New to mods

[RoMav]

I just finished my first weekend of actually taking my bike apart just to see how things work. Turns out I also got some $15 mirrors in the mail from, unfortunately, China. I decided to do the Lars air box mod and a super ghetto FE that could actually work with the right materials and a little more time than I had. Fortunately I have a better solution for the mirrors and FE in the works. I'll post a better explanation and a few pics soon.

Anyone put new grips on yet? What kind? Any tips on removal or installation?

What about turn signals? Integrated rear tail light?

Any requests on how-to videos for anything related to our bike? I randomly make videos sometimes and there's not much better to do one about. No promises on quality or promptness. My wife only allows me so much allowance!

 

[Hoover]

I'm using Pro Grips Sportgel grips. You have to cut your old ones off with a razor blade, then use a small amount of diluted dish soap inside the new ones. You MUST let them sit for about 18 hours after you put them on to allow them to dry. They do make grip glue but that is unnecessary.
If you go with LED turn signals, you will need to put some kind of resistor in line.
Lockhart makes a plug in LED flasher relay for Yamahas. That is the simplest route.

 

[lothodon]

if your very careful you can get the factory grips off without cutting/wrecking them, you just have to get the glue to separate, i've done it myself.

Hoover is right however, new grips require dry time to be safe for use. nothing like twisting a throttle and having it not respond due to the grip slipping on the tube.

i went with generic led turns and don't feel the need to install an inline resistor. yes they flash faster than the bulbs but i like it. i personally don't care for the integrated version of the year end as there isn't enough distinction from left to right and you lose some brake light brightness due to the yellows in the same shell. safety first for me.

i'm pretty sure this forum has pretty well covered most of the common mods so read up and enjoy the atmosphere.

 

[Speedo007]

i went with generic led turns and don't feel the need to install an inline resistor. yes they flash faster than the bulbs but i like it.

Yeah my friend was following me the other day and said how my blinkers ( I have the Yamaha LED blinkers) were more noticeable not only because they are very bright, but because they flash slightly faster it grabs your attention.

 

[RoMav]

I really like the LEDs mano is getting. At first I wasn't sure but they look pretty good. I just posted a couple pics in my album showing my cheapy mirrors and DIY FE. The mirrors are growing on me but when I decide to actually pay for a good set I'll probably get the round CRGs.

 

[Hoover]

I really like the LEDs mano is getting. At first I wasn't sure but they look pretty good. I just posted a couple pics in my album showing my cheapy mirrors and DIY FE. The mirrors are growing on me but when I decide to actually pay for a good set I'll probably get the round CRGs.

I have the CRG's. They are fabulous. Well worth it

 

[RoMav]

So the more I look at my FE the more I like it. I didn't get any pics while installing but I'll try to give an explanation of what I did.

1. Obviously you have to remove the rear fender first. I disassembled it to see what could be reused. Turns out the metal bit that holds the side reflectors on the fender assembly has an opening shaped almost identically to the rubber mounting hardware of the stock turn signals!
2. Bought 2 L brackets and 4 1 inch bolts, nuts, split washers, and flat washers from Home Depot. I also picked up a can of flat black high temp grill paint. You'll probably have to drill holes in the brackets to match the stock mounting holes on the bike.
3. Mounted the L brackets and marked them for holes. Cut the brackets so they wouldn't hang down and be visible from behind the plate. Drilled the holes and sprayed everything with the flat black paint (nuts, bolts, etc.).
4. Now this is the cool part, at least I think so. I took the reflector mounting hardware and put the stock signals in them to see if they fit. Go figure, worked out great.
5. You'll need to remove the stock license plate mount and mount that to the L brackets. The bracket will also need to be cut down to the size of a license plate or smaller so that the signals will fit. If you didn't need turn signals you could just mount it and be finished.
6. I forgot to say that you will need to cut the wires to the signals. There are two holes in the reflector mounting hardware that can be used to mount them to the stock license plate mount. I reused 2 of the small bolts from the disassembled rear fender section per side for this.
7. Before reconnecting the wiring for the blinkers you will want to slide the egg shaped pieces of plastic over the wires. Splice those inane you should be pretty close to finished.

I know this may not be the best walkthrough but once you get started it all makes sense. I plan to get an actual FE if this proves to be unreliable and I have a set of license plate bolt lights on the way. I figured for an afternoon and about $30 (including the bolt lights) this was pretty fun project.

Happy modding and please let me know if anyone has questions, concerns, or comments!

 

[Camo]

Post up some pics!

 

[hypo]

pics or it didn't happen...

is that a bad picture?

 

[RoMav]

How do you upload the pics and post them on a reply? No matter how small I make them the upload fails. I can always just put some in my album but some need explanation.

 

[hypo]

PM on the way.

 

[RoMav]

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Here are a few pics. No laughing at the ziptie! Just a safety precaution until I'm convinced it's not going anywhere!

 

[SpunkyTheTuna]

The two little clips that snap into the rubber mounts for the turn signals are locks. If you install them correctly, they're not going anywhere.

 

[RoMav]

I actually went back and put the clips on but that was after the pics. When I first did it I only had 4 butt connectors to splice the wires and wired it backwards like an idiot the first time. I made sure to put that in my somewhat vague step by step. Gotta learn from your mistakes! I still need to get some plate bolt lights if I'm going to keep this for awhile but I never ride at night so that's not a big rush.