As I get closer to trading of my beloved '08 C14 I am left wondering what else I could've done to make her better for me. IOW, what would I do differant and what else would I do if I had the kinda change Zg (Jay) has/had
I'll tackle ergos first,
The seat had to go so I went with the Corbin, non heated. Still love it and SWMBO is happy as well.
Shield, after coming off of an 1150RT I needed more protection so I went with a Cee Baileys Euro cut, it did the trick, but as things progressed I found myself using the stocker, even more so after painting the inside. Knowing what I know now I woulda saved some change and been happy with the stock '08 shield.
Baker Hand wings, I still think of this as the #1 farkle on the bike, combine these with the el cheapo Trackside heated grip elements and I ride in the low 30's with uninsulated gloves.
LSL bars and risers. What a differance these make and worth every penny.
Throttlemeister manual CC. Swapped over from the RT. I'll be pulling this when she goes.
Grips, no particular brand, just skinny and sticky.
Zumo 550 hooked up to an Autocom ProV1 and the XM satellite antenna. These 3 items will be pulled before transfer.
Shad 46, love this box, never leaked, always stayed in place.
Safety/conspicuity items.
Hyper lights-awesome customer service as I have burned 3 sets (not the entire set, just individual leds) out and always a new set in the mail.
Hyper whites, same deal and the #1 conspicuity item. Mounted inside the gap between the mirrors and body angled inward to create a crossing pattern so I get everyones attention, set on modulate. I will be installing these on both the GS and my soon new to me KTM350 EXC. (The Hyper lights are a big distraction on the trail for riders following)
Realtime Industries retroreflective bag decals (A HUGE THANK YOU to Jay for these) Talk about adding visibility at night? If you don't have these get some.
What did I do to improve her looks?
I cut the tail flap off at the bottom of the plate, painted the shield, and diligently washed her at least once a year. She came stock with the finest and fastest color SILVERDAMMIT so there was little room for improvement there.
I'd add in the AreaP pipe but that was as much for performance as anything else.
Performance mods.
I really, really, really wanted a turbo. After the ZX14 throttle bodies I decided I found a happy place powerwise, combined with the PCV, Autotune, and full AreaP I have the ultimate natually aspirated sleeper bike. Pulls like a freight train one up, two up, and fully loaded. I still maintain 42mpg when I'm riding within posted speed limits, get 44s 2 up, and mid 20's when I'm doing an Advanced Street Skills (ASS) class (Pacific Raceways). I have burned out one 02 sensor, but other than that? FWIW, I did the bobbed can at first, looked better and had a nice mellow sound, but nothing aprecciable in regards to power. And yes, I pulled the flies early on. By far the cheapest performance gain on the market. IMO she runs rich enough to just pull the flies and skip the Power Commander (others have and I have seen no reported harm in doing so).
EBC rotors and pads, I wore the stock rotors out (after several ASS days). I have run Carbonne Loraines which took forever to set and didn't last long, then onto the much toted Galfer HHs. I was a tad dissapointed with them, just didn't seem as good as advertised. When I did the rotor swap (Thanks to Brian who pointed out just how bad they were) I went with the EBCs, I love em, see no reason for anything else. They haul the bike down in a very predictable fashion, wet or dry.
Tires, probably should be listed first, but that is such a debate. I will share my impressions. The PR2s are a great tire and so much better than the stock 'Stones. My third set was the old Pirelli STs, Even better. Then the Angels came out, better yet, so much so I ran through 2 sets and the third being the 55 profile Angels. Never tried the PR3s (probably the only great advice I ignored from this forum) so I can't weigh in on them.
What would I add if I were keeping the bike and the only thing I havent done?
Suspension.....I would use Racetech, not because they are superior to Ohlins but because I get a heck of a discount from them.
So there you have it. Only 54,000 miles and barely broke in.
Share what ya have and feel free to ask for more details.
