Naked & Old School

That fender looks even more a mouth ulcer with the naked thing going on...
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Agreed...an ugly-tail-enterectomy will be my next weekend project.


As for fairings and cold weather, I guess we all have slightly different tolerances, and I'm sure all kinds of factors like body type and weight, gear selection, etc, factor into that equation. I've been riding for about 35 years, and have had many faired bikes, and many naked bikes. For me fairings only seem to serve to encourage me to ride at higher speeds on the highway, making me much more likely to get a ticket. I find naked bikes tend to cause neck strain at speeds above 70 mph for long periods, so you tend to stay nearer the legal limit more often. I'm one of those guys who can happily ride all day at 70 mph, in temps right down to the freezing point, so I guess I may be more suited to riding naked bikes than some.

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with the three screens I have for the bike...The stocker, my dark tint ZG shorty, and my dark tint ZG tall screen.



Thanks for the XJR1300 comparison...

I have always loved those bikes, but they were never available in Canada. Maybe my love of those beasts had something subconscious to do with the idea to slap a round headlight on the front of my FZ1. I can see it really does have that XJR look and proportion about it, now that you mention it.


I think one of the really great things about this little weekend project, was that it cost me less than $150 for everything I needed, plus it's easily reversible.
 
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I like the mods, and especially the ability for you to put it back "as it was" without too much trouble. Very nice looking machine.
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Thanks...

I was determined to make it work with the stock wiring harness, to facilitate an easy reversal. Fortunately the 919 headlight has a lot of room inside the pot, so I could stuff about half the excess wiring inside there, and I didn't have to cut so much as one wire to reconnect everything.

It was a good excuse to apply some dielectric grease to all the connectors, while I was at it, too.
 
GraniteGray said:
For me fairings only seem to serve to encourage me to ride at higher speeds on the highway, making me much more likely to get a ticket. I find naked bikes tend to cause neck strain at speeds above 70 mph for long periods, so you tend to stay nearer the legal limit more often.
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Agree 100%. I barely feel like I'm moving at all on faired FZ1 when I'm going faster than I should be.

Direct wind to chest / neck / head on naked bike helps keep speed in check.
 
Agree 100%. I barely feel like I'm moving at all on faired FZ1 when I'm going faster than I should be.

Direct wind to chest / neck / head on naked bike helps keep speed in check.
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For sure.

I'm also lucky to live in a part of the world where most of my riding is spent on twisty and hilly two-lane coastal roads, instead of on the slab. If I was someone who rode mostly major highway miles, I probably would have thought twice about removing the fairing.

Then again, if I rode mostly slab, I'd probably own a Goldwing. Just kidding! :laugh2:
 
GraniteGray said:
For sure.

I'm also lucky to live in a part of the world where most of my riding is spent on twisty and hilly two-lane coastal roads, instead of on the slab. If I was someone who rode mostly major highway miles, I probably would have thought twice about removing the fairing.

Then again, if I rode mostly slab, I'd probably own a Goldwing. Just kidding! :laugh2:
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I thought 100 times before I put my euro naked kit and just twice when I put back the fairings. I commute year around into the teens and being on a naked defeats the purpose of an allround practical do-it-all bike.

Here is the transformation:

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CrazyBiker said:
I thought 100 times before I put my euro naked kit and just twice when I put back the fairings. I commute year around into the teens and being on a naked defeats the purpose of an allround practical do-it-all bike.
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Awesome looking bike!

Few questions for you:

1. How did you end up with black fork legs?
2. Your passenger pegs seem to have same inserts as stock FZ1 rider pegs. How did you manage that?! My wife complains that non-padded pegs (stock) transfer a lot of vibes to her feet.

P.S. sorry for thread hijack.
 
Erci said:
Awesome looking bike!

Few questions for you:

1. How did you end up with black fork legs?
2. Your passenger pegs seem to have same inserts as stock FZ1 rider pegs. How did you manage that?! My wife complains that non-padded pegs (stock) transfer a lot of vibes to her feet.

P.S. sorry for thread hijack.
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Those are R1 forks he has on there (notice the radial calipers)...

Not sure if he added rubber pads over the stock pegs or if he modified Gen I or FJR pegs to fit. Guess he'll have to chime in with that answer ;)
 
NJFZ1 said:
Those are R1 forks he has on there (notice the radial calipers)...

Not sure if he added rubber pads over the stock pegs or if he modified Gen I or FJR pegs to fit. Guess he'll have to chime in with that answer ;)
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D'oh! Missed the radial mount!

I tried fitting FZ6 pegs on FZ1.. wasn't happy with result. FZ6 pegs have larger inner diameter which resulted in a lot of play and a sloping-down position.
 
Erci said:
Awesome looking bike!

Few questions for you:

1. How did you end up with black fork legs?
2. Your passenger pegs seem to have same inserts as stock FZ1 rider pegs. How did you manage that?! My wife complains that non-padded pegs (stock) transfer a lot of vibes to her feet.

P.S. sorry for thread hijack.
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Thank you Sir!
I drilled the stock passenger pegs and put the stock FZ1 pegrests over them when I put FZ6 pegrests in the their place
 
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Took a few hours off work this afternoon to go ride the Frankenbike along the coastal roads, under the cold but inviting November sunshine. I put my GoPro camera on the chest mount and took it along for the ride. Sure beats workin'!

Here's some HD video footage...

Fall Ride 2011 - YouTube

And a screen shot capture...

FallRide.jpg
 
Hey...that's a nice bike. :wow: Have you thought about bar end mirrors?

That chest camera looks like a good bit of kit too....
 
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Thanks, guys. Glad you enjoyed the little video clip.

I find the chest-mount videos are a bit unnerving to watch, because it looks like I'm not making any head checks, and just pulling right out into traffic without looking.

Another sunny day here. Now I just have to find the discipline to stay at my desk, instead of going for another ride. Doh!
 
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