Install fmf programmer

I've been getting by without a programmer for almost a year.. even though i have opened up the airbox, added a header, pipe & removed the ais & exup, i hadn't gotten around to the programmer.  Mostly because they were $200, & i was too cheap to spring for it, & too poor to justify it.  But Dennis Kirk had them on sale, so i put in an order.  It came yesterday, & i put it on early this morning.  I haven't had time to ride it & see how it compares, but i'll show the step by step install.

You have to take almost everything off.. seat, side panels, tank shroud, loosen the tank.  I'll assume those are commonly known procedures.  I decided to mount it on the side, by the battery, under the left panel.  I had made more room in this section when removing the exup, side stand switch, & the usual other mods.  I pulled off  a relay.. i think.. that is right by the battery, turned it 90* & pushed it back in place.

I put the sticky velcro patch right on the plug cover on the relay, then stuck the programmer on it.  The manual suggested putting it in front of the battery.

I've seen them mounted in lots of different places.  I don't figure on adjusting it much once it is set to my preferences, so it will be fine under the side panel.

Next i routed the cable under the frame & along the top tube.  I zip tied it in a couple of places.  Unplug the fuel injector connector, plug the programmer between them.  easy..  Make sure the connectors click in to place.. you have to push them pretty hard, because of the rubber sealing ring inside the connector.  Don't be afraid to squeeze them together.

The connector is under the tank, so you have to take off the tank mounting screws. It can just tilt out of the way.. don't have to disconnect anything else.

Then run the ground wire to the negative battery terminal.  Just unscrew the terminal screw & put the connector under the screw.  It's ready to run.

I bent the red power wire from the battery so it didn't rub or hit the programmer.

Then, as added protection, i stuck some foam weatherstrip on a few spots.. probably doesn't need it, but it will keep it from rubbing or hitting any button, while still leaving them accessible.

That's it!  I put it all back together & it started right up.  I'll report later on how it works.. if i notice any difference from stock.

For now, i'm leaving it with the factory defaults.  I'll tweak it later.

seat report!

This week Tom & I took a ride to sheep's bridge.. it was a total of about 250 miles, with a lot of freeway, winding, bumpy dirt roads, & some really gnarly boulder field crossings.  How did my seat work, you might ask..  Well, i think i have found a very good balance for riding long rides mixed with technical terrain.  This ride had both, & this seat fit the bill.  I hardly thought about it, except when marveling at how comfortable my behind was at the end of the day.  On the long easy stretches, i slid back in the seat & sat in comfort.  In the gnarly sections, i slid forward & had an easy reach to the ground.

Here's a pic Tom took of me going down the rocky section after the bridge.  I'm slid forward & can 'paddle' with my feet & stay steady.

I thought earlier that i might trim some of the back off & make it a bit narrower.. but now i think i'll leave it alone.. My bottom isn't that tiny & it really likes the room.

I also noticed the bumps didn't make me stand as much.. at least the bumps you get on long dirt roads ~ 40mph.  The seat soaks them up, & the combination of the gel pad, the foam under, the kydex pan, & the closed cell bottom foam all disperse the vibration.

I don't think i'll need a sheepskin cover.. this is the best motorcycle seat i've ever sat on.. compared to any custom seat & i've sat on a few.

new seat profile

Here's some pics of the seat after tweaking it some.. it is more level now, & is more comfortable in the riding position.  I don't think i needed to make it as wide as i did.. my tiny little bottom could have fit into a smaller bowl.  Perhaps if i take it apart i might shrink it more.  But the height & basic shape are satisfactory.

rox riser, alloy high bars

I've had these on for a while, but haven't described them much.  I wanted higher bars for standing & sitting back in the seat on long rides.  I also wanted a lighter, stronger  bar than stock.  I picked up a set of 7/8" rox risers on ebay, & i had a high bar.  The main problem was getting everything to fit.  The longer bar meant the throttle tube wouldn't fit, nor the clutch cable or turn signal assembly.  I cut 1" off the ends of the bars.. that made them a little narrower, but not too much.  The bike still handles fine.  I had to re route the clutch cable to the inside of the bars, instead of to the front & outside.  I also had to loosen & stretch the wires going to the turn signal assembly.

I put everything on before attaching the bar to the risers, & put the risers in line with the forks.  I didn't need them to tilt back any more, & like the feel of the bars being in line with the forks.

Here you can see the throttle tube turned down.

The clutch cable had to be routed behind the triple clamp.

I've been on several long rides with this setup, & am pretty happy with it.  It's fine on long cruises, & also in tight, technical riding.

fine tuning seat..

I took the seat out for a ride.. it seemed to slope forward too much, so i removed the cover, pulled off the seat, cut down the blue foam base & added some strips of the blue foam pad so it was more level.  I raised it about 1 1/2" in the front, & it lowered about 1/2" in the back.  There is more of a pronounced 'step' in the seat.  I'll get some pics on later to illustrate it.

I still haven't done any long rides on it.. just local errands.  I'll report more when i get more saddle time on it.