Spending my prize money

[elizilla]

I dropped the Ural off at the Rhino Liner shop this morning. This is the same shop that did the bedliner in my F-150. This time I am getting black, not red - the red in my truck matched perfectly when new, and wore like iron, but it faded to a tan color pretty quickly. Even though the bike is also bright red, I'd rather have black fading to grey than red fading to tan. I'm having them coat the inside of the tub, the round edging around the passenger opening, the inside of the trunk, and the underside of the tub up over the seams. It will add a little weight, but it should resist rust, make the tub quieter, give the passengers a better surface for their feet, resist scratching as people climb in and out, etc. Also, red paint in the trunk has been worn on by the things carried in there, and has lost its clear; red marks transfer to the bottom of my shopping bags and the side of my tool roll, and the bedliner should put a stop to that. And I can throw away the rubber mat from the passenger compartment - water collects under that mat and doesn't evaporate.

I had to remove the seat and all the electrical wiring from the tub. When I put it back, I'm going to put the fuses in the trunk, rather than up front where the passengers hit their left knee on them.

I also installed heated handgrips, but I haven't wired them up yet. Still trying to decide how I want to do the controller switch.

I'm tempted to install a CB. I already have almost everything I would need. The Ural would have a LOT better ground plane than my other bikes, and I am curious to find out whether it will be able to transmit better.

The motorcyclists call it "farkling". It's this obsessive need that we have, to modify our bikes.

Comments

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I tihnk it may be an obsessive need that YOU have to modify your bikes. :) I don't have such a need at all.

[elizilla]

OK, not everyone does it. But I enjoy this part almost as much as I enjoy riding them. I suppose the home improvement people have similar urges.

[(Anonymous)]

Go fer it. Everyone I know mods their bikes some way or another. My brother does it with every car he's ever owned. Like you said, it's part of taking it from OEM to personal.

[bigblued.livejournal.com]

Back when I was in school, learning how to do product renderings (the old fashioned way, with markers!) we were taught to add small white "hot spots" along product edges as a finishing touch to the rendering. I thought it was a little heavy handed, but it really did make a drawing pop. But then I realized that product, out in bright sunlight, like cars and motorcycles, really do have these small bright spots along the edges.

The official term for them is Farkles.

Given that I learned from an old designer who was making product back in the 60's, I'm guessing the term has been around as long. Farlking, therefore, is old-school for blinging.

[elizilla]

Interesting! Where the word "farkle" came from is a topic that comes up regularly on the moto forums, but I have never seen this as an explanation. I'll have to share it, next time that topic comes up. :)

[pi3832.livejournal.com]

Still trying to decide how I want to do the controller switch.

I imagine you'd want them on any time the bike is running. Or have your Forever Cold extremities gotten better?

And I think you should just leave the seat out of the tub. Make the monkeys do a little work, eh?

[(Anonymous)]

wait... what prize money?