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Originally Posted by monstermob 998 been reading lots of good things about the 800ss -- is there anything model specific to look out for when purchasing?? TWPD where are you!! |
Pardon me - I've lost a bit of interest here of late....
Brilliant bikes - vastly underrated, very tweakable and the engine is sweet - free-revvin', responsive and grunty. My tweaked bike (lightened flywheel, PCIII usb, pipes, filter and cams degree-ed in) has been clocked at 150 by other bikes - it's not powerful but, 80bhp and 57ft-lb of torque is ample.
03 bikes are the best spec' wise: identical to a 1000ss chassis apart from the rear shock (Sachs on the 800, Ohlins on the 1000).
04/05 bikes were down-specced to a steel swinging arm, unadjustable forks, 620s/Monster master cylinders, 3-spoke wheels.
I was lucky - I got the parts to upgrade my 04ss and my 05ss (which became my race bike) is actually an 03 that sat in the warehouse for two years before being registered. I also have an 03 bike in bits.
04/05 bikes are slightly lighter due to detail changes.
It is basically a developed and tweaked/refined 750ssie with 900ssie performance and a six-speed box.
As usual, the paint comes off the engine and, endemic to the entire range, is the crappy integrated ECU/instruments.immobiliser. The instruments seem to be unreliable which, given the cost is a real bummer. I'm about to get my third set fitted under warranty (maybe they don't like our bumpy northern roads?)...
Other than that - I love them. They are ideal road bikes, cheap to buy & run, with a chassis that is every bit as good as the 4 valvers once its tweaked and set up.
I put an extra 2 teeth on the rear which really pepped up the acceleration and it now has no trouble staying with most things on the road to about 120. It sounds awesome and I never feel like it needs more power. 100mph comes up at about 5700 rpm.