First, I swapped out the stock fuel tank with a new 3.1 gallon IMS tank. This procedure was pretty easy and smooth for the most part. Here are the two tanks next to each other for comparison.
The thank mounted up nicely with all of the existing brackets and hardware, and the only thing that I had to tweak was to slightly bend the two aluminum tank plastic side cover 'hooks' so that they latched onto the back side of the plastic covers a little bit easier.
I also took the opportunity to pop in a new spark plug while I had the tank off and it was easy to get to. Got the new plug and set the gaps, put it in, and WHAM started right up. Turns out the new plug has made it start better, run smoother, and even the throttle response is better. Go figure.
One of the things I knew about before I even bought this IMS tank was the potential of an uneven fit against the seat and the plastics, so here's a shot of what those gaps look like after install. I think the gaps are fine, and I'll eventually be replacing or modifying the stock seat anyhow, so that how situation will change anyway.
The tank is barely wider than stock, and most of the extra capacity is noticeable at the top of the tank where it protrudes a lot higher than stock. Here is a detail of how the width of the new tank offsets the plastic side covers a bit from stock position.
And finally a shot of the finished installation. I'd say the process was easy and it looks pretty good. Looking forward to getting it out on the road and the trails.
Next up: swap out the stock handlebars for some new ProTaper bars, plus some new grips, throttle sleeve, ProTaper bar risers, and Doubletake mirrors. Here are the stock bars after being stripped down...looking kinda naked.
Here's a shot of the stock and new bars next to each other for comparison.
And here's how much longer the new bars are than the stock ones on each end.
Stock bars off...now she's REALLY looking naked! I hear all the cool kids are going with this really stripped down cafe racer look now... :-) That's the box and wrapping from the IMS tank in the background...haven't taken care of the recycling yet!
Now onto the new bar install. This process turned out to be a lot more work and trouble than the tank swap. The one thing I regret about the whole process: I wish I had just gone on and got the new Highway Dirt Bike hand guards that I want, instead of trying to save money by putting the old Tusk D-Flex guards back on that I already had. I spent a lot of money this time around on parts, plus I ordered some cool new saddle bags that'll be shipping in December.
So I thought, put the old guards back on and get the HDBs later to spread the financial sting a bit. Well, since I got the 1-1/8" ProTaper bars, that turned out to be a big pain in the ass. I ended up having to get different bar 'mid clamps' to make the D-Flex guards work on the larger, tapered bars, and in the process I ended up scratching my new bars way more than I should have or wanted to. Damn it to hell. I ended up making it all work, but I wish in retrospect that I would have just sprung of the new HDBs during this install and had it all done right to begin with. Oh well, you live and learn.
Ran into a few issues re-installing all the existing hardware and switches on the new bars. I eventually realized that there is a small pin extension on the inside of the kill/starter switch housing that locks the casing in place on the stock handlebars. Once I figured that out, I was able to simply file the pin down so that it did not interfere with resting on the new bars. Here I am pointing at the pin extension with my pliers...
And here are the position holes on the stock bars for the pins on the housing, plus another position hole for something that I could not find a match for. Everything else fit on the new bars without interference, so not sure what the second hole is for.
Ran into another issue - for some reason my new Motion Pro throttle sleeve was fitting a bit too snug inside the throttle housing, so I had to file it down a bit so that it was not rubbing and sticking. Now it works fine and the throttle seems to twist and snap back as it should.
Of course during the process of re-mounting everything on the right hand side of the bars, at some point I inadvertently loosened the banjo bolt on the brake line, and later when I squeezed the front brake while moving the bike, brake fluid shot out all over the place. Dang it! Got'er tightened and cleaned up, then got back to the tasks at hand.
And finally, here is everything installed. New ProTaper bars, risers, and pillow top grips, Doubletake mirrors, and bar end inserts for the existing D-flex guards.
Definitely looks nicer and cleaner than it did before, and I hear tell these thicker bars feel much better on the road (less vibration?). Looking forward to testing them out on the roads and trails.
Oh, and a detail shot of the new risers, too. You can install them like this or flipped toward the inside...I chose to install them this way just cuz.
And the last item in this wave of mods was to permanently mount my Rotopax mount to my Pro Moto Billet rear rack. I am planning on using installing some nice new side bags and a tank bag, so I won't be putting bags on the rear rack that often. I want to be able to slap on my Rotopax 1 gallon tank for longer rides, giving me 4 gallons total at any one time. I had to take the rack off and work some mojo to get the bottom backing plate on, but it all worked out fine and is solid as a rock. Here's the mounted mount...
And a shot of the tank on the rack.
Well, that all pretty much broke the bank for the moment, so that'll do for now. Gonna change the oil and oil filter later today, and familiarize myself a bit more with all the digital display options on the dashboard.
Next up for mods/maintenance will be a fork rebuild kit, HDB hand guards, and adding some small auxiliary LED front headlamps.
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