82 GL1100 Rat
- Thread starter NakedWing82
- Start date
NakedWing82
First Bike, First Wing, First Custom
So I pulled the cover and padding off the seat yesterday..... shaved the padding down flat for the rider and completely removed all passenger padding. I dont have any plans of putting my girl on the back since I am still a relatively new rider. The plastic seat pan itself is shaped like a cafe racer without doing anything. So I just cut and pulled and re-stapled the leather cover and painted the plastic tail. It's not a show piece but dammit it looks so much better than the couch that was on there. I finished after dark last night so pictures wouldn't be worth a crap from my phone...... will take some when i get home today and get them posted up for everyone to see....
motorman45
Active Member
cant wait to see what it looks like now. i thought the pan would be perfect for what you wanted. just cutting the foam.
NakedWing82
First Bike, First Wing, First Custom
It won't be the absolute final seat but for the cost of cutting the foam, leather, and spraying the white plastic pan to black, I wont complain. This is also the first work I have ever done with leather. I reused the existing and just trimmed it to the padding I left.....
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NakedWing82
First Bike, First Wing, First Custom
remember I always get it back together to ride the next day...... Next on the list is black wheels with red lip. the rear is already black but will recoat to freshen up
NakedWing82
First Bike, First Wing, First Custom
sorry about the finger in the picture guys...... just shot it real quick before coming inside this morning...... damn phone camera. Can't get my back enough to not show the lax of the photographer......
NakedWing82
First Bike, First Wing, First Custom
NakedWing82
First Bike, First Wing, First Custom
So Im going to ask for many opinions on this one....... all black wheel/rim, all red wheel/rim, or black spoke red rim. Im having inner quarrels and would love some other input.......
How about this - black wheel, but you paint the inside of the double spokes red (those five slits on each wheel) That might look pretty great. Too much red could be a bad thing quickly (but it definitely needs more red at this point)
In the end you don't want to mess up the color balance of the bike.
Next set of tires, go white letter, or 1/4" white wall =) That would look dope.
In the end you don't want to mess up the color balance of the bike.
Next set of tires, go white letter, or 1/4" white wall =) That would look dope.
NakedWing82
First Bike, First Wing, First Custom
Cursh said:
I like that idea. Ive definately been thinking of either RWL or whitewalls for the tires. Im also big on the idea of "color balance." I wanna stay mostly black, touches of chrome and white, accented with hints of red. Ill probably try you're idea, im doing all rattle can anyway so if i don't like it i can strip and start over and am not out a bunch of $$$.
cxman said:
I'll definately look into the progressives. these are stock forks, I haven't cut springs or anything. part of why I love this forum is the shared knowledge from you guys. thx marty, any suggestions on where to get the progessives......?
NakedWing82
First Bike, First Wing, First Custom
cool, not a bad price at all. I do like the lowered look, i guess the springs would have to be stiffer for less travel if i do a lowering spring. is that right?
NakedWing82
First Bike, First Wing, First Custom
noted: thank you sir
NakedWing82
First Bike, First Wing, First Custom
6'2 215. Im not a super heavy guy but pretty strong as far as holding a 700 ish lb bike. I actually live on a bumpy gravel road out in the country, I just cadillac maybe 20 mph and the bike does fine. other than that almost all of my riding is freeway 75+ mph or country twisties 50-55 mph. I haven't noticed any issues in those riding conditions, however, i honestly don't have a lot of other experience to compare to. a buddy's 2012 750 shadow and a co-workers 08 ZX-10....but neither of these are the same "type" of bike as the wing. the wing seems to feel fine but I do now have a fork re-build planned for the near future.
do this simple test
tie a zip tie pulled tight around your fork tube just above the lower so it is is right over the black dust shield
drive the bike around for a week and see how far up the tube the zip tie gets
and how close to the lower triple tree it gets
this will tell you if you are even getting close to a bump steer
2-3 inches from the triple tree would be comfortable for me
also if this does not make sense to you pls ask me to try explaining it again i am a lousy writer
a bad bump steer can occur when the forks compress enough to hit the lower triple tree at the same time as the wheel is impacting a bump
pot hole rock or something they try to deflect off or away from at that point the forks will be pinned and become rigid
and not good things happen including commonly the handle bars get ripped from your hands
tie a zip tie pulled tight around your fork tube just above the lower so it is is right over the black dust shield
drive the bike around for a week and see how far up the tube the zip tie gets
and how close to the lower triple tree it gets
this will tell you if you are even getting close to a bump steer
2-3 inches from the triple tree would be comfortable for me
also if this does not make sense to you pls ask me to try explaining it again i am a lousy writer
a bad bump steer can occur when the forks compress enough to hit the lower triple tree at the same time as the wheel is impacting a bump
pot hole rock or something they try to deflect off or away from at that point the forks will be pinned and become rigid
and not good things happen including commonly the handle bars get ripped from your hands
NakedWing82
First Bike, First Wing, First Custom
I understand perfectly. I'll be wrapping some zip ties on the forks when i get home....... would a steering damper be a good investment to minimize the likeliness of bump steer occurring? I see them on almost every super sport but never on a wing. not that it would be instead of a fork rebuild, in addition to....
