Motorcycles.

[maunahaole]

you have a car for the freeway. that bike is for blazing thru backroads.

[Jason Musgrave]

^^ gets it

This is primarily for hooning around these parts...

[cp43]

Probably some weights. They should come off. If you poke around on the website they sell a plug to replace those that acts as a mount for the mirror. If you have a tube handlebar, there are some aftermarket anti-vibe solutions (bar snake, etc) that can knock down bar vibes if they kick up after taking off the weights.

Turns out that they are sliders on the ends of my bars. Good news is that they do come off. Bad news is that they are attached with a bolt that threads into a plate which is welded to the end of the bars. So, I can't use the CRG plug to mount the mirrors (which seem excellent).

I also tried to slide the controls inboard, to make space between the slider and the grip for the mirror clamp. The brake slid in no problems. However, the grips are located on the bar with a plastic pin on the inside, which indexes into a hole in the bars. So, grips can't move inboard to make space for the mirror clamp.

So, it looks like the mirrors will be going back, and I'm back to square one for a replacement for the stock mirror.

Any other ideas out there?

Thanks,

Chris

[David Tollefson]

With the CRGs, does the expander separate from the mount? You might be able to use the same bolt from the slider to hold the mirror mount.

[cp43]

With the CRGs, does the expander separate from the mount? You might be able to use the same bolt from the slider to hold the mirror mount.

The expander unit does come apart, but I wouldn't be able to disassemble it and directly bolt it to the end of the bars. The slider bolt is a couple sizes bigger than the mirror mount bolt. Also, the mirror mount section has some built in wedges to do the expanding, which would get in the way.

Thanks,

Chris

[David Tollefson]

My next step would be to get a $15 set of mirrors off eBay and use those mounts.

[Jonathan]

It's half a Sportster. I don't think it'll ever be revvy or peaky! That said, given the shared architecture, maybe you can drop in new cams and bump the displacement up with a 1200 jug and piston. How plug and okay with the front cylinder of a Sportster are tese, anyway?

Ok, here is my 3 week review. It is 1/2 Sportster, with 2/3 Sportster HP, and burns/leaks twice as much oil.

I'm actively shopping for a lightly used Duc Monster or SV650. I think the SV is better suited for what I want but you can't tell the heart who to fall in love with.

[taz]

I'm actively shopping for a lightly used Duc Monster or SV650. I think the SV is better suited for what I want but you can't tell the heart who to fall in love with.

I agree - that steel trellis frame on the Duc makes my heart flutter, but if you look at an SV and a Monster side by side, they're really quite similar visually. A seat cowl replacing the pillion seat and grab bar on the SV takes it that much closer/nicer.
2004_SV650_yellow_450.jpgducati__monster_620_ie_2_hand_only_4500_km_2004_1_lgw.jpg

If you ever drift through Atlanta (say to Asheville for a weekend), you're welcome to try mine. Should have new tires and battery soon.

- taz

[taz]

here's mine -

image-1-1.jpeg

[sae]

I agree - that steel trellis frame on the Duc makes my heart flutter, but if you look at an SV and a Monster side by side, they're really quite similar visually.

Spoken like a true SV owner. ;) No point in riding something without a little flair.

Skip the 620/695, go for a S2R 800. It doesn't make that much more power (I think my 696 is faster), but it looks the business. SSSA, mmmmm.

[andys]

You can torture yourself with those Ducatis, or get something practical and fun like an SV, or you can have all in one package with the Speed Triple. Amazingly good bikes.


2008_Triumph_Speed_Triple_static6.jpg

[maunahaole]

Speed triple is the shit. I seriously considered a first gen model before I picked up my kawi zrx. The truncated back end transformer styling on the newer ones leaves me a little flat though.

[Jonathan]

Spoken like a true SV owner. ;) No point in riding something without a little flair.

Skip the 620/695, go for a S2R 800. It doesn't make that much more power (I think my 696 is faster), but it looks the business. SSSA, mmmmm.

]

This exaust is pretty trick.

[jscottyk]

Speed triple is the shit...

That's a fact.

Check out the work of Sprit of the Seventies for some amazing custom work using Speed Triples. They are developing an new offering, ST3-C, based on a '05-'12 1050 Speed Triple.

[sae]

You can torture yourself with those Ducatis, or get something practical and fun like an SV, or you can have all in one package with the Speed Triple. Amazingly good bikes.

I considered a Street Triple too (the Speed is considerably less refined than the Street, at least in the non-bugeyed ones which are the only ones I would buy), would love to own one someday. With no belly pan though.

But explain how Ducatis are "torture" and less fun and practical than an SV? Are you adding panniers and hauling groceries with your SV?

[andys]

I am probably all wrong on this one, but I have sat by the side of the road in West Virginia waiting for some hillbilly to help repair my friends duck. Then there was the time in Kentucky waiting for an overnight package from California w/ a voltage regulator. The times waiting for a ferry while a friend idled his 916 because the battery charger was so weak he was afraid it wouldn't restart. I am sure newer models have all this de-bugged. Did they ever get the valve adjustment intervals to be longer? Ducati Monsters are beautiful bikes.

The Speed Triples from the early 2000's (second gen?), lime green, bugeye, etc. Those are great rides for reasonable money. I had a loaner from a friend on a long sport tour, such a great bike. I kind of agree about the stub tail version looking a bit odd. The one I always wanted was the first generation Super Three the '90's with the good suspension and Cosworth enhanced motor. It looked like a bully of a motorcycle.

I considered a Street Triple too (the Speed is considerably less refined than the Street, at least in the non-bugeyed ones which are the only ones I would buy), would love to own one someday. With no belly pan though.

But explain how Ducatis are "torture" and less fun and practical than an SV? Are you adding panniers and hauling groceries with your SV?

[sae]

I have a newer one (696), valve adjustments are 7.5k, which I think is up from 6k? Timing belts too. The aircooled Ducs are super simple, if you can put a bicycle together, you can handle the valve adjustments and belts. I'm not too sure about the older Monsters, but I don't recall many people on the forums complaining about much in general. Some do have their rectifiers fail, but that has been common in CBRs/VFRs, GSXRs/SVs, Triumphs, as well.

It's not a Japanese bike maintenance schedule for sure, but it's pretty easy to handle. Valves kinda settle after 20k miles anyways, so it just becomes belts, plugs, and filters after then.

[Jonathan]

The speed3 looks pretty nice. There is green one for sale not to far away, but for my commute I really don't need 120hp and the extra 50lbs over the 6xx monster or the SV. Duc valves don't intimidate me, I'd actually like to dive into the 2v air cooled head.

I do have a strange fascination with the bigger Buells.

[burgess1108]

Not an owner, but I have a couple of friends with newer Ducs and they are not the same as the older finicky bikes that Duc used to put out. Maintenance intervals are longer and at lower price points now.

Or you could go with one of the winningest brands in motorcycle history. I have an '04 and while I really enjoy it, they've refined them a great deal since I picked up mine.

[sae]

Friend of mine has a Brutale and an F4 750 SPR. Both are stunning.