20 March 2016

FARKLES! ...and mods.

Camille is so beautiful and functional on her own, but I've been hard at work making her more my own bike. Until I got my hands on the new bike, I had forgotten all the things I had done to Thumper to make her fit me, make her more functional, and make her fun. Once I started running down the list of mods I had made on that bike, I started mentally adding up the cost and time to do everything I needed to on Camille.

Holy crap.

The list was a bit overwhelming for my little brain to wrap itself around, so I started with what I had and what I felt I needed/wanted first.

Hands!

It was January in Denver. That fact alone does not cut out the possibility of riding--we have loads of sunny days free of ice and snow. But, it was still cold, and let's face it, fingers that don't function due to frostbite (and the possible outcome of gangrene and amputation...eeewwww) is a danger to motorcyclists. So, easily enough, I pulled the wiring for my Gerbings gloves off Thumper and wired Camille to keep me safe and warm. That was actually a great first project as I had to pull the plastics off one side in order to run the wiring, giving me a better look at what's under there. It's cool, I still have no idea what most of that stuff is....


Pulling the plastics off the bikes quickly tells which one has seen some dirt! It seemed wrong to put that dirty, dusty piece of wiring into the new bike, but in it went anyway.

Quickly following the "Keeping Louise Warm" adventure, I moved on to the "Protecting my precious engine" adventure. I easily, and all on my own (I'm stating that fact to remind myself what a badass I am) installed my AltRider crash bars and bash plate. I got the silver bars and black bash plate. I know most people go for a matching set, but I like how the bash plate disappears against the black engine while the silver bars look gorgeous on the white bike

Silver Crash Bars freshly unpackaged, along with all tools and hardware necessary for install.

Ok, this is where I'm going to gush about AltRider. The pieces I put on my bike are quality, look great, and come with the EASIEST instructions to follow, complete with PICTURES! Honestly, what took me the most time was locating the engine bolts I needed to pull for the crash bars. In my defense, BMW hid them behind some lovely little black plastic caps, making the bike look clean and nice, but making me look like an idiot when I couldn't find giant bolts that require a size 50 (!) torx bit. Thankfully, I was alone, so no one saw me.... Anyway, other than the hiding bolts, and the cut up finger from shoving the big bolt through the small hole in the bash plate, everything was easy-peasy. So much so, in fact that I immediately emailed them to tell them how great my experience was.

Not many tools needed for the Bash Plate. I really love how hefty this one feels compared to my other two. See the metal dish with the Tusk label, it's magnetic and essential for someone like me who just puts stuff down any old place, then promptly forgets where she put them. It was a Christmas gift from Josh!
Delicate, girly fingers and sharp moto parts are bound to clash a bit. But, you know what they say--Chicks Dig Scars.

Next!

Seat, risers, pegs, grips, barkbusters...stay tuned.

 

1 comment:

  1. Motorbike Wonderful motorcycle with great economy I am very happy to find matters that speak about these wonders of four wheels I am in process with my habilitation and I think it all a marvel

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