I'd agree with that, a few bolt ins can cost hundreds to return to stock. I'm not a fan of open clutches - my brother rode my SS and dropped it at a standstill whilst running. With a stock clutch cover the only damage was 2 chips about the size of a pea each, and a broken indicator lens. Had I been running an open cover the fairing would have taken a right mincing.
Anything that makes it mine. With regards of factory what goes on bike is planned. Some modifications might be good but not cost effective, some might draw wrong crowd or be seen as step to far "now". Factory builds a bike for masses so they try to make it the best it can be within market it is aimed at but also as neutral as it can be. That way marked is left for bling parts to sell in while initial market for biek sale is wider.
A proper mod is to do it all within a set budget .. And to pay equal attention to smoothness of drive, handling and riderskills .. Al can be achieved for 85% with limited means and some knowhow and sense .. Its the step from 95 to 97% thats makes cost go stellar indeed.
For me it's something that improves performance/confidence or makes it more user friendly (depends on the user). Can't be doing with all the bling and stick on carbon fibre.
It's very easy to lose sight of what you're trying to do, forgetting the question what am I trying to achieve. Perhaps that's where the stick on and anodised tat fests come in, not that they're bad on their own but when people just buy stuff because its there or because it's appeared in the new shit section of some mag. With sound knowledge and purpose, you can improve on the original item. Any manufacturer as Phil has said must work to constraints of emissions and legislation before we even get on the road of budget and profit. They also have to work with a little thing called due diligence. This is the most important as it is the one which will have customers coming back quicker than a free give away. This is the reason why race stuff is stamped not for road use, or for race use only for example. As a manufacturer you have to think about longevity and service life as well as legality and long term safety - which is why the aftermarket boys have an easier time selling bolt on tat than say ducati, because if Ducati sell it, they would have to prove that it has been tested, passes certifications and can be used across various markets, and that's before offering the same warranty as a new part. Those costs have to be recovered through the volume of sales for it to be viable. Mr aftermarket doesn't need to do that, he just cobbles together and tells you he isn't taking responsibility if it falls apart. Every manufacturer will admit there's room for improvement, but its compromised between performance and service life. The customer of today doesn't want to be told that his ultra performance machine will need to be stripped down and rebuilt every three thousand miles. Just ask any Bimota tesi owner how eye watering the bill was at belt change time. And of course the development costs. To put it in perspective, it would have cost Ducati something in the region of 100-300K alone getting certification to make a headlamp legal, and that's even if all they did was change the shape of the lens. Aftermarket man doesn't have to go through that. Remember mini winker indicators that just kept blowing bulbs as there was no vibration damping built into them? But I'm digressing. Personally I think a good modification is one with purpose and still manages to preserve the character of the bike. I agree with this, the stick on carbon thing has never really held appeal, nor has carbon wrapping on panels or trim - pointless and weighs more than the stock item, and its a heavy price to pay for cosmetics. I understand people who have a concern about carbon and crash damage as Phil illustrates above, but at the same time, lets not forget the primary purpose is to trim weight. When a works bike is festooned in carbon the emphasis is never placed on what survives if it's crashed. If the rider runs out of talent so be it, but you don't go out on the circuit or road thinking 'when I bin this...' , heaven forbid that thought ever crosses anyone's mind. Like Luca says though, ultimately it boils down to taste. I've never liked polished alloy, but others will have stuff blinging like a christmas tree, I used to hate all the slab sided GSXR's and exups with polished frames and swingarms, and it looked super shite on a 916 I once saw with mirror polished swinger and a predator custom paintjob. I think for me what impresses me is the bollox spun by some in order to justify the needing of the mod. One aftermarket bloke once used to tell people to have the remote preload adjuster added to their ohlins... so they could adjust it as they were going along! I leave you with the huge gelatinous lardy bloke (certainly over 20 stone and could make a gsxr 1100 look like a 400) at Box Hill on a new R1, and who had poured most of the Harris catalogue at it. When we asked what his next mod would be, he said that it was a pair of Dymags to save unsprung weight!
I've always kept mods fairly minimal on my bikes, because I can't see what they are really achieving and they cost a lot of money (which I'd sooner spend on something else). I replaced the levers on the 999 because the stock ones are naff, whereas the black Brembo ones that were standard on my 851 were great. And the plastic covers are advantageously replaced with carbon ones, because they look cheap (they are cheap). I replaced the reservoir caps with billet ones, because the paint peeled on the originals. I don't go looking for things to replace. But some things cry out for replacement. As for performance, the 999 has an embarrassing amount of it - enough to have me worrying about using a chunk of it on the open road. I will admit to seeing 7500 rpm in top today, but it was on a deserted, straight little bit of road between fields with perfect visibility and no buildings. But now I'm worrying about it a little. God knows what the latest generation of bikes give you - I don't think I'll go there. Clearly mods for more performance are a complete waste of time, if you're not tracking the thing and skilful enough to use them.
I'm fond of Newcastle Brown Ale tinnys cable tied to rear shockers, I see the new lot have taken to Redbull tins tho ... no style these pups
That sums up mini nicely. You do not like stick on carbon, neither do I but some do so anything that makes it mine is good mod. Also nice avatar!!!!!
Some car manufacturers use the same engine, gearbox etc on a range of cars, with the bhp being purely as determined by the chip fitted. A 118d BMW is exactly the same as a 120d I believe mechanically, with the 120d being supplied with a different ECU / map giving another about 40bhp as far as I'm aware. They share the same 2.0 turbo diesel. I also think that the 123d has the same engine, but with a different turbo set up. The 118 and 120 differ in the chip and price only. Pay more money, get, ummm, nothing more expensive to produce.... Mercedes also use similar techniques I think.
Well, strictly speaking that's plant equipment, but even here - to a degree. By placing a counterweight further from the slew ring its possible to counterbalance a load using less weight. A good example is the cherry picker. There are two competing machines, the American genie Z45 bi fuel and the British nifty lift HR15NB. The nifty is a far more intelligently designed machine. Due to its superior placement and design of its counterweight it is well over a tonne lighter, while still maintaining superior outreach with a narrower superstructure. As a result the nifty can go places the genie cannot, is less prone to sinking into the ground, and commands higher rental rates. (I work in the plant hire industry btw)
But it does not add up cherries were on trees needed to be picked long before cherry picker was created?
