what is it about this bike

mach1 · March 22, 2009, 07:57:49 PM

Why is it that i like modding this bike more than riding? My next mod will be for my liking only you guys will not follow in my footsteps and maybe disagree. Im going to install a sound system in my GS, yep that correct two speakers and a radio with MP3 input jack. Why cause i can. I have no job and i have freee time on my hands till my EMT classes begin.

shiznizbiz · March 22, 2009, 08:08:05 PM

Uh oh, emt classes? hehehehe... good luck.

fred · March 22, 2009, 08:55:48 PM

I don't know. I ride my GS all the time. i have a huge list of mods I'd like to get done eventually, but most of the time, I just ride it. The only time I ever do get around to modding the bike is when I already need to mess with the part in question. When I needed new pads and rotors, I also went with a set of stainless brake lines, things like that. I love riding the GS and one of the things I like most about having it is its ability to just fire up and go where I want without any hassle.

jetboy287 · March 22, 2009, 09:22:56 PM

good luck with class if i didn't live so far away I'd offer to help you out but you shouldn't have any prob with it just wait till you go to paramedic class thats when you may have to study

jetboy287 · March 22, 2009, 09:25:05 PM

oh and if you have any questions just pm me. I just went through p'medic class last year so i may be able to help you out

Roadstergal · March 22, 2009, 10:17:22 PM

I'd rather ride than wrench.

Lukewarm Wilson · March 22, 2009, 10:45:28 PM

Truth be known I'm like that at the moment would rather work on it then ride. I think this tells us that its time to move on to something bigger but our pride in our GS's just wont let us get rid of them or even acknowledge that we have this problem

so we try to make the bike better to offset the need for a new bike. Thats my thought, as I look at my 4.5 inch rim and original clip ons that have to go on my GS.

yamahonkawazuki · March 22, 2009, 11:02:32 PM

Quote from: mach1 on March 22, 2009, 07:57:49 PM
Why is it that i like modding this bike more than riding? My next mod will be for my liking only you guys will not follow in my footsteps and maybe disagree. Im going to install a sound system in my GS, yep that correct two speakers and a radio with MP3 input jack. Why cause i can. I have no job and i have freee time on my hands till my EMT classes begin.

can i ask where youd mount this at?, i was always curious. and even tho im now gs'less, it was always on my to do list
good luck btw

Toogoofy317 · March 22, 2009, 11:09:51 PM

I liked the $10 nike stereo skull cap speakers plus double sided tape inside the shoei to the Ipod shuffle just fine! Mod time two minutes. My modding has been due to a$$holes deciding my bike was too good for me!

My next mod if you will straightening out my fairing! But, I'd like to do some real mods one can dream right! But, if I did someone else would just screw it up anyway.

If you need any help on the EMT bit I was one for six years. I've seen just about all of it.

Mary

mach1 · March 23, 2009, 09:42:52 AM

i will mount the speakers in the fairings just under the bars. the head unit in not sure yet i need to ho to the garage and look at the bike. right now my time is being spent training and getting ready for the cpat test. if i dont make it as a fire paramedic than a firefighter i shall go. oh id love a bigger bike but with no job and little moolah coming in that out of the question.

The Buddha · March 23, 2009, 11:00:40 AM

Of late I am wrenching a lot more than riding. Thank all the busted crap I have lying about. But I also think at work is the safety factor. Riding is more likely to get you hurt, and wrenching seems to fill that same void, besides the "test ride" is always fun.
Cool.
Buddha.

bill14224 · March 23, 2009, 11:32:45 AM

Quote from: Lukewarm Wilson on March 22, 2009, 10:45:28 PM
Truth be known I'm like that at the moment would rather work on it then ride. I think this tells us that its time to move on to something bigger but our pride in our GS's just wont let us get rid of them or even acknowledge that we have this problem so we try to make the bike better to offset the need for a new bike. Thats my thought, as I look at my 4.5 inch rim and original clip ons that have to go on my GS.

There is no "need" for a new bike. Perhaps desire, sure, but not need. If you bought a bigger bike you probably wouldn't ride that one either. From what I've observed over the years the guys who are wrenching and modding all the time usually stop riding, except for a Sunday spin or not at all. Usually they end-up with a show bike that's no longer very suitable for everyday riding. The bike becomes an example of fine workmanship and a piece of mechanical art, but not something that's at all practical. I've seen this process unfold for guys with everything from a bike like ours, a Yamaha XS 650 special, Japanese cruiser or 4-cylinder standard, Triumph Bonneville, or a Harley. The more they wrench and mod, the less they ride, until they're not riding at all. It is my feeling and opinion that they love motorcycles, but they don't really love to ride. I can't get inside their heads so I'll never know for sure.

The guys who ride as much as they can tend to wrench only when they have to, and keep the mods to a minimum. They also ride practical motorcycles in the first place, which is what you have. That would be guys like me and GSJack, who puts me to shame. He would laugh at my piddly 5,000 miles/year. Then again, I live in Blizzard Central. It seems to me that many of the hardest-core bikers, those who ride whenever it isn't snowing, ride enduro bikes with luggage and racks. They let their bikes get rusty and filthy and they don't care. They just ride, and ride, and ride. They are usually middle-aged. They seem to be in it for the ride, and probably cheap transportation, and they don't care what anyone thinks about it. They look like bag ladies on motorcycles, but I respect that!

The Buddha · March 23, 2009, 11:42:31 AM

Repair vs mods bill.
I got all of mine busted. Some of these were busted beyond recognition.
I fix it and ride a bit and time to sell. Repeat.
That's the problem I think. I sell it just as it gets good.
Cool.
Buddha.

bill14224 · March 23, 2009, 11:45:24 AM

Buddha, if you really do love to ride, why not do what I did? Get a good old one for $1200 and ride the piss out of it? Maintain it, of course, but RIDE THE PISS OUT OF IT!!! Treat yourself, you're not getting any younger!

I do respect what you're doing, however. You are rescuing abused and neglected motorcycles, and giving them new life. Others do it with cats and dogs. I used to do it with CB radios and stereos, until it became completely unprofitable to do so. You are a nurturer, as am I, and the world needs more of us. If you wanna keep doing it and make money, do it with old hardwood furniture!

The Buddha · March 23, 2009, 12:08:42 PM

I do that too. That virago was supposed to be like that, except it ran great for 4 days and died on the 5th day. Every 10 miles it would lose power and want to die. Pulling into the shoulder with the clutch in it would idle like nothing happened. A few miles ~10 miles later - repeat. I suspect some pinched somethign or a bad fuel pump that's running at 1/2 the power or somehting.
Anyway took me an extra 1/2 hour getting home friday.
Cool.
Buddha.

scratch · March 23, 2009, 01:54:59 PM

It's a hobby (see sig).

mach1 · March 23, 2009, 02:55:58 PM

I love riding my bike and once I get insurance i will be riding again but till then keep the mods rolling

bill14224 · March 23, 2009, 03:42:15 PM

Sounds like a weak fuel pump to me too, Buddha. I'm glad the GS doesn't have one.

extra unnecessary parts

mach1 · March 23, 2009, 09:12:28 PM

sweet guys thanks for jacking my thread

shiznizbiz · March 24, 2009, 02:11:40 AM

you ever just jack someones thread and think to yourself...wow...im awesome....lol. not me. Im not a thread jacker..just a post whore

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what is it about this bike