Inspired by the Are All Those Farkles really necessary thread.....what farkles are absolute essentials when you acquire a new to you machine? For me, adjustable levers (Raximo) have become a non - negotiable as my hands struggle with the factory levers on most bikes, even those with some adjustment. All of my bikes have aftermarket end cans and screens, the Striple and Hyper have aftermarket mirrors, the Blade has custom paint and aftermarket bar end weights and all but the Hyper have nice aftermarket chains and sprockets (which I will get when the current ones need replacing). The Striple has a custom seat cover and a bit of added padding in there plus a radiator guard.....I do like to make my bikes my own....
Sat nav but it wasn’t an option. None of the rest. My bike has auxiliary lights as standard. It has an exhaust so does not need another. The screen is good too. Oh I almost forgot I have put some rubber pads on top of the panniers as I kick them sometimes getting on and off.
If I was limited to one physical accessory it would be a Radiator Guard and (IMHO) the tweak that gives best improvement for least amount of expenditure is having the suspension adjusted/tuned for the rider weight.
For me it's very much dependant on the bike, the Nightstorm has upgraded suspension, aftermarket (Triumph) exhaust and mirrors. The Tuono has Akrapovic exhausts (an oem upgrade), upgraded chain and sprockets (different number of teeth), an Oberon clutch slave and a repadded seat. The Multistrada has a resculpted seat and a cool cover and will have new chain and sprockets at next service, all other fitments were oem upgrades when bought new by the original owner. All three have radiator guards fitted. I think it very much is down to the bike and individual but for me there isn't one specific thing I would need to do to all bikes. As above getting the suspension set up properly for you is an absolute must but that won't necessarily involve upgrading it.
Normally, I take newly acquired bikes straight to a suspension shop to get the rear spring changed to my weight and completely gone through and tweaked. That being said, I feel my new Tiger 900 really doesn't need it with the push button control and ability to easily adjust front forks on the fly. So for that bike, my only real farkle is a proper gps/sat nav. Oh, and a RoadLok, oh and...etc etc
I posted Are All Those Farkles Really Necessary, so it's probably no surprise that I couldn't tick one of those boxes! I'd always fit a radiator guard, but my Honda CL500 comes with that fitted (along with engine protection), and even my luggage is just a soft tail bag strapped on!
I could do without any extras, however I love being able to buy what I fancy at the time, and that won't change for me personally. I am always adding and changing all manner of items on my bike, do these extras add any value, well no they don't, most people tend to like a standard machine, or if they do have extras, people usually like the standard parts as well. We are all very individual in our tastes. And if we get into the realms of classic bikes, well, that gets really interesting with people's views. Here are my current extras, and I am still adding to them now and again. Evotech Radiator Guard Triumph Tail Tidy Triumph Engine Protection Covers Triumph Crash Protectors Triumph Bluetooth Module Triumph Screen Triumph Heated Grips Mini Sound Bomb Horn Evotech Go Pro Mount Carbon Fibre (FBR) Extended Hugger/Chain Guard Carbo Fibre (FBR) Tank Protectors Triumph Tank Pad Triumph LED Scrolling Indicators Evotech Fork Protectors Evotech Swing Arm Protectors Evotech Padock Stand Bobbins Ceramic Coated Header And Link Pipes Scorpion Stainless End Can And Link Pipe Scorpion Ceramic Black End Can Yoshimura End Can And Link Pipe Lust Racing Lowering Kit K@N Air Filter Iridium Plugs Modified Velocity Stacks De Cat Removal Oxygen Sensor Removal Modified Inlet And Exhaust Cams Woolwich Racing Re Map And Rolling Road Set Up Racetorx Gear Shift Support Givi Tank Bag And Support Ring I only use Motul 300V now My next upgrade is going to be a little expensive.
The first thing I always do is fit a radiator guard, always Evotech, nothing else will do. Then fit bar end mirrors if it hasn't already got them. Then change the levers for machined items. I will upgrade the rear suspension if I think it is necessary and change the end can (or cans) if I hate the look of the originals.
Ha, I thought this was just about 1 farkle, not the whole lot So, as well as the Puig max touring screen the road going ditchpump has the following: Tony James Design PPF Hexezecan Soundbomb mini horn Knockoff BMW lookalike Aux lights Front and rear bike cam Rear mudsling Nippy Normans Front fender extender Wunderlict Front engine cover Voigt Up and back bar risers Evotech Bar end weights MachineArt X head cylider head protectors Frame plugs Rear swingarm protector Optimate 4 Airman pump There's probably more, but as it's fast asleep in it's vacbag for the winter I'm not disturbing it.
Crash bungs and a decent horn. I would say heated grips but as I'd never buy a bike without them it's moot... Pazzo levers if there isn't decent adjustment on whatever I have (the Speed Triple RR has excellent levers so no need)
If I tried to write out a complete list I know I'd forget a few things, but the most important to me are: Seat rebuilt incorporating one of those honeycomb pattern butt pads - Ahhhh... Highway bars - mainly so I could mount pegs for some stretch Aux lights - more to aid in being seen than seeing Inch up/inch back risers - less hunching forward Madstad windscreen - no more flossing bugs out Saddlebags - SO much junk to carry, but all of it absolutely necessary Upgraded horn Replaced black plastic zip ties on the handlebars with stainless steel
