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| Quick Facts: 1999 Suzuki TL1000R |
| Owner |
Ben Armour |
| Age |
27 |
| Location |
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A. |
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Ben bought this bike new during the summer of 1999 and left it in stock trim for about a year. Not too long after that, he came across the Ezboard TL Owners Board where he found a wealth of information and ideas from owners all over the world. It turns out, the TL is easy to work on and responds well to performance modifications. After discovering the TL Owners board, Ben had tons of ideas, but just really didn't have a good enough reason to make any major changes to his bike.
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But, then the unthinkable happened, and hopefully it is a lesson that others can learn at Ben's expense. He had recently purchased a MotoTot device for his truck to transport his bike. This device attaches to the towing hitch of your vehicle and has a rail across it for carrying your motorcycle. You may have seen these used on campers or RVs. Ben had loaded his bike into the bed of his truck hundreds of times by himself with no problems, but the first time he used this device the worst happened. The bike got off balance and fell from about 3 feet onto its left side. This caused about $4,000 of damage.
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With the insurance money, Ben began to rebuild his bike and researched sources for parts, advice and assistance.
That is when the "madness" began.
Ben was able to find a full set of used bodywork, except for the gas tank, for $700 from a person on the TL Owners Board. He decided to have his tank repaired and have the bike painted the same as the European black/silver color scheme not offered in the United States. His good friend Steve, who manages a NAPA Auto Parts store, found a painter for him. They picked out the darkest black they could find and color matched the silver with the OEM color. From nothing more than a picture, the painter went to work on the bodywork and tank.
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Steve helped him order the OEM decals from Suzuki through a local dealer, and also assisted Ben with purchasing an additional full set of OEM bodywork in the bike's original colors. He did this because he liked the original color and wanted to have the option of switching out the bodywork - kind of a wardrobe for his motorcycle.
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Ben then stripped his bike to only the frame, swing arm and engine to prepare it for polishing. Nearly every piece of aluminum on the bike is polished. This includes the frame, swing arm, upper fairing brace, top triple clamp, rims, brake rotor carriers, brake calipers, sub-frame, front suspension lowers, rear sprocket, rear wheel cushion drive hub, and many other small pieces. Ben performed most of the polishing in his carport on the weekends over a 4-month period despite his home association's objections. The rims, rotors and calipers were done by a local guy who does great work for a great price.
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For performance items, Ben added:
- Yoshimira race slip-on exhausts
- Hermit-Dragon Performance custom air box and RAM air tubes
- Yoshimira Fuel Injection Mapping
- Race Tech front suspension components
- 41 tooth rear sprocket
- Cable clutch conversion kit
- Zero Gravity double-bubble tinted windscreen
- Ferrado high performance brake pads
- ProTek rear sets (foot peg assembly)
- ProTek clip-ons (handle bars)
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Ben also performed what's know as the "resistor mod" in the TL community. This is basically a resistor placed inline with the gear position sensor wire on the bike's computer. It fools the computer into believing the bike is in sixth gear at all times. The resistor mod prevents the computer from retarding
the timing advance, thus giving you full timing advance in all gear positions.
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To clean up the stock tail section, he decided to make his own under tray. This ultimately eliminated the bulky rear fender and gave the bike a very clean look from the rear. He then cut off the tie-down points and stock exhaust hanger brackets from the subframe. Hermit-Dragon Performance made some custom carbon fiber exhaust hanger brackets to really finish off the look.
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With all the modifications, Bens' bike performed well on the Dyno. Although it didn't make much more peak horsepower, it did have significant gains in mid-range power and torque. At about 7,000 RPM the bike was making about 10 more hp and 7-8 more foot pounds of torque than it did during the base run about a year before. Power was very linear, with only a slight dip at around 4,000 RPM.
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Ben rides this bike to work and back everyday and tries to get to the canyon roads at least once every weekend. He's even ridden it at two track days at the Phoenix International Raceway. The most rewarding part of this project is the attention the bike gets when he's out riding it. The best compliment Ben's received yet was from a Harley Davidson owner who said, "I've never liked crouch rockets, but your bike sure is beautiful."
In all, Ben has spent more than $6,000 getting the bike to this point, and he still has tons of ideas left.
September 3, 2010
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