Gone Naked.

[CheGuevara]

Just thought I'd post up the latest changes. It started originally like this (ignore my wife's Mx helmet -her road lid hand't arrived when that pic was taken):



And has now gone naked :w00t:







That's the headlight off of a V-Rod, and the silver bucket will be painted black. The brackets are a first quick effort to test overall fit - I'll be remaking them a bit tidier, and also moving them a little bit lower down the forks. I also still need to sort out the wiring, and figure out if I want to re-install the stock gauges, or maybe a TrailTech.

GSXR rear wheel is next...

Nice job. Yeah definitely down and in a bit. Where'd ya pick it up/was it pricey by the way? Tis a nice alternative to the round bucket.

Nice. If you're painting the bucket of the light unit black, get the bottom yoke done black too, then it'll look great

[CheGuevara]

Originally Posted by Sean_C

get the bottom yoke done black too, then it'll look great

Yeah I thought so too, but being a bit lazy I'll probably wait till winter when the bike's off the road.

[CheGuevara]

Originally Posted by noob-saibot

Nice job. Yeah definitely down and in a bit. Where'd ya pick it up/was it pricey by the way? Tis a nice alternative to the round bucket.

I bought the reflector/lens unit for £35 off ebay, waited for a bit to find the bucket but no joy so bit the bullet and ordered it from the dealer: £40 worht of plastic. I still need to buy an H9 & H11 bulb, plus the respective connectors to splice into the loom.

Originally Posted by CheGuevara

I bought the reflector/lens unit for £35 off ebay, waited for a bit to find the bucket but no joy so bit the bullet and ordered it from the dealer: £40 worht of plastic. I still need to buy an H9 & H11 bulb, plus the respective connectors to splice into the loom.

Nice, usable light though so worth the £75! Have thought about it as i reckon it would look well on a curvy but they're shocking expensive new

Out of interest why did you do it?

[DarrenSV650S]

Big improvement. Looking great

[CheGuevara]

Originally Posted by teriyakimonkey

Out of interest why did you do it?

1) I wanted a naked for a change, and I can't leave well enough alone

2) I don't need the wind/weather protection of the fairing - I ride it to work on sunny days, and the backroads on sunny weekends.

3) It's a bit different sensation without the fairing. You're more exposed and perhaps connected to what's around you - a greater sensation of speed maybe and seemingly more exciting at lower relative speeds. 75mph feels plenty fast, which is good for my licence: Having owned several fast sportbikes over 20+ years of riding in Canada, I've suffered many bans, countless points, thousands in fines, and one arrest (250kph+ police "chase" -but who's looking in the mirrors at those speeds) -so I'm eager to keep my licence clean in the UK, and happy to do what it takes to get my kicks at lower speeds - which is what attracted me to supermoto (cheap track time) and the SV650.

4) It's now much less of a change in riding position between this and my supermoto. In fact I'm now tempted to try and start backing it in (maybe not a good idea granted ). It also wheelies quite easily with the riser bars. These are activities I restrict to isolated backroads, in keeping with the clean-licence theme.

5) I think it looks good. With the riser bars and fairing it was looking a bit like an FZ6 (testosterone-lite). Was out riding yesterday with a buddy on an RSV who wasn't sure when he saw the pics, but warmed up to it in person, and actually thought it looked quite "menacing" coming up from behind. On the flipside my wife (who knows little about bikes) is not that fond of it and thinks it looks like "...one of those Sons of Anarchy bikes. If you wanted one of those why didn't you just get one in the first place?"

6) Did I mention I can't leave well enough alone? I like to modify/tweak/customise things. It gives me an excuse to putter around the garage and justifies spending money on tools. Before I left Canada I managed to shoehorn a bored out XR650 motor into a '92/'01 TZ250 chassis. It was a fun project, but my garage here is small and without power so I'm consigned to bolting bits on (or off as the case may be).

ive just done the very same thing to my k4, for the exact same reasons...really enjoying riding it now!!..and looks great i reckon