Looking around some of the posts on this forum, some of you guys have so many bolt ons I surprised you have time to ride. If you add up the purchase price and all the add ons you could get something pretty exotic like a RC45 for those sunny Sundays.

Not criticising, lord knows I spend enough with the tuning shops. I just bought a 2005 CBR1000RR, and so far I have Yoshi pipe, PCIII, 15t sprocket and speedo healer, a fair chunk of $$ on top of the purchase price but now it feels like the bike it was meant to be before Euro emissions laws strangled it. I do admit that I enjoy twirling the spanners when its raining. No doubt I will be spending more on it soon, but part of me wishes I could just buy fuel and sticky tyres and be done with it.

I started to get nauseous recently when I read about highly priced chunks of plastic like undertrays and so on. On my last bike I got a bit carried away, then added up what I had spent and thought "this is madness". The cost of getting rearsets (Gilles was the preferred choice) and adjustable clip ons (to make the bike fit ME) finally made me stop. Compared to the second hand value of my three year old bike at the time I just could not justify the cost. I just had the revelatory thought "why am I trying so hard to make this a different bike?" so I traded.

Makes me think we should insist on a lot more choice from the factories. A decent sports bike costs similar to a small car, but you wouldn't buy a car without an adjustable seat. This year's GSXR 750 has some adjustment in the footpegs, and about time. Ducati have been doing multiple adjustments to riding position for a while, and rightly so for what you pay. Car manufacturers manage to offer a range of options, and I don't see why bikes can't go that way.

As standard on a top of the range Sports Bike, in return for the premium price tag I would like to see;

- programmable ECU's (like my old Triumph Speed Triple, you just send it a new tune and it stores it; fuel and ignition) so you don't need a whole bunch of extra hardware like Power Commander plus ignition module.
- Adjustable Rearsets, Bars and maybe saddle
- Braided Steel Brake Lines (how much do factories save from the rubbish OE usually fitted?)
- Choice of front and rear springs to suit rider weight (a no cost swap) and while we are at it, suspension that is designed for solo use (if you are buying a sports bike you dont need a two person strength rear spring)
- Solo seat option, not a cowl (who ever carries passengers on their sports bike? I don't)
- Removable baffles (for track day use only Officer) like some after market pipes have - how about being able to switch to a tune to suit, then switch back again when you refit the baffles for the ride home
- Choice of sprockets thrown in for free (like Aprilia did with the RSV's a while ago)
- More choice of what is fitted (i.e. different wheel colours, clear or tinted screen etc.)
- Choice of optional extras at extra cost, like lightweight wheels (maybe premium quality paint job)

To the manufacturer, most of this list would add a modest amount of cost, and would require one of the factories to brave enough to apply fresh thinking.

Some of this would appeal to me more than the inevitable annual model update with a 200g weight loss (I am gaining weight at more than 200g per year) and a new paint job, which journalists cream over. Maybe I am just getting cynical in my old age, but the development cost each year could cover the cost of a few options.

Nothing against personalising your bike either, but surely the most direct route to personalising is a paint job, especially one you designed yourself, not a cigarette company replica. I also get really impressed by one-off parts that people make themselves, or design and get someone to make. Sometimes the ingenuity is stunning. (contrast fitting an undertray - I've done it and I'm not proud).

I am interested to hear from thinking rid

 

ill say them as i said on the 1000rr.net forum...

im glad they dont come with all those options standard.. the only one that would interest me is a programmable ecu.. so if the price went up 3k for all the extras i wouldnt buy the bike cause i have no use for most of that stuff.

thats the whole reason they make aftermarket parts so you can customize it to your liking and for your type of riding style..

 

To some extent I can see your point, but on the other hand....After not owning a bike in a very long time, I did a lot of research on what was out there. Magazine reviews, forums like this one, bike to bike comparisons. Believe it or not, I was just about to fork a chunk of cash down to get an 06 Aprilia RSV1000R; exactly what your are saying, bike comes stock with OZ Forged Wheels, Brembo Radial Front and two piston rears, brembo levers and radial clutch/brake levers, Ohlins fork and shock; slipper clutch; the list goes on....I added up the price of the upgrades, and wow...it really isn't a bad deal....then I saw my RR for $9,999...already faster and handles just as nice....and for about 10 grand less, for that money I could really set up the bike the way I wanted and still have jingle in my pocket....or why not go all out and buy the Ducati 999s....sweet machine....now we are approaching 30k....WHOA!!!!!

My RR from the factory already is faster than I will probably ever really need or use, looks sweet, and rides like a dream; truly point and shoot. But lets see, I have ordered the Yosh Carbon Cone, the Gilles rearsets, the fender eliminator, the flush mounts, the tail light integrator, put on the sliders and spools...and will probably add a carbon front fender, rear hugger, and seat cowl, along with a sargent saddle....and lets not forget the CG shorty levers, the braided lines, the BMC's and the Power Commander...why??? do I need them? Absolutely not, but then again I didn't need the RR...I could have bought a Rebel...I bought the RR and the accessories because I wanted them and could afford to blow the money on my passion. Some people build poser bikes, others build bikes with sick power....bottom line is its just their way of expressing themselves. I personally wouldn't want 24 or 26 inch rims on my truck, and certainly wouldn't pay 7k for them, but some people do, and thats okay if that's there thing. Would I put a set of Marchesini's or PVM's on my RR? Most definitely, and before all is said and down, I probably will....is it a wise investment....not at all....but it is my passion and my hobby...most hobbies don't have much ROI, but the sure make us feel good....Just my thoughts....and everyone's opinions is right for them...

 

I agree with AZ1000rr. I treat my bike more than just a machine to ride on at the weekends. It is a hobby albeit an expensive one. But we all knew that before we even started to place an order for the next trick part to put on the bike. Sure at some point in time you can sit back with a calculator and add it all up. For me I do not want to know, I do not even care. All I know is that I have alot of fun doing up and riding my bike and that to me is my regular escape from the daily grind we have to endure day in day out.
Downside is that our female companion ask for the same financial treatment. Hmm a diamond ring or those trick carbon wheels.....

 

Diamond Ring, now thats not even a choice...Dead on Seltorque....in fact even if all of the manufacturers gave us lots of options from the factory, there would still be the aftermarket, I guess the point is pretty basic. We are are all ill when it comes to our bikes, satisfied never, but passionate always. We are proud of what we have done to our machines, and we like to share our thoughts with our bretheren, thats why there are so many people on this forum. Long live the aftermarket!!! I keeps me from buying crazy things like that diamond ring....hell, I think the only person I'd buy a ring for is a girl that is on this forum....as few other women would understand and would be jealous of the bike....

 

+1

If you don't have her yet keep looking for that special girl. Not to brag but I have a wife who rides and although her passion for sport bikes is not as deep as mine she understands it. My next goal for her is to get her on the track. That will be a true feeling of nirvana when that happens.

 

you are definitely a lucky man....my buddies wife has no understanding whatsoever; in fact they seem to have a fight any time he even thinks about putting mods on is scoot....what gives; while I wouldn't spend a grand shoe shopping or filling the closet with more clothes that fall into the 'i have nothing to wear category, I can understand when my girlfriend does....turnaround is fair play, but I guess they got the power...(i will leave it at that)

 

dead on seltorque..once i put on my yosh slip-on without my fiancee knowing..on the first day out 2gather, she notices the difference in sound. she went berserk!! "How could you spend S$800 on your bike and nothing on me??!!" LOL..to please her, i promised to get her an equivalent value engagement ring then..Well a promise is just a promise..I got her a S$400 ring instead!!

 

Well, I kinda handled it differently with my wife: I spent the last year furnishing our entire house with the stuff SHE liked, put new laminate floors down that SHE loves, painted every wall in the house the colors SHE wanted. When completed, I simply said "Honey, I wanna bike". She asked how much, I told her, and she said go on and get it. As far as mods, she understands my bike is my second love and just asks how much before I order it so she can balance the books. God I love her!

 

she got a single sister??? mine flipped out and said WTF did you buy?? a honda?? you shoulda got a gixxer return it.. so needless to say shell be getting her gixxer next and the 07 busa i planned on getting will have to wait.. ughhh