Let the farkling begin!

Some cops are really aliens in disguise

 

You sir, are indeed a funny guy. ;-}

 

Dave,

Can I ask where you got the mounting ring for the VFR? I have that same tankbag and like it a lot, but the only rings I can find on the web (in the US anyway) are the next-gen "EVO" version. I don't want to have to upgrade the bag and the mounts on my other bikes just to make it work on the VFR too.

Cheers,

--Paul

 

Twistedthrottle.com

 

Yeah, that's where I got my bag and mounts from before. They don't appear to have the old-style tank rings on their site but I'll give them a call. Thanks!

 

After spending most of the day finishing off my taxes for the year, I found a little time to put some more "stuff" on the bike. I've had the Honda touring windscreen in the garage for awhile, but hadn't installed it yet. Slightly more of a pain than I'd anticipated, but not too bad. I'm hoping it will quiet things down around my helmet.



I did't bother to attach the little warning label that comes in the kit telling me not to go over 80 mph. Yeah...right. I don't know what the hell the rest of those little icons mean and frankly don't care.



And while I had installed a 'real deal' electronic cruise control on my FJR, I decided to go for something a little cheaper, simpler, and more elegant here. At the recommendation of a riding buddy and for a paltry $20 bucks shipped, I bought a "Go Cruise".



Weighs about an ounce, hardly even noticeable, and good enough to give the right wrist a break once in awhile.

My Pyramid Plastics rear hugger is on its way and I've found the best deal on the Givi V35s plus brackets. Just waiting to iron out a few details with Corbin before pulling the trigger, so there's still more to come. The wife and I are planning a long trip through the hills of WV in a month or so, so gotta get my ass in gear with this stuff. It oughta be good to go in a few weeks.

 

Have you had a chance to ride in various conditions with the touring windscreen? Just purchased one at a discount ; worth the bucks? BTW love your posts.

 

You and I are brothers of a different mother, I fear . . .








.

 

I've not really had a chance to do much more than decide on which position of the shield I liked best. Most people seem to like the full-down position, but I found that to be noisier than stock. Surprisingly, the full-up position was best for me, even though I'm not very tall. Although I can easily see where something as simple as a different helmet would have a big effect here. So I guess I don't have a really good answer for you yet. Too many things on my plate these days to get any joy-riding in, just commuting back and forth to work. I am planning a long weekend trip with friends in a few weeks. That will be the real telling tale. Givi luggage is on order now and I should be pulling the trigger on a new seat very soon. Stay tuned! ;-}
And thanks for the compliment.

D Dave

 

Soooo, busy afternoon today. Parts I've had on order forever are finally trickling in, so I decided to spend some time today getting some stuff installed. I've been waiting about a month on the Pyramid Plastics rear hugger, the Givi V35 side cases with Givi brackets, and the Corbin Gunfighter and lady with backrest and glove box. Luggage showed up Tuesday, hugger on Wednesday, and UPS package tracking says the Corbin stuff will be here this week. So I washed the bike thoroughly first (got caught out in the rain the other day and it was FILTHY!) before installing the hugger and I made sure to get the swingarm/shock/shock linkage extra clean. Hopefully the hugger will handle things from there. Rear wheel removal was required for the hugger install. I didn't look up yet what the torque on the rear wheel nuts is supposed to be, but I guaran-fucking-tee you they were tighter than they're supposed to be! Instructions actually say to remove the end can and rear wheel since you can't get the wheel all the way out with the can in place. Screw that. I unbolted the wheel and slid it back just enough to get my hand in and install the hugger, then back on with the wheel. I like it. I think it will offer a lot of protection from flying muck. Here it is....





I really liked everything about the Pyramid hugger vs all the others I looked at. Mostly personal preference I suppose as far as appearance...shape, angle, and length. But more importantly, I think it actually gives more coverage than any of the others, and if you look closely in the second pic, you can even see where it goes below the swingarm as well, shielding the lower shock linkage too. I will say this though, it's REALLY close to the tire! Good thing I have no desire to fit a bigger one.

So next on the agenda was the luggage. Givi's "instructions" are kind of a joke. That is, there aren't any...just a couple illustrations and not very good ones. You better be mechanically inclined if you're going to install these puppies. And they are BIG, and they stick out kinda far. I don't know if the SW Motech brackets actually fit any tighter to the bike, or how much, but it's a done deal now. Here's a few shots before they were actually totally done, but done enough to get the idea.







Brackets with cases off............





Givi grab handles are pretty nice.



Finished product.........



The good news is that now that all the brackets are assembled, I think I could actually take it all off the bike and have it back to stock in under ten minutes. I probably won't leave all that stuff on when we're not touring, but who knows, I may change my mind. I planned on having a buddy of mine paint the Corbin glove box the same red as the bike, so now I'm thinking to have him do the top panels on the side cases while he's at it, and hell, maybe even the hugger. I'll get pics up of all the above. I do believe it's just about ready for mine and the wife's upcoming 1200 mile trip through the mountains of West Virginia. I can hardly wait.

 

LOLZ I guess they respect the old dudes : )

 

And for those who gave me all the grief about the extra weight, the side cases and brackets come in at a relatively feathery 8 lbs. Now the Corbin seat is a whole other story................

 

Great point! Sort of reminds one of which weighs most, a pound of gold or a pound of feathers. ( or Kg's if one is on the metric system)