Spurgeon here with
going to talk about modifications you can make
to your naked motorcycle to make it more sport touring-friendly.
The naked or traditional segment of motorcycles
is one of the fastest growing in this country.
And the reason is it's comfortable upright seating
position means it's really easy to ride back and forth to work
as a commuter, or when you go out for rides on the weekends,
you can still push it aggressively
through the corners and even take
it to the occasional track day.
With a few additional modifications,
however, you can push the functionality even further
and turn these bikes in a lightweight sport
touring machines.
And that's exactly what I did with the Kawasaki Z900
that we've had in the office.
I took a trip recently with my dad,
and I made some mods so I could travel longer
distances with this bike.
But keep in mind that this is just
going to be our example bike.
All the mods that we're going to discus in this
are going to work whether you're on an SV650, a Triumph
Bonneville, or a FZ10, or pretty much any bike in
between in this segment.
And all of these modifications are
going to be a 1 out of 3 on our BSD, our Beard
Scale of Difficulty, which means you can tackle
them in the comfort of your garage
using a few simple hand tools.
Now, the first thing that we're going to discuss in this video
is going to be storage.
And that's because the difference from a sport bike
and a sport touring bike is the availability to take items
with you on a multi-day trip.
So for the Z900, I went with SW-MOTECH
Blaze saddlebag system.
And I like this for a few reasons.
The semi-rigid design means that it holds its shape whether it's
empty or full, and that's a little bit
of a difference from what we've seen
from regular throwover luggage.
And then the other thing is that they
come with dry pods, which means I can throw all my gear in here
and they stay dry.
Even when I was riding for two days in the rain,
I got nice and soaking wet.
But when I got to the hotel at night, all my gear was dry.
Now, the thing that really set these bags apart for me
was the fact that these are going to be bike-specific.
They're going to utilize a rail mounting system.
And what that means is there's a detachable rail that
sits underneath the bag, and it prevents the bag
from rubbing against any moving parts like shocks or the tire.
And then once you get to where you're going to night,
you simply unsnap them.
You take the bags into the hotel.
And then when you're not using the saddlebags,
you can actually remove the rails, which gives
the bike a nice, clean look.
All things considered, I found the SW-MOTECH
Blaze saddlebags work really well for me
on this particular project.
Now, normally on trips like these,
I like utilizing old-fashioned paper maps.
However, advancements in smartphone technology as well
as new apps like Google Maps, Rever, and Waze
have made me take a different approach.
So because my smartphone is waterproof--
I have an iPhone 7--
I didn't need any additional cases,
but I was able to mount this to my bike
using a simple RAM mount setup.
Now, I was able to also get continuous
charging by running an SAE lead off of the battery up
to a battery tender converter.
And this gives me a plug-in for a USB port, which
means I could use my regular Lightning plug
and run it right into here and have continuous power.
Now, the really cool thing about this
is that because I was using touchscreen-compatible gloves,
with the touch of a finger while riding,
I could go to my maps app and I could see exactly where
I was rolling on the trip.
And then because I was also using a Bluetooth device
in my helmet, I could control all of my favorite songs
with a push of a button.
So for the first time, I used a smartphone on a trip,
and I actually really like the functionality.
I could see myself using this again
and again on future adventures.
Now, oftentimes, people think about adding protection
of their motorcycle if they're going to the track
or for off-road use.
But engine protection can be a real simple insurance
when you're touring as well.
You don't want your trip to end early
because you're spilling all your fluids all over the side
of the highway.
So for the Z900, I threw a simple set of R&G engine
covers on here.
Really easy to install, you have a few bolts
on each of the covers, and you're set to go.
Now luckily, I didn't have to try these out.
Now, one of the most important modifications
you can make on any motorcycle is going to be your tires.
That's because oftentimes, stock tires
are a cost-saving exercise from the manufacturer.
So the Z900's stock rubber was horrible.
And I mean, honestly, in anything other
than bone dry conditions, there was no grip
to those tires whatsoever.
So before I went on this trip, I updated the tires
to Dunlop Roadsmart 3s.
And I was extremely pleased with their performance.
I rode for two days in the rain.
They gave me great grip and great feedback.
And from what I've been reading, these tires
should last me for quite a few miles, which is always
an important consideration when you're modifying
a bike for touring use.
Now, the final section we're going
to discuss in today's video is going
to be ergonomics and comfort.
And while the Z900 is relatively comfortable right out
of the gate, one of the things to note
here is that on any naked bike, you're
going to tend to get beat up after spending long distances
riding on the highway.
So I added the Puig windscreen to the front of the Z900.
And I like it because it doesn't detract from the look,
but it gives me just a little bit of relief
from the pressure hitting me on my chest.
And remember, this naked style is
going to be a problem for a lot of riders that are
looking to put down distance.
It's the main problem with naked bikes.
Now, the biggest problem that I had with the Z900
specifically was that my right foot
kept smashing into the exhaust pipe on this bike.
So while I normally wouldn't recommend
an aftermarket exhaust for the ergonomics and comfort section
on any modification video, in this case, that's
exactly what I'm doing because by trying out
a few different exhausts, I found
one that worked much better for me from a comfort standpoint.
And that's going to be that Yoshimura pipe
that you see down there below.
It gave me about an extra inch to an inch and a half back,
and now my heel isn't smashing into the exhaust pipe
and I can ride more comfortably on the balls of my feet.
This allows me to really have some fun with this
once the road gets twisty.
Obviously, there are a wide variety
of different naked motorcycles out there,
and each one will have a different area
that needs to be addressed.
And I've seen folks change handlebars,
add AirHawk seat pads, or just change the seat entirely.
Some will lower the foot pegs while others add rear sets.
There's no right or wrong.
It's just about what is going to work for you.
But hopefully, this video helped to give you
a few ideas of some modifications
that you could make to best outfit your naked motorcycle
for longer haul riding.
Now, if you have any additional questions on any
of the products you see here, you
can click the Info button on your desktop or mobile device.
You can read other rider reviews from folks that are already
out there using this stuff.
And if you have more specific questions,
you can always reach out to one of our Gear Geeks
at 877-792-9455 or over shoot over
an email to cs@revzilla.com.
Thank you for joining us for this look at how to modify
your naked motorcycle.
I'm Spurge.
Enjoy the ride.