Anything to do with motorcycles, scooter, etc...

[MadPlumbarian]

Hey JR,

When I saw that second pic I thought you were all in reverse!!! I may not be the sharpest tool, how will the drive train work with the gears in the back? Are you doing a multi-chain setup?

Being orange some KTM decals will look nice on it.

Pete

Multi chain? No, just one very long one from the back where it can switch gears, to the next modification that’s getting mounted to the front, the peddles!
I was thinking painting it a matte black but with certain parts red..
JR

[Chako]

The weather broke today, and it called for a short trip to make sure everything is in order. I was out for a little over an hour.

Me being happy that all is working great. When I took the bike out of winter storage, I found a lot of maple seeds around the motor. It took a bit of time to clean all of that out with a water sprayer. So I wasn't exactly sure if all was in order. The new battery worked great!

20200613_100342A by Chako, on Flickr

Even wore a G-Shock for the occasion.

20200613_100552A by Chako, on Flickr


And some 2020 shots of the ride.

20200613_100210A by Chako, on Flickr

20200613_100229A by Chako, on Flickr

[Wspeed]

Glad to hear that your bike is working properly Chako

[Dutch_Tooler]

Thanks

Are you doing fancy stitching too? I'm interested in custom seats, although I can sit on the stock GSA seat all day long. The R9T is not that good, similar to your experience by the sounds of it. My seat stitching forms a ridge that becomes uncomfortable after a few hours. And being my daily ride, I spend at least two hours on it every day. I'll be interested to hear how you like yours.

Cheers, Pete

Hey Pete,

I'm keeping the stitching as close as possible to the stock seat, which does include transversal strips and stitch lines on the seating area for a little bit of extra fore-and-aft friction, but nothing too fancy, in line with the bike's classic character. Same to moulding to my bum, only a smallish dip and a small ridge in the back, nothing extravagant like for instance the (probably very comfortable but slightly 'overdesigned') Corbin Gunfighter and Lady seat for the V7. That thinking is still subject to possible amendments - the guy offered to do the foam base upholstery first for a test seating as an intermediate step. Pity is, he's popular around here and won't have time to start until early August. Oh well...

@Chako -  the bike!

[Chako]

Thanks. Hard to believe we have been together for 10 years now.

[pietervn]

Hey Pete,

I'm keeping the stitching as close as possible to the stock seat, which does include transversal strips and stitch lines on the seating area for a little bit of extra fore-and-aft friction, but nothing too fancy, in line with the bike's classic character. Same to moulding to my bum, only a smallish dip and a small ridge in the back, nothing extravagant like for instance the (probably very comfortable but slightly 'overdesigned'). That thinking is still subject to possible amendments - the guy offered to do the foam base upholstery first for a test seating as an intermediate step. Pity is, he's popular around here and won't have time to start until early August. Oh well...

That is a looooong wait. Please post pics and opinion once you get it.

[pietervn]

Thanks. Hard to believe we have been together for 10 years now.

Congrats!!! That is something Tin or Alu IIRC 

I had a chance of riding a mate of mine's one, and really liked it. It was super comfortable, but heavy!!!

Pete

[pfrsantos]

The weather broke today, and it called for a short trip to make sure everything is in order. I was out for a little over an hour.

Me being happy that all is working great. When I took the bike out of winter storage, I found a lot of maple seeds around the motor. It took a bit of time to clean all of that out with a water sprayer. So I wasn't exactly sure if all was in order. The new battery worked great!

20200613_100342A by Chako, on Flickr

Even wore a G-Shock for the occasion.

20200613_100552A by Chako, on Flickr


And some 2020 shots of the ride.

20200613_100210A by Chako, on Flickr

20200613_100229A by Chako, on Flickr

That's a gorgeous ride!

 

So, knowing you... Let's see the other 4 or 5 you got, in different colours.

 


 

[gregozedobe]

So, knowing you... Let's see the other 4 or 5 you got, in different colours.

Do you mean bikes, or watches (or both ! ) ?       

[Chako]

Only the one bike. I have added everything to it though except for one thing. I would like to move the right side brake pedal forward. I have a hard time placing my big foot under that pedal, and I think if I ever had to use it in an emergency, I would have to contort myself to use it as it is too close to me. That will be something I do down the road though.

Here is a list of what I did to it thus far.

1. Added a Mustang seat with back rest. The original seat was not comfortable for long rides, and I almost fell of the back end once hitting a surprise bump. That seat not only adds comfort, but a lot of safety. I removed the extra passenger seat and replaced it with a chrome rack. I actually have two sets of passenger seats...when I bought the Mustang seat, I was uncertain if I would want to put the rear seat back on, so I also got the related rear passenger seat which is larger than the stock model.
2. Added a pair of hard saddle bags with extra chrome on the lids and side.
3. Added a Memphis Shades removable bat-wing fairing along with 3 accessory pouches for added storage.
4. Added two extra headlights along with chrome visors on all the headlamps. I have it so that everything goes on when I use my brights.
5. Did a stage 1 performance upgrade with a 2 in 1 Cobra exhaust, bigger and improved air system, along with the increased fuel metering system. I did this because I was not all that happy with the 6th gear on the highway. Now it has plenty of power on the top gear to pass and cruise at speeds with less vibration and noise.
6. Oil filter upgrade kit. The Achilles heel of the V-Star 1100 Classic is the need to remove the exhaust system to get to the Oil filter. The kit moves the oil filter to the front of the motorcycle.
7. Changed all the cables to stainless steel upgraded ones.
8. Handlebar riser that moves the handlebars higher and more towards the rider. I didn't like that I had to reach to the handlebars. Now they are right where they should be.
9. Changed the handle grips to something more flashy, along with a palm throttle aid, and a mechanical cruise control device.
10. upgraded the licence plate holder to one with a built in helmet lock.
11. Added a tank bib with pocket.
12. various odds and ends that are chromed...such as the oil reservoir cover, along with the battery cover/tool cover, etc...
13. Added a GPS and cup holder to the handlebars.
14. upgraded the rear view mirrors as well.

That is all I can think off...mind you I may be missing some other details. Most of that happened within the first 5 years of ownership. I still would like to change that rear brake peddle to fit me better...

[Dutch_Tooler]

Wow Chako, that is sone customising you've done
I only did about half as much on my previous bike in 18 years and so far very little on the new one, except the lights, panniers (saddlebags) and the small windscreen.

[Chako]

I like comfort.   

[pietervn]

I like comfort.

 

With all those additions, I am hardly surprised.

[pietervn]

G'Day,

Another great day in Sydney today, so out for a ride we went. Three mates, two beemers and a zuuk thing. A lot of the food places are still closed or trading limited hours, so we packed our own food and coffee.

The ride was a tad over 400 kms and we had three comfort stops. This is the last ride for me for the next two weeks until my holidays start.

The GSA is getting a oil leak fixed tomorrow and then I'll get it ready for a two day trip with the boy-child. We are going to a town called Parks so see the big satellite dish, made famous in the movie "The Dish". I'll do a write-up of that when we get back.

Pics of today's ride.

Cheers, Pete

[Chako]

Looks like a lot of fun.

Now to visit Australia...that would be something. 

[pfrsantos]

Do you mean bikes, or watches (or both ! ) ?       

I meant the bikes, we awlready saw some of the watches.

 

[pietervn]

Looks like a lot of fun.

Now to visit Australia...that would be something

I will be happy to host you in Sydney and go for some good rides. This country is made to be ridden.

[Chako]

That is very generous. 

I would love to go to Australia, but I do not travel well.

[Wspeed]

I wouldn’t even be aloud in most countries 

[pfrsantos]

I wouldn’t even be aloud in most countries 

Well, you could whisper...

 

 

[Wspeed]

 

[TazzieRob]

Well, you could whisper...

 

 

Yeah, we don't want anyone ruining the Serenity around here

[pfrsantos]

Yeah, we don't want anyone ruining the Serenity around here

Yeah, serenity...

[pietervn]

G'Day,

Yes, another ride report!!! I love holidays and good weather.

Our virus restrictions are being relaxed, so our usual Friday morning breakfast ride to a small town called Wollombi has started again. We have a ride every Friday, for a group of mates, some are retired and some of us are shift workers. The ride is always on, but the number of riders vary. Yesterday was three of us. Two on Beemers and one Zuuk. The start was quite fresh and as we started climbing, it got fresher. The roads were good with the occasional damp spot in the shade. We started an hour later than normal due to me having to see the watchmaker. This made it a little easier for Kevin on the old R65 LS. He has no heated grips and no screen either. Winter riding sure tests him on it. Breakfast was good so was the ride back. There were lots of bikes out too. It is good to see the money starting to get back into the hospitality section.

Pics, not to exciting though...

Pete

[pietervn]

G'Day,

Today we had another interesting ride. Two of us went to a small town called Berrima in the Southern Highlands. and yes, the highlands does make the temps drop 

We left early out of Sydney and had to slab it for 60km to get to the good roads. I mapped a mixture of dirt and squiggly stuff, and we had to pay attention all the way. The advantage of the out of way roads are that they are nice and quiet, something not always possible of weekends. We are fortunate to be able to ride all year around, so weekend days are full of bikes. Our aim was to go and have a smoked brisket burger at a motorcycle friendly cafe called Schmokin’ Cafe. The owners are bikers and have created a fantastic little cafe with bike stuff inside, and bikes outside. It felt like walking into an old friends' house. The coffee was really good and the burger, well EXCELLENT. I will have to take the boy-child there for a meal. I recon that the will be getting a lot of my hard earned $$$ 

They are an agent for MUTT motorcycles which originated in the UK. They build small custom bikes on a 250cc Suzuki GN platform. The bikes are good looking and sure sounds excellent!!! Inside was some bike jackets and gloves, more aimed at the custom cafe racer market.

All in all a very nice day. The pics are of the cafe and some surrounds in Berrima.

Cheers, 'till next weeks' ride

Pete

[pietervn]

And some of Berrima

[pietervn]

And some more of Berrima

[Wspeed]

Excellent pics pietervn looks
like you have had a great day 

[Dutch_Tooler]

 

[pietervn]

G'Day,

Once again Sydney dished up a fantastic day. A little fog to start off, but it turned out to be a cracker of a day.

Three of us set off into the Blue Mountains. Our goal was to go and see one of the look-outs on Lake Burragorang, one of the feeding lakes for the water supply of greater Sydney. We started with a fantastic breakfast and coffee in Lithgow and then made our way over the little mountain to get to the Blue Mountains via a very exciting and twisty road. The earlier fog made for some "moments" in the corners, we had to contain the throttle excitement. I took the R9T for a run today as it has been missing out on all the excitement. Well, I had a blast!!!

Once the sun came out and the roads dried, there was lots of fun to be had. We stopped off at a camp shop in Katoomba to get a strap for my back pack and one of the other blokes got a sleeping bad liner. Then we set off to the look-out...

We only got 1/2 way in and got stopped by road workers. They have been working since the fires and floods ceased to repair the roads. There was still 3km left and we were not allowed to carry on. We have to come back in a month's time once it is all fixed. But, being in the mountains there are plenty look-outs. 'Ol mate picked another one and off we went to Springwood to have out lunch sitting on the rocks overlooking the valley and adjacent hills. It was really nice. There were nobody else and no artificial noises at all. Plenty birds and insects to be heard. We spent a good hour there before making our way home.

This was a really good day out, in spite of not getting to where we wanted to be. But that is part of the adventure!!! We will go back to the look-out once the road is passable.

And now for the pics,

Cheers, Pete