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ChopperCharles · 11-03-2020, 12:13 AM

This is how she looked when I brought her home!

I have since removed every faded and peeling sticker on the bike. The "adventure" and "rx3" stickers are gone, the tank stickers are gone, and all the stickers on the frame and swingarm are removed. The one with the tire pressure and vin number was a real bear to get off, I needed a scraper and adhesive remover and a lot of elbow grease. It was peeling aroudn the edges and looked like hell, otherwise I would have left it alone.

I also cleaned out four mud dauber nests so far. One on top of the headlight, one under the passenger seat, one inside the left fairing, and one next to the battery. I've replaced the headlight with the LED bulb that rd1959 so graciously included, but I haven't had a chance to ride with the new bulb yet. The 45/45 H4 wasn't actually bad. It's better than my 2017 Yamaha SCR950 with a stock 55/60 bulb... the reflector in the RX3 is actually decent. (The yamaha's suckkkkkkks).

I wired in a cell phone holder/wireless charger and a battery tender lead as well. I modified all the lock cylinders on the bike so that the key can be removed when the cases are unlocked. This makes life a lot more manageable for me.

I ordered a 13T countershaft sprocket and a speedo healer - speedo is off by about 12%. At the upper end 87mph indicated is actually 79mph on my GPS. I also ordered some handguards from Aliexpress, as they're made specifically for the RX3 and mount cleanly without clamps all over the handlebars. (They mount to the mirrors and control clamp 8mm bolts). BUT... they don't offer anything except wind protection. They have no bar to protect the levers, so I may end up with a different set anyhow.

I replaced four rusty bolts and tomorrow when it's not ball-freezing cold I'll touch up the rusty swingarm pivot bolt and the breather on the motor, which have some rust on them.

For sitting outside four years in the NC weather, that was the only rust on the bike. Hell, the Suzuki SV650 I have in the driveway has far more rust than that in the same period of time. I'm impressed!

Some of the rubber is sun checked. The clutch cable cover at the handlebars is cracked and weathered, and the rubber cover over the headlight connector turned to stone and I had to cut and break it off in pieces so I could disconnect the headlight housing from the harness and remove it.

I noticed that there are a few melty areas from where the sun was magnified by the shape of the windscreen. It caused a little divot on the top of the headlight housing, and also slightly warped the top rim of the gauges. There are even some smooth spots that look worn on the inside of the tachometer face, but appear to be slightly melted. Not a big deal, but has anyone else noticed something like this happening?

My next step after handguards are heated grips and hippo hands. I'm also trying to find some wings to attach to the sides of the windscreen to get my shoulders out of the airflow. With JC Whitney dead and gone, it's hard to find stuff like that now. I'm looking for these things attached to the GL1200 windshield:

I'm having quite a good time farkling this thing. Part of the draw is to spend as little money as possible.

Charles.

11-03-2020, 12:13 AM	#12
ChopperCharles Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: RDU, NC Posts: 677	This is how she looked when I brought her home! I have since removed every faded and peeling sticker on the bike. The "adventure" and "rx3" stickers are gone, the tank stickers are gone, and all the stickers on the frame and swingarm are removed. The one with the tire pressure and vin number was a real bear to get off, I needed a scraper and adhesive remover and a lot of elbow grease. It was peeling aroudn the edges and looked like hell, otherwise I would have left it alone. I also cleaned out four mud dauber nests so far. One on top of the headlight, one under the passenger seat, one inside the left fairing, and one next to the battery. I've replaced the headlight with the LED bulb that rd1959 so graciously included, but I haven't had a chance to ride with the new bulb yet. The 45/45 H4 wasn't actually bad. It's better than my 2017 Yamaha SCR950 with a stock 55/60 bulb... the reflector in the RX3 is actually decent. (The yamaha's suckkkkkkks). I wired in a cell phone holder/wireless charger and a battery tender lead as well. I modified all the lock cylinders on the bike so that the key can be removed when the cases are unlocked. This makes life a lot more manageable for me. I ordered a 13T countershaft sprocket and a speedo healer - speedo is off by about 12%. At the upper end 87mph indicated is actually 79mph on my GPS. I also ordered some handguards from Aliexpress, as they're made specifically for the RX3 and mount cleanly without clamps all over the handlebars. (They mount to the mirrors and control clamp 8mm bolts). BUT... they don't offer anything except wind protection. They have no bar to protect the levers, so I may end up with a different set anyhow. I replaced four rusty bolts and tomorrow when it's not ball-freezing cold I'll touch up the rusty swingarm pivot bolt and the breather on the motor, which have some rust on them. For sitting outside four years in the NC weather, that was the only rust on the bike. Hell, the Suzuki SV650 I have in the driveway has far more rust than that in the same period of time. I'm impressed! Some of the rubber is sun checked. The clutch cable cover at the handlebars is cracked and weathered, and the rubber cover over the headlight connector turned to stone and I had to cut and break it off in pieces so I could disconnect the headlight housing from the harness and remove it. I noticed that there are a few melty areas from where the sun was magnified by the shape of the windscreen. It caused a little divot on the top of the headlight housing, and also slightly warped the top rim of the gauges. There are even some smooth spots that look worn on the inside of the tachometer face, but appear to be slightly melted. Not a big deal, but has anyone else noticed something like this happening? My next step after handguards are heated grips and hippo hands. I'm also trying to find some wings to attach to the sides of the windscreen to get my shoulders out of the airflow. With JC Whitney dead and gone, it's hard to find stuff like that now. I'm looking for these things attached to the GL1200 windshield: I'm having quite a good time farkling this thing. Part of the draw is to spend as little money as possible. Charles.
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