The placement of the fan switch and the thermostat on the Thunderace isn't very convenient. First of all, the temperature gauge only starts moving at a pretty high temp, so in everyday use you're lucky to see it move at all. The hand hardly ever leaves the peg.
The fans only start at temperatures above 105 deg. Celsius, which makes some aces piss out some coolant at very irregular intervals.
Some ace riders swap the fan switch in the radiators, with good results. Recently this topic came along in the Thunderace-Maillist and we dug up some archives that listed the automotive parts to use. These parts are also a lot cheaper than the OEM Yamaha senders, the turn on temp is 92c compared to the OEM turn on temp of 105c. It
shuts off at 87c. This should keep our bikes running right at around 90c
whent we are idling in traffic. The switch is Wells, partnumber SW504, available from AutoZone.
Here we are, mid-winter in Europe, but it seems like spring!
Nonetheless were we so bold to test a relative new anti-corrosion compound called ACF-50 It comes in spray cans, liter bottles and even 4 liter jugs.
As I got this tip from a guy in the UK where it was featured in MotorCycleNews (read MCN article--->
I first located a store to obtain my test can. I found Corrosion-Control Europe to be reliable and fast.
I treated my whole bike, and took care not to spill anything on the brake disks (as it is also a light lubricant) It forms a thin, opaque, non greasy layer that is hardly visible. It turns lightly corroded areas back to their original lustre and as we are almost into Spring 2007 it still prevents new corrosion from developing.
Check these before and aft pics of the footpeg area of my thunderace!
[July 2006] Replacing an instrument panel lightbulb
Lots of questions are asked about how to change a lightbulb the fast and easy way.
Thunderace.host.sk shows you how to complete the job within 15 minutes! Read all about it...
[October 8th.] Raising the Thunderace rear end
Nowadays the Thunderace is often regarded as clumsy, big and heavy. Well, being as heavy as a ducati 998 is not exactly heavy is it? Big ? yes, but so are the average riders of a thunderace.
Clumsy? Not necessarily, by raising the rear end with shorter dogbones you'll get improved ground clearance, and an agility that makes even a ballet dancer green with envy
As the Thunderace community gets organized we ar happy to welcome our latest member: The Dutch Thunderace Forum If you have a thunderace related site, you are invited to join our Thunderace Webring Developing our community. As for Forums, it is urged to limit these to only ONE forum per country/language, to keep contributions centralized.
[November 10th.] Exup Stuff
There's that familliar rattle at idle again, I suspected the EXUP valve of my 100K thunderace. Then on my way home it refused to get into a gallup when urged to, at least not as it supposed to. So having done this procedure many times I thought I'd let you join in my chores, lubing the valve, replacing and adjusting a cable, easily done within the hour.
In some way it's always hard to get rid of all the air trapped inside the thunderaces brake lines. I recently discovered an item on E-bay called the automatic brake bleederWell, I found out this thing was a one-way valve. this way you don't have to tighten the bleeder bolt every time you release the lever, preventing air being sucked in again. On E-bay the thingy is sold for 8,95 Euro. I'm using the medical grade plastic valves, as seen on the photo. These things come CHEAP!. Want one too? Got 1,50 to spare? (1.00 GBP, 1.70 USD) fill in the form then and I'll put one in an envellope.
Since the Thunderace is a protected species, parts are harder to get, that's why I came up with the R6 rear brake caliper conversion. A bonus is that it saves about 800 gramms of unsprung weight at the rear wheel. Read more...
To convert you'll only need an R6 caliper (cheap at E-bay) and an R6 disk.
This month we negotiated a deal with a trading company for PFM R6 rear Brake Disks Limited supply. Check your dealers prices, they sell for 99,99 Euro at the dealers most of the time.
Here on Thunderace.host.sk you can buy a brand new R6 rear PFM rotor for 49,99 Euro's. Available to Thunderace riders Worldwide, Payment through Paypal, E-gold and Moneybookers.
[july 25th.] Anouncement: As requested, there's a "Mugshot" page added, giving Members of the Thunderace-Maillist the opportunity to make the List more personal.
The Upload page and list is found on the menu bar option -Maillist-.
At last find out who's who?
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[November 25th.] Frozen Carburettors
I's that time of year again that some bikes experience severe Carb freeze I will not go into details about how or why it occurs, but our THUNDERACE is a bit vulnerable when temperature gets inbetween -5 and +5 Celsius. It reveals itself as a sort of stumble when trying to accellerate. Being fed up with this problem I decided to experiment a bit, and the results are very good. Read full article
I guess in Europe "Motorsportschool Zolder" offers the cheapest options to give your Thunderace some decent track work-out.
I urge you however to skip the level 1 course, there are just too many people around who should not be even allowed on the street. They lack even the most basic riding abilities, and if you're unlucky, you'd be stuck behind them the whole session (no overtaking allowed in level 1). Better go straight to level 1+