- Nichols "winged D" badge. This is on the left
side of the engine. A purely cosmetic move.
- License plate bracket. Chris created a license
plate bracket that lets the owner remove all that garbage from the backside. The
kit is available at California Cycleworks.
- "Trunk". The Monster has no space
under the seat. I modified a tankbag so it would sit on the passenger seat. I don't have to
move it when I get gas and it doesn't scratch up the tank.
- Yoyodyne clutch slave cylinder. The Yoyodyne
makes the clutch action a little less stiff; important for weak, girly fingers
like mine. Also not prone to leaking like the stock ones are.
- Polished rims. The choice of pimps in training.
Polished rims are more than an inner city statement; they also happen to be very
easy to clean. The stock rims were polished by a local company
that's now out of business.
- Panic button-water vial-watch. Panic button: Like
a pilot's eject button, I hope to never have to use this. Water vial: A part of my
in-flight bug removal unit. I sewed a small piece of fabric onto my glove. When a
bug splats the visor, I squeeze a little water on the fabric and scrub the bug
off. Watch: Chris bought this watch but didn't like it so I gave it to Poggiali.
- Kickstand "curb feeler" removal. There's a small
knob that sticks out of the kickstand to help make lowering the kickstand easier.
Problem is, if you get any lean angle on the bike, it grinds into the ground.
Chris cut it off and cleaned up the surface.
- Staintune exhaust. I guess you can call this a
cosmetic move. I don't think I got any performance gains out of this. I do,
however, get a rise out of an occasional car alarm.
- Dart flyscreen. Among the most insufferable things
about a naked bike is the buffeting you get at freeways speeds. This tiny screen
offers enough protection to keep my arms from feeling like they're getting
separated from my armpits. Required mod: The yellow lines in
this picture shows how much farther out the Dart
mount originally protruded. To use the flyscreen on the Y2K model, you'll need to
file off this pointed tip so the bracket can rest on the headlight mount. Update:
Steve who sells the flyscreens sent me a new bracket
designed to fit my bike without end-user hacking (it's the one in my hand). You
can buy the flyscreen at
www.dartflyscreens.com.
- Tank pad. I like to lay on my bike while
super-slabbing. The pad keeps the zipper on my jacket from scratching up the tank.
- Steering damper. After a high-speed wobble
through turn 6 at Willow, I rinsed out my underwear and then told Chris I wanted a
damper asap. I got mine from
www.motobella.com, although I think they no longer carry it.
- Kickstand/starter interlock bypass. When the
kickstand is down, you can't start the bike, even if it's in neutral. This piece
by Evoluzione bypasses that setup. Chris had to extend the long wire to make it
route the way he wanted.
- Vest connector. I have a heated vest from Widder.
It's the only thing that lets me continue to ride through winter. Without it, I
have thoughts of crashing so I can get a warm ambulance ride home. The connector
is not the one that came with the vest. Chris put in a connector that accepts the
plug for a trickle charger, so we switched the one on my vest to use this same
connector.
- Red Racing rearsets. After the "curb feeler"
on the kickstand
was removed, I started dragging my feet on the ground. Chris insisted that I get
rearsets and I'm very pleased with having been coerced into buying them. I really
like how more compact my body feels. A couple of notes about these rearsets: 1)
Because the footpegs are narrower, I felt pigeon-toed at first, but I don't really
notice it any more. 2) I had to take a Dremel and grind down the
sharp high points on the rearsets, which
were cutting up my boots.
- Napoleon Bar End mirrors. They're not where you'd
expect to find them.
- BrakeTech ductile iron rear rotor. The rotor
doesn't attach directly to the rear wheel; instead, it floats on spacers or
"bushes" that bolt to the wheel. The bolt heads are what prevents the rotor from
falling off. Special attention needs to be paid to the type of bolt used as the
stock ones do not always allow enough clearance. Lower profile bolts are included
with the rotor.
- Nichols flywheel. This was an important and
long-awaited upgrade. Like it did on my 900ss, the lightened flywheel removed a
lot of vibrations I was experiencing on the high end of the revs. You'd think that
being a woman I'd enjoy all the vibrating, but I was experiencing them in the
wrong place: through the footpegs. The bike is also torquier now.
- Throttle modulator. Just put a hose clamp on
the end of your throttle and you've got yourself a lowbrow throttle modulator. I
put a piece of cloth underneath mine so the clamp wouldn't leave a real nasty mark
on the grip. I also wrapped the clamp in black tape so the edges wouldn't bite
into my glove. This is great for iron butt rides since you can rest your palm on
it and relax your grip.
- "Sprocket" the monkey. I bought him when I was
faced with a solo 450-mile ride, most of it in the dark. I needed a buddy to talk
to. "Would you like to touch my monkey?..."
- Reshaped seat. Chris had to
have his Monster seat redone because it was trashed when he
bought the bike salvaged. When I finally got around to riding
his bike, I was impressed by the comfort of the seat so I had
mine redone identically. It's flatter across so now I sit more
on my not-ample butt cheeks and less on my pooter. Hey, you
know what? It feels pretty good not to be teetering on your
sensitive plumbing for hours at a time.
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