[black12rr]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

I bought the center stand and fixed it myself. I wasn't ready to shell out like $50 just to fit the stand! My wife helped me here too - couldn't have done it alone.

There should be 2 springs in the center stand . Also there is a recall for circlip , the older one might break .

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by black12rr

There should be 2 springs in the center stand . Also there is a recall for circlip , the older one might break .

Yup, it was just too hard fixing the first spring itself so I thought I could manage with just the one clip. But I will have to eventually fit in the other one too. Yeah, read about the recall - mine is not OEM so no worries there.

Like I keep cribbing about the cost of labour here, it is just too irritating to go and get work done at a service center.

But thankfully, I got the first service done at the place I bought the bike from. Cost me $109. Not bad considering that another place offered to get it done for me $450 and in 4 days!

[GutsyGibbon]

Naveenroy,
Center stand installation: Have you tried this? Tie one end of the spring to the rear wheel, start the bike, put it in gear, rev and move the bike forward, hold on the front brake. That stretches the spring enough, now put the bike on side stand, align the spring by the hook and slowly move the bike back to stick the spring in place.

Super duper easy, no effort involved.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

Naveenroy,
Center stand installation: Have you tried this? Tie one end of the spring to the rear wheel, start the bike, put it in gear, rev and move the bike forward, hold on the front brake. That stretches the spring enough, now put the bike on side stand, align the spring by the hook and slowly move the bike back to stick the spring in place.

Super duper easy, no effort involved.

Hmm thanks for the interesting idea. Guess I'll need some paracord to accomplish this though. Will give it a shot!

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Hmm thanks for the interesting idea. Guess I'll need some paracord to accomplish this though. Will give it a shot!

I recommend that you do not ride the bike with one spring installed. Going over a bump, or a rock can bring the centerstand into contact with something and endup being painful. You can use just about any string. If you fear tying it to the wheel, you can tie the string to any other object behind the bike. I have used this method couple times, and its super easy. I think there are youtube videos of this trick as well.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

If you fear tying it to the wheel, you can tie the string to any other object behind the bike. I have used this method couple times, and its super easy. I think there are Youtube videos of this trick as well.

Thank you very much for this idea! It worked great! Had used paracord and could put in the second spring. Yup, the center stand is sitting well now and is hard to push down.

Also used the chance to put in more comfortable pillion footrests.

Might put in the Eastern Beaver PC8 today - an electrical power system that sits under the seat. Easier than wiring to the battery directly.

[naveenroy]

Got some updates. Put in the Eastern Beaver electrical power system. This sits under the seat and provides more outputs for power - had some trouble routing the power from the battery since the battery sits in a very weird angle but managed to get it put in with some help from a motorcycle buddy here. I've just put in a USB cable to connect either the GPS or a phone that I purchased off Ebay for damn cheap. It is the Kyocera Duraforce Pro - waterproof, scratchproof, shockproof. That phone is worth more than a standalone GPS device for the motorcycle!

The second pic is of the center stand with the 2 springs. Thanks to @GutsyGibbon for his idea.

Also, dropped the bike at my parking area - mirror broke and the clutch lever took a hit and broke off. Damn, the bike is heavy!

[naveenroy]

Another update. Panniers.

When purchasing the bike, I didn't want to spend around $700 bucks (not inclusive of labour) for the OEM side panniers. And they were also cribbing about having to get a new lock set and rekey it for my ignition key. It would have all come to around $800 I guess. Worthless in my opinion. I was planning to get soft panniers with a nice pannier rack and kept looking. But you cannot beat the ease of the OEM panniers and they were always at the back of my mind. Just a few weeks ago, I saw a great deal on the used OEM panniers on Fleabay. I quickly bid for it and won it for a great price!

The seller had guaranteed that I would be able to rekey it for my ignition key though I was honestly a bit skeptical. But great seller - the panniers I received are in great shape. He'd also sent it packed very well. He'd also locked the panniers but left the hinges open. This was to help me to be able to remove the lock and rekey it. Thankfully the seller had also sent me the rekey kit, with extra wafers, springs etc.

Thanks to an inmate on AdvRider, I came across on post on there on how to remove the tumbler on the lock with my key and rekey it. The pdf instructions that the seller had sent me also helped. It needed me to be able to remove the lock assembly itself from the pannier. And after that, it was all easy-peasy! Just a nudge on the tumbler, pull out the core using my ignition key, remove all the wafers, rekey them to my key, grease it all up and put it back in the order that I removed it. Works perfect for my key. So pleased with myself.

[Don Dasco]

Hi Naveen, Bhanu from RTMC here, we rode few times, bumped into this thread, how's the bike doing now, are you satisfied with the highway cruising capabilities

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by Don Dasco

Hi Naveen, Bhanu from RTMC here, we rode few times, bumped into this thread, how's the bike doing now, are you satisfied with the highway cruising capabilities

Hello Bhanu! Good to hear from you. Do you still ride with RTMC?

The bike is great - just took it for a ride on the weekend. But I am not using it as much as I would like to but hopefully that will change in the coming months. I am very happy with the highway capabilities - it can cruise easily and keep pace with a car so no worries on freeways.

[rk_sans]

Hi Naveen, Congralutions on the bike and sorry for the late wishes. Somehow missed your entire thread for so long. I am sure you are enjoying the big bike. How the touring changes in comparison to CBR250R and this big bike. Munching miles are no more a brainier. Happy munching miles !!