Thursday, January 18, 2007

650 V-Storm hand-guards fit my 05 B12 (modified)

Those who have spent any time around me know that I have the gift of being able to modify things to work in areas they were never designed for. In this case my big Suzy B12 needed a set of hand guards for wind protection and the occasional big bug body slam against the hand at high speed. Only problem is no one makes a set of hand guards for the B12. So after a bit of research I determined that I could use a set of V-Storm (a motorcycle) hand guards with "minor modifications".  Well I installed them today but as usual not without some problems. One of the hand guard attachment points is at the Bar-end mechanism which requires removal and installation of a step spacer adding about half as much weight as the bar-end itself. Anyway the V-Storm hand guards comes with longer screws that accommodate an additional spacer, thank goodness because I had to cut the head off my old screws in order to force out the bar-end mechanism. Apparently some of the hand grip glue I used before to secure the grips from twisting made its way into the bar mechanism, don't ask me how. But in the end they cleaned up nicely with a little cleaner and the new set of screws.
The only other problem was not all the hardware that came with the V-Storm hand guards were needed, like a spacer and extended boot that is used for a narrow cable operated clutch lever on the V-Storm, where the B12 uses the thicker lever for the hydraulic mechanism. I also had to drill a slightly larger hole in the bottom of the right hand guard to fit over the lower hand lever bolt. Other then that it all fit together just fine and looked looked like it was made for my B12, better then I first expected when I started the modification. I just hope these hand guards provide the benefit I hoped for because the tops are a bit bare compared to the bottoms of the guards, probably for safety. Anyway it was too windy today (35-45 winds), tomorrow we will see how they work without gloves in 40 degree weather. I try never to complain about the weather because I know it is also part of Gods creation and a necessary marvel in the cycle of this living and miraculous planet. Thank you Lord.