Sunday, January 28, 2018

New undertail for GSX-S1000

FINALLY!!!! This arrived in the mail. I'm so happy!




So, not entirely what I'd expected. I'd ordered four of the blue ones, but I was contacted and told they only had two in stock and they were discontinued and couldn't get any more. I opted to swap for the clear/black ones instead. There was a misunderstanding in that he thought I meant swap the two I couldn't get for the action model, when I'd meant to swap all four. But the more I thought about it the more I like this setup. They don't have to match front to back and those blue ones are sweet, and will be on display in the back while the odd location of the signals up front will allow them to kind of disappear. I also got one of the last non-adjustable Rizoma undertails, which is what I wanted as the adjustable one sticks out a lot further.

Boxed up so nice, they should be for the price!!! But they do come with all resistors and such.



What they don't come with are the adapter plates and connector cables which I'd forgotten to order. Didn't need the plates for the rear but the fronts will have to wait. Ordered wire connectors from Amazon for the fronts and then picked up a pair from my local motorcycle shop to do the rear ones. The rizoma undertail is a pain in the butt to install but is very nice when completed.

So, a little before and after shots...



So much better!



Some up close shots of the undertail and signals.





My son has been begging me for a ride on the new bike. We went for a putt putt ride around the neighbourhood. First and last pillion ride on this vehicle because the pegs came right off afterwards. He can ride on the FJR in the future which is a much more pillion friendly bike anyway. Pegs removed in above photo.



Being as the weather was 65F it was time to go for a ride. Stopped off in downtown Kaufman for another quick photo.



Did a little exploring checking out our local municipal airport and saw this, had to have a photo.



The over to Bucee's to grab some dinner. Bucee's is a place that is hard to describe to folks unaware. It's like the biggest convenience store you've ever been in. It's not a truck stop because no 18 wheelers allowed there. But it's huge and you can buy all sorts of stuff from candy, soda, coffee, Texas shaped cutting boards, RTIC coolers, hunting stuff, etc etc. But there's also the food. They have a huge jerkey bar, fresh fudge, tacos, burritos, and bbq. The food is pretty good so I sometimes will swing by and grab some stuff on the way home, so today it was a fajita burrito and a BBQ sausage sandwich. Yum. Here's Bucee and the GSX-S.



Got home and decided to line up the street bikes together and get a picture of them.



And that's it, good upgrades and a good day. Next up, getting the ECU flashed.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

First farkles for the GSX-S1000

To start with, it was my first day to ride the new bike to work. Without things I'm used to with my FJR, namely a windshield, heated grips, and a connector for my electric gear, I had to wait till the temperature was ok for me to ride it in. 45F this morning, only a couple of bikes in the parking lot this early. Another cruiser showed up later so we had a small turnout.



Time to start modifying the GSX-S1000.  I did a little ordering over the weekend and some stuff started showing up today.  First up, I need swingarm spools.  This helps out for tire changing, at the track, and when parking in the garage, upright bikes take up less space.  Not sure if I like these but they were on Amazon Prime and in stock and for not a bad price so they provide a quick fix while I see if I like them or if I find something else.



All installed and ready to go.



And finally, the bike is properly standing upright on one of my old pit bull stands in the garage.



Next up, is the front reflectors. I went through this first process the other day and realized I needed to order some factory fasteners. These are not like other front reflectors I've had on other bikes. To start with, the big orange thing spins off



And leaves us with this ugly piece. Can't have that and can't have an empty hole, so I ordered a couple of stock fasteners the same as the bottom one.



Here's the new fastener and that monstrosity of a reflector holder.



And finally, the finished product.



More to come!

Sunday, January 7, 2018

New 2016 GSX-S1000

Since selling the GSX-R750 back to my buddy Doug, I've been on the hunt for something new.  I think I'd finally figured out what I really wanted.  The GSX-R750 had the power and handling but not the ergonomics for a good street bike that will see occasional track days.  Well, not for someone who isn't in their twenties.  I previously owned a Yamaha FZ1 so I knew I wanted something in the upright naked sport category.

I set my sights on my dream bike of an Aprilia Tuono.  170hp V4 Euro sports bike is all kinds of amazing.  However, it's pricey and maintenance isn't fun and while it's on the good side of Euro reliability, it still isn't great.  I always had said if Yamaha would put their crossplane I4 engine from the R1 into an FZ1 it would be a successful motorcycle.  Well, they finally did in the FZ10 and reviews prove that it works very well, but it's brand new and still too expensive.  Not a lot of great deals out there to be had on them.

Then I stumble upon the GSX-S1000.  Suzuki took an older GSX-R1000 motor that was a stroker motor making more low and mid range torque, great for the street, and put it in a naked upright seated frame.  Reviews are very positive on this bike with a few issues that are easily solvable.  I did some fiddling to get Insurance in line, odd that I could insure a Tuono for about half the price of the Suzuki even though the Tuono is much more expensive.  Switching companies and fiddling with coverage got me into an acceptable range.  Then some searching and I found a local dealership that had a leftover 2016 model for about the best deal advertised in the country.  Popping by on my lunch break I chatted with the salesman and walked out with a heck of an offer.  Ran the numbers that night and the next day I made a commitment.

Picked it up early Saturday morning.  First time I've trailered a new bike home from the dealership, but I also haven't bought a new bike in seventeen years.  Early morning, some potential hassle with paperwork (there wasn't any) and the cold weather allowed me to just go get it myself.



Got it home and stashed it in my garage.  I haven't owned a bike newer than 2007 so three way traction control is new to me as well as a few other things.  I poured over the owners manual while eating lunch and then it was time for a ride.  Making sure that the traction control for my new liter bike on new cold tires was set to Mode 3, effectively "Baby Mode" as opposed to full on racer mode, I set out.



Oh what an amazing bike this is.  Everything I read and watched was pretty spot on.  The bike is absolutely bonkers, the motor is so strong everywhere.  The seating position is perfect and the entire bike is very neutral.  Brakes are strong and the steering is so responsive.

I spent a while tooling around town getting to know the bike.  This particular photo is a demonstration of something very difficult to achieve.



Sunday I also got a quick ride in and took some photos of bits on the bike.  I also spent some time tracking down and removing all the nanny stickers the factory finds necessary to put on the bike.  Several are with the "Permanent" sticker material making them very hard to remove.  I almost forgot to wear my helmet today but thank goodness Suzuki put a permanent sticker on my gas tank to remind me or I'd have forgotten to wear it. The octane rating sticker is helpful, but really, would have been nice to not use those insanely hard to get off stickers, cuz after a tank or two I'm sure I'll remember.



That's the longest peg feeler I've ever seen!



Love the Renthal Fat Bars on a sports bike.  Makes the bike handle amazing.


Brembo brake calipers!  Now I just need to swap out the master cylinder for a Brembo one like I had on the old GSX-R750 and this bike will be a demon on the brakes.


I've got some parts on order to clean up the insane rear end on the bike and I'm making my list of mods for it.  It's pretty perfect but half the fun of owning a new bike is making it unique and getting it to fit you.  Can't wait.