What improves performance of an old 600

[Paranoid Dave]

No don't laugh, i'm serious. I'm just thinking of the little things that'll make an improved bike all round. I can think of a couple, please give more suggestions.

Braking would improve with better pads, will a better disc help too?
What about a braided hose, is it a noticeable difference.
Intake would improve with a better Air filter, maybe open airbox??
Spark plugs, don't want to mess about here but the right ones make a good difference.
Sprocket ratio, i don't know what's there at the moment but that can be tweaked.
Aftermarket cans, shirl wants high level.

I'd imagine after that Eric the mighty would feel like a new machine. We like eric and I want to keep him, I'm not saying I wish I hadn't sold kylie but the 600 is such an easy bike to ride and the garage needs a classic in there. He's feeling a bit drab at the moment and wants a new set of clothes and a boost of his ego as well, suggestions please....

Oh I should say I don't want the big bore kit, he's staying 583.

[Shandy]

More air in and out will make improvements so cans, open airbox and a dynojet stage 2 in the carbs is probably the best bet, simple to do too.

Not sure on brakes, i still run the original set up with double H pads (i think), braided hoses and i find that just fine on a single disc at the front.

The best thing i did during my rebuild was to have the heads rebuilt, with the valves all lapped in, all the little bits checked and set properly etc. This made a noticable difference as the bike ran much smoother and more responsive when put back together than it did before..........well worth the money IMO to have it done properly by a grown up who knows what their doing.

Cheers,

Shandy

[Paranoid Dave]

Thanks shandy, i'd hoped you'd give some input. Double H pads are what i put in kylie and they were good, (EBC yes?) braided too so we'll do that.
If you don't mind me asking, what sort of price is dyno stage 2 and all that head work?
We have to draw a line somewhere.

[Shandy]

Yeah EBC pads sounds familiar.

I'm not sure how much the dynojet kits are, mine had one fitted when i bought it and it just needed setting up after the rebuild.........hopefully someone else will be able to tell you.

I've had the paperwork out for a few other things and the head work consisted of this for me,

Clean/decoke heads, clean valves, lap in valves, renew half rings, replace one oil stem seal, reset all desmodromics to factory settings. Parts needed were, 8 half rings, 1 valve stem seal, 5 shims (all different sizes). Four hours labour to do the above. Total came in at about £140 mostly labour the parts were only about £40.

The only problem with the head work is the risk that there's more wrong inside that's found during the service (just had my 916 heads back from the same process and there were a couple of small suprises in them)..........that and finding someone reliable enough you trust to do the work!

Here's what they looked like when they came back,

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j192/ducatimonsterdog/Monster%20Pics/Picture.jpg

Cheers,

Shandy

[Nickj]

Before anyone else says it ......
The best way to improve the performance of an old 600 is to swap the motor for a 900.

Otherwise having the heads set up nicely as shandy did is a good idea but remember the law of diminishing returns kicks in quite earlier on these kind of things. The biggest limiting factor in the 600's (and 750's) is the valve size, unfortunately it's not really a viable proposition to make these bigger which would give the potential for lots more power.

[alreadyinuse]

on the braking front. Keep one disc. the extra weight from a twin set up will make bike slower acelerating.
A nice road/race disc and HH pads will be funky. Natty probably still has DP kevlar line kits. If you're feeling rich a Radial master cylinder.
The radial master will make the biggest difference.

Thats the approach i'm taking.
fitting lighter parts helps too.
I've gone for a mixture of carbon and alloy.

it should have a 14t front sprocket already.

I was amazed at how much difference a good service made.
I changed the plugs ,filters and had the carbs cleaned.
and while i was changing my pulse coils i set the timing.
That was when i fitted my hi level cans.

Before the pulse coils broke the most i got from a tank was 104 miles.
Yesterday i got 133.

[crust]

As has been said, get the heads bought up to spec, I'd also get the cam timing set equally.

Then I'd be changing the fork oil

Stripping and regreasing the rear suspension linkages

A new shock from Hagons

job done, thrash it mercilessly

:)crust

[gary tompkins]

Kehien (sp?) Flat slide carbs are supposed to make a big difference

Not something you can do on a budget though - unless you get really lucky on ebay?

[bigredduke]

Apparently, the biggest performance boost is very cost effective. The rider should lose weight. It saves on food & beer bills as well - double benefit!

[Paranoid Dave]

She's actually working on that one at the moment :D :chuckle:

[NattyBoy]

Yeah EBC pads sounds familiar.

I'm not sure how much the dynojet kits are, mine had one fitted when i bought it and it just needed setting up after the rebuild.........hopefully someone else will be able to tell you.

I've had the paperwork out for a few other things and the head work consisted of this for me,

Clean/decoke heads, clean valves, lap in valves, renew half rings, replace one oil stem seal, reset all desmodromics to factory settings. Parts needed were, 8 half rings, 1 valve stem seal, 5 shims (all different sizes). Four hours labour to do the above. Total came in at about £140 mostly labour the parts were only about £40.

The only problem with the head work is the risk that there's more wrong inside that's found during the service (just had my 916 heads back from the same process and there were a couple of small suprises in them)..........that and finding someone reliable enough you trust to do the work!

Here's what they looked like when they came back,

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j192/ducatimonsterdog/Monster%20Pics/Picture.jpg

Cheers,

Shandy

yep - wot the ginger prince says !!

Braided brake lines a must IMO...then its your basic pipes/filter/dynojet and a good set up. Mine rides luvverly now.