Here we go!!!

[Wavex]

I love my Bar end mirrors...only mirrors i have found which allow me to see what the hell is going on behind me, and plus, they lower the profile of the bike, and give the bike a much more aggressive look IMHO!

:rockon:

Yeah I love mine too and they look great... which is why I got them , but let's be real, you can't really see **** in them!!! I mean I can see whether there's a car behind me or not (all I need them for), but gauging the distance is hard, and everything looks tiny in them!! And you have to take your eyes wayyyy off the road to look at them... I am not saying they don't work, I just think stock mirrors in general (except on the Ducati 848 or 1198 lol) provide much better rear visibility...

David, I can't remember, but did you have the Hindsight or the Hindsight LS mirrors? I'm just thinking with the elbow and rubber mounts on the LS that maybe it's a bit more stable? Heck, I have no clue...just thinking out loud...lol.

And it's funny, because I always HATED the stock mirrors on the FZ6. I completely agree with Wolfman that I think they lower the profile and give the bike a much more aggressive look. But it wasn't the "antennae" look of the stock mirrors that I didn't like (I actually liked that the fairing on the FZ looked like a wasp's head), but rather the usability of the mirrors. It seemed I could never really see behind me without catching a huge look at my elbows (although I always do a head-check anyway).

No questions about the look... stock mirrors are fugly... it's the case on most bikes imo... CRGs are very well made and look amazing... agreed there too... they're not horrible about seeing behind you either, however, every time I ride Cali Rider's stock FZ and look behind me I am shocked at how big and visible everything looks in the stock mirrors compared to my tiny convex CRGs (exact same as yours) in which everything looks "ants size" , and I don't have to turn my head and look away from the road in front of me...

Just my personal experience though and I can understand if you have a different experience about it... (most ppl I know agree bad ends are more for looks than functionality, but hey... whatever! ).

Great job, corbin seat looks nice, I should be getting mine this week

Seat cowl works with the Corbin? I thought I had read somewhere that it was not a direct match...

 

[Geoff]

I'll make it work, either way but on there website they show it working with a seat cowl exactly like ours. I'm sure I'll have to rig something up I'll let you know how it goes wavex.

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

It warmed up into the mid-60's today, so I was able to get out on the bike after work for a while. Nothing major, just a knock-the-rust-off type of ride.

I took the camera along and got some better pictures. Forgive my photographic abilities and crappy camera, but it's better than my iPhone in our bay at work! :thumbup:

Oh, and as far as the fairing being gone? It freaking ROCKS!!! I love it! I don't have a single regret in doing this (not that I thought I would). :rockon: And yes, I know she needs a bath. Now that I've got the conversion done, she'll get cleaned up nicely!

 

[RJ2112]

How's the light output at night?

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

I can't say personally how good the light output is when riding at night since this was really the first ride I've had of more than 10 minutes on the bike since the conversion. So that obviously means I haven't had it out at night yet. LOL.

But just from the eye test, it's damn bright. And I've read plenty of reviews of other converts who say it puts out great light at night. I don't do a lot of night riding, but I would definitely say it's going to do the trick when I do.

 

[Wavex]

Thanks for the pics! The bike looks awesome.

You're going to keep these turn signals?

 

[krid80]

you gonna paint that windscreen Team Yamaha Blue?

 

[Wavex]

You're going to remove the stickers from the swingarm?


:rof:

 

[krid80]

You're going to remove the stickers from the swingarm?


:rof:

true dat! They got to GO!

 

[Mexi-can't]

You're going to remove the stickers from the swingarm?


:rof:

And the gas tank.....

 

['05FZ6]

If anyone has any questions that I haven't answered or needs the part numbers on the headlight, mount, and windscreen from Surdyke, feel free to let me know! I'm here to help!

Now that you mention it ; P

Do you know the part number for the headlight, mount, and windscreen from Surdyke? The bike looks great!

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

Here ya go, and thanks!

Buell XB Headlight Y0721.6AC
• https://www.surdyke.com/
• Price: $92.80
Buell XB Windscreen M1600.1ACMW
• https://www.surdyke.com/
• Price: $59.46
Buell XB Windscreen Mount M0645.1ADA
• https://www.surdyke.com/
• Price: $18.84

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

Thanks for the pics! The bike looks awesome.

You're going to keep these turn signals?

I've always liked the stock turn signals (unlike most people), but after doing the conversion I've come to HATE them! I'll be talking to PJ about some Rizomas very, very soon. So, no...I'm not keeping those hideous turn signals...LOL.

you gonna paint that windscreen Team Yamaha Blue?

Nah...I thought about going with the actual blue windscreen from the start, but I like the black one better. I think it compliments the black of the frame and engine.

You're going to remove the stickers from the swingarm?


:rof:

I've been debating that. It doesn't bother me (never has), like it does others. Plus, I like having that info there when I need it...lol.

And the gas tank.....

You know, I've often wished I'd removed the gas tank sticker years ago, but now I'm afraid that if I remove it, there will be a difference in color between the rest of the gas tank and where the sticker was. Is that an unfounded worry?

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

My local group got out on our first group ride yesterday, so I was able to really get a feel for how great this conversion is. Man, I'm loving it. We hit one of our favorite roads and I really feel like I'm gonna be a better rider this year! I love the vision I have now without the fairing in the way.

I did switch out the home made mounting brackets (flat stock aluminum) for some pre-made fork brackets (as I was FINALLY able to find some for 43mm forks that didn't cost $80). I really like it. It actually sits the headlight a little lower on the forks and a little closer too and it's rock solid.

Here's a few shots from yesterday. Oh, and that's my big butt in the blue Teknic jacket on the right. Yes, I shave my head...no, I'm not going bald. LOL. I've been telling you guys for years that I'm a "heavier" rider!

We bumped into the guy in the middle with the shaved head at the top of our favorite road (he's from another local forum). I'm standing behind him and the guy on the left used to have a red FZ6. At one point I heard him ask "what kind of bike is that? I like it!" I just smiled. :thumbup:

 

[dturpen]

Ya know, I could swear that you have different headlights than me. It seems that yours have a bluer tint and the reflectors are different. I don't know, maybe I'm just crazy.

 

[Geoff]

Your fz6 doesent look like a tour bike anymore....its truly is the best of both worlds ...that and the insurance is cheaper on these tour bikes Looks good hope someday we can ride together! Wish we could gather all members on forum and meat somewhere, but the Aussies are soooooo far away..... I want to ride with a few of the Aussies, they seem cool

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

Thanks, Geoff! Yeah, I've still got the bracket around the exhaust for the Givi rack (I just removed the actual rack), so if I want to put a topcase back on there, I can do it easily.

And you're right about our Aussie friends! I'd love to have the chance to ride with all of them. Plus, that would have the added bonus of getting to listen to their cool accents!!!

:BLAA:

 

[Cloned]

How did you end up hooking up the bulbs? Did you have to splice the wires or did you find a way to fit the original bulbs in the Buell housing?

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

I am, quite literally, the world's WORST electrician and even I was able to do this without any problems.

When I decided to do this conversion, the one thing I kept saying was that I wanted to keep everything as stock as possible so I could put the fairing back on easily (should I want it during colder weather or when I went to sell). However, I quickly realized that wiring the headlight into the bike would be so much easier if I just cut the connectors on the headlight and stock harness off.

I had used a beauty of a little electrical connector called a Posi-Tap when I installed the Hyperlights on the rear end of the bike, so I knew the easiest way to connect the headlight wiring to the stock harness was to use another product of theirs called the Posi-Lock. Where the Posi-Tap connectors allow you to tap into a wire without cutting it, the Posi-Lock connectors allow you to simply thread a stripped wire into each end of the connector, screw down a little cap, and you've got a great, tight connection.

I cut the stock connector off the headlight. There are 4 wires coming through it...(1) left headlight, (2) right headlight, (3) 1 ground wire that runs to both headlights, (4) and the wire that powers the small parking light that sits in the housing between the main headlights.

I then cut both headlight connectors off the stock harness. This will leave you with another 4 wires, although not all grouped together like on the Buell headlight. 2 come out at one point, and 2 come out further down on the harness (the headlights are further apart on the stock FZ6 headlight). On the stock harness, you'll have (1) left headlight hot wire, (2) left headlight ground wire, (3) right headlight hot wire, (4) right headlight ground wire.

I then maneuvered the stock harness so I could twist the 2 ground wires from the bike side together (as stated above, you've got 2 ground wires on the bike side but only 1 on the Buell headlight side). After that, you simply match up the right headlight wire from the headlight to right headlight wire from the stock harness and left to left. Connect them with a Posi-Lock. Do the same with the ground wires...1 ground wire from the headlight into one end of a Posi-Lock and 2 ground wires (twisted together) from the stock harness into the other end.

As far as the little running light in the middle of the headlight goes, I used some extra wire to extend it so I could run it up to the left turn signal running light wire. I cut the running light wire, twisted the two pieces of that wire together and inserted them into the end of a Posi-Lock connector. I then inserted the extended wire from the headlight into the other end.

It's a pretty clean install and the Posi-Locks are extremely durable. Check out Web Bike World's review of all the Posi products. I've been very impressed with how well they perform and how durable they are. BTW, I picked up a sample set of the Posi-Locks (3 different sizes, 4 or 5 of each size) from Car Quest.

Posi-Lock - Posi-Twist Connectors - webBikeWorld

I know that's a lot of information and it seems confusing, but once you get the fairing off and are able to get a look at the stock harness and the headlight side-by-side, it becomes clear that it's a really easy connection to make.

 

[KenpoTex]

Great job, that looks really slick. Thanks for taking the time to do the write-up.