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Saturday, December 28, 2013

Heated Grips and 12V Accessory plug

After almost 4 years I finally bit the bullet one night and ordered the Honda genuine accessory heated grips and 12V accessory harness. They were expensive.... 3 or 4 times the price of comparable aftermarket stuff... but worth it. After doing the installation, I think the price is mostly justified.

The harnesses and plugs for these accessories have the perfect amount of slack in the wires, the right connectors, quality fittings, and are connected to a fused, switched power source. I didn't take the time to put together a tutorial for installation but I did take a few photos and made some mental notes.

The installation was very tedious and time-consuming. BUt after seeing how it all goes together I like the way these accessories were designed as a high-quality permanent solution. Once it was all finished, the wiring and fixtures looked like factory-installed options.... which is nice but frustrating as the VFR1200 really ought to have been equipped with these features as delivered.

The mid fairings and tank covers had to come off

A lot of time was taken to carefully route the wires properly and cover them tidily.

The connections are all very clean and tidy

The bracket for the 12v plug had to be riveted in place... meaning I had to buy a rivet gun and figure out how to use it. :P

The heated grips have 3 settings indicated by a blinking red light.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Burnout

I'm really a squid at heart.
The Pirelli Angel ST tires on my 1200 are done. I'm having a pair of Angel GTs fitted tomorrow. Before I take the wheels off I find it neccessary to burn the remaining tread off the old tires. Because I'm immature.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkK_CXBj5s&feature=youtu.be

pic of VFR with the wheels off: Notice the automotive-style solid steel brake line fixed to the swingarm.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Ventura Pannier Liners

I ordered these direct from Ventura's US importer. On my last tour I found it was a pain to detach the panniers every time I stopped for the night so I thought some fitted liners would come in handy. I had read a little about a product that Ventura offered as an alternative to the Honda official accessory pannier liners so I went with those instead. Ventura has a great reputation for quality and customer support, and the user reviews I had seen indicated that the Venturas have a little more useable space than the Honda stuff.

I haven't been on a long trip with them yet, but I'm very impressed with the quality and fit. Looking forward to putting them to the test.