knyte

...was watching Hoovies Garage this morning and he had an interesting thought, something to the effect of: "I love my 25th anniversary Countach, but every time I stop at the gas station - it's an event. I mostly like it, but in driving one of these, you have to be prepared for the attention it will get." I think the same is or will be true for your Niken. It's unusual, it stands out. It may not scream as loudly as a Countach, but it certainly yells enough to be audible, and you will get some attention

That sucks! ...but could have been a lot worse. Sounds like it wasn't a showstopper.

Well, that's timely. I was just surfing these - erm, I mean totally working, psh. Yeah, work.

^^^ This - as a way of life!! ^^^

geeze, sensitive tolerance there. Doesn't seem all that low to me.

They do that to keep you in suspense ...I'll just show myself out. Seriously though - does anyone use the 'sock' over the rear shock? I installed a cheap ebay fender hugger that seems to keep the splashes and debris off. Anyway, that looks great!! Looking forward to your thoughts after it's all done and tuned.

The struggle is real hahaha!

Exactly - it's about overall value (for me). Seems to tick all the boxes, including the price. It works out to just under $300 CAD all in, but that's still far cheaper than a custom seat, which can run $500 easily.

Just to add to this thread - I've ordered a Seat Concepts Sport Touring cover & foam today from a local distributor. ETA about a month - should arrive just in time for spring, hopefully. This is despite some of the negative reviews - but my reasons for wanting one are different - I've researched other options. SC is the only one (aside from a custom seat, but that's WAY more $) that increases height, something I do want and would benefit from. I'm 6', lanky, and inflexible. I don't mind putting one foot down at a stop, in fact, that's how I was trained - so it's habit (come to rest in first gear with right foot on the peg, clutch in = ready for anything). The other reason is a bit more ...personal. When I first got the FJ, I found I was scooting my butt back a bit. Some trial and error after several short and long rides later, I find that ergonomics are FAR better (hips and knees - shoulders to a lesser extent) if I scoot forward as close as possible to the tank. This works great for me, biomechanically, but...after about an hour, this mans berries get sooo bloody sore but somehow also numb (cue the obvious jokes) that it is beyond uncomfortable. It's like a looong slooow kick to the nards that takes about an hour or more to notice. So, I want a taller seat (check), a bit softer would be nice (check) and a flatter, more even profile close to the tank (check). A friend got a Seat Concepts for his KTM and loves it. Price / benefit ratio seems reasonable to me - when considering a custom seat, that is. I opted to leave the pillion seat as-is - she owns more bikes than me, so I doubt I'd have many passengers, if any at all.

Now I have suspension envy

I think the bar = 1/2 the tank. I don't think there is a 3/4 indicator at all.

Yeah, expensive for a plate of aluminum with what appears to be one bend in it - not everyone can fab this up, though.

Not sure if this works for you, but Higdonian makes a 'shorty' windscreen - but it's not really a windscreen, more like a finished look after removing the windscreen: Yamaha FJ-09 Shorty Aluminum Windshield A sporty look for the daily cruise around town. Handmade formed...

Exactly. We might complain when the price goes up, but here in NA it's far cheaper than many parts of the world, for sure.

Agreed, I do appreciate the dual trip meters. Nice detail to have. I always forget about the Maintenance meters though...mostly considering that, between my g/f and I, we have 10 vehicles to maintain and track - thankfully, there are apps for that. Just input fill up litres / date & time and odo reading...the app does the rest. I'd be lost without something like that.

Exactly!!!

Yeah, the gauge indicating Full, half, 1/4, E is annoying in that there's no 3/4 mark. More granular indicators would be nice - I've got used to it. Drives my ADD nuts, but...what can u do

Sweet! Man the calibre of experience and knowledge here is really becoming next-level.

Some seem to tolerate it, some throw it away. You guessed right, it's a sort of safety cover for the seat release latch.

Man, from Flying Brick to Flying Cement Truck. I don't mind the aesthetics, but yikes that's a big block of metal.

Congrats on the new ride! Welcome to the forum...lots of knowledge and a good vibe here - you came to the right place!

There is always a bicycle pump! Been carrying a mini pump for a while, haven't had to use it yet *knocks wood* No consumables other than the rope plugs.

Way cool, congrats on the new ride! How many miles on the odo? Got any photos yet?

My '83 Nighthawk 550C seems to have torque for dayyysss in all gears...not sure what they mean by loss of performance in favour of reduced maintenance? EDIT: ahh, slightly reduced redline. "Slightly". IIRC the redline on my 550 is 12k. Still pretty good!

Very cool!! Congrats! Glad you got it sorted out Now you get to enjoy the fruits of your labour...