V-Force, Carbon Tech, etc. What will they improve?

[nikki]

On a YZ 125 (or any 125 for that matter) what gains have actual users found with the V-Force reed cage or Carbon Tech's low tension reeds? They both claim to gain power throughout... but where do you really notice the difference? Low, mid, top power? Do they take away anywhere in the bike's power? Let's hear your opinions...

 

[KawieKX125]

I tried carbontech low, mid and high tension for my bike and they all do as said. They all dramatically improve the said power region witout losing power anywhere else in the range. They alse do wonders for throttle response.
Never tried V-force, but I want to.:D :cool:

 

[oldguy]

As I have said in the past we used the Carbontech low tensions on thekids YZ80. Before this the bike was very weak in the low to midlow range. First time he ran it with the reeds the differance was very noticable in these 2 areas. The bike pulled much harder off the starts and out of corners. The YZ80 was loaded with more than enough topend and we never noticed any loss with the CT reeds.
He only ran this way for 5 races before the end of the season and Eric Gorr working his magic to find even more lowend power.

 

[IBWFO]

I have used V-Force on every bike I have owned since 99, and they are awesome. Great quality too. Can't wait til they have them for my 02 CR 250.
Regards

 

[super rat]

I have the same bike as you nikki. I put the vforce on my bike when it was stock and i was not that impressed. It pulled a little longer on top but lost some punch off the bottem but I did not try the low tension setting for more low end. For me the most bang for my buck on the 01 is 1 porting and head work,2 sst pipe then the reed block. I bought a 02 and sold it right away it cant come close to running with my 01, its a 250f eater :p

 

[GlennP]

For around $42 the Carbon Tech reeds are a great performance/dollar value.

 

[KawieKX125]

42 dollars!? Mine were around 30!

 

[Pit_Monkey]

im buying them for 15 on ebay:) :) :)

 

[GlennP]

Mine were specials for a GasGas, directly from Carbon Tech. The more common ones I'm sure are cheaper from various vendors.

 

[nikki]

Update - went with V-Force

Thank you all again for your responses! Well, I went with the V-Force and had my first ride with it last Saturday. I was very impressed! I set the reeds to the low tension setting because I was looking for an improvement in bottom-to-mid power. And there was definately a difference. Right from the start, I noticed an increase in throttle response and a nice boost in the mid-range. Didn't get to open it up much on our sx-style practice track, so not too sure about the effects in the top of the rpm range. Bad thing is that with the low tension setting (reeds open easier/more), they say that reed life will be significantly reduced. We'll see how that all works out. But overall... very nice little mod :)

 

[IBWFO]

I have found that jetting is a bit more important on a 125.
I usually re-jet every race, depending on the temp.
Here in Texas it might be 35 for the first moto and 70 for the second.
I usually don't have to change the main, just the pilot and the needle/clip posotion.
Regards

 

[MikeT]

Nikki, Don't you also have a reed spacer on that bike??? How much did that help and how much did it cost? Who makes it?

 

[nikki]

MikeT - I took the spacer off a while ago. I think it was when I had some motor work done. Mossbarger made the reed spacer. Their phone is 800-891-1615. It was pretty cheap - around $23-$25. As far as what the spacer did - I never could tell you the big difference or if it was/wasn't a good mod. But for $25 - it was something to bolt on and try. :)

The V-Force actually looks to be a few mm's thicker than the stock reed block on the YZ 125 - so it acts as a smaller spacer.

Frito - about the jetting... first off we have never been able to completely get rid of a little low end bog on my bike - and we have tried EVERYTHING except for cutting the slide. I mean float height, pilots, air screw, clip position, main jet, idle, torque spacer, different plugs... everything! It is better now, though. I had the float height reset to 13.5 mm above the float bowl mating surface. I moved the clip position to 2nd from the top (3rd is stock) and could probably go to the top position, really. And I believe I'm running one leaner on the pilot jet which is a 22.5 (25 is stock on the '01 YZ). I adjust the air screw on a fairly regular basis (usually between 1 3/4 turns and 2 3/4 turns out). I have only rode twice with te V-Force (outside in upper 50's and inside in 70's) and it has been pretty awesome. There is a little bog when warming up the bike but not while riding. But we will hammer out the jetting even more when the season gets in full swing!

 

[nikki]

Frito - I talked to Wes Gilbert from Boyesen Precision Porting about the low end bog and he was tha main one that told me about the slide cutting option. I guess some people have found that to be a solution to the log end bog. I think I have heard of CR 250 owners doing this often. Maybe you can find a thread on it. I've also seen little bits in MX mags on it. But I'm not gonna bother trying it on my YZ. It's not that big of a problem... just gotta keep the bike over 1/8 throttle - it's a 125 :confused:

 

[nikki]

One current slide cutting thread:

Click Here