Annnnd, she's complete!

Would you believe she fell off the rear stand about half an hour after I took those last pics? No serious damage, but it scuffed up part of the gas tank and some gas ran out, discoloring some paint. I tried to touch it up but ... yeah. It's sorta ugly. The chain guard got jacked a bit too, but that was a little easier to cover. Still not as good as it was before though. *sigh*

So, gonna need some more decals to cover those bits up, but otherwise everything seems to be in order. I took her around the block and had her up to ~40, no problems and the muffler is loud as hell. Very growley.

I'm going to run her around a few surface streets, then maybe hit the expressway on the way home. As long as everything holds up, I think she's good.

I'll take some pics, if not today, then Sunday for sure. I may be hitting up that St. George ride after all.

 

Oh damn, what are the chances of that? I'd still rather ride an ugly bike than stare at a half finished parking lot princess!

 

Just gonna conclude here with some thoughts about the vendors I used.

THE GOOD:
HEL Brake Lines - Quick shipping, beautiful lines, perfect fit, and they included lots of decals. If they were slightly cheaper ... well I wouldn't complain. But I don't feel gouged.

CBRFairings - The fairings themselves are beautiful, and the fit is perfect. I didn't have to drill, or even widen, a single hole. Reasonably quick shipping, a custom decal service, and a great price all add up to a great seller. If OEM fairings are better, I'm not sure how.

Dan Moto - The JISU exhaust is a thing of beauty, and sounds great. If I'm going to nitpick, I'd say the connecting pipe could come out slightly more to give the exhaust a more even look from the rear, the clamp could be replaced with one that actually works well, and the decal could be packed where it won't get squished. But the muffler itself; wonderful. My bike sounds so much better, and looks even better than that.

Bluegauges.com - Kind of expensive, especially if you can solder your own LEDs, but for folks like me who couldn't get it right if they had 10 gauges, or for folks who just want some nice lighting effects, this company is great. Quick shipping, and it worked on the first try. I love my gauges now; I never realized how ugly that orange color was.

HKDRPRO Levers - Great fit, nice color selection, shorty levers for cheap. The only thing I'll gripe about is if they fade.

Stompgrip.com - The grips do just what they're supposed to, and aren't uncomfortable even in jeans. My only complaint is that they're a bear to put on, especially if you don't want fingerprints / fly-ins / pieces of the backing under the grips.

Amaco Wireform Mesh - So easy to use, cut, and form. Night and day from the steel sheet I tried, and as easy as you could hope for if you're doing grill inserts.

All the vendor sites but one: Motorcyclesuperstore.com, cheapcycleparts.com, ebay, amazon, etc. All good.

THE MEDIOCRE:
Bikebolts.com - Their cheap price and complete kit is fantastic. I can't complain about the powdercoat color either; it seems sturdy, the bolts don't seem cheaply made (like my last set, that stripped every 3rd or 4th handling) and their shipping is quick. The only reason they're not "good" is that their powdercoating makes it difficult to use the correct tool, which makes the bolts themselves tough to screw in for a while. Also, their fitting chart could use some work, as some things they say to use clearly won't work. It could have been the fairings, but since the fairings were perfect in every other way, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Auto-Sky HIDs: The only reason they're not good is that they didn't come with instructions, and I'm still not sure that my bulbs are seated correctly. But, they're bright and about the right color, so I got what I really wanted. Also, they were quite cheap, but don't seem cheaply made.

xdcycle.com - They sold me my undertail, and while I won't pin the faults of the undertail on the site, I will say their customer service was not that good. They tried to answer the questions I had, but didn't seem to speak very good English and weren't very knowledgeable about the undertail. But, their stuff is cheap, so other products might be better.

Dormousesleep's Gas Cap - The bad part is that OEM bolts don't fit into the mounting holes; maybe a little fabbing could have fixed that, but I didn't know how. However, the shipping was quick, and he was very helpful when I explained that I had a problem. He even refunded me half my money for taking a trip to Home Depot for new bolts, and had offered to refund me all of my money if I sent a pic of the destroyed gas cap. I'd buy from him again, even with the gas cap's problems.

THE BAD:
Bestem Undertails: Complete trash. I never did get it to fit correctly, and it broke a mounting tab when I tried to really manhandle it. It also chipped when I drilled the license plate holes, and the mounting bracket is too narrow to mount the plate. Avoid this undertail completely - the $100 you save will come out of the lines of the bike, the sweat trying to get it to work, and the frustration of the entire experience.

VHT Paint - I wanted to like the paint, and through much of the painting process I did. It goes on smooth (especially the flat flameproof colors) and looks nice. Unfortunately, it's not very durable, even with multiple coats and clear, and the one thing it was supposed to be good for (the header pipes) it seems to fail at; I've run my bike less than 30 miles, babied the on-vehicle baking instructions, and still it's baking off the top of the header pipes. The slightest run of gas discolored the tank, even through the supposedly chemical resistant wheel paint. I hope it doesn't get beaten up too fast, but if I have to repaint my bike again (and don't just get it powder coated) I'll use Rustoleum Engine Enamel. At almost half the price, I should have in the first place.

OTHER THANKS:

Thank You to everyone who helped through this process by giving either advice or encouragement. Even the lurkers really motivated me to keep going and post more pictures. Particular thanks go to F3 for all the advice he gave and LasVegasHarley for getting my stripped bolt out of the heel guards. Also to Z for electrical advice, and Ern for dropping some knowledge on me.

Thanks for following everyone, I've really appreciated it!

 

... just kidding! happy your done. enjoyed reading. sorry about the small fall so soon. im sure you'll have it fixed up in no time. post some pics soon.
cheers

 

I will for sure (somewhere outside the garage, anyway.)

But, my baby needs a bath. I took her out to St. George for breakfast yesterday (~250mi), and it rained on us pretty good.

She also got me my first speeding ticket. It's how I know she cares.

 

Repainted the tank again today, after the VHT failed (they are refunding my money for all the paint.)

This is with Rustoleum Engine Enamel in white and clear.

I didn't have another T-rex sticker, and I changed the UNLV stickers up. I also added photo-sensitive white bunnies on the sides; they're pretty stealth most times, but light up when the light gets them.

I'm not sure if the stompgrips will go back on; I had to strip all the adhesive off and I don't know if I can replace it with anything clear that will stick to a tank. I still need to sand this down and wax it after a week or so.

I also repainted my swingarm and part of my frame because the paint got gas on it and came off. I just used Rustoleum flat black and this same clear for those spots. No pics of that.

I think I'm going to go back to regular headlights. I don't like the way the HIDs seem to shoot high, and I think I actually get less light with these in.

Otherwise, all is good (lol).