Over the past week and a half, I've been upgrading my '07 R3C. I shed the triple cans and cat box and opted for a very lightweight, stainless SuperTrapp 24" slash-cut muffler. That alone accomplished my goal of being heard. I'm allergic to quiet bikes. The citizens of my small city of 400k+ don't pay attention on the road as it is. Might as well get it from them somehow!
I then swapped out the convoluted and restricted air box with the RamAir kit from the U.K. After installing the filter pod, I felt a little dismayed that the original filter housing had to stay. That might be changed once I figure out what I'm gonna do with the relays currently mounted to it. Next, I gave her some fresh brake pads all around. Combined with the fresh Avon rubber she got a couple weeks ago, this should let me slow her down almost as easy as I can speed her up. Finally, I downloaded TuneECU and found a nice rich tune for an application quite similar to mine from the Custom Tune section of the website. For something so intimidating, that was really quite painless. So, tune downloaded and the ECU has idled with the bike for 30 minutes (as recommended), I decide it's time to donn the helmet and jacket.
Puttering out of the neighborhood, I notice the throttle is crisper, more responsive to minor adjustments. That really makes slow maneuvers much easier. Pulling out onto the main road, I hear the throttlebodies whistling and the throaty exhaust making my presence be known. When get back upright, and with nothing but clear road ahead, I roll it back semi-aggressively and notice, I have to use more of my core muscles to keep sitting upright. And wow, this thing is really growling like an unchained beast! I'm also noticing that I'm able to twist and zip through the cars like I did on my torque-monster Buell 1125R. I turned it around about 4 miles out and from a slow roll-on, I let her eat all she wanted. She took first with a little wheel spin and a slight power-on wheelie when she hooked. Second gear kicked me a little sideways with wheel spin and kept the front end pretty light. Third gear kicked me in the ass yet again. Enough so, that it got my attention on the speedometer. I swept past the triple digit threshold and hard charged to the speed rating on the tires.
I let out of it when the tachometer suggested I shift to Fourth. Honestly, I can't imagine how gnarly the boosted Rockets out there must feel. This is waaaaay more power than I should EVER need in a big, heavy, streetable bike. My level of respect for this bike has hit an all-time high. Let's see my Harley friends keep up now!
