Vader 125 set up and initial mods

[RedCrowRides]

My Ohlins " knock off" was about $140 iirc, still well over $100 but far less than the 400- 450$ a "real " Ohlins would have been lol. No way in hell i was gonna put a 450$ rear shock on a bike i only paid $1200 for , for the whole damn thing lol !


There are several "pitbike" shocks on EBay that should work fine that are under $100., just get your eye to eye distance and then your eye hole diameter and start looking , a friend of mine got one that looks pretty sweet and performs fine for like 69$ off Ebay ,yeah it's a Chinese shock but it's far better than the stock one.,I'll try and ask him if he recalls exactly who the Seller on Ebay was and the specs /part number etc. It wouldnt hurt to put a slightly longer than stock shock on there as you lose a bit of the already limited travel due to suspension sag when you sit on it .Americans generally speaking are heavier than your average Chinese so that also dont help any bc they are tuning the suspensions for a China guy who might weigh 125 pounds soaking weight with bricks in both pockets haha .

[ikeus685]

Originally Posted by RedCrowRides

My Ohlins " knock off" was about $140 iirc, still well over $100 but far less than the 400- 450$ a "real " Ohlins would have been lol. No way in hell i was gonna put a 450$ rear shock on a bike i only paid $1200 for , for the whole damn thing lol !


There are several "pitbike" shocks on EBay that should work fine that are under $100., just get your eye to eye distance and then your eye hole diameter and start looking , a friend of mine got one that looks pretty sweet and performs fine for like 69$ off Ebay ,yeah it's a Chinese shock but it's far better than the stock one.,I'll try and ask him if he recalls exactly who the Seller on Ebay was and the specs /part number etc. It wouldnt hurt to put a slightly longer than stock shock on there as you lose a bit of the already limited travel due to suspension sag when you sit on it .Americans generally speaking are heavier than your average Chinese so that also dont help any bc they are tuning the suspensions for a China guy who might weigh 125 pounds soaking weight with bricks in both pockets haha .

I also thought that maybe a longer eye to eye shock would be worth installing. Perhaps 250mm or up to 10".
Besides being a part of the "over the hill gen"> I am vertically challenged so
any massive "off road" shock, ground clearance increase etc is verboten.

[ikeus685]

About 8:30 am received a call from a Peninsula Trucking driver that he has my bike and is in Florence about a half hour up the coast. Unloaded and moved under the overhang just before some heavy rans arrived. A birth mark or two that I am not worried about. Rub mark on under side of handle bar. Hope the picture up loads.. There's an owners manual!! Time to start taking down the cage.
Will install the handle bars and front tire to roll the bike into the kitchen for fluid changes, Fork suspension preload (hopefully) and replacement or snugging down of all bolts etc
OK nuff time messing with this computer. I'll try and give a pretty good picture account.

[ikeus685]

Pretty full day for an ol coot. Tore down the cage and with my vans scissor jack under the right foot peg and my 8' ladder and cargo ratchet removed the axle from frame and temp. installed front tire for rolling into my apartment.
needed to lay bike on its side and quickly had the rear shock mounted.
Boy! shocking the 1st time you look under the engine!??? Time to build a custom bike work stand.. My parts bin/milk container with some judicious cutting away with a cross cut and adding a small bar from the cage.. A little
tail heavy but that's the best I could think of without stressing the exhaust or engine.
1st project tomorrow will be draining the forks and trying to add a little pre load to the suspension. 15 wt fork oil.. I am 180 lbs and already being tempted to go with some .60Kg Race Techs.

[ikeus685]

Haven't figured how to post multiple pix yet.

[cbrfxr67]

going to look great. that red is hot

[RedCrowRides]

Part of the reason I installed a aluminum skid plate on mine aside from the obvious protection factor was doing so gave me a safe, strong flat place to put my floor jack /bike jack under that didn't make me sweat bullets I was going to hurt something .


It helped a lot , I use a spool stand and just lift up the rear for most things but sometimes that just wont do it for what work you are doing and there isn't a great

spot to use under the engine , i used a wood block on my floor jack but it was real sketchy, the skidplate is far more stable and easier.


Keep us updated on your progress !

[ikeus685]

Originally Posted by RedCrowRides

Part of the reason I installed a aluminum skid plate on mine aside from the obvious protection factor was doing so gave me a safe, strong flat place to put my floor jack /bike jack under that didn't make me sweat bullets I was going to hurt something .


It helped a lot , I use a spool stand and just lift up the rear for most things but sometimes that just wont do it for what work you are doing and there isn't a great

spot to use under the engine , i used a wood block on my floor jack but it was real sketchy, the skidplate is far more stable and easier.


Keep us updated on your progress !

Whew.. lots of running around today. Did order up one of those lift stands $39.00 ebay. Also needed larger metric sockets 12-16 mm to remove the swing arm bolt.. What a BEAR!!!
Once you get past the right rear set. Don't disconnect anything. I used a zip tie for the brake caliper and a bungee cord stretch over to the cargo rack to hold the rear set clear. Heat gun, wd40, Ratcheting, bottomed out my drift pin an used one of those plastic handle tee wrench sans the handle to continue to drive it....Its gotta be almost out!! Any way I wrapped it up for the evening. don't want the neighbor complaining. Super long drift pin/rod is the answer. Does 250ml sound right for the forks? Have yet to measure the oil from one of the drained fork legs.
You probably mentioned where to get a Grom/Vader skid plate. I had look at some skid plates on ebay and said ??? nah. That was before I got an actual look underneath wow!! Does it take a bit of jury rigging to secure one of those? where do you secure them??
The blue tape on the swing arm bolt , I used to measure progress.

[ikeus685]

Un submitted pictures on swing arm.

[ikeus685]

Still learning how to post pictures. I was able to convince the bolt to move a bit further than picture shows.

[RedCrowRides]

The skid plate bolt holes will line right up, no problems on a Gen 2 Vader. It has two top side mount points and then 2 under the engine, once you have the skid plate and hold it under there you will see how it aligns , i will try to drag myself out in to the yard and take some close ups of the mounting points and post em in the morning.

[ikeus685]

Originally Posted by RedCrowRides

The skid plate bolt holes will line right up, no problems on a Gen 2 Vader. It has two top side mount points and then 2 under the engine, once you have the skid plate and hold it under there you will see how it aligns , i will try to drag myself out in to the yard and take some close ups of the mounting points and post em in the morning.

Its too late to ask now, what brand skid plate I like the Kitaco skid plate but I think Zeedparts in Thialand are raising their $119.00 price..
Cheapest I found.
I've looked all over and in frustration ordered a skid plate for the Beemer G310GS. They also have an under engine exhaust so hopefully I can figure out a way to mount it $39.00 ebay..
Can you shoot a couple pictures of the mounting locations to your skid plate please? I have a couple ideas but they might appear chunky. Speaking of which.
You know " this is your sign when.." Remove much less mounting my new Shinko's proved to be a bridge too far... Took then down to Coos Bay to get
tires swapped out. All the Dune riders sites are packed. And the Yamaha dealer; had a steady flow of shoppers buying their products at outrageous prices.
Found a 1' section of all thread that I'll grind down the threads and tap out that final inch or two still attached to the swing arm. Then look to see if drill/tapping in a couple zerks is still a good idea.

[ikeus685]

All the above upside down pictures showed right orientation when selected from "browse".

[ikeus685]

The first fork leg drained into a contaminated container. Right leg went into a clean plastic container and drained back into my measuring cup. Just a red hair under 250 ML. On the Honda shop CD..
It says each should have 10w 221.0 + or -1.5cm2 Whatever that means or;
75 (2.95).. I believe this to mean 75mm or 2.95" from the rim for the level.
Also have these;
Top and bottom pinch bolts 27nm or 20 Ft lbs or torque.

[ikeus685]

Swing arms removed I can't see anything that can help other than a good greasing on assembly. For those debating taking down their swing arm to do the meninthebox bushing replacement $139.00. That might be appealing to the street racer crowd. It's too hard for me to pull drill tap install zerks and replace bearing? A bit of a let down but, I do want to become familiar with her..Yep her!
I've tried looking up Baodaio front fork specs but they are unavailable. Shot a message to Venom to see if they would verify the oil cap. of the fork and fill line.. 250ML and or75mm/2.95" From the inner ring failed to strike oil.
Batteries in and electronics are all good.. I'll reinstall the swing arm and rear tire, calipers tomorrow.