Lovely stuff Pfaelzer! This is making me want one!
I must say i liked the look of it a lot more with the motocross mud-guard on the front!
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Lovely stuff Pfaelzer! This is making me want one!
I must say i liked the look of it a lot more with the motocross mud-guard on the front!
Hi Carl,
Having the Laser on is definitely an improvement. The engine responds better. About the lighter feeling, I can’t really tell to be honest. I’m a pretty heavy rider myself and usually on the road with some luggage. I do most of the lobs on the bike after work in the garage at my factory and got not too much time off for riding in China. There is still also the family around in Hong Kong, hahaha.
My first idea was of course to find a K&K filter. I checked out their lists online and those of some other suppliers too, but the closest match was of the R800GS – but it still didn’t have the same size. I checked even for small cars… No choice so far but to DIY.
I want to try out to remap the ECU, due to these modifications and also for trying to get more torque at lower rpm and therefore maybe giving up some max. power, which is not really needed on China roads. The new wheels will therefore come also with a bigger rear sprocket. The JH600 has got an ECU from Bosch. I didn’t look much so far into the possibility to buy my own interface since my experience on mapping ECUs is limited. I guess if you wanted to do this right, then you also needed to have a lambda measuring device and/or one other device to check the CO content in order the get the fuel/air ration right (sorry, don't know the english names for these two measuring instruments). Need also to gather some more information here. Ultimately I would need access to motorcycle performance tester to see on the torque and power curves the result of my tuning efforts. So far nothing of that is available for me in Fuzhou. But then, do we really need that?
I will be off hiking in Bhutan for Chinese New Year. Will be back with some information on the rear shock absorber replacement of the JH600.
Hi Felix,
Nice to see you here. The motocross mudguard hasn’t completely died on this project. But wait and see the modified original mudguard on the 21” wheel. Then we will make a vote…
Happy New Year and best wishes to you and all riders and readers,
AW.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...42_ibspq-L.jpg
What you are doing is great info for all JH600 owners. Can I borrow your photos and use them to report your mods in the Chinese biker forum?
The rear shock upgrade will greatly improve the handling but I think by also upgrading the front shock spring to a progressive one and changing to high quality fork oil will also help.
What teething you will be using on your rear sprocket? Make sure you put on the DID O Ring chain you have already got. It makes a lot of difference on smoothness of drive.
Keep the news coming.
Hi Franki,
The rear shock upgrade is already done. I will post it once back from my trip. I only tell now, that this makes really a huge difference. Together with the Laser, which I got also from you, the bike is much closer to what we are used to in Europe. Progressive front springs need to come for sure. Got those also on my R80GS and they will match perfectly to the Wilbers rear shock.
I will change the chain together with the new sprocket on the new set of wheels, which I hope will be coming in within this month from Germany.
Will be back after the 22nd.
Cheers, AW.
quick question, couldn't find the answer in any search result, and didnt want to start another thread...
What are you doing about luggage? Are there any specific panniers that fit well?
Looking at buying one of these beauts towards the end of the year for my travels through China... the more I read about them, the more I love the sound of them!
Hi,Quote:
Originally Posted by 3L4NS1R
Of course you can get panniers of different kinds but the problem as to my information so far is, that there is no pannier rack system available on the market for the JH600 so far. That means DIY again.
I will start working on a luggage system soon and will post progress here. Maybe too early but there might be somebody around who is planning to develop and commercialize a rack system. I'll post this as well once there is more information.
If anyone has more information about this topic, please post here.
Greetings,
AW.
Hi,
Back from Chinese New Year Holiday with the promised post about the rear suspension modification.
For my taste, the bike bounces too much on fast bumpy roads and looses traction too easy on steep off-road climbs. The spring feels strong enough, but the damping is not to my taste and on the stock shock absorber is also not adjustable. I decided to change the original part with a Wilbers model from Germany. Some might argue that this is over the top but I just wanted to give it a try. I sent the original shock to Wilbers and they re-build a new one, based on my specification (weight, riding preference). There are different models to choose from, I went for a basic type. Franki helped me to get this arranged through his shop in Hong Kong.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...63_F6fgv-L.jpg
Here the original shock and the new Wilbers part.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...24_3B6x7-L.jpg
The original part has got a thread in the fork (see picture above), which Wilbers somehow couldn’t do. This brought up a little challenge to prepare the lower bolt, since there is not much space where this bolt dives into the fork lever. When ordering again from Wilbers it might be a good idea to ask and get the threat cut into the fork.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...55_3fjWv-L.jpg
See the red bolt. There is now about 3mm gap to the fork lever after grinding down the head of the bolt a bit.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...58_jWpuh-L.jpg
The new WILBERS will go in here. Air filter box and battery need to go out for assembling.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...10_DzaZe-L.jpg
First fit test – looks good. Even the WILBERS is a bit wider it fits in well. Some more bolts, air box, battery and fairing to get the job done. This will take about one more hour.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...55_qdorQ-L.jpg
VERY IMPORTANT - The space between the levers is limited. I had some little difficulties to fix the lower mount of the Wilbers shock, since the original screw was too long and would have touched these levers at both sides. There is about 12-15mm space at each side.The original Showa has got a thread in the fork, so no nut is needed. Make also sure, that the bolt (M10) has got a good strength.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...34_qLjjY-L.jpg
See the space I am writing about. Measured more precisely shows: 69mm.
Riding with the new Wilbers
Great, as expected. I have chosen the spring to be on the harder side since I will do also some rides fully loaded and with 2 people up. However, even solo, no uncontrolled swinging on fast uneven roads and the rear wheel stays on the ground off-road much better than before. This was a good investment. Soon I will have to turn my attention to the front end since this feels rather soft now and actually bottoms out easily.
2010-04-27 Update:
There are some more riders interested now to modify their JH600 with Wilbers reach shocks. I have been in contact with them yesterday and provided them following more detailed information:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...82_Ap5zr-L.jpg
Sag of rear-shock, bike only: 50mm
Sag with rider: 105mm (rider weight 96kg)
We also discussed the bolt space issue on the lower mounting fork (see the pictures above). The new shocks, provided for the JH600 will now have a inserted thread in one side or the fork. This will give more room and makes assembling easier. Wilbers promised to provide the shock together with the matching bolt. Don't forget to use some LockTite... Good news!
...back to list of modifications.
I am 1.85m tall and prefer a more upright seating position. 25mm raisers are added. This helps also when riding off-road in standing position. Raising the handlebar more than 25mm will require a longer break line and maybe a longer clutch cable too. Those raisers are available from companies like Touratech, Wunderlich and so on. Important is only the diameter of the handle-bar, which is 22mm on the JH600.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/photos/7...27_UoZfS-L.jpg
...back to overview.
On the road you need power for different appliances like GPS, communication systems and others. The dashboard of the JH600 offers good space so I built in two sockets, a car type and a small type plus a main switch. I connected the sockets (fused) directly to the battery. They also serve as a connection point for the battery charger, which helps to maintain the battery in good shape.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/photos/7...43_S8yCy-L.jpg
Electric wiring from the backside of the dashboard
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/photos/7...19_rFCe6-L.jpg
Two sockets and a switch. Not sure if I keep that switch. Its a bit chunky but there was not a big choice available up in Fuzhou.
The next add on to the dashboard should be a volt meter.
...back to overview.
Phaelzer,
How many watts does the JH's alternator put out? You're going to have the world's most tricked-out JH600 when you're done with all your modifications. :riding:
Cheers,
Dan K.