3 weeks into the new bike thoughts

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soccerguy83

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Well I have owned the 2006 FZ1 for almost three weeks now, man how time flies when you’re having fun!

I’m starting to feel much more comfortable on the bike as I get used to it and the vast difference from my old bike, a ’93 XV535. I’m also starting to figure out mods that I would like to make to the bike in order to make it more “my” bike. Some of these mods will be cosmetic, some safety oriented, and some ergonomic. Below is a list of what I think I would like to do to it so far:

Risers something like 1” up 1-1.5” back. I would like a more upright position as I currently feel like I’m reaching for the bars (good thing I didn’t end up going with a 600rr). I want something though that I won’t have to mod all the cables and lines.

Bar ends – The PO took them off for bar end mirrors, thinking I might want something with a bit of weight to knock out a bit of the hand buzz.

Grips or grip covers, the stock grips seem to be a bit too small in diameter. I ride with two fingers covering the break, loose grip and my hand still gets cramps from the diameter of the grip being so small.

One day I might upgrade the seats, not any time soon as they are far better than the xv535.

Get the belly pan painted shift red, I think it would help the overall look of the bike, also might think about getting radiator covers painted shift red as well.

Put LED’s in the Givi V35’s for some extra visibility

Brake light modulator, anyone know of a good one and bonus if it works with the LED’s in the V35’s?

Top bag, same light mods and a back rest for the wife

Would like to add a GPS at some point

Would like com units for the wife and I

Upgraded suspension.

Already have a Leo Vince slip on, PC3, down 1 tooth in the front, spedo healer, touring screen.

Even in the current set up it’s leaps and bounds better than the old bike and so much more comfortable and fun to ride! On the old bike I was starting to get pretty uncomfortable around 1-1.5 hours in, on this one 1 hour is just getting started!! I absolutly LOVE this bike!

Now for the pics! The first two are from when we bought it, the third one is the first night in the garage, the last is a good daylight pic with the bags on it.

photo 5.jpgphoto 8.jpgphoto 6.jpgFZ1.jpg
 
soccerguy83 said:
Well I have owned the 2006 FZ1 for almost three weeks now, man how time flies when you’re having fun!

I’m starting to feel much more comfortable on the bike as I get used to it and the vast difference from my old bike, a ’93 XV535. I’m also starting to figure out mods that I would like to make to the bike in order to make it more “my” bike. Some of these mods will be cosmetic, some safety oriented, and some ergonomic. Below is a list of what I think I would like to do to it so far:

Risers something like 1” up 1-1.5” back. I would like a more upright position as I currently feel like I’m reaching for the bars (good thing I didn’t end up going with a 600rr). I want something though that I won’t have to mod all the cables and lines.

Bar ends – The PO took them off for bar end mirrors, thinking I might want something with a bit of weight to knock out a bit of the hand buzz.

Grips or grip covers, the stock grips seem to be a bit too small in diameter. I ride with two fingers covering the break, loose grip and my hand still gets cramps from the diameter of the grip being so small.

One day I might upgrade the seats, not any time soon as they are far better than the xv535.

Get the belly pan painted shift red, I think it would help the overall look of the bike, also might think about getting radiator covers painted shift red as well.

Put LED’s in the Givi V35’s for some extra visibility

Brake light modulator, anyone know of a good one and bonus if it works with the LED’s in the V35’s?

Top bag, same light mods and a back rest for the wife

Would like to add a GPS at some point

Would like com units for the wife and I

Upgraded suspension.

Already have a Leo Vince slip on, PC3, down 1 tooth in the front, spedo healer, touring screen.

Even in the current set up it’s leaps and bounds better than the old bike and so much more comfortable and fun to ride! On the old bike I was starting to get pretty uncomfortable around 1-1.5 hours in, on this one 1 hour is just getting started!! I absolutly LOVE this bike!

Now for the pics! The first two are from when we bought it, the third one is the first night in the garage, the last is a good daylight pic with the bags on it.

View attachment 20728View attachment 20729View attachment 20730View attachment 20731
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Throttlemeister throttle lock (they have heavy ones too), that way you get nice looking heavy bar ends to help with vibration AND get a throttle lock. californiasporttouring has grip puppies to thicken the stock grips, Corbin is the only seat I know of that has the provisions for a passenger backrest (my wife loved it). Hope that helped! Oh, if you are planning on putting in long days and distances you might want to put the stock front sprocket back on, you lose a lot of the buzz, 1000 rpm's at cruising speed, and better fuel mileage. I lowered my bars and had a short copperdog screen on mine, I prefer clean air hitting my chest as opposed to turbulant air from a tall screen. I wear earplugs for helmet noise and in NO WAY would I ever want a communication device in my helmet. I like hearing the bike noise over her voice...........just saying. LOL.
And one of these, they REALLY help keep the wife off of you. I put one on every bike I own. Best $20.00 purchase you can make if your riding 2 up.Yamaha FZ1S Fazer 06 12 Triboseat Grippy Touring Seat Cover Accessory | eBay

**EDIT** You have a nice looking bike and a nice looking wife, congrats on both!
 
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Thanks for all the advice, I'll look into the throttlemeisters. I have the stock front sproket and will look at putting it back on maybe. I'm not sure how the extra tooth would help with the buzz. I do also have the stock screen and may play around with that as well. As far as the coms, the wife doesn't talk too much haha and it would be nice to have music on longer rides.

Thanks for the complements on the wife and bike, I'm a lucky guy.

delbert- I wanted blue, but the deal was too good to pass up on this one!
 
If you plan on touring get a top box and she can use the top box as a rest. That way you can have your choices of seats. Lots complain of Corbin's being too firm. A cost effective seat would be Seat Concepts. They make a very comfy seat at around $150. Throttlemeisters are very nice but are expensive.
 
I got the Throttlemeister Heavy last year when I was suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome and it really helped take the load off my hand. Since then over the winter I had the release surgery done and now hardly ever use the Throttlemeister except for the occasional break to give my right hand a rest. The heavy weight does help dampen handlebar buzz.

I used tennis racquet padded grip tape to increase the comfort of the grips. It's cheap ($5-7) sweatproof, stays in place and you can play with adding or subtracting layers for that "custom" grip. I used Slazenger but there are other brands that work as well.

I found Radians moldable ear plugs extremely efficient in reducing the wind noise, so efficient that it reduces all sound around 25-30db. I drilled a very tiny channel through them and now they are almost perfect. Molded to fit exactly in the ear, stays in place, easy to clean, easy to remove and did I mention affordable bewtween $15-20 at most well equipped sports shop catering to shooting and hunting.
 
I've used a Throttlemeister on my old FJR1300 and it was good as a pure cruise control, but not very good at relieving wrist pressure needed to modulate the right twist grip during operation. For that a $12 Crampbuster is the solution, it is easy to mount and deploy, and relieves the tension in the wrist muscles needed to grip and twist the throttle. In traffic it is easy to just rotate out of the way.
 
You must be younger. I wear earplugs every time I ride (the bike and sled) over 25 years of aircraft maintenance hasn't helped. Whether you think so or not, that helmet noise isn't doing you any good.
 
Nope not really young, 31, but I did mess up my hearing at a younger age therfore it hasn't ever seemed overly loud to me. Interesting article and will take it into consideration.
 
Believe it. Hearing loss isn't immediately obvious, it sneaks up on you before you realize it.

I have always worn ear protection in noisey environments and still have some loss (mostly age attributed, I'm 64). My younger brother loved going to rock concersts and today he has hearing aids in both ears.
 
I'm 45, have some hearing loss, and constant ringing in my ears to the point of not sleeping at night if I ride longer distances without them. Consider wearing them, you won't regret it later. I just use the soft disposable ones from work, I am sure they are available to buy somewhere. I stay away from the foam ones though, give me a headache after a while for some reason. I keep an aspirin bottle full of them under my seat all the time in case I lose one at a stop, etc.
 
It may not bother you now, but your hearing is being degraded. Eventually you'll be going 'Huh?' when people talk to you. I will not ride without foam earplugs and a full face helmet. I have been riding for 38 years and am also an audiophile who enjoys good sound recordings and I can say my hearing is still excellent. Take care of your hearing NOW so you will still have it down the road.
 
Hey Brian! Glad to hear the bike is working out for you.

Since you're riding two-up a lot, I'd consider suspension over any other mod at this point. I nice Penske 8983 with the remote reservoir would be ideal and allow you to immediately adjust for just you or two. As for seats, no one makes a seat "set" that will work for the two of you. But, Dirt Road Eddie will make them ANY way you want for a reasonable price by changing material, foam, shape, height, etc... Most of the other stuff is easy. The best money you can spend on performance will be a Power Commander V and Ivan's ECU flash. He can make a package deal and it would come pre-loaded with his latest custom map.

Good luck and ride safe! Keep the pics coming!
 
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