maximNikenGT

So, read the instructions, looked relatively straightforward so long as everything lined up. If all the holes lined up, then this would have been a 1 hour exercise. But because the holes didn't line up, and because I also had the Givi V47 top case already mounted using SR2144 mounting kit (note: SR2143 is no longer in production according to Givi North America), it required me to add 2 part #10 black washers to the middle mounting point (see photo below) of the PLXR2143 so that the rear holes to attach the reinforcement cross brace (part #3) would fit. After trial and error first using: a. zero part #10 black washer/thick spacers, and then b. adding one part #10 to each side and rechecking the cross brace hole alignment, and then c. adding two part #10 washers to each side, then and only then did the cross brace holes come close enough for me to flex the two sides towards one another a little bit in order to get the cross brace mounting bolts through. If I didn't have my Ryobi 3/8 inch high speed ratchet and had to manually unbolt and re-bolt the really long screws for the side case mounts then this easily would have exceeded three hours due to the sheer length of the bolts and all the unscrewing and rescrewing that I had to do in order to make sure I didn't strip bolts in the process and had a good fit that didn't stress out the bolts or strip out the threads in the mounting holes. But I can now at least confirm that the PLXR 2143 mounting kit DOES fit the 2019 Niken GTs, and when my Givi V37 hardcases arrive, I'll be able to confirm total fitment with side cases. The Givi North America database is WRONG in that a mounting kit does not fit the Niken GTs. Niken GT owners now have an additional hard pannier option besides the SHADs, stock soft cases, or a custom/home brewed version. Above: Stock Yamaha soft case mounts (before). Above: Removal of the original stock mounts is required - bolts that connect to the passenger foot pegs had tight clearances because the hex bolts are mounted facing the inside towards the rear tire. Right hand side (closest to the swingarm side) hex bolts had even tighter clearances and I had to utilize a low clearance ratchet wrench originally designed specifically for timing belt maintenance duty to loosen one of the bolts because my hex socket was so tall that it bumped up against the swingarm. Above: Part #8 split washer cannot be used inside part #4 mounting bush - must be outside of the mounting bush (photo above shows the WRONG way to assemble this). Slotted notch above is how you put the head of the long mounting bolts inside before tightening down completely. Above: This is the way... Above: Right hand side (closest to the rear swingarm) rear bolt is longer than the front bolt. I ended up retaining this long bolt instead of using the provided shorter bolt. NOTE: I had to special order the longer bolt from Amazon when I installed the V47 top case. Above: Ultimately had to use two part #10 spacers on the front long bolts to force the rear cross brace mounting holes to be canted inward enough to allow me to install the reinforcement cross brace. Any less than these two spacers resulted in too much distance between the two rear mounting holes. Proof that the PLXR 2143 does indeed fit the Niken GTs. Above: Final results. NOTE: there is a hole to the far left in front of the first mounting point. According to Givi, this can be used to attach a padlock to make sure no one can steal your side cases by unbolting the mounting brackets. Only downside is if one tries to mount a padlock on both sides then it may interfere with the passenger foot pegs ability to fold up out of the way. However, the mounting point bolts used a special tool that was provided by Givi. If you don't have this tool, good luck trying to remove these bolts.

Decided to capture install instructions as well for posterity. If this works then I'm planning on getting a set of givi V37 hard cases to match my Givi topcase. At the time of writing this, there were zero available Plxr2143 kits available in the USA. Amazon and Revzilla initially showed as available but when placing the order was canceled due to back order. The Givi Plxr2143 was only available in Europe and I ordered mine from Motostorm (based in Italy). Note: I have the Givi V47 top case already installed (part code SR2144 - formerly SR2143, whom Givi North America confirmed directly for me that the SR2144 is the official mounting kit for the V47). So on page 5 of the instructions I will have to follow step B2 for my install attempt.

Decided to try and see if I could make a set of Givi hard cases fit my 2019 Niken GT. Lots of conflicting information online regarding availability of Givi pannier mount fitment for Niken GTs. Note: Official Givi website online as well as direct inquiry with Givi North America by phone indicated that while a rack does exist for the regular Niken, one does NOT for the GT version. I'm assuming this has something to do with the different rear passenger grab handle geometry on the GTs. However I've received confirmation from two separate Niken GT owners in Europe who indicated that the Givi hard panniers do in fact fit the 2019 GTs if you get the Plxr2143 mounting kit. I could not get confirmation as to whether or not any modifications were needed to make it work since it appeared as though their shop performed the installs vs the owners themselves. Will find out once and for all if this works straight out of the box since Givi North America's own database indicates that no pannier mounting kit exists for the 2019 Niken GTs.

Any friends in europe received the 2023 Nikens yet?

That does look like a Niken that saw an early demise. Be interesting if they had a source VIN...

Trying to get a sampling of what Niken owners are experiencing in terms of front tire wear life. Obviously many factors come into play e.g. Traction control and riding mode settings, how hard you ride, road conditions, local weather, etc. But wanted to get a better idea of what the average front tire life for Niken owners. From what I'm reading anecdotally in various Niken forums, the front tire life seems to be almost as short as the first generation Acura NSXs which had super grippy tires paired with very aggressive toe-in which resulted in rear tire life as short at 3k miles (4828km).

One of the things that may help is if folks show a picture of what the tire being replaced looks like as well to show levels of wear. A quick survey is probably needed to help isolate what owners are seeing.

Glad it helped at least one fellow rider! 😀

New 2023 Niken GT review from MCN: https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/yamaha/niken/2023/

Took some screen captures from Hit Air official Motorrad video to show what the mesh version (highlighted in cross pattern) allows more air to flow through as well as what the airbag deployment looks like.

Took these pants out for a spin the other night and they felt great in 80 degree weather. Only thing is after about 30 minutes of riding the hook and loop fasteners on the both sides of my waist started to chafe against the skin. Easy enough to fix by tucking in your undershirt or just positioning the fasteners such that the hook portion doesn't make contact with your skin while seated.

Was familiar with the hot hands but didn't know about the toe warmers and had to look them up...learned something new! Same with the Warm and Safe heated gear - didn't realize you were all referring to an actual brand name until both of you mentioned it.

I did fall a motorcycle inspection a few years ago on my 2004 BMW R1150R because the tail light bulb would not light up when applying the brake - oddly the bulb still lit up while the engine was on. One new tail light bulb later and I was reinspected and good to go.

Pants are CE A certified while D30 armor is listed.

Good suggestion if the fit was too loose but the fit itself is fine for me without too much bulk. The internal sleeves are cut to fit the Powertector armor snugly otherwise I might have swapped in my thicker and larger Aerostich TF-6 armor. Not trying to approximate Ursus Mark VI bear fighting level armor. 😀 https://www.vice.com/en/article/evk38w/the-man-who-built-a-suit-to-fight-bears-showed-us-how-we-should-live

The shoulder and elbow armor is CE A rated according to documentation. https://www.hit-air.com/en/motorcycle/lineup/jacket_vest/jacket_vest_type04/motorrad-2.html Oddly the Hit Air vests have CE rating but the Motorrad 2 jacket itself does not. https://www.hit-air.com/en/motorcycle/lineup/all-in-one_harness/all-in-one_harness_type01/mlv-c.html

Didn't know that the bicep straps is for preventing elbow armor from moving in the event of impact/slide. At first I thought you meant the strap was to physically prevent the armor from moving up within its interior sleeve in the event of a slide, but upon closer review of placement of the strap on the inner bicep, I believe the strap does help keep the elbow armor in place by preventing the sleeve itself from bunching upwards towards the shoulder during a fall. I incorrectly assumed the straps were physically constraining the armor movement within the sleeve. Good to know.

Good to know that the Pirelli Diablo Rosso are discontinued. I've got a new set of fronts waiting to be mounted but the rear I will need to be ordering soon.

This is only my third dedicated motorcycle jacket in almost thirty years of riding...😱

After letting the Scotchgard spray dry on the jacket I took a test run of the new jacket out on the road tonight at about 10PM. Ambient temperatures was 78-80 degrees F / 26-27 degrees C. The gray mesh itself almost looks reflective in the daylight but is clearly not when compared to the luminescent shoulders and Lumidex reflective dots at night. Motorrad 2 mesh jacket is cooler wearing at speed (with all zips opened) than my Aerostich RC3 Lite one piece suit (with pit, thigh, and back zips open). Air flows more noticeably into the arm vents and the front pit vents in addition to feeling wind through the jacket's mesh construction. For me the jacket would probably be too cold to wear with all vent zips open at highway speeds with ambient temperatures below 68 degrees F (I tend to get cold easily). Key things that I missed in comparison to my Aerostich: 1. I did miss the magnetic collar that the Aerostich has to keep the mandarin style collar strap open to allow additional cooling through the neck area. 2. Also missed the Aerostich mini carabiner to secure my keys when off bike. Not a huge deal with all of the Motorrad 2's pockets but very used to the mini carabiner. Will see how well the jacket performs as temperatures continue to climb here in the South.

True test will be how comfortable the mesh jacket is under hotter ambient temperatures e.g, >90 degrees F / 32 degrees C.

Tried to look up who makes Lumidex and it's a company out of South Korea named Texland Nexko : http://texland-nexko.com/lumidex/ Apparently lumidex retains its reflective capabilities in spite of repeated washings and had high abrasion resistance.

I took out the elbow and shoulder armor to get a closer look at whether the jacket allows fine tuning of armor placement ( it did not). The jacket does have hook and loop fasteners to attach a separate chest and back protector (sold separately). What was unusual is that the back has a thin foam layer between the inner liner and the exterior. Am assuming this is more for comfort and breathability than providing additional protection in the event of a fall. Shoulder and elbow pads are Powertector while back seems to be some kind of foam. Powertector armor is a hard shell outside with foam inner. Flexible at the joints and hopefully hard enough to reduce / deflect damage in the event of a fall. I unzipped the bottom edge of the jacket to see what at inside and found the airbag system nestled inside.

Additional notes: Lots of fastening redundancy. Pocket use of fold over flaps, with hook and loop fasteners as well as button snaps ensures nothing comes out of your pockets at any speeds. Front of jacket has same fastening redundancy in terms of zipper, 4 hook and loop fastener strips and 4 button snaps. 5 exterior pockets: 4 in the front and one on the right sleeve, and one interior pocket. Sleeves also have cuff zippers to allow expansion for thick cuffs or big watch. Vent zips are located: Along both sleeve forearms Front arm pit zips Rear arm pit zips Reflective material: 6 total Luminescent piping located per arm (4 on the shoulder and 2 along the upper collar bone) for a total of 12 Shoulder Hit Air logo is very raised lettering with reflective base Shoulders and upper back along collar bones use luminescent Lumidex material (e.g. where just the dots reflect) Center of the upper back has both reflective rhombus patch in addition to Lumidex borders Lumidex used in edges of hand pockets near the hips Unusual features: 3 position snap cinching straps under the sleeve bicep area. Presumably this is to keep the fabric from flapping against my massive guns...💪💪💪 Pocket with clear front. I'm assuming this is used to display badge or other identifying documentation. I use it for my Travelpass / toll booth sensor. Have heard some folks use it to hold emergency identification / signaling radio. Hit Air shoulder logos are very pronounced and stick out quite a bit 5mm / (1/5 inch). Not sure why this is so pronounced and the material itself is like hard rubber but slick (I'm assuming this is designed to help one slide in the event of a fall by not catching on road irregularities, otherwise it's a very noticeable jacket logo detail that I've not seen before on motorcycle protective gear). First time hearing about Hexa Powertector or Samtek's DynaForce materials. Both Hexa and Samtek appear to be based out of South Korea and have been making materials for at least 20-30 years. I believe DynaForce is used in Red Wing work boots but that's all I know about it. Anyone know more about these two manufacturers and their products?

Unboxing of a new Hit Air Motorrad 2 Touring Grey Mesh airbag jacket (size = XL) from Hit Air Moto in the USA. Needed to replace an old Dainese GTR jacket I've had from the early 90s with something cooler ( temperature wise) for summer riding. Facts at a glance: Weight of XL jacket including tether = 5.4 pounds / 2.45 kg Retail cost at time of publishing $825 USD / 753 € For a male rider 6' / 183cm tall and 190 lbs / 86 kg, fit is a little big, but if one is planning on wearing thicker under layers / heated vest or planning to use a separate chest and back protector, then this size is perfect. Jacket Construction lists Hexa Powertector elbow and shoulder armor, Samtex DynaForce, outer shell is 100% polyester and 100% nylon with inner shell of 100% polyester. Airbag bladder tubing is 100% polyurethane.