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gst95dsm

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Everything posted by gst95dsm

  1. I was eyeballing this little "ram" style mount that ties into the windscreen mount and get's your phone or whatever other device you have mounted right there front and center. It's available on Amazon for under $30. I just installed it and it's pretty cool. I definitely like my phone mounted there better than on my handle bars. On my cross country trip, my phone got soaked a few times to the point where it would not charge. I think being tucked behind the windscreen it's much more protected in those situations and also much easier to see without taking eyes off the road. Anyhow..... no instructions on the install are given, it's not hard. The only confusion was whether the mount went above or below the windshield mount, it goes below. If you put it above you can't put the windscreen on.
  2. Thanks man! Feels like a new bike! I can't believe how much more attention the bike gets now.
  3. I got the Evotech Performance radiator guard in and installed. Nice little piece. A little underwhelming for the price but it looks to be one of the nicer and more protective radiator guards on the market. I must say it looks badass when installed and really finishes off the front view of the bike.
  4. Haha! I lost ya did I??? Hopefully I can bring ya back with some cool riding photos soon. dude.... I was right there with you until that beak showed up...... LOL....
  5. Installed the Higdonian trail cage tonight. Overall it's pretty cool. Seems like it will do the job. Looks a little frumpy to me, and the skid material is a little thinner than I thought it would be. Fit up went well. Looking forward to doing some rides very soon!
  6. Beaked! Looks like Powebronze are out of stock for the matte... I found an Ebay seller in the US with one in stock. Paid a little more but had it in 2 days. I like it!
  7. The Beak showed up today.... one of the more frivolous motorcycle purchases I've ever made, but it just seemed so fitting to this build. It's a nice piece, so well done it looks 100% OE when fitted. Higdonian cage also supposed to be showing up today!
  8. I took a little spin on a dirt road near my house that is pretty rough and one I've tried to stand while riding before without much luck / comfort. The bar risers and these pegs have now made it MUCH nicer to stand and ride. Massive difference.
  9. This may help someone in the future.... if you ever replace your pegs you'll need this pin for the left side. 5/16th's by 1 1/4" is perfect. Got the left side buttoned up....
  10. Pegs came in today! Man they are actually quite nice. They are wider than I thought they'd be, which is good. They seem very stout. Machined out of a big hunk of aluminum. They are able to rotate around to not only drop down a little, but also forward. I think this will be a slight improvement in riding position for me, and the added width will greatly help the proposition of standing while riding. I'm not quite finished with the install since I need to source a cotter pin for the left side, but overall I think they are pretty cool and will serve my purpose well.
  11. Got the risers and hand guards on today! Actually quite an easy and fast job. I was a little bummed my wrenching time was so short. I am really happy with the fitment on the KTM guards. I can see why so many are using them. I was also under the impression the entire guard had a gloss black finish and was glad to see that the outer and inner portion are matte. I thought the gloss would look bad with the rest of the bike but it's fine. The 2" pivoting risers also went on nicely. I'll admit that adding 2" risers to an already HUGE riser isn't the best looking set up, but it looks much better than I thought it would, and I think is going to be the ticket to being able to stand and ride comfortably. I can only assume the reason the bike has such long risers already is that they are making up for the missing 2" to 3" of shock travel this bike "looks" like it should have! I was able to pivot the risers forward just enough and they actually rest on top of the original upper clamp. In order to run these you probably should get a longer clutch cable. I believe I have read that a certain year R1 cable is good for this and may be in my future. For the time being, I was able to route the clutch cable behind the triple clamp, and that gave me plenty of length. When it was routed in front as it normally is, the clutch would pull at full lock. The brake line was also a little tight. I simply unbolted it from the small mount on the lower triple clamp and that allowed plenty of length. I can't foresee any issues having done that, but will update if any arise. Test riding the bike, I like the additional bar height and I like that they are a bit further away. I'm a big guy so reach is never an issue. I did a little standing and it was much better, but until the peg situation is addressed it's still hard to stand and ride this bike.
  12. Ok, moving on. KTM hand guards are going on today, and I'm going to attempt the handle bar risers to determine if the cables and brake line need any modification.
  13. What's the thread title? You're coming off a little pretentious to be honest. FYI your experience's may differ from others, crazy I know.
  14. Huh?? Sorry man, that simply doesn't make any sense. Sure it does, this isn't a dual sport that will be dropped on a regular basis. If it was, I would rate durability in a drop high on my priority list when purchasing hand guards. If I'm riding the bike on terrain that is causing me to drop it, and subsequently damaging my hand guards to the point where their durability is a problem, I am over riding the bike and shouldn't be there. If I have an accident, while on a road of some sort, and my hand guard is damaged, I'll replace it. Get it?
  15. Man I do like those better than the KTM's. I basically went with the KTM's because I knew they'd fit up easy and they are inexpensive. Oh well, if I find myself dropping the bike enough to worry about my hand guard durability I probably shouldn't be riding on that terrain. Lol. The one's you linked I think look way better though! Thanks for the cage photos and I'm glad to see it saved some significant damage! I can't wait to get mine, I hope he ships it soon.
  16. Thanks for the first hand experience with the TKC's. I had never heard of them heating up before and causing any problems. I'll have to be conscious of that if I find myself on any long high speed stretches. Would you happen to recall the PSI you were running them at? I work in the tire industry (non MC), and based on the speed rating of the TKC's, I can definitely see constant operation near their speed rated limit would build up some significant heat, perhaps running them at or near their max PSI rating could help that situation.
  17. My tires showed up yesterday! I had them mounted up today and went for a little test run. First off..... they look badass. They REALLY change the character of the bike instantly. First impression driving off.... vibe's at very low speeds, smooth after that. Definitely louder. The bike also wants to turn in much easier, just something to get used to. Overall street characteristics are fine. I've ridden TKC's before, but never on a road bike. After some time on the street getting a feel for the bike, I hit a dirt / sandy road that follows a canal by my house that I wouldn't even have considered before. It's smooth but has some spots where the sand is quite deep and loose. I ride it all the time on my DRZ400, so I figured I'd give it a shot.......... turned off TCS..... and let her rip. WOW, the amount of grip was awesome and having that much power on loose dirt / sand, is quite entertaining. I was very pleased with how it handled and felt. So I'm waiting on the Higdonian Trail cage, Bar risers, KTM hand guards, Windscreen and the Wider Pegs to arrive. Should have some more stuff to install next week! Here's some junk photos..... I was about 30min away from decent lighting. Oh well.... you get the idea.
  18. I'll give the TKC's a shot, if they don't work out, no biggie. I've also come across your bike on ADV before and you were also someone who inspired this build! So thanks! And keep up the great riding getting the most out of your FJ.
  19. Yep, the pics of your bike nice and dirty, have been some of my inspiration for this project!
  20. What's up fellas..... I figured I'd start a little build thread to document my FJ's upcoming transformation. My goals here are an "any road" bike, Not an Off Road bike..... I know it's a sensitive subject any time someone mentions riding an FJ off road, or setting one up for off road. I understand this is a road bike, it does that very well. I rode mine from CA to NYC and back last year and it was awesome! What I desire is a bike that can handle any road one might come across, dirt, gravel, wet, muddy, smooth, rough, new, old...... you get the idea. I want the bike to have a fighting chance regardless of the conditions. I also want the bike to be able to be ridden standing up, comfortably. What this adds to the machine is..... "suspension", via my legs. On a short travel bike riding any kind of rough roads just beats the crap out of you in a hurry while sitting down. Most of us can testament to that having ridden old school dirt bikes before they had mono shocks. Same idea, you were always standing and letting the bike do it's thing underneath you. I've already ridden this machine on some very rough, semi paved, pot holed, gravel and dirt roads and while it does fine, I was not able to stand comfortably and I knew if I WAS able to stand, I could ride that terrain for much longer, faster, with more control and more comfortably. This will probably be the hardest goal to accomplish. I have already ordered 2" bar risers, and some aftermarket wider pegs that will allow me to lower them slightly and give me a much bigger platform to stand on then the stock pegs. This goal is made much more difficult because I am 6'4". Hopefully these two mods make a huge difference. If not, I will be looking at how I can relocate the foot pegs to help. TIRES.... probably the most important change. It's actually a pretty easy choice. Continental TKC80's. They just do it all and do it all well. They are MUCH better on the road than they look like they would be. They do well on any type of surface. They are relatively cheap, and that's good because the rears wear out quick. I went with 170/60r17 in the rear to give me a bit narrower tire, that should turn in faster and make the bike feel lighter and more nimble. Another side effect of these tires...... they just look so badass on an FJ. Protection.... I need the bike to be able to handle a low speed drop without much drama. I need some oil pan protection. I need some exhaust protection. Luckily someone has figured that out pretty well. I ordered Higdonian set up today. After I get that installed I will see where the most vulnerable areas are and address them appropriately without getting too crazy and adding even more weight. I also plan to order a radiator guard, and do the KTM hand guards. As a cosmetic mod, that I know really serves no purpose but will ad to bikes overall appearance in this guise, I am probably going to get the BEAK! I also plan to raise the stock front fender a bit. Suspension..... still in the research phase here. I may leave it alone as this can be a very slippery and expensive slope trying to get it right based on past experience. I actually don't have a problem with the stock suspension after I dialed up the preload, I know it's low end and I know it's street oriented travel wise. I guess I just don't expect too much out of it, and I am WAY over the target weight. Ok well..... not much to show until parts start coming in. I ALMOST just sold the dang thing and my DRZ400s to buy a new GS1200, but luckily I came to my senses. I think the FJ with these few mods will go almost anywhere you should take a GS and definitely anywhere most GS owners take theirs. Wish me luck..... feel free to comment or make suggestions.
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