, weighs prolly 320 pounds and no, he's not a bodybuilder...

[Genkenx2]

Oh yeah thanks for reminding me Nero.

#1 way to drop weight from your bike: go on a darn diet.

[Londob5]

If you're worried about the kat weight, you probably should not have bought a kat in the first place. There are plenty of used ninjas out there with a good deal less weight.

[arsenic]

I was gonna say that, you want a lighter bike, buy a gixxer

[Alley_Kat]

Feel how heavy oil is next time you are servicing the bke.
Try running with only 1 quart, should cut our a couple pounds.
or, you could only run 1 gallon of gas at a time. A gallon of gas weighs about 6 lbs. Not putting all 5 gallons in could shave off 20 pounds.

There's a guy here in town that wants to lighten his busa by taking sh*t off of it. He's 5'9, weighs prolly 320 pounds and no, he's not a bodybuilder...

I think it was on the biggest loser section of the forum that was posted every 7 pounds you lose is equal to adding 1 hp to the bike.

[KustomKata]

Weight Loss

chain gaurd. is one of the things. There is much more. Take a look at my bike for instance. The photos explain it all. The passanger seat for instance, who needs that. Many others too, just take a look.

[2000kat600]

I find it absurd all this weight issues unless your are professionally drag racing where the fraction of a second counts but then again, your "road" consists of very hard accelerations and only several hundred feet long.
There's nothing that you can remove on the bike that will make you "feel" any performance improvement, there might be things that you can tune into the engine or modify but not by removing passenger pegs, rear fendersm etc....


Oh! Wanted to add, no dissing implied, I just don't believe it makes a performance difference but it certainly looks cool on some bikes like CustomKat above, the bike looks friggin' AWESOME!

[NiteMare]

or you could go this way if you want to shave weight ....



all that is 1100f is the engine and now fitted with stumpy carbon cans

[arsenic]

thats funny