[Hammerhead]

18K-mile service.
Valve clearance check



One valve out-of-spec


Plugs looked OK. I replaced them anyway since I had already bought the plugs. I was led to believe only 2 of the factory plugs would be Iridiums, but all 4 were.


Hung it from the ceiling for coolant refilling and bleeding.


Fired it up and let it idle for 10 minutes to check for leaks and overheating. One small weep cured by resetting the lower hose and retightening the clamp.
Gauge went to 4 bars and stayed there. Fans never came on. Reset the service waning.
I also changed the oil on the steering damper to 7wt and it feels like quite a difference. Oil was changed a couple thou ago. Air filter and airbox were spotless.

Time to ride.

 

[Hammerhead]

edited

 

[Spartacus]

18K-mile service.
Valve clearance check



One valve out-of-spec


Plugs looked OK. I replaced them anyway since I had already bought the plugs. I was led to believe only 2 of the factory plugs would be Iridiums, but all 4 were.


Hung it from the ceiling for coolant refilling and bleeding.


Fired it up and let it idle for 10 minutes to check for leaks and overheating. One small weep cured by resetting the lower hose and retightening the clamp.
Gauge went to 4 bars and stayed there. Fans never came on. Reset the service waning.
I also changed the oil on the steering damper to 7wt and it feels like quite a difference. Oil was changed a couple thou ago. Air filter and airbox were spotless.

Time to ride.

Nice and were there any clearances out of range? Was thinking of 15wt in steering damper but you say 7 made a big difference?

 

[Katoom58]

18K-mile service.
Valve clearance check



One valve out-of-spec


Plugs looked OK. I replaced them anyway since I had already bought the plugs. I was led to believe only 2 of the factory plugs would be Iridiums, but all 4 were.


Hung it from the ceiling for coolant refilling and bleeding.


Fired it up and let it idle for 10 minutes to check for leaks and overheating. One small weep cured by resetting the lower hose and retightening the clamp.
Gauge went to 4 bars and stayed there. Fans never came on. Reset the service waning.
I also changed the oil on the steering damper to 7wt and it feels like quite a difference. Oil was changed a couple thou ago. Air filter and airbox were spotless.

Time to ride.

My 2015sdr only had two iridium plugs and I went 30w in my steering damper, it works beautifully.

 

[DaveNZ]

Nice and were there any clearances out of range? Was thinking of 15wt in steering damper but you say 7 made a big difference?

I put 10W in and could just barely feel the difference. Stock was 5W.

 

[Katoom58]

I put 10W in and could just barely feel the difference. Stock was 5W.

Agree, I put in 30w and you cannot feel the difference pushing it around the garage or doing U turns etc. However, when your hard on the gas coming out of a turn and the front wheel is either just skipping along the ground or you're wheel is off the ground crossed up then when it comes down still under power it is stable with no scary head shake. Go the 30w!

 

[DaveNZ]

Agree, I put in 30w and you cannot feel the difference pushing it around the garage or doing U turns etc. However, when your hard on the gas coming out of a turn and the front wheel is either just skipping along the ground or you're wheel is off the ground crossed up then when it comes down still under power it is stable with no scary head shake. Go the 30w!

I think i will Try either 20 or 30W when time comes to change the oil, Oil here comes in 1 ltr and around $25 a litre. And only need around 100mls.

 

[Hammerhead]

Don't know why, but Belray 7wt fork oil did the trick for mine. It's considerably stiffer than previously.

 

[DaveNZ]

Don't know why, but Belray 7wt fork oil did the trick for mine. It's considerably stiffer than previously.

Not all oil weights are measure equally, some which are rated 7W are actually heavier than some rated 10W, its not all rated on the same scale. Also the previous could have had an air inside, the stock damper with 5 weight is really just a token effort at dampening. its the barest minimal in dampening, but the great news is its oil able to be swapped out.

 

[Katoom58]

I think i will Try either 20 or 30W when time comes to change the oil, Oil here comes in 1 ltr and around $25 a litre. And only need around 100mls.

A shame you're not a bit closer to me, I have a bottle of Belray 30w that's almost full.

 

[Hammerhead]

Not all oil weights are measure equally, some which are rated 7W are actually heavier than some rated 10W, its not all rated on the same scale. Also the previous could have had an air inside, the stock damper with 5 weight is really just a token effort at dampening. its the barest minimal in dampening, but the great news is its oil able to be swapped out.

There was a bit of oil munge in the vicinity of the bottom of the steering neck. I didn't measure what came out when I drained it, but I noticed it doesn't take brimming-full to function. I will be watching for any signs of leakage.

 

[bhawk]

she’s resting next to her stable mates until I take her out again this weekend.

 

[Trebor27]

Oh what a gigantic faff to fit the front turn signals! The rears were super easy.

Replaced the DOT elephant ear turn signals with European KTM LED turn signals. Anybody else wanting to do this on the 2020 SDR, the front left turn signal wire isn’t long enough. I had to use the wire from the DOT turn signal to extend the EU one. Maybe I ordered the 2019 turn signals by mistake!
Anywhere here is a close-up.

Both babies put to bed after washing the pair: