Bit of a weird one this is, but, I thought id put my thoughts down...just sold my hyper, just got myself a z thou (new shape). The one ive bought is totally bog stock apart from crash bungs. Ive got to ride it back from Kent to Bristol with the monstrosity of a stock rear tail tidy and like a little girl with a new dolls house ive got loads of stuff on order waiting for when it gets home... And here's the thought....over the last 5 or 6 years ive become almost fixated on "the look" - it has to look exactly right if im even going to sit on the thing (no matter what bike it is...) so much so that its not leaving the garage until it looks exactly as I want it to....the first wave of easy fix stuff is on its way...tail tidy, integrated rear light, shortened front indicators, renthal bars etc etc, the big purchase is the pipe, undecided on that at the moment....which does lead me to say that I think the cat's on bikes are getting bigger and bigger, is that just me or no? I mean - the one on the zed causes ground clearance problems but thatll be done soon with a shed load of weight... While the bmw s1000r that I rode last week was kind of...meh....the look of it was one of the deciding factors for me to get the zed. I think the zed encompasses what a naked should be (even the last model as well to be honest...) theyre short, fat and have quite an aggressive stance on the road. As ive said in other posts my original remit was an SF1098 but I couldn't find one that was looked after and had a full system on it for the price I was expecting to pay and if I did find one that was looked after I would have had to have hurled a considerable amount of cash at the to get "the look" that I wanted... Anyway - take a punt...
Dont get it. More interested in how they ride and the general look as a whole than messing with the small stuff
Yeah - I see where youre coming from, but for me its got to look "right" dunno.....ie ive been searching high and low for pics of modded ones....cant see that many although in the philipines and japan they have quite a big following...this is my initial template...that what im looking at making mine look like along with loosing the rear indicators (integrated light) and again, not sure on the pipe but that one has Austin pipes on it...but the thing I would say is, its the little things that make it look the way it does....ie those mirrors ive never seen before but I could only find them in the U.S.... In the future I do plan to change the rear shock as the ride apparently all the reviews has said is a little harsh...but that can wait...nitron I expect will be the one I go for...
Looks are not high on my list either tbh, but I am a short ass, so I have a different list of importance.
yep - but not those....cant find them anywhere in the uk...plus, ive ordered them now...so no one go finding them! Youre missing the point about the post....which was my point....right or wrong it was about "the look"
I must say I love looking at other people's bike (especially with the Italian day coming up in Bristol) I love to look at the little things that people do to get it that little bit more individual, in a way...ill be literally unscrewing the mirrors before I pull away tomorrow...god awful things...and I must say stepping back to last weeks test ride on the beemer I didn't think that anyone could pull off the shittest most useless set of mirrors than aprilia but BMW, bless'em....they did it...
I've gone off bling. I'd rather spend on go than show. But I do change things that really offend. The tail tidy being one. I went for Evotech. The OE Streetfighter item is hideous. And I favour a 7X5 number plate. The tacky white plastic reservoirs will go in favour of black anodised ally and some smaller indicators would be nice. A bit of carbon is good where it saves weight and isn't stupidly expensive but I think it can be overdone. I will fit some carbon belt covers to the SF when the belts are changed becuase it does look all a bit matt-black down there, but otherwise that's about it for me. How it rides is the most important thing. I can't see it when I'm riding it and if I'm riding it properly nor will anyone else.
I ain't had that many women As for bling, I love it. When I get the bike a few years later I rip the bling off and flog it on ebay for lots of money, then I put the standard stuff back on the bike and make it more valuable. Win, win.
I often find myself envious of people who have put the time in to have a nice shiny bike looking the part but I'd rather go for a ride and then seem to always have a list of consumable jobs to do like tyres and oil and whatever else which take priority. I make an extra effort to keep the Panigale looking good but all my other bikes look pretty abused in a short space of time.
I did buy some Rizoma mirrors. Partly because the original look like Micky Mouse ears but also because they're flexible plastic and I'm sure a lot of the blurring is wind vibration. If you're going to have them they may as well work. The Rizomas are a great improvement in that department and they are undeniably excellent quality but they are a little too compact. I have to tuck my elbows in to see anything. I'll get a couple of spacers machined up to push them out 1/2" I think.
Heh - yeah I agree. My remit is take stuff of that sticks out, and if it has to stick out keep it to a bare minimum....and if something looks outright tacky then swap it out. The pic I posted kind of represents what im looking for and again, id minimize the tail tidy even more and loose the indicators and integrate them....I know its an mot fail but, hey I wont need one for a while and when I do ill just swap it over for the day....
eye of the beholder and all that - some say that the zed looks ugly - I do to a certain extent but that's why I like it.
I reckon that with the majority of modern bikes, stop go and handling are already totally covered so the right look is important. For me I find with the bikes I have it's subtle tweaks rather than big changes. The Benelli has been lightly drizzled in carbon fibre, and the pipes on the Ducati are an improvement in my eyes, but that's about it. My old LC was considerably more fiddled with.
Yeah...id agree agree with that....i think even my zed should be ok from a handling poing of view....maybe a maxton in the future on the rear...
I think looks are important I want to open my garage door and be in awe of what I have there, if I wasnt I wouldnt want to ride it and it would be pointless having it.
