TimC

Nice. And nice to know such things can be done. I'm not planning to do this myself, but for folks who want the VFR to ride more like a supersport, this is a good (but not easy) option.

$118 for a seat cowl??? Methinks I should try and find mine and sell it!! :lol:

LOL. Me, too! Anybody need one in Italian Red?! I'll even discount it to $109.99. :blink:

OMG! A GREEN MACHINE! LOL. I haven't seen one of those in almost 30 yrs! They still make them? HA!

Hey! I had one of those. Much cooler than a Big Wheel! IIRC you could really skid that thing around. The only bad thing was that after awhile the wheels weren't exactly "round" anymore! :P

Congrats on the '06 and welcome to VFRD, Robert!

Nice list of mods you have going already. You're smart to only do a couple things at a time as far as ergos go. Make a change, see how you like it, then make more changes if necessary. Baileyrock is right, tho...if you're coming from a different kind of bike, you might allow yourself a little more time to adjust to the VFR's ergos.

If you bought your bike new the cowl should have come with it. If you bought the bike used, the previous owner or shop might have it.

Before you order the Corbin AND the cowl, double-check that the cowl will fit with a Corbin. It probably will, but some aftermarket seats cause problems with cowl fitment. It's just garnish anyway, IMO. I haven't put mine on since I bought my Sargent seat 9-10 months ago. Sure it looks good, but I bungee stuff to my rear seat a lot, so it's easier for me to just not have it on there at all.

When I stay at a cheap motel, I don't just bring the bags in with me...

Did you get any funny looks from the desk clerk when you walked your bike thru the lobby and onto the elevator? :beer:

And how did you manage to fit it onto the elevator? :beer: You had to have removed the hard bags first, right?

:P

Thanks for the heads-up, johnmark. I added that item to my eBay "Watch List". :thumbsup:

I have the Road ID wrist model, too. I carry it in a pocket of my riding jacket at all times, and wear it during trips and sportriding, when my risk for going down might be a little higher. Great product. I have the necklace version, too, for when I go to the gym, just in case I keel over from my heart racing since I'm so out of shape, LOL.

I went the cheap and simple route. I bought a Kryptonite mountain bike seatpost cable and Craftsman small brass lock. I carry this in my tankbag or backpack and lock my helmet (over the chinbar/thru shield area) thru my handlebars or fork tripleclamp. Cost me about $10. Of course it's not 100% secure, but it is effective enough to deter a bad guy just walking by, eyeing my helmet and thinking evil thoughts.

Helmet cable lock

And Tim, as you can see i think i need to follow my own advice and learn that the VFR is not a dirt bike... :beer:

LOL. Hey, winter in Ohio, you take what riding you can get, even if that means the bike gets a little dirty.

Mine is a mess right now, too. I'll clean it when I get some time in a couple weeks. Gotta 'winterize' it, too, tho that really only means adding Stabil, putting plywood under the wheels and a hooking up a battery tender. I want it ready to ride on any nicer days we get thru the winter months!

Will you post a pic of your luggage on the bike - I want to see how noticeable (if at all) the color difference is.

Not possible right now...bike is at a local shop for routine maintenance and wiring harness recall. I'll try to remember to post a pic here with the bags installed later on. But I don't think the color difference will be too bad. Even if it isn't real close, knowing what I paid for these will ease my mind, LOL.

The liners are just a soft nylon insert that makes packing a lot easier. And yes, the hard bags are very waterproof.

I bought Bestem liners through e-bay for my sidebags. No complaints.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-VFR80...emZ150197257843

I still use those zippered plastic bags that come with bedding sheets for use inside my Ventura tailbag to keep stuff dry. Yes, cheap I be whenever possible.

That's the exact set of liners I bought. Same seller, too. I bought them so that for overnight trips so I don't have to carry the hard bags into and out of hotels, etc. The liners are easier to carry, esp. since they have shoulder straps, too. Plus as dutchinterceptor said above, it's easier to pack the soft bags, then just pop them into the hard bags.

I routinely carry Ziplock baggies in a couple different sizes, just to pop my keys (with keyless remote), cellphone and pocketknife into them in case it starts raining.

Thanks, guys. I'm looking forward to using them a lot this year and beyond.

BTW, Travis, it's YOUR fault I just spent 7 Franklins on this stuff...YOU'RE the person whose bags I mentioned in paragraph 2 above! (Sarcastic tone here:) Thanks a lot, man! :beer:

:P Just kidding, man! I'm glad I got to see the set on your bike. I never would have bought them without seeing in person how great they are. Probably some of the best money I'll ever spend on my VFR.

"Plate Flipper is intended for off road use only."

That disclaimer is probably the only reason they haven't been sued by state governments. Clever device tho.

Got 8,000 out of a set of Conti Road Attacks. Got Corsa III's, 3,200 miles, still look/handle new. (Great in a corner, too).

Here, here - I second that for the Conti Road attacks. I got 9000 on my last set and they still had tread left. I replaced them (with Road Attacks again) only because they were getting a little hard and sliding slightly in the corners. Great tires. :beer:

+1. I was very happy with the Conti Road Attacks I bought last spring. I did a lot of straight miles (and some good twisties) this year, plus I'm a heavier rider, and I still got 8k-9k mi. out of them. They stuck pretty good in the twisties, too!

My front RA is still on the bike, but like Blackballed experienced with his set, the sides have gotten a little hard. I noticed it slide a hair a couple times this fall where it never had before. Not a good feeling.

I'd buy another set in a heartbeat, but I'm looking forward to trying something different next season, probably Avon Storms.

So I never thought I'd buy the OEM hard bags. Too expensive, would never use them enough to make the purchase worth the expense, was happy enough with my soft bags, didn't know how long I'd keep this bike, etc. Then I had an incident during a road trip where my soft bags slipped backward while riding and my exhausts melted one of the over-the-seat straps. Luckily I stopped in time to keep the bags from coming off AND had extra bungees with me to securely refasten the bags to my bike. I thought I'd try to get the bags repaired this winter or just replace them next season.

I kept an eye out for a nice used set of OEM bags here and occasionally searched eBay for a set to match my red '04, but still never seriously considered buying a set. Then I saw in person how nice the OEM bags are and thought about how often I could have used them this year. I'm planning to keep this bike awhile. I put about $1k in mods into it this year and am now putting about $1k of repairs (normal wear-and-tear parts and routine maintenance) into it now, too, so maybe it was time to upgrade my luggage, too.

Last week a brand new set w/hardware appeared on eBay, with an opening bid price of $599 (plus $45 for shipping) and no reserve. These were in the "Winning Red" of the '05 VFR, but the color is close enough to my "Italian Red" '04 that it wouldn't bother me. I put my bid in on the last day of the auction and was amazed I ended up being the only bidder, so I got them for the above price! I paid that night via PayPal and the seller shipped them the next day. I got them this afternoon and they are beautiful...and are brand-spanking-new-in-the-box!

I also bought (separately) a VERY nice set of bag liners on eBay to go with these, for $50 plus $10 shipping. They should arrive next week. Can't wait for my first road trip in '08 to try these babies out!

BTW, I know David Silver Spares is selling the OEM bags a little cheaper (including overseas shipping from England) but I still feel like I got a rockin' deal on these. Just in case the seller (Mandy) is a member here, many thanks again!!

I know you've all seen them before, but I just had to share a pic of my new bags (well, one of them anyway), so here it is:

Brand new OEM hard bags

So I guess I should have done some due dilligence before going to DSS and saying, "Hey Mate! Send me some red 05 bags with liners!!!!" I suppose that my excitment got the best of me and now I am wondering ....Hmmmmm? (You know JRICH....you have Staintunes and these are oem bags.......Crap. I should have asked before I bough the bags.)

SO MY FELLOW AMERICANS AND CANUCKS.....AM I SCREWED OR AM I GOOD TO HOOK!

Staintunes fit with OEM bags. You got lucky, some exhausts don't work with bags.

+1. I've seen the Staintune/OEM bags combo in person. They're fine.

Sorry to hear about the low speed drop, Duke. I've dropped my bike twice, fortunately with little or no damage each time. From what you described, replacing those parts shouldn't be too difficult, plus you'll save money on parts if you buy them on the web and do the work yourself.

Well, I survived yesterday. Shopping areas, rush hour, wet roads, a bit of snow...very few problems and only one guy tried to kill me, but even that was pretty minor. I was more worried about wet roads icing over late yesterday afternoon. One of the shopping centers was particularly treachorous. :o

BTW, some people are morons even when they aren't posing a threat. While I was waiting to make a left turn in traffic yesterday, a guy going the other direction took yelled, "F@#$%&* idiot!" at me for absolutely no reason. Yes it was cold yesterday, but I wasn't riding in a blizzard. Some people just can't be helped. Sometimes at moments like that I amuse myself by thinking, "Would his mother be proud of him for that?" :D

I'm heading out again today. Not a long ride, but I'm just short of 11k mi. for the year, so I want to hit that mark, plus I'm dropping off my bike at the shop for some service. I don't expect to have my bike back for a couple weeks, so I'm basically done riding for the year.

I'm blessed to have a short mostly rural commute. Even if I had to go thru a larger town I work 'til 6 p.m. most days, so rush hour wouldn't affect me much anyway.

I think both morning and afternoon commutes can kill ya. In the morning people are hurrying to work, taking chances they wouldn't normally take in their rush to get to work on time, maybe blinded by the rising sun, applying makeup, fixated on the radio or whatever. After work they're in a hurry to get home or to their kid's soccer game, or on the phone complaining about their day to whoever will listen, etc.

What really worries me is riding anywhere near shopping/strip malls this time of year. People are way too focused on shopping and their next destination to notice us out there. I'm off tomorrow and if the weather is decent I'll be riding around shopping and running errands. But I'll be nervous and even more vigilant than usual while I'm out there.

Sorry to hear about the mishap, Pete. One of my rubber bolt receivers came loose on the back of the lower cowl, but it's no big deal. I just use two hands to tighten/loosen those bolts now - one for the bolt and one for the rubber piece.

I've thought about using a dab of white lithium grease (from my 'bicycle' tool box) on the side fairing bolts to prevent them from seizing, but I remove the fairings often enough I don't think it's really an issue. I did use a little bit for the hand levers and probably ought to put a dab on each rear wheel stud.

Generic and Valvoline dino oils so far, but following my winter storage oil change I'll be using Mobil 1 synthetic going forward. So far I've used Honda OEM and Fram oil filters, but plan to try a couple others next season. Also, I change my oil every 3k-4k mi.

Nice, I like this one!!!! :thumbsup:

Cuz it matches your hair? :warranty:

:goofy:

:o Ouch!!

:P

Anyone got any idea on a sporty tire for me, I am thinking the conti sport attack but not sure, you all are the subject matter experts so please let me know!

After wearing out my rear Conti Road Attack from the set I got earlier this year, I replaced the rear with a Sport Attack - kind of a matching tire for what's left on the front Road Attack. I figure the tires will now wear out about the same time, and I'll move on to a different kind of tire. Not b/c I didn't like the Road Attacks, but I just want to try another kind of tire next time.

So far so good on the rear Sport Attack. Definitely feels "lively" and I have yet to spin it, but I'm not the most aggressive rider. Turn in feels good and the rear feels well planted and not prone to slippage since I've had it on, including a day of nice riding in the twisties with Deathstar13 and TPierce(MP) last month.

Not to sure about the sport attacks, but I love my road attacks, have been plenty sticky.

+1. I loved my Road Attacks, and I'd buy another set with no reservations. If a matched set of Sport Attacks is at least as good as my Road Attacks were, I'd definitely recommend them.

My own opinion, sigsauer33? When you've worn out those Pilot Roads, replace them with real sport tires like Pilot Powers or something similar. If you've removed the peg feelers b/c you kept dragging them, it's time for better tires. I think you're taking a chance running sport-touring tires if you're going that hard in the corners. Just my $0.02.

Olympia gloves are nice. But I always shop the deals. I just bought a pair of Teknic Cyclone gloves for $40 shipped to my house! They are waterproof, have good armor, and are not bulky like some! Here is a link to some on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Teknic-Cycl...VQQcmdZViewItem

Nice looking gloves, Jon. :thumbsup:

I just bought a pair of these (http://www.olympiagloves.com/viewgloves.html) at the Iron Pony on Sunday for the regular retail price of $50. Wore them during my ride tonight in 30F weather and they worked very well. They're a little bulky, but not too bad, plus the gauntlet is roomy enough to get my jacket sleeves in them pretty easily.

BTW, these winter gloves run a little big, so you can put a thin liner on under them if needed. I bought a size smaller than I usually wear since I don't plan to ever use a liner under these gloves.

Next trip to the Iron Pony I'll be buying a pair of spring/summer waterproof gloves for next year.

Glad you have your priorities right, BR! Looks like it was a great day to call off.

It's been unseasonably warm here the last couple days, in the high 50s, but with a little rain. I've been busy at work and otherwise, so no extra miles for me this week, plus of course we're traveling this weekend.

Hoping for a couple more nice days this fall so I can use up my vacation days riding instead of sitting at home or Christmas shopping.

Olympia is pretty good quality from what I know. I bought one of the hi-visibility riding vests a couple months ago but have only worn it once or twice so far. Seems very well constucted.

For winter riding gloves you might want to consider a pair with guanlets that go over your jacket sleeves. That way cold air doesn't blow up your sleeve. I generally don't like guantlet-style gloves but in cold temps they are a must for me.

Jeez, you people will buy anything! :rolleyes:

Just kidding. I've seen that ad, too, Red Runner, but if it's the kinda deluxe steel version I'm thinking of, it's unbelievably expensive for what it is. Dutchy's example looks good since you can move it around while the bike is on it, too. Wonder how much that costs.

Edited to add: Just Googled the Telefix MotoBoy - doesn't look like they're available in the US, or does anyone here know differently?