My missus reckons I’m a hoarder. Not quite at the level of those folk who store their own poo in Tesco bags, have every Radio Times from 1982-on piled in a spare room, and end up on the local TV news. But not far off she says.
Pffft. What does she know? All that stuff in those boxes and tins and cupboards and drawers is all essential stuff. And the minute I throw any of it out, is the minute I realise there’s a very important job for which I need it right now. The fact we need a new shed every 18 months to keep up is secondary here.
Anyway. the best thing about this is when you dig out some of said useful stuff and put it back into action. And I have done just that over the weekend. I had a Suzuki long-term GSX-S1000 in a prevous life, and had a couple of oddments sat about in a bag in the garage for it. And here they are – some smart R&G swingarm bobbins, all the better to get the thing onto a paddock stand with, and a Givi Tanklock clip-on tankbag setup.
The bobbins are nicely made, and fit in literally seconds. Give the mounting holes on your swingarm a wipe down, and a quick squirt of WD40 or other lube spray, then bolt the bobbins into place with the supplied hex head bolts. Be careful not to cross any threads! Same other side and you’re boshed.
The Givi Silver tankbag is equally simple. remove three bolts from the tank cap surround, then bolt the mounting ring into place with the supplied bolts and spacers. Then, the bag just clips on and off at the press of a lever. I need to adjust the mounting ring on the bag a bit – it’s set quite far backwards from the previous fitting. But it’s just attached with the four screws you can see, and there are plenty of different positions to move it into, for the perfect fit on loads of bikes.
The Tanklock system is available for most bikes, and the clip-on system works well, and gets rid of magnets and straps. The Silver bag here is a bit old now, and has been replaced, but there are plenty of options in the Tanklock system, from big old 25 litre expandable Enduro bags down to teeny sportbike bags that hold a phone and a wallet and not much else.
Bolt-ons aside, I’ve not done a load of miles on the GSX-S yet – I was away on hols last week, and been riding test bikes a fair bit. Next up though is some new tyres – after reading our launch review on the Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa IIs, I’m keen to give them a try. So my bobbins will be thrown into action asap to get the rims off and new rubber on!
I’m also a bit down on the GSX-S brakes. They work well, but I’d like some more initial bite, so will be investigating some different pads, and perhaps some steel lines and a new master cylinder. There is also an exhaust in the post from a mystery supplier, and I’ll be getting a base dyno run so I can check on those POWER GAINS as the year goes on. Lastly, I’ve got a posh lithium battery coming too, to reduce those vital pounds. More anon.
Givi: www.givi.co.uk
R&G: www.rg-racing.com
