In an attempt to improve the feelings in my hands after each and every ride to work this winter, I bought a set of limited run handguards designed specifically for the Monster by a member of the UK Monster Forum www.ukmonster.co.uk. They weren't cheap, but then as they are hand made I didn't expect them to be. They arrived yesterday and I pretty much got straight down to fitting them. Jeff, the man who made them, sent a hand written letter giving detailed fitting instructions, which were very helpful. The guard for the clutch went on without any problem, but I had to trim part of the sister guard to ensure it fitted well over the brake lever. As I didn't, and indeed still don't have the cutting tools needed, a quick ride up the road to Artur saw the leading edge trimmed away in double quick time.
After looking at them all fitted and especially following the ride to work this morning, its clear that the guards are a little too low, forcing the air over the top and right into my waiting knuckles, which isnt ideal. As you can see from the photos above, the guards are mounted with a bolt through the pivot point in each lever, so in order to move the guards up, I need to tilt each lever backwards a little. This will misalign the mirrors a fraction, so a little bit of fiddling will be needed there to.
Sadly, thats not the only irritant I've experienced recently. Yesterday, the main beam on the Monster packed in, so I'll be picking up a replacement, probably one of the Philips City Vision bulbs, that seem to be the next generation of those I used on the Ninja. www.philips.co.uk/c/motorbike%20bulbs/283658/cat/
The other problem was the twistgrip came loose on the way home. These are heated grips, which I'll document on the Monster page this weekend, and I can only guess that the heat, plus a sharp twist of the wrist by yours truly, broke the bond between the glue and the grip. Less than ideal.
Sadly, thats not the only irritant I've experienced recently. Yesterday, the main beam on the Monster packed in, so I'll be picking up a replacement, probably one of the Philips City Vision bulbs, that seem to be the next generation of those I used on the Ninja. www.philips.co.uk/c/motorbike%20bulbs/283658/cat/
The other problem was the twistgrip came loose on the way home. These are heated grips, which I'll document on the Monster page this weekend, and I can only guess that the heat, plus a sharp twist of the wrist by yours truly, broke the bond between the glue and the grip. Less than ideal.
When I got home, I tired to get the grip off, but the wiring wouldn't give me enough slack without taking the tank off and digging around in the wiring, so with little other options, I increased the width of the four or so inches of twistgrip I could see using some masking tape, covered it in some Renthal grip glue and twisted it back on. Hopefully it will hold, but if it doesn't, I'll get it looked at when the bike goes into the shop a week on Friday to have the misfire fixed.
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