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What did you do to your R nineT today?

537K views 4K replies 411 participants last post by  PG46 
#1 ·
I know it's a cornball topic however this type of thread has been very entertaining and extremely informative on other forums. Our souped up NC Miata has multiple improvements, the ideas gleaned from a similar thread at miata.net, and the little tips gained over the years now seem essential. Obviously technical specifics should be posted in the appropriate forum however a general digest of daily tinkering or even that awesome ride you took today may inspire someone to expand their R nineT envelope.

So, today I installed the Ohlins Steering Damper. It almost seems like it's upside down but thats what the instructions show. Next was surveying the available real estate in the frame behind the steering head for the small Stebel Nautilus tooter that arrived today. Tight fit indeed if this is going to work. And finally, I stared at the bike for a long time as usual, with most of the constructive thoughts towards the next generation of my tail tidy (thanks again Marc Australia).

Hopefully tomorrow I can post that I took Li'l B for a long, long ride instead of just dinking with the bike.
 
#458 · (Edited)
I repositioned the stock mirror stalks just slightly, trying to widen the view a bit. I'm still planning to install a set of mirror extenders or different mirrors, but I had to at least try this.

I also adjusted the headlight direction downward a bit, hoping the high beam provides better illumination of the road instead of the sky. My commute home this evening will tell me if it was enough, and if not I'll adjust it again.

EDITED: The ride home tonight showed a huge improvement in the headlight on the rural road I usually take home. The low beam illuminated the road closer to me like it should instead of further in front of me, and the high beam actually lit up the ground instead of the sky and trees! Hard to believe what a difference a very small adjustment made. I put my tools in my backpack when I left for work, just in case I wanted to stop somewhere to make a further adjustment, but it was fine. I'll likely have to adjust it again once I mod the suspension this winter, but for now this is much, much better. Tonight was the safest I've felt riding this new bike in the dark since I bought it. :)
 
#459 ·
I got completely fed up with the awful design of the spring clip in the stock rear hump after the second time it broke. Especially as it was only the second time I’d taken the cover off when it broke the second time.

I removed the remnants of the spring then built up a couple of ‘pads’ on the back of the cover using PU adhesive (Tiger seal or equivalent). I then embedded a couple of Neodymium magnets in the adhesive and bonded a couple of washers to the hump where the magnets would align. Given the distance to bridge I ended up using two magnets per side (check the polarity so they don’t repel rather than attract.

Hey presto, a hump cover that doesn’t fall apart when you need to access essential Covid equipment - face mask, hand sanitizer etc....



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#463 ·
This is a pretty good idea. So far I managed not to break this but I feel I've been lucky so this is a good proactive idea. I do open the thing using the bike key as a lever which seems to be a good way of doing it.

When I look at German engineering, and being an engineer myself, I occasionally am in awe at their ingenuity but also sometimes I wonder who was the idiot that came up with certain solutions, such as this one. Another "who was the idiot?" moment was when I changed the battery and the air filter yesterday.
 
#461 ·
I also didn’t like the lack of reflector on the Fancy Bike Thing tail tidy. Wunderlich do a nice little reflector that I trimmed a little, painted and then mounted on the underside of the number plate with 3M adhesive tape, with a number plate plastic screw for good measure

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I don’t seem to be able to put more than one image in a post - here’s the underside

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I will hang my head in shame at the dirt under there ;)
 
#462 ·
The eagle eyed among you will spot the BMW LED indicators - whilst I love the FBT tail tidy I was uncomfortable with the indicator function not being road legal in the UK (not far apart enough). FBT supply some brackets to fit the stock indicators - but the problem with these is they are incompatible with the BMW panniers. I got the angle grinder out with a cutting disc and cut the ends off the FBT brackets, then welded them onto the FBT licence plate holder further back on the bike so that the panniers just fit in front of them. The other advantage is there is now only one bracket under the seat holding on both the licence/number plate holder and the indicators. Sorry, no photos of this when it was work in progress and difficult to see now its all back on the bike...
 
#468 ·
this weekend past, my first ride since my accident last December, rode to Tauranga to visit my dying Mother in hospital and stayed at a mates place in Waihi on the way home, 530 Km round trip (330 Miles) I don't know how long my paranoias is going lo last? Two of us riding to Wellington in two weeks and planning a three bikes three week South Island tour for January!
 
#472 ·
Very sorry to hear about your mother. :(

As for paranoia on the bike, it will probably take some time. Everyone is different. I hit a deer (in broad daylight) a few months ago, though thankfully it was more of a glancing blow not a crash. Caused some damage to my old bike but I was fine. It freaked me out a little, but only for a few minutes, though the next 30-60 minutes of that ride were done at a more leisurely pace.

I've ridden 3,000+ miles since then, and I'm still riding rural roads often, and even riding a little at night. But I'm also a little bit more wary than I used to be. Not that I was ever not vigilant about looking out for deer, but now I'm even more alert, and often riding just a little slower through the countryside, too.
 
#473 ·
Really sorry to hear about your mother @Rev Gee, I lost my mother earlier this year....

The first time a bike of mine was written-off by a myopic car driver I was battered and bruised (my R100RS was scrap) but as soon as I could I borrowed a mate's motorbike and rode the same road that I'd been in the accident - boy was I a pile of nerves but I got through it and in hindsight it was probably the best thing I could have done. The jitters did fade away over the next couple of months but we are all different. I know folk that jump on the bike the next day with hardly a thought and I know of others that never get on a bike again. We are all different and handle stressful moments in our own ways. Best wishes to you, mate! Hope you have a great bike adventure with your friends!
 
#474 ·
Had the bike three years and have completed lots of journeys in the dark and in bad weather. What’s the one thing that used to make my arse itch ? The poor headlight. Yet like the rest of us that spend most of their time riding in daylight it is one of the last things that you get to sorting out. However, I have a ‘big’ trip planned for next year (more to follow) so I have been making all of the required changes to meet my own brief. Swapped out the headlight bulb this evening for a great LED from LEDPERF in France. Hard to see the full effect in my shed but it is super bright and was an easy install. Took 30 minutes and that was it. Feel free
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to fire me any questions you may have - I know that you also hate the original bulb !
 
#475 ·
Feel free fire me any questions you may have - I know that you also hate the original bulb !
Cool, looking forward to hearing your riding impressions!
 
#481 ·
I have mine sitting in a box, from the previous bike, was just thinking of adding it on top, did you feel a real difference?
 
#492 ·
OBDlink LX showed up. It took more time to figure out how to turn on Bluetooth on the cheap android phone I have than it did to reset the service warning using the Motoscan app. I’m an iphone user and so the android world is ... odd. I only use this rugged phone as a GPS on the bike (and now the motoscan app).
 
#498 ·
Lovely tail tidy and rear fender you’ve got there! Just a word of caution; you may wish to check the clearance between the fender and licence plate so that they don’t bash each other if you hit a bump with the rear wheel. I’ve had it before where I’ve managed to snap the rear licence plate off after reaching max compression on the rear spring on my previous R1200R. Angling the licence plate slightly would help this. Yours is a stunning example of the R NineT - very tastefully customised :)
 
#501 · (Edited)
Did it come with led indicators as standard?
In that case your canbus is set differently to compensate for the lower voltage that leds use.

If you want to use bulbs again you’re going to have the dealer set the setting back again,if possible


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#508 ·
How about some recognition for the ghost rider guys [emoji15][emoji19][emoji848]


[emoji57][emoji6]

And again. Everybody reads that bulbs are switched for leds but it’s the other way around.


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