BubbaZ

Yes, orginal and only rider. About 220 lbs. Street riding.

Duh! Sorry about that. Fixed.

Terrific bike with low 15K miles. One mature owner with lots of bikes. Purchased and methodically serviced in Marin. Always garaged and well taken care of. Never crashed, abused or tracked. Pink slip and all records in hand. All the correct extras: Ohlin shock and spring upgrade (cost $1500) Corbin seat with smuggler storage ($642) Stop-it brake flasher with extra leds ($200) Two carbon fiber exhausts (forgot the cost) Taller windshield (forgot the cost) 02 VFR bars (raises the bars for comfort) Mirror extenders (so can see behind) Carbon fiber covers clutch & other side (forgot the cost) Sliders New chain Mag-Knight tank protector ($88) Hugger ($125) Original parts (mufflers, etc) come with the bike. $6900 Can be seen in San Rafael, CA

I mount my Valentine on my tank bag with velcro as well. Had it there for several years. Allows me to move it from bike to bike with the tank bag. This does requires a power hookup on each bike. I also use a H.A.R.D in the helmet LED display. Works very well. http://www.legalspeeding.com/product.htm

I joined in the purchase and although I haven't received mine yet I'm reading about possible interference with the LBS system. I'm a big guy on a '03 and if there is any chance the Brace will hit the LBS res if the forks fully compress, then I'd be reluctant to install it. Can those of you who have installed it advise me of your experience in this regard?

This was discussed last year but no one had done it. Later I thought I saw a post that reported some complications with the programing on a xx. Mine is an '03. I emailed Acumen and got no response - crappy cuistomer relations from yet one more vendor.

Have you ever noticed that life offers no easy answers (well, most of the time). OK, new plan - replace the front springs with Hyperpro and increase rear preload and see how it feels. I'd prefer to avoid adding the after market shock if I can because of the cost.

Thank you all for your advice. The Hyperpro front/rear kit sounds like the way to go. I've emailed Hyperpro as they do not list the '03 as a supported model. Any suggestions on a good/economical place to order the spring kit from?

I understand about how to meassure sag, but I don't underrstand how to adjust it on the Blackbird. Can you explain?

The suspension wasn't that great before the tires and seems more noticeably poor after the tire change. I've got about 39 lbs on the recommendation of the tire guy.

I have a question. I have an '03 with 6K miles on which I've just mounted a set of Z6's. It seems now that the suspension is worse than before - rough pavement bounces me around on the seat and moderate bumps that my VFR ignores, lifts my butt off the Blackbird seat. From the manual, it seems there is just the S<>H adjustment at the rear and nothing at the front. Today I tried full H to Full S with stops in between. Full Soft was the best but still far from acceptable. I weigh about 240 fully laden. So, I'm not quite sure what's happening. Anyone have an opinion? Can a suspension shop make further adjustments that are likely to improve the ride? Do I really have to go into aftermarket springs and shocks? Your experience would be welcome.

Hi, FDchief, Funny you should raise the topic of temperature. I ran down to Downyville for lunch last weekend and on the way back, going through Sierraville, I noticed the temp readout was at 231. It was hot outside as well. Kind of freaked me out since I didn't recall it running that hot. (I confuse it with my VFR). On faster stretches, the temp dropped to around 200 or maybe less. Go slow, back up to the 220's. When I got home, I was sure there was something wrong. I checked the oil, and the coolant. All seemed fine. Still thought something was amiss. Went out into Nevada on Sunday and again noticed the same temp ranges. Bike runs great, no issues yet I was left wondering if something was wrong. From your and other's posts, I'm thinking all is well. That's right, right?

Hi Mike, Thanks for the added info. Since I'm experiencing discomfort in my wrists and forearms after say 3 hours, I think I'll go ahead and take the plunge. If you don't mind posting again, I'm wondering if you feel comfortable riding briskly in the twisties now with the bars in the highest and backest position. In other words, can we just leave the bars up and back and forget about them, or is it necessary in your opinion to change them back and forth? Again, if I'm bugging you with too many questions, no problem.

I'd be interested to know if replacement brake and throttle lines are required, in your opinion, to get the full use of the bars. By the way, what is the full use on the Blackbird - how many inches up and how many back can you get? I'm asking because I'm still not clear if the improvement the VFR bars I have is worth the cost and hassle? Your help is certainly appreciated.

Thanks for posting your experience with the convertibars. I've been waiting for someone to report their experience before buying them (or not buying them). I'm very interested in hearing more about your experience including what to watch for in the installation procedure. Pictures would be great as well. Thanks in advance.

Don't mean to be flipant, but "Done What?"

I've had good experiences with them. I've bought several items from them both by phone and in person. No problems, good service and good prices.