Here's a post from the old board about my impressions of my 2010 C14 vs my 2005 Gold Wing which I put 163K on. It was originally posted in The Bike forum but since this post was mostly about the accessories I added I thought it might be more appropriate here.
Revised to add back product linksIt's been a bit over two months since I picked up my 2010 C14 ABS. Wow! What a bike!
I've put 10K on it. Got thru the first 1000 in five days with local rides and took off for six days to Big Bend (1,700 mi). In addition I ran out to Jacksonville, FL to attend the IBA's annual dinner and do a Saddlesore 1000 (2900), did a four day Central Texas ride about (1,200) and an overnighter to the Texas Hill Country (700).
It took a while but I'm now quite comfortable with the riding position - though my butt gets sore after 500 miles or so on the Sargent low seat but I'm able to touch the ground nearly flat footed; and my knees ache after a few hundred. I'd love to get a Day Long seat but don't have the inseam. I did not add any risers. I considered lowering the pegs but don't want to do that as I don't want to give up ground clearance. I also will not lower the bike. I don't want to alter the handling.
It's been difficult to get back on my beloved Wing. I've only ridden it 600 miles since I got it back from the dealer for the alternator warranty replacement. It used to feel like a Cadillac STS - luxury with performance. Now it feels like a 46 GMC pick up truck by comparison. The Connie's acceleration and braking (OMG it brakes well) are amazing and in a class way beyond the Wing; though the Wing still has it beat on comfort.
Note on the brakes: My best friend, a fellow Wing rider, rode it - following me. As usual he rode me too tight and when I decided to make a turn at the last minute he grabbed the front brake like he does on his Wing. (I'd warned him about being smooth on the throttle but didn't mention the brakes.) I'm convinced that but for the ABS he'd have tucked the front wheel and crashed. As it was the ABS kicked in and slowed him quickly.
Farkles
I added a
throttlemeister (purchased from MCLarry) and like it after I got it properly adjusted. I had to remove the rubber insert. With it the throttle wouldn't completely close - even with the bar end removed.
I added a pair of
reservoir covers with dual RAM mount points from MCLarry but only use one on the right for my radar detector. I thought I'd mount the SPOT on the left one but have been putting it in my clothes bag on the tail or in my tank bag.
I put my Escort 8500 X50 in a
Radar Box from LegalSpeeding along with the transmitter for their
H.A.R.D. unit. I also have a
Visual Alert from MarcParnes with a 90 degree adapter. I have the newer model HARD receiver which is water proof, or at least water agnostic, and uses four AAA batteries. The first set of batteries lasted a bit over a month and I replaced them with 8X Lithium batteries. I'm good about turning it off at stops and I always check it's on and working but putting on my helmet before turning on the ignition which powers up the Passport. I highly recommend the HARD. This is the third bike I've used it on and it works well and I've had no problems with battery life - even with the older style receiver that used 2 CR-2032 batteries - though that one was not waterproof.
I was less enamored of the Visual Alert. Because it's driven from the speaker jack it blinks initially but not for long it is easy to miss. But then a friend pointed out the 8500 is by default set to auto mute the speaker and can be changed in the settings. Once I changed that the Visual Alert works great. I originally ordered the straight connector then realized I needed a 90 degree to work in the Radar Box. I wrote Marc, he replied in hours and told me to send it in. He changed it for free and I had it back in six days (he's in California, I'm in Texas). A kudo to Marc Parnes.
The radar box has two minor faults: You have to open the box to disconnect the power cord so you can remove the box from the bike. I'm heading up to Gettysburg later this month and will go thru Virginia. Radar detectors are illegal there and I plan to disconnect the power or remove the box and put it in my clothes bag. I'd like to see an RJ-11 socket on the bottom of the unit. I may make an RJ-11 extension cable - plug on one end, socket on the other - to bring the power connection out of the box. The other fault is the screws. It has four plastic thumb screws. I was paranoid about dropping & loosing one of them on a road trip. I wrote LegalSpeeding and they sent eight extras - at no charge. (Thanks, Aaron!) I put them in my tank bag - problem solved.
I got a
Tourmaster TB-12 Nylon Tank Bag. It's quite functional except it's not waterproof, even with the rain cover on and the map pocket is a bit too narrow.
Being paranoid of dropping the bike (a $1000 oopsie) i put on a set of
MC Enterprises Crash Guards - powder coated black with the small rear guard. I can testify they will protect the bike in a tip over. One caution - the tip over kill switch will not activate with these on and the rear tire is still in contact with the ground. If there is any throttle on - say because the throttlemeister is not properly adjusted - the bike will continue to move in a tip over.
My Zumo 550 GPS is mounted on a
TechMount C14 Center Mount [TM-100] I got from Murph's Kits. The GXM30 XM antenna is on a
Antenna Adapter Plate (RAM-344U) i got from TexasCycleChrome.com. The TechMount if very cool looking but is not functionally any different than using a
Top Clamp Mount Base, M8 from RAM-Mount. Major bitch about the TechMount - There are five or six screws including two that are hidden when the unit is assembled and none had any thread lock - and both the hidden screws worked loose - not a surprise given the high frequency vibration on on the steering stem. Of course they worked loose on separate road trips. Grrr!! I added loctite to all the screws and have not had an issue in the 7,000 miles since.
I installed the
Cox RacingGroup titanium radiator guard using
Fred Harmon's method of using two washers to make removal easier. For me the install was a bitch. Functionally I have no clue as to which of the several out there is better. I went with this one because Fred did.
Saddle bag liners: For my Big Bend ride I a friend loaned me his Kawasaki bags. I didn't care for them as they were too stiff and seemed to have too little storage. So I bought the
Cee Bailey Bag Liners from MCLarry. But I'm not fond of them. They are thin and fold up which I discovered I like less than the Kawasaki ones that hold their shape; I can't tell which one is left and which is right; and it's very easy to over pack. I notice that MCLarry web page for
these is a dead link. I'll probably sell the Cee Bailey ones and try something else.
Muzzy's fender eliminator: I never opened or installed this. After I got it I realized eliminating the fender, when I ride in all weather and for some long distances, would not be a good idea. Anyone want one? I'll sell it for $60 shipped - still in the packaging. I paid $71 shipped.
Electrical Items
I had my dealer install the following electrical items:
A
FuzeBlock FZ-1 from Fuzeblocks.com to the rear of and just to the right of the tool compartment under the seat. It's fed by a fused 12 gauge wire directly from the battery. They tied into the brake light for the trigger.
Also tied directly to the battery is an SAE connector for my battery tender.
From the FuzeBlock they ran a switched line to my Passport 8500 and an always on line to my Zumo 550.
They tapped into the 12 gauge wire from the battery to the FuzeBlock to run a fused cable to the front of the seat for my Gerbings heated clothing controller.
Finally, I had them add a Powerlet socket to the left side of the fairing to mirror the cigarette lighter socket on the right. Before I had the dedicated power line run to the Zumo, I used it to power my Zumo 550 using a
Garmin Zumo Std Powerlet Cable I picked up from Texas Cycle Chrome
This has all worked flawlessly.
