There are a number of other things you can do to the S to improve its performance that weren't even touched on by MO that make even more dramatic improvements.
First and formost would be to change the shocks to Ohlins. This totally transformed the bike. The stock Showa shocks are good but the the Ohlins are amazing, it's the first thing I'd do on a new bike.
The shorter paralever arm is definately a good idea, but just jacking the rebound like you guys did is certainly not the right thing to do for all riders, especially lighter riders like me (145 soaking wet). Setting up the shocks with the proper amount of sag (33mm front and 34-35mm rear) is the place to start and then adjust rebound damping from there.
Too much in the fast rebound direction here will make the back wheel hop under heavy braking and heavy accelleration. Too much stiffness in the rear shock can also make the rear wheel too twitchy when encountering uneven pavememnt in heavy lean angle corners, this also has an adverse effect on lap times as it dramatically effects corner entry and exit speeds if the rider can't keep the rear wheel stuck.
Tires should almost certainly be swapped out for Michelin Pilot Race for the track and Pilot Sports for the street. Every rider I know in the NE who actually has race experience has gone this way this year and been very happy with the performance.
Adding a K&N air filter helps the bike to breathe much better. Taking it one step further - you can bore 1/2 - 3/4" holes on the top and back of the airbox to improve airflow into the filter.
An Australian company I haven't been able to locate makes a RAM Air Kit I saw on one S in CT and it seemed to make a big improvement in airfolw to the engine so this may be worth looking in to. A race mechanic I use has looked at the kit a suspects that it's probably worth 3-4% when you get the engine really wound out.
On the non-ABS model I have I swapped out all of the brake lines for stainless braided from Galfer and this makes a huge difference in the feel and feedback.
Wudo makes a really nice set of rear sets that make the bike feel a bit better and dropping the pillion pegs loses another few pounds.
Switching the clip-ons for a set of lighter aluminum clip-ons is a good idea too. that should save some poundage up front as well.
The real improvements for this bike will come when you finally get people like Marchesini making magnesium wheels and get Braking in Italy to ship their new WAVE rotors for this bike.
That should lower wheel weight to less that half of stock and make corner turn in speeds dramatically faster. This is a lesson we learned in GP bikes long ago and it is the FIRST thing GP riders do to improve handling. Street riders have been very slow to pick up on this. Of all the things you can say about this bike taht are good you can certainly say BMW put WAY TO HEAVY a pair of wheels on this bike.
Finally, removing the Charcoal canister makes for a nicer look in the ass end of the bike and drops a few pounds.
If you really want to tweak the engine for more horses you can flow & port the engine and get as much as 12-15% more air through and this should net you at least another 6-7hp, putting you in the neighborhood of the 996 at only about 30 lbs more weight, after you swap out the stock exhaust and drop a few unnecessary little bits around the bike.
If you can get 4 hp from the pipes and dropping the cat & 7 from flowing and porting the engine then you should be looking at about 109bhp. Putting in a B&B Power chip should get you to 113 from there. Add the K&N and the RAM Air Kit and you're up to 115 consevatively.
Finally, the Staintune Racing pipes are the direction everyone went out here, not rhemus. Everyone seems pretty happy with that choice so far.
JPF
First and formost would be to change the shocks to Ohlins. This totally transformed the bike. The stock Showa shocks are good but the the Ohlins are amazing, it's the first thing I'd do on a new bike.
The shorter paralever arm is definately a good idea, but just jacking the rebound like you guys did is certainly not the right thing to do for all riders, especially lighter riders like me (145 soaking wet). Setting up the shocks with the proper amount of sag (33mm front and 34-35mm rear) is the place to start and then adjust rebound damping from there.
Too much in the fast rebound direction here will make the back wheel hop under heavy braking and heavy accelleration. Too much stiffness in the rear shock can also make the rear wheel too twitchy when encountering uneven pavememnt in heavy lean angle corners, this also has an adverse effect on lap times as it dramatically effects corner entry and exit speeds if the rider can't keep the rear wheel stuck.
Tires should almost certainly be swapped out for Michelin Pilot Race for the track and Pilot Sports for the street. Every rider I know in the NE who actually has race experience has gone this way this year and been very happy with the performance.
Adding a K&N air filter helps the bike to breathe much better. Taking it one step further - you can bore 1/2 - 3/4" holes on the top and back of the airbox to improve airflow into the filter.
An Australian company I haven't been able to locate makes a RAM Air Kit I saw on one S in CT and it seemed to make a big improvement in airfolw to the engine so this may be worth looking in to. A race mechanic I use has looked at the kit a suspects that it's probably worth 3-4% when you get the engine really wound out.
On the non-ABS model I have I swapped out all of the brake lines for stainless braided from Galfer and this makes a huge difference in the feel and feedback.
Wudo makes a really nice set of rear sets that make the bike feel a bit better and dropping the pillion pegs loses another few pounds.
Switching the clip-ons for a set of lighter aluminum clip-ons is a good idea too. that should save some poundage up front as well.
The real improvements for this bike will come when you finally get people like Marchesini making magnesium wheels and get Braking in Italy to ship their new WAVE rotors for this bike.
That should lower wheel weight to less that half of stock and make corner turn in speeds dramatically faster. This is a lesson we learned in GP bikes long ago and it is the FIRST thing GP riders do to improve handling. Street riders have been very slow to pick up on this. Of all the things you can say about this bike taht are good you can certainly say BMW put WAY TO HEAVY a pair of wheels on this bike.
Finally, removing the Charcoal canister makes for a nicer look in the ass end of the bike and drops a few pounds.
If you really want to tweak the engine for more horses you can flow & port the engine and get as much as 12-15% more air through and this should net you at least another 6-7hp, putting you in the neighborhood of the 996 at only about 30 lbs more weight, after you swap out the stock exhaust and drop a few unnecessary little bits around the bike.
If you can get 4 hp from the pipes and dropping the cat & 7 from flowing and porting the engine then you should be looking at about 109bhp. Putting in a B&B Power chip should get you to 113 from there. Add the K&N and the RAM Air Kit and you're up to 115 consevatively.
Finally, the Staintune Racing pipes are the direction everyone went out here, not rhemus. Everyone seems pretty happy with that choice so far.
JPF
