I rode my motorcycle to work again today. I love it. I never thought riding would be so much fun ever again. When I first came to Albuquerque, I was learning to drive in a much bigger city. It was intimidating. But with this bigger bike, I feel much more at ease.
But the more I ride, the more I find little nuisances that bother me ever so slightly. Nothing sticks out and demands to be changed or fixed. But I sit here wondering what I can do to this wonderful machine to make the experience even better.
1. First off, I can't hook my helmet to the bike. The helmet lock is hidden behind the bags. It was a poor design decision. There are alternatives. There are helmet lock extenders but that means keeping track of them. Some people use a rubber pad lock on the case guard (whatever that is) and hook their helmet to that. You can buy custom helmet lock tips for your handle bars too. Or I have even found where you can add a new helmet lock to any bolt on the bike (which gives me a few ideas).
2. The wind shield is a bit too tall. Or maybe I'm a bit too short. I'm not sure which. But the wind shield could be a bit shorter. I don't notice it much during the day, but at night my eye height clips the top of the wind shield (which completely obscures the road for me). I find myself sitting up as straight as possible to see over it or ducking down. There are other wind shields that you can customize their height and even clip on and clip off with ease. That is nice. To be honest, I wasn't sure I'd like a wind shield. They seem old and fuddy duddy. But once you have one, and hit the interstate, it is really hard to go back. It makes the ride amazingly better. Some custom wind shields have a tool bag and/or some air vents that you can open or close to let some air come through and cool you off.
3. The grips I have are nice. They came with the bike. But I find my hand going numb after I ride for a while. The time it takes, depends on the weather. The more I ride, the longer I seem to be able to go without it completely going numb. Part of this may be because my wrists are getting stronger, or it could be the weather. Or, it could be that I'm becoming more confident in this bike and so I don't have a death grip so much anymore. I did add a $5 palm rest to the right side, but it doesn't fix the problem only helps it out. I've read about these Kurykan Iso grips that are supposed to be better. Also, there I am considering an addon to the bike for a breakaway cruise control throttle lock (not true cruise control) that just slips over the right side and is disabled when you pull the hand brake or disable with a button on the device. True cruise control is potentially available within the year or so, but will cost 5x as much and is very invasive. It would be nice though, especially for long rides. I plan to ride up to Moab with the bike sooner or later.
4. Saddle bags are nice. My bike came with them and they have this old traditional look to them. They look like old style leather bags. But the truth is they have a fitted form and under neath their old style belt buckle clamp, is a plastic clip clamp that holds it on. Two snaps seal the deal. They are perfect in almost every way. The only problem is they don't lock. I've seen bags that have locks on them. But they are hard bags (often colored to match the bike). I'm sorry but I like the leather look. But it would be nice to "lock" the bags. I don't know how often I would ever use that feature. But when I go to the movies, it would be nice to put my jacket in there and (if you look at #1) lock my helmet to the bike. Then again, even with the helmet locked, do I trust people to not just cut the chin strap?
5. No luggage rack on the back. I'm not entirely sure this is a problem. But it'd be nice to be able to place luggage in the seat behind me when I don't have a passenger. (or hell even if I do, it'd be nice to put a bag on the back). I have seen them for the M109R but the motorcycle accessory manufacturers seem slow to support the relatively new C109R (and C109RT).
6. Garage door opener? I've heard tell of a way to make your garage door open and shut with the bright beam of your motorcycle. But heck, I can't even get my wife's van to open the garage door either and it has a built in garage door open button. The trouble is the garage door opener is a closed system / cheap. I may have to replace it. But right now I have to stop in the drive way and call my wife to open the garage door. It is a pain. Is it worth it to ride the motorcycle? Hell ya!
7. Tank cover. I've got a 5 gallon gas tank. It is really big. And I still find myself hugging the tank a lot. I'm worried that over time, my jeans will start to rub the paint off the tank. I've seen a nice leather tank cover that goes up the sides and then up the middle on the top. You can still see the tank sides but closer to the front. It is very nice.
8. Passenger floor boards. I am strongly considering getting floor boards for the passenger. Right now they are just pegs. But the boards would be nice. Especially if I start giving one of my girls a ride to school every morning.
At this point, I wonder why I got the "T" on the C109R. The "T" in C109RT is for tourer. It comes with the bags, wind shield, and back rest. So far, I have considered up grading all of the above and then some. But how much of it is just me having fun with my bike and how much of it is stuff I need. The truth is I don't need any of it. I've got the bike and it works. I may find myself desperate for the cruise control or better grips on a long trip, but that is a year off I think.
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