Decided to change the rear tire, and brakes while the bike was in time out. My cheap ass was wanting a few more good rides on the rear tire but with moab sand in the near forecast, it was time. Decided to switch from Motoz to tusk. I got 6k miles on this tire so I am please.@Terminous has about 6k miles on his tusk rear seeing a mix of terrain and aggressive riding on a 1290. I dont think I should be too worried about tread life.
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Who picked the graphics package, Stevie Wonder?!
Looks good!!
Clearly DEEP STATE
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Bled the clutch, checked the clutch pack, adjusted clutch spring tension, and installed a Mosko Rackless 10. Need to reset sag with the bags loaded, and then this one is ready for Moab. Norden next.
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Nice! Looking forward to your report. I have one more tire set of life in my mouse balls on the 501, but want to switch to these next time around.
The biggest question: how were they to install, aside from not being messy?
They were easy to install using a Neutron tire changer. When installing the front tire, a small part of 2-3 balls had a tendency to get caught between the outside of the rim and the last part of the 2nd bead. I just finessed them with a tire iron and they went right in. I will use a little bead grease on that part of the rim next time.
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Adjusted / shimmed 5 of 8 valves, built a custom cam arming tool (Aprilia tool is only available in a back ordered factory tool kit that costs $1200!) Replaced thermostat with low temp version. Installed PAIRS and cannister delete kit block off plates and dongles. Modified air box lid-not quite sure I like it, stronger on top above 5000 rpm but lost some torque down low. Installed Pro Taper ACF Bars-slightly lower and less sweep than stock. New rear 44t sprocket and RK x-ring gold chain. New custom graphics. Installed factory heated grips. Broke clutch cover…BOO!, replaced clutch cover with NEW OEM cover.
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Would love to see a ride report after a season, or maybe 3k miles. Very curious about degradation vs the originals. Do they feel ‘slick’ without adding lubricant?
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I will definitely let you know after I test for awhile. I’m also going to put them in my 300 for more slow speed, technical trail riding.
As the video showed, they are completely dry with some silver/grey coloring. The “lube” is definitely impregnated into the ball as it doesn’t come of when handling.
A few months ago, I replaced the dented factory muffler on my F800GS with an ebay chinese muffler. It’s smaller, lighter and more free-flowing than stock. It definitely sounds more aggressive than the stock muffler. Today’s the first time I’ve actually ridden the bike since putting it on there. Now I get a lot of decel pops, and there is a notable reduction in torque from before. I didn’t realize that a more free-flowing exhaust robs you of torque. Now I know, dang! There is an insert that came with the exhaust that I need to put in and see if it makes a difference. I left it off because it sounded better at idle. But now I think I need that restriction. I guess this is how you learn.
I was playing around north of Idaho Springs, around some old mining tailings. I forgot how much fun this bike is. And I found an old mining trail I want to explore on my smaller bike. Its going to be an early starting fun summer!
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Didn’t know you still had the 800.
How a bike sounds is more important than how it performs #priorities
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The insert is likely just a dB reducer, and doesn’t meaningfully affect air flow; without it, it’s simply louder. Modern bikes run lean from the factory, and when you open up the exhaust, they run even leaner (more air, same fuel), which makes you lose power, but it also makes the engine and entire system run hotter. The only way to fix this is to either have the ECU tuned to fix the fueling, or to a lesser degree but it still helps (on some bikes), a piggyback ECU unit like the Power Commander. I didn’t really understand this concept until a couple years ago… the hard way. Never stop learning. 
I know some people will argue the point I made above, and I know that a dB reducer does restrict air flow a little bit and create some amount of back pressure, and possibly increases low end torque. But, it won’t get your ratio anywhere close to stock, so my point about the ECU tuning still stands.
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I’ve got an AFXied unit on my bike. I just adjusted it to its richest setting, but it was already close to that when I was riding today. I installed the insert just now and it definitely reduces the size of my bike’s butthole a significant amount. Too bad we are expecting snow tonight and a high of 27 tomorrow. It would be nice to ride it with these adjustments with today’s performance fresh in my mind.
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