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Lennies : Any noticable difference?

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 12:36 pm
by el-nicko
Along with a 'val singleton' ( :? why so named?) air filter is there a performance gain :?:

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 12:55 pm
by Daveg2812
Val Singleton of Blue Peter fame (as I'm sure you know), making models etc out of bits of old stuff, i.e. a bit 'home made'. Don't have lennies but do have the Val. Had fun making it :D

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 1:31 pm
by Dog Tyred
Do a search for performance improvements for lennies. There is loads of opinion on here.

From my own experience a lennies certainly improves the mid range as the motor is able to spin up much quicker due to better breathing.

Not got any experience with Val S :lol: as I run a K&N.

DT

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 2:43 pm
by ned1
Here's the blue peter one...............

Image
It's part no. RU-1180 from K&N's universal straight oval filter range, It comes with a round neck - trim it away with a stanley knife &
glue it into the oval hole in the OE airbox top.

Ned :wink:

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 2:50 pm
by Mike B
In my opinion, it would depend on how often you have your throttle bodies wide open. If you consider just how wide open they are for 80% of the time, it would probably breath ok down a piece of hose pipe.

I personally dont think you can make much of a change with "bolt on" bit's. I believe to make a noticable difference you would have to invest in pistons, cams, and a whole manor of real serious parts at mucho costo

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 3:45 pm
by gus
Mike B wrote:In my opinion, it would depend on how often you have your throttle bodies wide open. If you consider just how wide open they are for 80% of the time, it would probably breath ok down a piece of hose pipe.

I personally dont think you can make much of a change with "bolt on" bit's. I believe to make a noticable difference you would have to invest in pistons, cams, and a whole manor of real serious parts at mucho costo
hi
Bolting on a y piece,end cans,san jose or vs filter,lennies and a power commander makes a very noticable difference which can be both felt and measured.
Gus

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 4:29 pm
by oyster
As Gus says, you will need the complete set for the best gains, although the best single improvement is the Y piece alone. Each add on mod will make it run more lean and increases the need for a Power Commander or similar. Simply, engines are pumps, the easier stuff can pass through, the better they perform.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 4:30 pm
by Dai wiskers
Quite a noticable difference to mine but i'm running a val singleton, opened out airbox, bigger inlet duct, rocket sprockets, y/piece, no lambda, no CCP, no plug covers, throttle bodies overhauled with kits from cata dan,
posible chip/map of some sort fitted by one of the 7 previous owners it revs past 8500 still pulling strong,

It is a long road but worth it in the long run

Did i mention the 5.5 rear wheel, Hagon front shoc Nitron rear, GS torque arm

Next time i'm up have a try of mine see what you think

Re: Lennies : Any noticable difference?

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 10:09 pm
by nab 301
el-nicko wrote:Along with a 'val singleton' ( :? why so named?) air filter is there a performance gain :?:
I did the home made induct with a K&N and it spins up way quicker. ( than standard induct and paper (oe) filter.)

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:14 pm
by el-nicko
There's a nice example on ebay at the moment (Item number: 170901988218) but I won't be bidding :) 'cos I need a noo back tyre. 8)

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:26 pm
by Dai wiskers
I have a funny feeling thats Gus from here!

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:37 pm
by el-nicko
Dai wiskers wrote:I have a funny feeling thats Gus from here!
Nah, it's in Camberley, Surrey. Gus lives in Brum. And anyway I think he already sold his on here for 200 notes.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:49 pm
by Dai wiskers
el-nicko wrote:
Dai wiskers wrote:I have a funny feeling thats Gus from here!
Nah, it's in Camberley, Surrey. Gus lives in Brum. And anyway I think he already sold his on here for 200 notes.
I just looked your right

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 5:17 am
by Mike B
Mine had a Y piece fitted when I got it, so I don't really know what a totally standard one is like.

It has my opened up induct, and I have fitted a variety of different filters. I also fitted it with a boosterplug.

What I am saying is, what is the first thing you do on a test ride after you have made a modification? you thrash it! is sounds louder and you are riding much quicker than normal so your perception is that your mod was an improvement and it's much quicker. When you revert back to normal riding, can you tell a difference? maybe not.

I removed my "Val Singleton" air filter and put a standard one back in. On the test ride, yes I thrashed it. Did it feel quicker? actually yes. Just proving the point I made.

Yes, I agree an engine is a pump, and yes I agree than on full bore free flowing intake and outlet is a good thing. But, on a road bike, and a powerful one like the beemer, just how often are you on full bore? For the vast majority of the time you will be riding with the throttle hardly open at all, in which case there is no restriction.

The mod that made the most difference for me was fitting "lennies" sprockets, Why? because you actually change something mechanically. You are moving the cam timing. This has an effect at all throttle openings, from tick over to full bore so you can feel a change.

Just my 2pence worth!

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 8:41 am
by Dai wiskers
Mike B wrote:Mine had a Y piece fitted when I got it, so I don't really know what a totally standard one is like.

It has my opened up induct, and I have fitted a variety of different filters. I also fitted it with a boosterplug.

What I am saying is, what is the first thing you do on a test ride after you have made a modification? you thrash it! is sounds louder and you are riding much quicker than normal so your perception is that your mod was an improvement and it's much quicker. When you revert back to normal riding, can you tell a difference? maybe not.

I removed my "Val Singleton" air filter and put a standard one back in. On the test ride, yes I thrashed it. Did it feel quicker? actually yes. Just proving the point I made.

Yes, I agree an engine is a pump, and yes I agree than on full bore free flowing intake and outlet is a good thing. But, on a road bike, and a powerful one like the beemer, just how often are you on full bore? For the vast majority of the time you will be riding with the throttle hardly open at all, in which case there is no restriction.

The mod that made the most difference for me was fitting "lennies" sprockets, Why? because you actually change something mechanically. You are moving the cam timing. This has an effect at all throttle openings, from tick over to full bore so you can feel a change.

Just my 2pence worth!
Mike is quite right in what he is saying here, i found out a long time ago that for any mod to be worthwhile it had to make a 10% increace in power before it was noticable at least this was so on the track, we also found out an engine makes most power just before it goes bang

The mods on my bike make a definate differance in mid range and it now spins up a lot easier with quicker throttle responce and pulls a gear higher at just about any speed this adds up to it being a nicer bike to ride i have no idea if it's putting out more power at the top end but it is putting out more torque where i want it

Would i do it all again? I would do the Val Singleton first then the accelerator cable and the rocket sprockets for sure then i think i would look at shocks [it handled well with the standard shocks but is now more comfortable] also the throttle body kits made quite a big difference as did advancing the ignition timing a touch and i feel sure that setting the valve clearances to 8 in 14 out [old money] helped smooth out tickover and low speed running i tried it with super unleaded it did run a touch smoother but made no noticable difference to power so it lives on normal unleaded i can put up with the rattles and the vibes it's no worse than a well set up 60's Triumph

Can you see where this is going? you got it i would do the whole lot again

Not one of the mods made a big difference on their own [possibly the rocket sprockets but i had done a lot of work before fitting them] but together they work and work well

A mate rode mine he has a ducati monster 900 and a new guzzi he came back smiling and said "BM's dont go like that"