Brakes and Anti-Bubblebutt
May. 19th, 2008 12:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tugrikWhen I bought the Valkyrie I knew I was going to end up accessorizing it. I'm more about farkles (gadgets and accessories) than bling, but I can't deny that I love shopping for bike stuff. It's not as bad as when I had the 'wing or the Beemer, but the urge is still there.
During my first RoadRider trip after acquiring the bike I picked up a set of Galfer stainless-steel brake and clutch lines. Since I knew it was within his skillset (and I'd rather throw my buddy some side business instead of dumping money into the dealer's pockets), I asked![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dustykat to install them for me when he got the chance. About a month later we hit a free weekend where our timing lined up, and it was off to the shop.
I'm weird about bikes. Unlike a lot of riders I know, I actually want others to ride my motorcycles. Mostly I just want to share in the fun -- but I admit that part of it is I want to see how my bike looks in motion, since I always end up buying bikes that none of my friends will own. This frustrates me and my friends as most of them have a severe dislike of riding someone else's scoot. Dusty relented, though, and rode it the few miles off to the shop for me while I followed in the Element. The end result is that while the color of the crazy turquoise beastie is growing on me, I really, really don't like the look of the saddlebags. It gives the bike a big ol' bubblebutt.
Changing the brake lines turned into a bit of a multi-weekend fiasco. The fronts went on OK but some of the 10-year-old bolts didn't cooperate, requiring replacement. The rear line was about a foot too long, requiring a re-shipment from Galfer. The re-shipment was boggered (they sent another clutch line by mistake!) and yet another shipping cycle had to happen. Finally they got me the right part, and due to Dusty and crew opting to skip out on a movie he had time to finish it this weekend. Some of the bolt positions had him swearing up a storm, but when it was done everything worked fine. A few more bolts and some clean-up on Sunday and the bike looked great. While getting the right parts was a pain in the hindside, the end result was worth it. The brakes have no more 'squish' to them and finally feel as well-planted as the ones on the BMW were. We'll do the clutch another weekend.
As part of getting to the rear brake line we had to remove one saddlebag. Some forum research proved that replacing four of the bolts would let me remove both and keep a clean look. While waiting for the re-shipment from Galfer I did just that, and I think it seriously cleaned up the overall looks of the bike. It still has the windshield and light-bar of the Tourer but the rear now looks like a Standard. While I'll miss the cargo storage, it's just feels nicer to ride. I might still get some more traditional leather saddlebags, but I think the big shiny-bubble factory ones are staying off for good. One bonus: it turns out that the stock bags are very hard to get and therefore fetch a high price. I can probably get about $1200+ if I sell them off!
While I'm not much into the whole 'chrome' thing, I do like making things match. Over this summer I'll be replacing the throttle cables, choke cable, speedo cable and switch-cluster lines with stainless-steel equivalents, finally getting rid of all the black plastic on the handlebars. I'm probably also going to ditch the flaked Cobra light-bar and get a cleaner-looking replacement. The last part of this appearance-update would be to swap the stock exhaust for a set of Cobra 6-into-6's. All these updates combined would leave me with a bike that I'd be proud of how it looks. Then, and only then, would I consider going after a custom paint job.
I'll get some new photos up later this week to show what it looks like with the bags off.
During my first RoadRider trip after acquiring the bike I picked up a set of Galfer stainless-steel brake and clutch lines. Since I knew it was within his skillset (and I'd rather throw my buddy some side business instead of dumping money into the dealer's pockets), I asked
dustykat to install them for me when he got the chance. About a month later we hit a free weekend where our timing lined up, and it was off to the shop.I'm weird about bikes. Unlike a lot of riders I know, I actually want others to ride my motorcycles. Mostly I just want to share in the fun -- but I admit that part of it is I want to see how my bike looks in motion, since I always end up buying bikes that none of my friends will own. This frustrates me and my friends as most of them have a severe dislike of riding someone else's scoot. Dusty relented, though, and rode it the few miles off to the shop for me while I followed in the Element. The end result is that while the color of the crazy turquoise beastie is growing on me, I really, really don't like the look of the saddlebags. It gives the bike a big ol' bubblebutt.
Changing the brake lines turned into a bit of a multi-weekend fiasco. The fronts went on OK but some of the 10-year-old bolts didn't cooperate, requiring replacement. The rear line was about a foot too long, requiring a re-shipment from Galfer. The re-shipment was boggered (they sent another clutch line by mistake!) and yet another shipping cycle had to happen. Finally they got me the right part, and due to Dusty and crew opting to skip out on a movie he had time to finish it this weekend. Some of the bolt positions had him swearing up a storm, but when it was done everything worked fine. A few more bolts and some clean-up on Sunday and the bike looked great. While getting the right parts was a pain in the hindside, the end result was worth it. The brakes have no more 'squish' to them and finally feel as well-planted as the ones on the BMW were. We'll do the clutch another weekend.
As part of getting to the rear brake line we had to remove one saddlebag. Some forum research proved that replacing four of the bolts would let me remove both and keep a clean look. While waiting for the re-shipment from Galfer I did just that, and I think it seriously cleaned up the overall looks of the bike. It still has the windshield and light-bar of the Tourer but the rear now looks like a Standard. While I'll miss the cargo storage, it's just feels nicer to ride. I might still get some more traditional leather saddlebags, but I think the big shiny-bubble factory ones are staying off for good. One bonus: it turns out that the stock bags are very hard to get and therefore fetch a high price. I can probably get about $1200+ if I sell them off!
While I'm not much into the whole 'chrome' thing, I do like making things match. Over this summer I'll be replacing the throttle cables, choke cable, speedo cable and switch-cluster lines with stainless-steel equivalents, finally getting rid of all the black plastic on the handlebars. I'm probably also going to ditch the flaked Cobra light-bar and get a cleaner-looking replacement. The last part of this appearance-update would be to swap the stock exhaust for a set of Cobra 6-into-6's. All these updates combined would leave me with a bike that I'd be proud of how it looks. Then, and only then, would I consider going after a custom paint job.
I'll get some new photos up later this week to show what it looks like with the bags off.
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-19 08:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-19 09:06 pm (UTC)Also, you should have written in 'Liberty City' on the License plate. O_o
no subject
Date: 2008-05-19 09:14 pm (UTC)Ah well! You gotta do what you like. I'll be waiting to see the pictures, 'cause I can't imagine it without the saddlebags.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-21 06:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-26 08:54 pm (UTC)