BDazzling mods

BDazzler

BDazzler

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I guess this is starting as more of an un-mod thread, but my '07 came with aftermarket handlebars from the previous owner. I've finally decided I don't like them and would prefer the stock setup, not just because of the bars alone, but also due to how the bars will hit larger windshields because they are a little higher and quite a bit wider than stock.

Eric (Cobalt) steered me to PartShark for the stock bars at a great price (thanks). I was going to swap them on Easter afternoon, but I realized the aftermarket bars have the smooth bore ends and the bar end weights are have the rubber compression stopper and won't work on the stock bars with the threaded ends. :(

I have ordered the stock bar ends now, also from PartShark, but I would be willing to entertain other bar ends if anyone has any suggestions. Should I look for heavier weighted ones to help with vibration? Maybe some bar end sliders? A bar end that works as a cheap cruise control? I guess I'm not totally sure what's out there.

I hope to have the bar ends before this weekend and do the swap on Friday. I know this is a very simple switch, but I might take a few pics and do a short write up on it, just for giggles. Also, if anyone is interested in my old bars or bar ends, I might sell them cheap. I'm not even sure they are worth much and I don't know what a reasonable price would be, but I'll put up a price if anyone is interested.

I've seen many threads on best windshields for the Gen II FZ1. I'm looking for a shield too. I'm currently thinking about the Zero Gravity Double Bubble in (light) smoke. I think Gary had the ZG DB on his Gen I that he allowed me to ride. I really liked it, but I'm not sure how the Gen I screen compares to the Gen II version.

If anyone has a pic of this shield on a Gen II, I'd love to see it (especially a cobalt blue bike). Any thoughts on the dark smoke? How dark is it? If I'm planning on shooting video through it later, should I get the clear? How about the touring screens (large ones for long trips?) I was considering the V-Stream. Again, not sure. I have a giant Rifle screen from the PO, but it kinda ugly. The PO also had to cut out small sections in the side for the non-stock bars. You can see this in my sig pic and the above link to another shield thread. (note to self: I need a new sig pic) I get the impression that the PO would have preferred an FJR. :ugh:
 
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I used to have a ZG double bubble in dark smoke and you will not be able to shoot video through the dark tint. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of it on the bike. I am about 6'-1" and I found the screen directed air right to my neck and created the bobble head effect, was not a big fan of it.
 
spn4125 said:
I used to have a ZG double bubble in dark smoke and you will not be able to shoot video through the dark tint. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of it on the bike. I am about 6'-1" and I found the screen directed air right to my neck and created the bobble head effect, was not a big fan of it.
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Thanks. I didn't think I could shoot video through the dark smoke, but I'm happy to know for sure. I guess I could always put the stock clear back on for that if I had to. I'm hoping the light smoke would work. I'm 5'11 so maybe a couple of inches would make it better. Thanks for your input. Any screens you would recommend?
 
Cobalt said:
Troy, nice to know the stock bars will be installed. Never gave thought to the bar ends... :eek5: ;)

The Throttlemeister ones are pricey but fit all your needs... heavy for anti-vibration, rugged to act as a slider (if the bar doesn't bend) and is a full complement cruise control.

Not heavy but cheaply priced? Graves Yamaha FZ1 Bar Ends from SportbikeTrackGear.com
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Yeah, I thought about it, but not enough to go check. I had twisted them before and just assumed they were threaded. Well, I assumed wrong. When I took them out, I discovered I was just spinning the screw that pinched the rubber to make it expand in the smooth inside of the bar :retard: Oh well. I hope the stock ones come in pairs. It was around $28 for 1 unit of bar ends, which seems reasonable, but if I only get 1 bar end, I'll be very disappointed. I look into the Throttlemeister ends too. Thanks again, Eric.

I'll let Gary ride my bike again with the stock bars. He said he'd never ridden a Gen II before mine, and those really wide, raised bars don't give a true test. (I just recently rode a Gen II with stock bars!)
 
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I had the ZG double bubble in dark smoke on my bike at one point. You will certainly not see through it to shoot video and I think clear would be your only option for video. Personally I never really liked the way it looked on the bike or the buffeting at highway speeds. The double bubble design on such an upright screen always looked "odd" to me. Much happier with my MR screen :D

By the way here's some pics of the screen on the faster red color ;)

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BDazzler said:
Thanks. I didn't think I could shoot video through the dark smoke, but I'm happy to know for sure. I guess I could always put the stock clear back on for that if I had to. I'm hoping the light smoke would work. I'm 5'11 so maybe a couple of inches would make it better. Thanks for your input. Any screens you would recommend?
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Sorry I don't have a lot of input on screens as I went from stock to the ZG DB, to a copperdawg.
 
BDazzler said:
I hope the stock ones come in pairs. It was around $28 for 1 unit of bar ends, which seems reasonable, but if I only get 1 bar end, I'll be very disappointed. I look into the Throttlemeister ends too. Thanks again, Eric.
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No problem! I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that price is per bar end. When ordering from the microfiche, you need to enter the quantity required from column 4 labeled #REQ at the top. :( So, you need to order another one. Other thing is send a PM to Norm because he has the Throttlemeister kit and might still have his stock bar ends?

-Eric
 
NJFZ1 said:
I had the ZG double bubble in dark smoke on my bike at one point. You will certainly not see through it to shoot video and I think clear would be your only option for video. Personally I never really liked the way it looked on the bike or the buffeting at highway speeds. The double bubble design on such an upright screen always looked "odd" to me. Much happier with my MR screen :D

By the way here's some pics of the screen on the faster red color ;)

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Faster than black or silver maybe, just not the blue. ;)

I know what you mean about the looks of the DB. I really liked the ZG DB on Gary's (formerly Billy's) Gen 1, and i was hoping the Gen 2 version was just as good. I'm considering the MR also. I'm trying to go sorta cheap on some items so I can get a rear shock. Then maybe I'll look at some performance upgrades.

Thanks for your input.


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OK, I bit the bullet and jumped in with both feet. I'm trusting Zero Gravity to make a good screen. I have a Double Bubble and a Sport Touring screen, both in smoke, coming for the FZ1. (I'm still not sure I'll love the DB, but it was worth a try for the price I found.) Pictures next week, assuming they come in in time.

I also got a ZG DB in dark smoke for my wife's '09 black Ninja 250r. It's a surprise, so I hope she likes it. It should look really sharp in dark smoke with the black metallic bike. She has black aftermarket levers with titanium adjusters, a black tank pad, CF frame sliders, a lowering kit, an aluminum adjustable kickstand (I wanted black, but they were out when I ordered and I needed it right then), and the rear seat cowl as she won't ride with a passenger. I think the dark smoke screen will add to the bike and maybe give better wind protection. She might need a Corbin seat, but we'll see how soon she wants to move up to a Ninja 650.

I'm still waiting on bar ends before I put on my new, stock bars. I was always afraid to order a new windshield with the old bars because I was afraid they might hit the shield. I should have some time to get this all done next week if the parts get here as soon as I hope. I know the FZ1 DB was coming from IN, so that's not far. The Ninja DB and FZ1 sport touring screens are coming from SC, but I still expect them in the week.

Now I just need some money for the rear shock and the fork parts, a trailer and a trip to NH to...
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Come on up Troy! We'll Git R' Dun! :D Funny that I actually have the two smaller signs you posted! :D Now I need to find the "Break Fluid" Coffee cups!

I had the Puig DB on the FZ6 and liked it but now I'm a fan of this full blast of clean air naked feel on the faired bike. ;)
 
I received my Zero Gravity Double Bubble in smoke (not dark smoke) and installed it.

I can't get the pics to link here, so I'll just throw up a link to the "What did you do to your FZ today" post that already has the pics.

I did get a chance to take it out for a few minutes. For reference, I don't have the stock bars on yet and the taller, wider bars don't hit the shield, but come close. I am 5'11 with a 29-30 in inseam (short legs, taller torso) and am 300+ lbs right now. The stock shield (with the previous owner's aftermarket bars) would throw the wind at my neck and cause my helmet to lift and shake my head at 100+ mph.

As far as the ZG DB goes, it's not perfect, but it does shoot the wind up to my helmet and doesn't cause too much buffeting. If I do a slight tuck at 100+, I'm good. I only took it up to 130, but that was fine for today. I'm hoping the stock bars will bring me down just enough to keep it calm all the time. I know there are better shields out there, but I'll give this one a chance for a while.

I did confirm that this shield will kill bugs as well or better than the stock shield. :tup: I'm hoping my ZG sport touring smoke and the little Ninja's ZG DB dark smoke come before the weekend. The bar ends would be nice too... :waiting:
 
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I installed my Zero Gravity Sport Touring screen about a week ago, but really didn't get much chance to test it. I've had my 'stock' bars from PartShark.com for about a month now, but I ran into a problem with the bar ends from PartShark.com. In all fairness, as it turns out, it wasn't really PartShark's issue, but they were great in helping me fix it (I think. I'll have to further review my PayPal account to be sure the charges are all right.)

Some of this is a rehash of earlier in the thread, but I'm starting from the beginning anyway:
OK, here goes the story. I was excited about going to a stock handle bar for the first time since I owned the bike. Eric was kind enough to let me know that a new stock handle bar was cheap and PartShark was a great place to get it. He was dead on with that. When I received the bar, I was excited to get started, but then realized the stock bars had threaded bar end mounts and I assumed the aftermarket handle bars would be the same... what's that about an a$$ out of U and ME? yeah... not the same. The aftermarket bars were smooth (sans threads) inside, so the bar ends in the aftermarket bars were the ones with rubber that gets pinched when you screw them down so they stay in.

On to ordering stock bar ends from PartShark.com. It was a Sunday night when I figured out I needed the stock (or stock replacement) bar ends, so on to PartShark.com I went. Remember that 'assume' thing? It happens AGAIN :shaking head: I saw the bar ends listed, saw the price and saw that it had a column that said 'required 2' instead of most parts that said 'required 1'. I was confused at this point thinking it either meant you need to buy 2 (hence required) to make it work, OR (here comes that ASSUME thing again) they came as a set of 2 and you order 1 unit so the minimum you can get is 1 pair. Well, judging from the price, I figured (assumed) it had to be the pair thing... :eyebrow: :shame: :tdown:

NOPE, so I tried to call on Monday and Tuesday and couldn't get anyone. I finally left a message and I did get to talk to a helpful guy that was kind to the fool on the other end of the phone and allowed me to add a second bar end to my order so I could save on shipping (why do they put gold in those bar ends? I ASSUME that's why they are so expensive individually).

Now it's time for the government to fail me. (gee, what's new, right?) Unfortunately, PartShark chose the USPS to deliver my bar ends. I follow the tracking from Indiana to Missouri, and then ready to backtrack to Illinois, but wait, there's some fail in there, (no, more than they ship it way past me and then back track it). It ended up in the dead letter office. Something went wrong, I still don't know what. I'm still waiting to hear, but I've decided to keep breathing while I wait. I've filled out 1 paper, I bet there's more to come and I'll still NEVER see those bar ends! :mad:

OK, so after working with the PO(s) [yes, I meant piece of sh!t and Post Office's at both ends] and PartShark, I had a second set of bar ends on the way. I never received a tracking number on this one, so when they didn't arrive on Wednesday or Thursday, I was skeptical if I'd ever see this set too. I called and left another worried message at PartShark on Friday, but they responded with an email saying it should be there Friday or Saturday. I looked in the mail later on Friday and they were actually there!!! :woot:

OK, so Saturday rolls around (8 days later, I worked too much to get it done that weekend) and I finally get some time to do this. Turns out to be very easy (I was sure it would be, but I didn't want to assume again!)

I'll throw up a few pictures from my phone in a bit (you even get to see my fat face in the mirror) :embarrased:

The guy turning the wrenches while I snap pictures is my father-in-law, Frank
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After a ride for a short time, but at many different speeds, I decided I like the lowered (to me) stock bars (I tilted them down just a bit from level) mostly because they are a bit narrower and pulled back more. Anyway, the riding position is at least as comfortable if not more than the old bars and I feel a bit more in control. Turns out this position make the ZG ST windshield work better too. I'll have to try the ZG DB again to see what change the riding position has on it.

OK, next up for me is:
  1. Penske rear shock (just like Eric)
  2. New fork springs/rebuild (just like Eric)
  3. Braided brake lines (and on Jodie's Ninja 250r)

I will also change the air filter, change the oil and oil filter, clean and lube the chain and check the radiator for the regular maintenance this summer. I should be good on tires (tyres for the UK and Aussie crowd) until next year.

Any suggestions on brake pads for when I'm changing to the braided lines (may be a year or 2 if I follow my list).

After I pay for all this, I might just do a few performance mods, but we'll see...
 
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I see someone else is up late too! Nice write up Troy and glad it is FINALLY sorted out and worth the wait. :yes:

Now wait until you get the proper suspension under that beast! :tup:
 
Thanks, Eric. So much drama for such a small (un)mod. Anyway I'm happy it is done. I'm curious to put that giant, ugly Rifle windscreen back on just to see where the bars/levers hit the sides now. I'm sure it won't be in the same place the PO had to cut out with the other bar. I'm hoping it won't hit at all, but I will just have to see. It's such a PITA to put on, but it was very nice in cold weather. It was wide enough (out to the edge of the fairing) to block some wind from my hands.


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Funny thing, after all this crap to get stock bar ends, I'm still considering the Throttlemeister ends. Norm said he got the standard weight, not the heavy, and is fine with them. I have ridden an FJR with them (looked like the heavy) and liked the throttle lock feature. Works well and doesn't take up any hand grip space as most others do. Ah, the saga continues...


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