What’s going on guys? With Dave in the Czech Republic (spreading the good word of IPM, of course), the Speed Triple is back in my garage. Before getting into trouble with it around town, I thought I’d jazz it up a bit with some rim stripes.
Seeing as how the special edition has red rim stripes (see Matty’s article), I thought I would go with something a bit different. As it happened, the good folks over at RatedRParts dot Com, sent us some white stripes all the way from Australia. Thanks mates! Check them out!
Dave will have to wash the rest of his wheels when he gets back, and the rest of the bike for that matter. There’s a difference between the grunge look, and just plain neglecting your bike. Overtime, dirt, oil, and other corrossive crap from the road just starts to eat through the bike. Even dirt bikes get washed! And, I gotta tell ya, there’s nothing like the feeling you get when you blast past people in a gleaming black Speedy!
Stay tuned guys! Rated R Parts sent us two more colors. Guess which bikes they’ll go on!
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As my court date draws ever closer, I have decided to let the sleeping dragon lie, and attempt to at least properly install my license plate.
I had it installed vertically because the holes on the actual plate lined up better to the undertail that way. However, I need to have Johnny Law on my side, so I decided to cut out my hotdog antics, and place the plate horizontally.
As you will see in the video, in order to do this, I had to drill two new holes into the plate. I am unsure as to how legal this is, because I recall something about destroying or tampering with government property being a crime. I guess, I’ll have to wait and see what the judge says when I attempt to charm the points off my ticket!
That’s it for me this week folks. I will be back to my regularly scheduled program in a week or so. Enjoy the weather while it lasts folks!
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I finally had my date with justice, and to be honest, I’m patient enough to appreciate the process of deliberation within the system. Mostly, this is due to the factor that, this is my first traffic offense of what seems like the possibility of becoming a recurring problem of running the Speed Triple. Naturally, I wanted to learn as much from the circumstance as possible.
I took the time beforehand to stop by the North Beach Police Department station and wrote off the missing mirrors from my ticket. But it wasn’t until last weekend, that we decided to finally (and tastefully) strap down the plate vertically with some dzus racing screws. As you remember, I had been sporting the thing on my backpack for the last couple of weeks, so the legality of the situation would have to be taken care of after the fact.
In any event, I made my way to 850 Bryant Street on exactly the last date possible to put myself through the wringers of the system. I figured that if I was going to spend my spare time in the hands of the bureaucracy and litigation, I was going to drag this thing out as long as possible.
Bright and early, I made my way through the court house and followed the red neon signs that pointed me to the traffic offenses department. I lined up with the rest of the riff-raff, feeling a bit foolish for having bothered to dress up for the occasion and made my way to the small window with a slot. I nervously submitted the tickets and waited for him to make his move.
“This ticket hasn’t been submitted yet, I don’t see it in the system.”
He continued to explain to me that if I continue with submitting the tickets and entering a plea, I would be implicating myself of the offense. As much as I would prefer to be known as a dutiful and responsible citizen of San Francisco, I’m not the type of person to go against my 5th amendment rights and incriminate myself for the better good of the people. If the cop had been too busy to submit the papers formally, so be it. What are the chances of him going out of his way to show up in court when the time, if ever, comes?
As it stands, I have three weeks to return and casually check if I’m due in court. If he doesn’t process the ticket within 90 days of when I got pulled over, the offense disappears. If he makes the effort, than I’ll take my odds and make my way to a hearing with a glint in my eye. Until then, I’ve got to get this plate fixed because I was just issued a warning by the Marin Police Department (haters! -Ed) for improper hanging of said plate. Such is the life of a hooligan.
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Now that the 1050 is up to nearly street-legal status, I have regained the joy of hindsight as Lex Racing has granted me with a pair of CRG Lane Split (LS) bar end mirrors. Although I may have become adjusted to riding without them, I’m glad to have the reassurance of knowing when I’m being pulled over, instead of blindly shooting off at untold speeds without hesitance.
The design is minimal, with simple round mirrors connected to a ball joint to allow for flexible positioning. The clips extend a few inches past bars which presents a problem for those who tend to split lanes. I find myself flipping back the mirrors as I move into traffic but the constant shifting of positions back and forth may be distracting for a time when jumpy cabbies and tired bus drivers are a major hazard in the city. The mirrors also sit lower than traditional styles so you must train your eyes to accommodate the change. Depending on your parking situation and the neighborhood you leave your wheels in, theft maybe a problem as any industrious crack head can walk away with them with the twist of an Allen wrench. But maybe I’m giving them too much credit, I mean who walks around with an Allen set? Just clamp those suckers down properly.
Beyond the situational criticism, the mirrors look good on a street bike by keeping the nose bare. The construction is solid and without fault. In the future, I think manufactures might want to look into a way to retract the mirrors at the push of a button. The problem is that you could only sell the product in states that allows lane splitting so the market is limited. So be it. Future be damned.
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What’s going on fellow riders? While Dave had the Daytona this week, I was able to get reacquainted with the Speed Triple. I took it to work today and discovered some strange changes.
There was a clicking sound coming from the front brakes. Or at least that’s where I think it is coming from. I investigated at the garage by my work place but could not figure it out. The caliper bolts were all securely screwed on.
I also noticed some brake fade. I had to start braking a lot earlier. Maybe I have just been spoiled by the Brembos on the Hypermotard. The brake pads are new, so maybe it was the lever? Hmmm, well I let Dave know so he could properly investigate it when he takes the bike back.
But I had fun today being a hooligan around town. The smooth burble of the engine harmonizing with the roar of the dual Remus exhaust made me a terror around quiet neighborhoods. The upright seating position also allowed me to properly scope out the hotties with naughty bodies without any danger to my safety. Hey, you try checking girls out while riding a sportbike…
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