Different day, same shit

2 major issues for myself with the VFR,
1. it is tall, I'm 5' 9" and with both feet down, I;m on the balls of my feet, only slightly better than toes.
2. it is heavy, around 240kg
these 2 issues combined made me anxious maneuvering her, especially in gravel or debris and trying to pull her backward uphill at even slight gradients was very hard work.
so I bit the bullet, I went lower and lighter:

this is my new girl, an Italian princess, a Ducati Monster 800s ie!
slightly larger displacement but lower down in HP and torque, I no longer feel the G's you can get on a VFR but I'm not bothered, the personality of this bike alone is worth the change, I'm lower down similar to the revere and naked to the elements but with more poke.
But when dreams become reality, it's not always plain sailing, after 4 weeks on the monster, one crisp december morning, she wouldn't start. Once I charged the battery, she fired up straight away. I was told it was a new battery, it looked new so I was getting flashbacks, I took her out for a run to see if she was o.k. for the morning and halfway home, she started spluttering and died.
2 hours in the cold, towtruck shipped her off to the shop and 2 weeks later I have her back with a new voltage regulator rectifier, a voltage monitor has been ordered to fit.
So this is my Happy new year story! I've been stir crazy without a bike over the holidays so I have plenty to catch up on!

Voltage Monitoring

The biggest reported problem with the VFR800fi is the volgate regulator/rectifier melts,
this already happened 6 weeks into ownership and a new one installed.
For peace of mind, I've got a koso mini3 installed to for warn of the charging system failing again but the adhesive strip that came with it perished after about 3 months in the Irish weather so time to make it more permanent

lets plug this wire sheath whilst we're at it

and the following day, we're done! this Sugru stuff hardens overnight, they say give it 24 hours to fully harden, here's the deetz!

New Dream

The old dream was something approximating this

That dream has moved aside, I jumped at an opportunity and traded up...

a '98 VFR800fi with over 57k miles on the clock!

within the 1st 6 weeks, it broke down 3 times, dead battery due to faulty regulator/rectifier, replaced with new battery and 2nd hand R/R, next the fuel injection system conked out, loose fuse wire, then the 2nd hand R/R went, in a dramatic plume of smoke, lucky I wasn't riding at the time as the bike would have been melted! but now has a new battery, new R/R and I've added a voltage monitor for peace of mind

so it's another single-sided swing-armed honda! fairings are a pain in the arse but something new to get used to, more to come!

Grip yer grips

I'm had this pair of Mechanix Polar Pro for a year now, only used for riding

€67.95

nice leather palm, holding up well

rear of hand and fingers, knuckle protection isn't the best, there is extra padding but no hardened plastic protection, these were never designed for motorcycling

where the rubber meets the road, some light scuffing

short cuff just barely covers my jacket sleeve, depends on the jacket

the inner lining includes 100gram thinsulate, stitched in! so the inner lining in the fingers stays in place, wrapped in neoprene in places and is apparently waterproof,

I've had them out in rain showers and my hands remained dry, nothing too heavy yet.

I've worn them all year round, in the hottest days I get a little clammy and my fingers get a little sore when the temperature drops below 5 degrees celsius (without heated grips),

I have worn them with and without heated grips and they have not been damaged by the heat.

All in all, these are my favourite gloves, good weather protection, o.k. impact protection, great feel for the controls and grip and look good too!

some footage

More Air

I wanted to know how the bike would sound with pod filters instead of the stock airbox.
It's a pretty easy job to get the stuff off and pods on (~€15ea)

 The secondary air filter just crumbled in my hands after unscrewing it from the underneath of the airbox

 1 sacrificial sponge and some engine oil later

 Oh, and some tape to cover the now open end that was covered by the underside of the airbox

Best I could do without hose the correct diameter, oil that got sucked into the airbox now goes straight to ground

Just before popping the tank back on

does it sound any different? yes. There is definitely a sharper growl now and the noise from the engine coming through the tank is a lot louder but the most striking sound is at about 80% - 90% throttle, there is a distinctive flapping noise, I can only imagine it is the needles.
There is also a bit more farting than normal after the exhaust change, she needs her fuel air mixture adjusted properly, I do like the difference in noise but the airbox will probably go back on coming into the winter

Vision

I'd liked the look and functionality of the doubletake mirrors reviewed by Adventure Oz so splashed out.
came in a dodgy looking package

 but looked alright when out

uses ram mount

very versatile, good visibility, maneuverable at any time, only downside compared to stock mirrors is they tend to hold dirt a bit more after rain dries off, just needs an extra quick wipe now and again