thanks for the warm welcome and peace of mind regarding the reluctant first gear on cold starts. surprisingly, i keep intending to take pix of my bike, but somehow end up going for rides instead. :D I've never looked forward to commuting to work as much as i do now.twisting along marsh creek road from byron to concord and back is much more fun on a bike. I'll try and post some pix soon though.

happy holidays all,
danO

i'm pretty happy with my R11S as is. the previous (original) owner did a lot of top-shellf mod's i'd probably never pay for myself which is what made the bike such a great deal for me. i think it will take a long time for my riding skills to outgrow this bike's capabilities...

i bought the bike equipped with a staintune performance exhaust, brembo billet racing front brake calipers, penske racing front and shocks, 5.5" rear wheel, stainless steel brake lines, billet aluminum lower rear control arm, rear fender eliminator, bmw clear turn signal lenses, new dunlops, hard bags and mounts, and a few more goodies. since then, i've added the SM peg-lowering kit :D , cylinder head guards, and a new gel battery with tender.

so, my current wish list is pretty modest. i'm told heated grips are very nice, a corbin smuggler seat would be great, or a black cowling since mine was acquired sans-cowling, maybe a radar detector+mount, and most of all, the carbon fiber rear hugger, to keep road grime off my great sounding staintune exhaust. i tried to save a few bucks and bought one of those CF Huggers off of Ebay, but it's the one that mounts to the stock shock, so it's useless on my bike. If anyone is looking to buy one cheap, please let me know.

pix to follow soon,
danO

My friend, chant the mantra 'valentine 1', 'valentine 1', valentine 1' then bop over to the val1 site and step up for an admittedly-spendy state-of-the-art radar detector. you WILL pay for it several times over in the first year by NOT contributing to the cali-four-ni-ya general fund via traffic citations. Never, ever be in a self-piloted internal-combustion-powered device without it:)

You got a very strong start, danO. You won't regret the heated grips, I use mine all the time. They're decadent, like opium as I recall one magazine saying. The smuggler looks great, you might have to fiddle to get it to fit right; more importantly, try to sit on one and make sure you like the way it feels. Another cowling would be easy to get. The V1 or 8500 radar is another must, IMO. Consider the H.A.R.D. System for it. Also, consider the Pyramid hugger. I'm sure David Cork would give you the same prices we got on this group buy.

.....maybe.....
 

:rolleyes: :eek:http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1135366083.jpg:eek: :rolleyes:

That's a crown that fits on my head, once I turn back into a prince...

...nu-uh...

I'm going to valiantly resist steve-o's attampted slide into the ream of prurient interest (it's hard, but I can do it)....normally, that's my middle name.
DON'T buy anything else other tna a valentine 1. I also use a hard system with my trusty Val1 and it's paid for itself, at last count, 5X over.

ditto the V1 and HARD....I'd like to see these Brembo Billet racing calipers, wouldn't you guys?...
come-on danO, let's see um...

My bike is a whole lot more pedestrian than DanO's, mostly on purpose (although I'd love to see those brake calipers, too). My ST4S had wide-open SilMotor titanium cans; coming in to work (at the Medical Center) it was a bit much. I decided to keep this bike mostly stock, so as to be able to keep on affording two bikes (and track time, track tires, etc.). It's also nice on tour to have a quiet bike when warming it up in the early morn outside the motel room or in the campground. I did put on the Pyramid carbon hugger, and a Fenda Extenda- we live a long way up a dirt road. The hugger needed a little modification around the mounting holes to keep it clear of the swingarm, nothing major. BMW bags. Corbin saddle- I'm still a little wary of the leather saddle, but it's far comfier than the vinyl. I've only had it for a few thousand miles; the original owner had it made with the Pac Blue matching piping, and then totalled his bike at NHIS with the stock saddle on it. . . he blamed it on his tires, and I laughed and bought his saddle. The bar backs are coming. The bike came with the heated grips (which I've been putting on every bike I've owned for years anyway, can't live without them- even on my track bike) and ABS, which doesn't bother me, but it's weird. The #1 mod I'd love to do is to put a decent suspension on it, but it's probably not happening this year. I may put a Lip on the windshield, or maybe a taller shield, as the rain/ windblast hammers the 'Stich right below my neck, and I'd like to send it higher. Thoughts on that?

Da Lip
 

Assuming you have the OEM comfort screen (tall) the Lip works well with it especially if the wind is at your neckline now.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1135377752.jpg

If you have the low (sport) screen you'll have to go with an aftermarket.

Suspension, expensive but well, you know...do a search.
I had Fox Raing Shox and thet made a dramatic diff...but segwayed into the world ofgolden Ohllies... SmileWavy

Did you buy your bike new? If so, you have the comfort screen. You might want to see how the wind hits you after installing the barbacks. You might like it with the windblast hitting lower; your helmet will completely be in clear air.

I've been told warm-up time should be short, like as long as it takes to put on your helmet and gloves, then go. And release the fast idle lever as soon as you go, too.

For $80 you can put on the shorter paralever arm from the GS. It's the same one that comes on the Prep and Replika. It'll quicken the steering some, but hurt the solidity of the centerstand. Try doing a search on it...

DanO - if you replace the tranny oil with Redline ( support your local brew - er, refinery ) Shockproof Heavy ( it's RED, so it's faster ) - you'll ameliorate your recalcitrant transmission.

jeff

...good point Steve-o...