SlickWeevil

That's funny. My father and I did a similar trip to The Dragon. Him on a '95 VFR, me on an '03 SV650S. I also had a brief dismount from the bike, but was able to continue and enjoy the rest of the trip. Still have the scars (and the good memories). Next trip is to the Cabot Trail, this time with brother on an '08 GSX650F, me on the Viffer, and my father on his '12 GL1800.

That's where I got mine, as well as the rear cowl. It took a few weeks, as it was out of stock with their supplier. The initial order was damaged, but Partzilla made good on it without a hassle.

5-6 years is the currently accepted life span of a tire, but that is in a climate controlled environment. Chuck 'em. Lots of rebates going on right now! Avon, Bridgestone, Continental, maybe more. Usually $60 off a set. Try Rocky Mountain, usually good prices.

That's a sweet RC51! I'd love to get a bone stock one some day and just keep it forever.

I got the $35 kit. After a lot of trial and error, I was able to get somewhat acceptable results. (sorry, don't have a pic ATM). You can still see the scratches, but they are less visible, and the black areas that were down to plastic look much better. It is NOT a perfect fix though. The problem is that if you get the area sanded flush with the surrounding paint (which is no small task), when you go to polish out the sanding marks, the polishing pulls the paint out of the scratch long before the surrounding, harder paint glosses up. When I got the bike, I also bought a new rear cowl. The paint matched as well as could be hoped for, considering the bike is 15 years old. I'd say go OEM if the price is the same.

Trying out a set of Avon Spirit ST that I got a great deal on this season. If I was buying right now, you can grab a set of Bridgestone T31's for like $180 after rebate from Rocky Mountain.

The PO put a single exit Two Brothers pipe on my bike. It sounds great, but it's definitely not quiet. I took the bike out once without wearing ear plugs, made it about half a mile before I stopped to put them in.

Track bike: trackstand Sport touring road bike: centerstand (by a long shot).

My bad guys, father's bike is a 4th gen 😫

IMG_0945.MOV

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075G4MDSM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Just got these for my father's 5th gen. I have the 7443 version in my 6th gen. I have been extremely pleased with them thus far! The strobe function works perfectly, lights are very bright as well.

Yeah, not much going on right now with tires it seems. Gear can be gotten cheap though.

Has anyone tried repairing deep scratches with the Color Rite kit? I have some scratches on the fairing from when the side stand folded on my. I was thinking that by the time you get the primer, color, and several coats of clear, that you might be able to wetsand down to level with the paint, and have the repair come out looking somewhat decent. Not going for perfect here, but for $60, might be worth a shot. FYI this photo was after compounding and polishing.

Looks like you have your work cut out for you! I had an SV650S; sweet little engine, suspension needed some help though.

I also just threw a set of MZS levers on the bike. The tolerances are as good or better than the stock levers, and the craftsmanship on them is fantastic. Can't beat the price!