[humungus]

;D I'm a crazy idiot, but I have always wanted a Monster and now I have one. Tommorrow I pick up a blue 04 S4R, so I wanted to officially say Hi. I would really appreciate any advice on mods from other S4R owners or anyone else. I wont do anything until I'm settled in with the bike, but it will be nice to fantasize in the mean time.
One thing I noticed on my test drive was the kind of weak (is that the word ?) rear brake, at least weaker than what I am used to. Any way of upgrading that ? Nice front brake though . Also, any advice on initial suspension setup would be much appreciated. I'm 5'9", 155lbs.
By the way, I live in Boulder CO.

Safe riding to all,
Dan

 

[Guest]

90 % of your stoping power on a bike is in the the front brakes. Many people tend to barely use the rea if they use it at all. I for one only use the rear brake at stop light to keep from rolling or to back the bike into a turn at speed.
What do you mean by weak? Can you lock up the rear brake? If not there must be a problem there. If it just seems you need to push it harder to get the job done, then maybe the demo's brakes are not seated properly from lack of use. My R1 brakes needed to be abused when I first bought to get the pads to seat right.
Either way too much rear brake will only get you in trouble. But see how the bike you buy feels if it is the same ride the brake for a while to heat it up good. Circle you block and use the rear brake often to get it good and hot. It should burn what ever glaze is there quickly. If that does not work, ask the dealer to bleed the rear and see if that helps.

 

[test-reg]

welcome humungus and congratulations on your new purchase.

Race_Day_Dennis is right on the money when it comes to the back brake. in addition, accidently lubing it when you lube your chain doesn't help.

 

[TX907]

Ducati rear brakes are often considered to be weak or 'wooden'. It usually takes a fair amount of effort to lock the rear.

Every time I get on my Laverda after riding a Ducati, I end up sliding the rear a time or two because the rear brake does not require the pressure that the Ducati's do. It has Brembo brakes as well, but they are just set up differently.

 

[Mark1305]

We have rear brakes?????

Anyway, first mod as a new owner should be a small safe or lock box with a time lock on it to hide your wallet and credit cards every time you get near a computer with access to online vendors.

 

[Guest]

good for you! another s4 owner among the ranks, sweet.

first mods?
gearing! as far as mods go, sprockets are very cheap and provide dramatic results. standard gearing is 15/37 front and rear respectively. i found switching to a 39 tooth sprocket in the rear helped low-speed lugging, accelleration, and from-standstill-starts. dropping to 14 tooth in front compounded the effects and is a great bang-for-the-buck! nice thing too is that with those size changes, you won't need to get a new (longer) chain!

 

[humungus]

Thanks all, I look forward to exchanging information with all.. Thanks for the brake tips Race_Day_Dennis ,howie and TX907. I agree with rear brake use, as a matter of fact the only time I really depend on the rear brake is starting out on hills and more importantly emergency stops...thats another 25% braking power. This S4R will be my fifth bike owned and the rear brakes of the demo S4R required more pressure than any rear brakes I have ever experienced. I didnt buy the demo model, so my bike may be different but as TX907 stated, it may just be a Ducati signiture ,in which case I'll just have to adjust.. Thanks for the gear tip Mark1305, always good advice, I'm allready set up with leathers top and bottom,boots gloves,earplugs and a great helmet, could use some new gloves soon though. I've never done gearing changes s4strati, sounds interesting

Thanks for the welcome all,
Dan