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...well... this then is a must-have safety feature. Looks great too. Are you going to amputate the wannabe original out of there? I plan on leaving it right where it is. As I mentioned, the wiring harness had two connectors for it and it really doesn't show all that much from a normal viewing angle, the stebels obscure it pretty well. I probably should have dusted it with flat black spray paint like I did the stebels though. I prefer stealthy farkles. I figure adding a peep to the honk is better than not adding it. The stock horn is actually louder than some I've had.

Shadowhawk - The installation instructions that come with the Yamaha 9/16" links say to drop the exhaust and remove the back wheel. I just dropped the exhaust and had plenty of room. I used a ratcheting box end wrench on the nut and a open end wrench on the head of the bolt - holding the head in place and turning the nut. BTW the ratcheting box end wrench set is one of the best buys I've made, really handy. Using a ratcheting strap on the rear wheel is normal when you are compressing the shock/spring far enough to fit up these short links. I would probably take off the back seat first though, the grab rails can take the force. I've added the Yamaha back rack and the Shad bag mounts, which requires removing the grab rails, so I had to route the strap through the new mounts to have them take the force, but it worked. Have you removed all the preset from the shock spring, this should soften the suspension some. There is also a rebound adjustment on the shock, though I still haven't found it behind a bunch of hoses and stuff.

Couter - Did your PSR links look the same as the picture I posted? Some of their links have multiple positions, so some material might be extending beyond the mount points. Looking at mine, I don't see any obvious reason they wouldn't work. Riding a few hundred miles on them with the shock at minimum preset, I didn't experience any of the effect you describe. The bike was noticeably lower and scraped on my driveway ramp, but didn't feel that hard at all. I rode through a construction area back and forth to work with some pretty rough pavement. There appeared to be plenty of room for them to bolt up - did you see any damage to other components down there? I'll check my bike too if you did.

I installed 2 Stebel HF-80 horns - http://i.imgur.com/npuL7Vx.jpg To quote 1 source - "One horn "sings" at 340Hz, while the other hits 430Hz, providing an attention getting dual tone, hitting an ear splitting 112db of sound pressure 2 meters from the source. The HF80/2 dual horn package will get the attention of those wandering cagers RIGHT NOW!" I used a horn relay wiring harness and tucked the socket/relay into the recess on the bottom of the lower triple tree, right side. The harness also allowed for powering the stock horn as well, I figured why not. I powered them from one of the aux power connectors behind the windshield. The Sumitomo MT090-2 male connectors from cycleterminal were a perfect fit. Of course I had to upgrade the 2 amp fuse in the fuse box. HONK! Do I need them? I live in Westminster CA, aka Little Saigon. If you want to be amongst some interesting drivers, comeondown.

No, I didn't see these when I did my search on this, and they may be just what I need. I'll try the Yamaha links first at the 9/16 lowering and see what it's like. I don't necessarily agree with the Lust statement "MAXIMUM lowering possible by changing suspension links on Yamaha FJ-09" - Soupy's still has the 1 1/4 inch links at http://soupysperformance.com/fj09-lowering-link-links-kit.html , but we all know about marketing hopefully. Well I finally got the Yamaha 9/16" links installed. Here is a look at the three sets next to each other; Stock, 9/16", and 1 1/4" (sorry about the lens distortion, but the comparison is still pretty good): http://i.imgur.com/LPGALu7.jpg Here is a set of measurements on each one: http://i.imgur.com/KdVFG4G.jpg The 1 1/4 inch set are not Soupy's, but are PSR brand that my dealer got for me. Searching the dealer's website, I think they are PSR pn 1304-0659 per this chart http://i.imgur.com/brFRIqJ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/1N2VmNT.jpg They are marked PSR Y-L6. I'm not satisfied with the Yamaha 9/16", still a bit high for me. I believe the 1 1/4 rating on the PSRs, but as I said before the cat converter scrapes on my driveway ramp. So I'm going to try the Lust ones next, even though I don't look forward to fitting the exhaust back up on the bike after installation. It is a bit of a hassle for me, for some reason (any hints?). But removing it sure makes the link switch a lot easier.

They were a direct fit, the only modification needed is drilling out the rivet on the left side peg...which is necessary to put any aftermarket peg in. Other than that, they worked out perfect. The best part...the $11.50 price tag on them. Say GOODBYE to vibrations! Feels so much better. http://www.amazon.com/Tengchang-Footrest-FJR1300-xjr1200-xjr1300/dp/B00H5JOAXM?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00 Zach, thanks for the info. I just 1 clicked a set. I saw your review on Amazon too, looked good.

Looks really functional and protective. I see you had to jury rig the Soupy's bigfoot thing with bushings. I took a quick shot at installing mine and ran into the same condition. I'm not sure how, but I think Soupy's should have allowed for this somehow, at the price they get for it. The pad wants to mount perpendicular to the stand, but that's obviously not possible. Maybe the inclusion of a couple different length bushings and screws?

No, I didn't see these when I did my search on this, and they may be just what I need. I'll try the Yamaha links first at the 9/16 lowering and see what it's like. I don't necessarily agree with the Lust statement "MAXIMUM lowering possible by changing suspension links on Yamaha FJ-09" - Soupy's still has the 1 1/4 inch links at http://soupysperformance.com/fj09-lowering-link-links-kit.html , but we all know about marketing hopefully.

I did the Soupy's, which are 1 1/4 inches, and my cat converter scrapes on the top of the ramp into my driveway no matter how slow I go. The first time I was real concerned for the drain plug until I looked. I'm concerned the Higdonian plate will be even lower and scrape on other obstacles as well. I have a set of the Yamaha links, which are 9/16 inches, on the way. The bike has settled downward a bit since I got it, and I took some of the preset out of the forks and the back shock, so I'm hoping the new links will be enough. I can see where your inseam will be a problem though, I'm 5'6" with a 30 inch inseam, and the bike was still tiptoe time when I picked it up at the dealer. Good luck.

Did you paint your exhaust tip??? If so, with what? I'm kinda digging it!I painted it with high temp flat black spray paint from Home Depot, it's for barbecue grills and stuff. I painted the collector on my Concours and never had a problem with the paint staying on. The FJ shield is held by 3 easy to access screws, so I recommend removing it for painting, if you do. I'm considering the FJ collector too, but I don't think you're supposed to mess with the cat converter, but...... When I saw the bike at the dealer I thought "It looks good, but all the different silver and gold stuff break it up too much" I especially noticed the rear brake fluid reservoir, so I've blacked it out with a sharpie, leaving just the sight window. I've also blacked out several silver bolt heads. I think the design has a nice flow line if the line is allowed to flow, you know. But, to each his or her own, I say.

The bags are wider than the stock ones because these will hold a full face helmet (confirmed with my Shoei), and the stockers won't. They can't fit any closer to the bike because of the short distance between the left passenger's peg mount and the swing arm. I had to cut down the short arm of a 4mm hex wrench to tighten the bolt as it is; check out the clearance there on yours. I did some garage bushing creation to get the back rack mount and the bag mounts to be happy with each other, but it works. Here's a shot of the bike without the bag (in my messy garage ) - http://i.imgur.com/TyBKKkH.jpg The tank bag is old Corbin I had on my Concours for years, I have no idea what model or size. There are handier ones available now I'm sure. The SHAD letters are just stick-ons, and come off real easy with the old hair dryer trick. The piece they stick onto is easily removed with two through screws, making it even easier. They are shiny plastic, and I'm close to scratching them up with some medium sand paper to make them less obvious. I'm liking this bike more and more!

Just a quick comment on the patience thing - I got the SH-36 mounting hardware today, but the bags are still on back order and we're waiting for a tracking number again. So now I can hang empty frames on my bike and think about the bags - aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh! I grew up in upstate NY, so I'm familiar with the weather back there. In Michigan they call it 11 months of winter and 1 month of poor sledding I believe. I finally got my SH-36 bags today, And I really like them. pictures - http://i.imgur.com/1ek6p5Z.jpg http://i.imgur.com/E0p0aWH.jpg http://i.imgur.com/liVbxJ2.jpg Inside there is a warning label (I know, what a surprise). http://i.imgur.com/TbnxDor.jpg Since they are from Europe, I'm not sure what a couple of the warning outlines mean. The Kg Max weight symbol and arrow to the "i" symbol - does this mean "check the manual for max weight"? And about the person with either a sprayer or flame thrower - huh? Onward and upward.

Just a quick comment on the patience thing - I got the SH-36 mounting hardware today, but the bags are still on back order and we're waiting for a tracking number again. So now I can hang empty frames on my bike and think about the bags - aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh! I grew up in upstate NY, so I'm familiar with the weather back there. In Michigan they call it 11 months of winter and 1 month of poor sledding I believe.

From the Cal Sci site - "Plastics Windshields for motorcycles are made from either polycarbonate (Lexan) or acrylic (Plexiglas). Each type of plastic has advantages and disadvantages. Polycarbonate is an extremely strong plastic. Polycarbonate is about as transparent as glass. Polycarbonate cuts and forms easily at both room temperature and at higher temperatures. For machining purposes, you can work with polycarbonate pretty much the same as you would aluminum. Polycarbonate has a major drawback for windshield use: polycarbonate picks up water from the air. The water eventually makes the polycarbonate cloudy. This water will form bubbles if you heat the polycarbonate to forming temperatures. So, before you can form polycarbonate, first you have to place it in a drying oven at about 200° for about 12 hours. Because of this, only companies that manufacture polycarbonate make windshields. Polycarbonate is sensitive to ammonia, so glass cleaners like Windex should not be used on polycarbonate. Polycarbonate windshields need a coating to protect them from chemicals and prevent them from absorbing water from the air. This optical coating is difficult to apply uniformly, resulting in optical distortion. It also scratches and cannot be repaired with plastic polish. By far the most popular polycarbonate for motorcycle windshields is GE Lexan Margard MR10, aka "quantum coated." GE polymers was recently bought by a Saudi Arabian firm, Sabic - see GEPlastics.com. We don't buy products from countries that fund terrorism. Acrylic is only about 3% as impact resistant as polycarbonate. Normal acrylic shatters upon impact, and therefore is considered an unsafe material for windshields. Acrylic is very chemically resistant, and is more transparent than glass - glass absorbs about half again as much light as acrylic does. Acrylic forms easily at high temperatures, about 300°. However, machining acrylic at room temperature is difficult. It's not very easy to cut acrylic with a saw or drill holes in acrylic without shattering or weakening the material. Polycarbonate is a DOT approved material for making windshields; normal acrylic is not. Some states require DOT approved windshields, and therefore in these states a normal acrylic windshield is actually illegal, however these laws are rarely enforced. Normal acrylic can be shattered by an impact from a rock moving at speeds as low as 15mph. We use a special high cost acrylic called Impact Modified Acrylic. This form of acrylic is DOT approved for windshields. We use only DOT certified impact resistant plastics to make Calsci windshields. Our windshields will not shatter if hit by a rock. We test our windshields by shooting them with a .22 caliber rifle and verifying that the windshield maintains its basic integrity without shedding small pieces that could impact your face or eyes. No windshield can protect you against everything, but we do our best to make certain that our windshields protect you against the small rocks frequently thrown up by other vehicle's tires. "

I know what you mean about patience, I've used one or two unkind words regarding the situation. But I guess good things come to those willing to wait, or some crap like that. I'm somewhat surprised they offered the discount, considering the popularity of the outer bags, but maybe the inner bags aren't in similar demand, and their profit margin is probably such that it won't hurt much anyway. I'm hoping they show up within a few days, but of course it's supposed to start raining here on Sunday and there may be as many as 4 storms rolling in off the Pacific next week - good ol' El Nino.

I've had a pair of SH-36 on order for just about a month now through my dealer (they were giving me a discount for a month after buying the bike). Supposedly they were to arrive in Florida this week, then be shipped to us - we'll see. The bags are just too darn popular and fit a variety of bikes. Just a word of caution, you might want to check with Shad before ordering.