My first ride: Laguna Mountains

[xpress]

This is going to be a thread about my first impressions with the bike. 
 
I was finally able to get the bike up through some twisties today and get a feel for the bike. The bike definitely made an impression on me with the power delivery and handling. My last ride (04 KLR650) wasn't exactly something oriented for the road so it did alright around corners and whatnot. I am still getting accustomed to how the bike handles so there wasn't any insane corners being took at ridiculous speeds, though we did do some low speed tight hairpin cornering. Very impressed with the handling, but the suspension will need to be stiffened up a bit. I did get low enough to scrape the outside of my boots, but alas there's still a small 1/8" chicken strip on the rear on each side  (rofl) Will need to do more riding and get it lower! 
 
On some of the straights I decided to see what the bike could do- this being my first sport bike, just being able to cruise at 80mph is a big deal to me (my KLR would do 80 downhill with a tailwind) so you can imagine how ecstatic I was to find that it zipped right up to its 115mph limit without hesitation and it still had lots more available, all in Standard mode. Definitely going to need to get the ECU flashed to unlock all of that power. My buddy passing me on his 1299 Panigale S was the deciding factor on that one. None of my high RPM shenanigans were sustained as I still don't have 500 miles on the bike, much less the recommended 600 miles, not about to go out and do damage to my motor so soon into my ownership. This is the first bike I was able to get all my own and it's a large investment to me, definitely want to keep it nice for a long time. 
 
When we got out of the twisty roads, we finally hit some really long open straights with absolutely nobody around so I thought it would be sweet to see what the bike could actually do in A mode. I was thoroughly impressed that, even in 4th gear and with only 80% power available, the front tire got light with my 270lbs behemoth leaning well over the tank. At this point I was thinking that I REALLY want to see what it would do with all of the power unlocked. 
 
Some notes from today about my first ride:
 
-Suspension is soft. It's comfortable on roads that aren't super rough, and it's definitely nice for highway cruising or commuting, but going around corners and under braking you can definitely feel it could be stiffer. Will have to play with it next time I'm out to see where I like it for twisted shenanigans. 
 
-Much smoother on power delivery in B mode. I think I will be using B mode for the tighter twisties as it lets me be smoother on the throttle with more available resolution. Standard and A mode would be more for longer, wide open spaces such as a track. Will have to get the ECU reflashed to see what kind of differences there will be in the different power modes. Most of my riding today was in Standard. 
 
-Factory seat is like a plank. Has anybody tried the comfort seat from Yamaha? My nether regions were a little sore after only 130 miles of riding today. 
 
-Handlebars need to be a bit taller/more back. I like that I can bolt on a standard set of dirt bike bars, makes it easy to get something taller that I can adjust back towards me more. 
 
-Need to invest in crash protection. Was looking at SW Motech crash bars and some general frame sliders to help protect the bike in the event I go over. Will also need to invest in a radiator guard. 
 
Some questions for the masses: 
 
1. What tail light with integrated blinkers is everybody using? On the subject of blinkers, are there any lower profile amber signals with running light for the front that are bright? How about fender eliminator kits?
 
2. What is everybody using for AUX LED lighting and how did you mount the lights? Everything I do to this bike I want to be able to unbolt/unplug and return it back to factory if I want to- no permanent damage. My night vision isn't so fantastic and even with awesome bright LED headlights, those back country roads are pretty dark..
 
3. What are you guys using for radiator guards? 
 
That's all for now folks. 

[jetfixer]

First let me say welcome aboard! I'm using the "Custom LED" "Blaster tail light" and a few others are also. For lower profile turn signals I purchased them from "HighTechSpeed", they make "Protons" if your familiar with them. I warn you they are pricey but very bright and small. The ones I got they said were on back order but I ended up receiving them in a week or so if I remember right. HighTechSpeed I believe also makes a custom taillight. There is also another good cheaper tail light available from Motodynamic.

[xpress]

I was looking at the Blaster. I quite like it and if it's as bright as the OEM tail light then it's all good to me. The Proton signals look good too, does the $100 price tag at least include 2 lights or is that for each light?

[jetfixer]

I would say yes as I got the "x-arc" lights and they were $100 for a pair. The x-arc are not flush mount.

[xpress]

My parts list just keeps expanding  8D
 
 
 

[jetfixer]

You may also want to get the oem turn signal connectors from Custom LED or Motodynamics. They allow simple connection to the existing harness without having to cut wires. Much cleaner and it's makes it much easier to re-install the factory signals later on if you desire.

[xpress]

You may also want to get the oem turn signal connectors from Custom LED or Motodynamics. They allow simple connection to the existing harness without having to cut wires. Much cleaner and it's makes it much easier to re-install the factory signals later on if you desire.

This is what I am trying to go for. I want anything and everything I put on this bike to be bolt on and/or plug and play, I don't want anything that's going to do permanent irreversible damage.