Grover

ok, the anticipated results of my tinkering and toiling! basically, they do fit, but its gonna take a few sheets of sandpaper, and about an hour first, the clutch-side grip slides on like a dream (unless youve banged the crap out of your bars), but make a couple of dry tests before you get the super glue out but the throttle side is a right bitch to fit: instead of a smooth plastic sleeve that has the rubber grip glued on, it has no glue, and instead has extrusions over the top, about 10mm long, 5mm wide and 1 or 2 mm tall. coupled to this there is also a ring around the edge that extrudes about as much. the problem is that these are ADDED onto the standard diameter that the grips need, so they need to come off. i used a stanley knife to get most of them off, then some sandpaper to clean up the rough parts, keep dry-fitting the grips after each attack with the sandpaper to make sure you don't overdo it. when you're dry-fitting the drips, tehres two things you're looking for: check that you can get the grips on within 10 seconds of applying the glue (it sets bloody quick), and that the throttle will close itself quickly: since the grips may be tight, they can squeeze the plastic onto the bar itself, fouling up its movement, which can hold the throttle open for you (not good, and possible illegal as well) it may take a while to get the throttle side on, but once you're there, and the brake lever isnt blocked by the wire coming out of the throttle, it couldn't be easier to get all the wiring done, i hid the control box under the seat (in a nicely placed space), then ran the wires flush under the fuel tank and up near the front forks. the metal plate to mount the controller to can be bent easily to whatever shape you need, and it can be cut as necessary. you might want to use some cable ties (or zip-strips) to secure some of the wiring, making sure you can still turn the bars and throttle freely, to tidy up, and ensure that if the controller comes off its stick backed foam base, that it won't go far once they're installed, full power is too hot for bare hands at all, and the 75% power setting is nice for a cold day, but on a cold rainy night, you really need to ramp it up to 100% these things are really toasty, adding muffs will almost certainly be too hot for full power (trapping the heat in the muff) one side effect is that the headlight will fluctuate slightly as the grips take pulses of power, its not enough to notice as your're riding, but it makes the headlight EVEN dimmer (so better upgrade those bulbs peeps!) finally, the grips alone can drain the battery in under 1.5 hours, so make sure to turn them off, but the chap at Hein Gericke claimed that the control box also detects if the battery is not being charged, and cuts the power to the grips if that's the case (such as leaving them on after a journey), but i wont bother testing this, for fear of busting a battery. definatley reccomend the oxford grips, cant say anything about the DR Bike grips, but these are definitly worth what you pay for if in doubt, or if you don;t have much skill with a Stanley knife, take the grips (adn your bike ) to a mechanic or dealer to fit them for you, might cost some, but at least you know its done safely (i DO NOT reccomend using a crap mechanic to fit them, else you're in trouble) PS, make sure to buy some generic bar ends to cover the holes once the grips are fitted, you want the ones with the rubber inside the handlebar that expand to grip the inside of the bar, ask your local parts dealer if you dont know

ok, my grips arrived, but i quickly found out that i bought the scooter version of the oxford grips, and the instructions wanted me to drill a hole through the fairing to bolt the switch to ill send them back tomorrow, but in the meantime, which grips do you people suggest for a YBR, considering that my electronic top box already has some drain on the battery, and i dont wanna overload the poor little thing (5Ah isnt much considering that the grips alone can draw up to 4A, leaving me with about 40-45 minutes of discharge before my battery is lunched, so just one accidental "leaving the grips turned on" will leave me with a poorly flat battery) otherwise, has anyone got a simple solution for hooking the wiring up to the ignition, so i can't accidentally leave them running? thanks

will do next chance i get and i used a rucksack, but once i'd filled it with all my uni stuff and gone an hour riding, my shoulders ached like a bitch, and letting it rest on the seat a little made it shift freely, for some real clencher moments. with the gloss black finish on a black YBR, it looks great IMO, but each man to his own and all that stuff. after today's ride to uni and back, ive found that i hardly notice its there, its big enough to carry my full rucksack (with a little convincing at least) or my full face helmet and gloves, with a little extra room on the sides (i guess i could fit another pair of winter gloves) another bonus is the brake light (if you manage to wire it up good) which makes your brake signals much clearer to following traffic, just remember NOT TO SET THE CASE'S ALARM else the LEDs flash continuously, and this will certainly get you rear-ended if you need to stop in a hurry (some models have motion activated alarms as well, so you'll be reminded as soon as you lean for a bend, or accelerate for that matter) il get some pics posted tomorrow whilst im out and about laters

ok, forget about the security problem, the case DOES lock to the plate, i just didnt lock it right and all round, it seems like a really nice case, despite its size, i hardly even notice that its there (got it up to about 50 today, ill try 65 tomorrow and see if nothing comes off) but based on other reviews, and video evidence, it seems to be INCREDIBLY durable, and i second that, its a really well built piece of kit, and i'd certainly recommend (can't compare it to any Givi or Kappa, since ive owned neither, but id have high expectations from them)

what has my thread become? what started as crumbly concrete has become bikers in drag and we wonder why our world seems broken

been thinking of some ways to secure the case to my bike to protect against theft (AFAIK theres no way to lock the case to the base plate), and the ebst i can think is to drill a couple of holes, and tun a bolt through the case and plate can anyone think of a better way to keep the scumbags of britan from getting at my helmet whilst my back's turned? i'd rather not have to resort to no-nails and duct tape if possible, and discreet is probably best thanks

just fitted my new CooCase Wizard to the little YBR http://www.ghostbikes.com/products/luggage-top-cases-and-side-cases/4802-coocase-v36-wizard-luxury-topcase-36l-(v36-ll).html]LINKY has anyone else ever fitted a powered top case? i found the electrical stuff to be far too fiddly to do without any instructions at all (except a bit in the manual that explains what each colour wire is... nothing about where the "brake" wire goes) anyways, i managed to get the baseplate on without a problem (had to enlist my brother though... 2 hands aren't enough), then got to work running the cables under the seat space to the battery... only to find that the positive wire is too long, and the negative is too short (by about 300mm) after a little thought, i decided to cut the brake wire shorter (it was about 350mm too long), and chock-block it to the end of the negative wire, piece of cake! and to confirm i hadn't spazzed anything up, the case bleeped to life as it automatically locked itself now the tricky one: the brake light trigger. dont know if this is the usual stuff, but after cutting the wire down, i deduced that i had to strip the end, and somehow get it to intergrate with the yellow wire running to the brake light bulb... the only problem was that it was wrapped up in insulation and tucked into a little nook, so it took a good 20 minutes to get the existing brake wire out, stripped and cut. then as i tried to chock-block the three wires together, i discovered that i need a third hand, but by now my brother has gotten bored and cold and gone back in the house. so after another ten minutes, i finally got it all connected up now i have a nice big top case, easily big enough for my lid (or some dog food and milk as i discovered shortly after), with a built in alarm, remote locking and axillary brake light! not bad for £130, considering it has a nice finish on it (matches the black bike perfectly) anyone else ever had some fun with an electrical top box? or is it just me thanks for reading

i prefer the welly one, can't be too hard to no-nails it to the stand's feet

i just pay £18 a month for a bottom end "smart"phone, its not great, but its good for my social stuff, and ive got a fuel tracker app to keep track of the fel my YBR takes (averaging ABOVE 100mpg)

im spending it now so the (future) kids can't have it

i just spent £130 on a good top box and some more for heated grips, and £70 for a replacement rear tyre (im almost bald at the moment) after all the motorcycle gear, im probably well over £4000 for my bike, accessories and PPE, but at the end of the day, i love being on the bike, and wish i had more time to just ride

why ever bother with the hard stuff? even if it sounds stupid, i bet it does the job twice as well with half the effort

did you get a problem with your mirrors fogging up as you went through the fog? or was that just me?

ive had a shop around, and teh grips ive gone for are oxford grips designed to be fitted to a scooter, so the YBRs battery should hold out fine... so long as i dont leave it on too long. though it does claim to have an "intelligent" system that detect when ive left them on, and cuts the power automatically... supposedly by noticing when my bike's battery has dropped below a certain voltage, then im stuck with cold hands again but for less than £30, its not the end of the world if i have to leave them turned off every now and then

i never said i was dengerous... just not accurate... it wouldnt end up a rectangle anyways, but it would sure as hell be cut

maybe a piece of ply cut to 300x150 should do, but im not the best hand with a saw, perhaps i can enlist the help of a buddy/dad

after 6 months with my bike in teh garage, getting on and off the centre stand at least once a day, ive managed to start wearing away my concrete floor in the garage i found one solution is to place a floor plate down http://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/74424]like this, but i can only seem to find such a product for a side stand, and it's not wide enough to take a centre stand has anyone else found a solution, preferably one that can also hide the dirty marks ive left behind (the pains is worn away, and theres some little holes where the concrete itself has been worn away thanks people!

im looking to swap my stock YBR grips for some oxford hot grips (or the dr. bike ones, which appear to be the same but cheaper ), but im not sure if it will be easy enough to fit: most guides seem to show bikes with bar ends, which my YBR (2011 model) doesnt have, but rather the rubber grip covers over the bore in the handlebar is it still practical and easy to fit heated grips? and do i require any more hardware to add (like if the grips allow for bar ends and leave a hole for the screw) thanks

but if its a marked car, and im on the A6 into preston (basically double yellows all the way), then i should pull over anyway, provided that i can do so without hindering traffic, or endangering anybody (keeping clear of junctions/crossings etc)

hey fellas, just a quick one (not STRICTLY motorcycle related, but its close enough) when you are signalled to pull over by a police officer in a vehicle, how should you go about stopping? should you pull over onto double yellows or go a little further to where theres a more appropriate spot? i only ask because its a criminal offence not to stop, and also a criminal offence to stop where its not legal (such as on double yellows) thanks

kids are the reason ABS was invented i think wish there was a YBR spec with ABS, it would certainly have earned its keep by now

but im also paying the dealership to order and fit them for me, so they were bound to be a little cheaper elsewhere... probably not by that much... next time ill supply them with the tyre, see if i can fet the front one changed cheaper

actually i think he was indian, but of course i dont mean that in any racist way at the end of the day, its got to be someone's fault, or sometimes everyone's fault, this was one where it was a bit of both i think, because we both could have prevented the close call

the michelin pilot sport tyre ain't too bad in the rain according to popular belief, and it has better grip than your stocks, and should last longer as well! (and it should do for £75 a tyre)

i was looking to do something similar with my YBR's taillight (not the indicators, they're fine) i think youll just need to change the light itself, leave the voltage as it is (better to check that the LED cluster is designed for your voltage though) and just add a "dummy load" resistor, so that the electrical resistance of the LED + dummy is about equal to that of your stock bulb(s), to avoid huge current going through the LED and melting the power supply when you hit the brakes for the first time (a complete LED tail construction would probably already have the right resistance, but ive never found one) hope it helps, and let me know how you manage!