RUST Magazine: RUST #43

LONG TERMER
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biggest bugbear although I suspect the
real culprit is the subframe design (JB:
note that on the 2020 models the header
pipe is now two-piece to make fitting so
much easier). The standard shock reservoir
is piston driven and it sits pretty close to
the hot pipe. I changed the reservoir to
a bladder system to improve the shock
performance by reducing heat and
improving the feel of the shock in the first
part of the stroke because the bladder has
no piston that has to break through the oil
and therefore reduces stiction.
The bad news for me was that the
cannister now pretty much sits on the pipe
which is less than ideal. I had to wrap the
cannister in a heavy-duty heat shield. I am
going to wrap the exhaust to try further
reduce heat transfer.
BRAKES
My chosen brand for brakes is Braking and
the FE350 has Braking discs and sintered
pads fitted front and rear. The front disc is
an oversize 270mm batfly design while the
rear brake is a solid 220mm disc.
DRIVETRAIN
I only use Regina Z Link chains. I have
not found a chain with comparative
performance and longevity that compares
to Regina so I tend to stick with what
works. I did decide to run the stock chain
on the FE350 this time round but after 40
hours and a number of readjustments that
were required I binned the chain and fitted
my trusty Regina chain and in the equal
time thereafter I have not had to make a
single adjustment.
I pair my chain with sprockets from
Dirt Tricks and, like my chains, I use
Dirt Tricks exclusively on all my bikes.
There Zirconium sprockets are light and
extremely tough. I have run a single
front and rear sprocket over two seasons
before and could have run them longer if
I’d wanted. They are also pretty slick and
add some panache to the bike. I chose
the Zirconium rear sprockets which are
comparable in weight to performance to
aluminium sprockets and lighter than the
twin metal designs. Dirt Tricks claim a 50%
reduction in friction with the new coating
and I can attest to both the longevity and
minimal chain wear in comparison to its
competitors.
I started off with the gearing at 13:50 and
am now running a 13:48 which is perfect
for me. If you’ve never played around with
your gearing – try it – you’ll be amazed at the
change it makes in the engine characteristics
and performance. Common sense sort of
makes this a forgone conclusion but in my
opinion the change is more noticeable than
you would initially assume.
ENGINE
I’ve made no mods to the engine yet save for
fitting a Hinson clutch. The Hinson clutch
is engineered to much stricter tolerances
than the mass-produced OEM clutches. This
reduces drag and heat and reduces stiction
to such an extent that I found I could run the
350 to a much slower speed before stalling
than was possible with the stock clutch.
This was the one part that helped improve
my riding more than any single other part I
fitted.
It’s time to replace the piston now and I will
more than likely fit a Vertex top end kit. I’ve
even been thinking about Kashima coating
the new piston, and polishing the cylinder
head and pairing this with a Torque Wing in
the throttle body, but that’s are far as I need
to go. The stock motor works well and I have
opened a few strategic holes in the subframe
/ airbox to allow the motor to breathe
more. This did change the motor dynamics
somewhat in that it was less docile after the
airbox mods and the motor now reacts more
sharply and is less docile up top.
HANDLEBARS AND CONTROLS.
I fitted the following bars throughout the test
process, Renthal 998s, Twisted Engineering’s
Flex Bar, Neken bars, and finally I landed on
the Pro Taper Fuzion bars. I tried both the
Carmichael and SX bends. If I’m running a
GPS on trail rides I choose the Carmichael
bend, the control area is 210 mm versus the
90
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