tools, simple mods and so on....
 

If you just bought a bone stock 'Hawk and wanted to dress it up a little bit, without making it too blingy bling.... and without adding a pipe it to it, what would you do?

What brand / style of the following would you buy, keeping the price middle of the road..not junk, but not all top shelf either, but quality stuff at a good price.

1 Swingarm stand? ( was looking at a pitbull, anything special needed to use as I never used one)

2 rear LED tail light setup with integral yellow turn signals ( so many styles on ebay)

3 Windscreen

4 Seat

5 Luggage / saddlebag and or, tank bag

6 headlight improvement as well as modulator

7 bike cover

8 disk lock for locking the bike


I know this is all out there somewhere, I just got kind muddled in all the info, maybe one of you have done all the above and can offer pros and cons... and being where I am , internet access is kinda hard and short on time.

thanks all.

Jim

well whats the budget? and what do you want the outcome? we talking street play track touring commuter? what you looking to do?

Of course locks are necessary, seat will depend on use I think, same with your luggage situation, bike cover is a good thing but not a necessity unless you have no covered parking but your 33 military most likely married and living on base? more than likely have a garage.
Windscreen and tail lights can all be done on the cheap. But why not get all the performance stuff done before? maybe some manual cct's, debaffle? switch R/R, maybe do pair valves?

good call, should have mentioned that

total of maybe, $500-800 for the items, outcome to make it a commuter / touring bike... not a young street "zoomer" rather just get on and enjoy the ride

I did buy a bone stock (new) VTR. Besides the performance related stuff, ie; slip ons, jet kit, fork springs, TPS adjustment, I'm cheap on everything else.

1) swingarm stand? Who needs it? Got a couple of bottle jacks, couple of milk crates and a steel bar? You don't need a swing arm stand.

2) Not me.

3) Double bubble for about $75. Smooths out the airflow over 65 mph. Worth the money.

4) I'm a hard ass. Stock seat is fine.

5) Get a $10 Codura athletic/"gym" bag and a couple of bungee cords. Use the hooks which fold out from the stock seat. You'll be amazed what you can carry. For large-long-heavy stuff you can also run a long bungee under the rear fender and up over the package you're carrying.

6) My headlight works fine.

7) A fitted bed sheet or $5 tarp works fine. Secure with the bungees you bought for my #5 above.

8) Disc lock? Yeah, if you ever park your bike where you can't see it, get a disc lock.

Personally my priorities would be: Riding gear, brakes and tires, front suspension, rear suspension, R/R, CCT, bling. Boiling it down, it's safety and reliability for me, then the fun stuff.

roger that, but that will all be taken care of as well.

Excellent. I found with new forks and brakes that the bike was sooooo much more fun to ride. I'll try some answers then.

1 Swingarm stand? Made my own

2 rear LED tail light setup with integral yellow turn signals ( so many styles on ebay) No integrated turns, LED brake/tail light is custom

3 Windscreen I bought a dark smoke DB from THIS GUY. Cost me about $33 to my door, fast shipping. There is a slight gap between the fairing and screen which different well nuts (from stock) would fix.

4 Seat I added my own padding, kinda pain to do, but way cheaper than buying a Sargent

5 Luggage / saddlebag and or, tank bag Don't have

6 headlight improvement as well as modulator Don't have

7 bike cover I have a garage, otherwise I would worry the bike would get stolen

8 disk lock for locking the bike Master Lock w/ adjustable combos

no one can recommend a good swingarm stand?

I have the PitBull stand. Works great on the SH.

Like was said, anything will do. Case in point, my free stand:

Attachment 30528

:)

Pitbull is considered top notch. I once had an LP stand and it was OK. If ebay still allows it, I would contact previous buyers of a cheaper stand and ask them.

www.indysuperbike.com is where I got my rear LED turn signals. Motrax Arrows. About $50.

Rear stands, not that different. Most SHs don't have spools. Front stand is different, get one that lifts at the yoke, not at the forks.

There is a thread going right now about tank bags, even has some pictures.

I'm surprised noone else has said it yet, use the search funtion. Lots of good info on this website.

I don't have a swingarm stand and don't need one at all.

If you place an ordinary bottle jack with a "U" head under the lug on the right side of the swingarm where the "shock arm to swing arm bolt" (14-15 in the service manual) goes through, you can lift the rear wheel as the bike balances on the jack, side stand and front wheel. Only takes a couple of minutes and you don't need spools.

I know the word is swingarm stands aren't needed... but they make chain adjustments and washing the bike quite a bit easier...

But for me the biggest plus is, I have a tiny garage.... I can shove the bike right up to the wall, and put it on the stand... this gives me about 3-4 inches more room between the bike and my car when they are both in there... which has probably kept 50 dings off the doors with my wife getting in and out of the car!!!! Plus it's a bit more stable... I'm not worried about it falling over either.

J.

BTW.. i have the LP stands... work good, but if plastic pads/covers wear out, now I'm gonna install spools and ge the appropriate stand connections.

thanks.... I know how to use the search function, I guess i was just hoping there was someone out there looking to do, or have done the same things i am attempting. Plus, being in afghanistan right now..... internet surf time is limited, trying to get as much info in a short amount of time as possible when i am logged on...