Well guys my new ride arrived at 1pm today and my poor upset 848 was rolled into the van and had to be restrained to stop it running back to its regular haunt, tear in my eye when the van left. Right, back to the real world, my first intention was to remove the monstrosity that is the standard number plate hanger, bloody Stevie Wonder must be a designer for all the manufacturers that fit these things, BUT, they forgot to bring the R&G tail tidy, Grrrrr, not pleased, but, it's coming tomorrow, apparently. Still, got to work removing the scaffolding anyway, ready for tomorrow, great. 3 bolts and off it comes, well no it doesn't, the wiring plug is not to be seen. Ok, remove the seat. Err how do you do that. You must have to take the tank cover off. Tank cover off , shit, it was just the two clip in panels under the seat, what a bladder head !! Now, to remove the rear footrest. Who the hell designed a bike that you have to virtually dismantle to get 4 bolts out. Sussed it anyway and to be honest once you know what needs to be removed it will not be bad next time. Now I know you are all expecting photos but with kids bugging the crap out of me and fighting like Tom and bloody Jerry and my other half ringing to check the casserole is in the oven ( Of course it is, ha ) I did not get it back together until she who must (not) be obeyed was due in from work and you've guessed it the bloody casserole wasn't in the oven. In fact I hadn't even killed the chicken. As she walked in the door and asked when would tea be ready I had to quickly put the oven on and tell her that there was a fault with the oven and I had to fix it !! The bike looks lovely though apart from the Dunlop Sportmax 2's or whatever they are called it arrived with. I hope they turn out to be better than I am expecting them to be. Stickers are removed ( Why do the Japanese have a sticker to tell you they have fitted a sticker ). Chain lube wiped off, rear wheel cleaned, then waxed, so all ready for the tail tidy arriving today, hopefully. Also nipped to a local dealer who had some R&G bobbins and to my mates to get his Harris paddock stand for £40, it will take some practice to get it on the stand myself after being used to the dead easy single sided stand, Any tips ? I have not told anyone I am getting it, well apart from you lot so when I turn up at my brothers for a Sunday run he will have a cow !!! Will post a couple of photos once the R&G is on.
I had the same nerves the first time I played with a paddock stand but got told this tip and never looked back. With the bike on its side stand, find a peice of wood (about a square foot) and put it under the stand so that bike is almost vertical. You'll have to experiment to get the right thickness. Remove the rear seat/cover so you have something to grab on to, offer up the stand, the hooks should be in contact with the left hand bobbin and just below the right hand bobbin. Stand behind the bike, hold the stand and then rock the bike gently to the right onto the right hook, press down on the stand and up she goes. Works every time and you can do it by yourself. Might be worth getting someone to hold the bars the first time until you get the knack but you'll soon be going solo.
Hi Guys, Right, the bloody tail tidy was 'lost' by Uk Mail between Manchester and Newcastle so needless to say it was not delivered yesterday and had removed the original and the rear subframe to take the footrest hangers off so could not go out on the bike !! This morning rang Uk Mail and they had 'found' it and it was at the Newcastle depot but they would not deliver it so I had to make a 44 mile round trip to collect it. Spent half the day fitting it as my led flashers were going twice as fast as they should, something they have never done on any other bike that I have had them fitted to. I knew that I had some resistors 'in a safe place' so took about an hour to find them and it took ages to fasten them safely to avoid melted plastics. Also got my Ventureshield kit but not had time to do anything with that yet, job for tomorrow as it is forecast rain. Had a 10 minute run to show my brother and it felt strange compared to the 848, probably just until I get used to it so not had a chance to take some decent photos yet just a couple of crappy ones close up in the garage. Looks much better with the scaffolding removed from the back and the small flashers though.
You'll be back.....i rode fireblades for yrs and yrs, had new model every time one was released since 2003. They might be a little more comfy but I cant see myself ever going jap again. Wear well, nice colour too. Enjoy.
