Splitin hairs! I'm well aware Buells are vasly different, but they were undeniably part of the Harley family. I've always wondered what would have happened if Buell could have found some other funding. I think a DL1K motor in a Uly would be very very good. I'm mostly just frustrated after reading all the posts from guys who walked in a bought a Tiger while I've been waiting 4 months.
^ Very timely. I'm looking to do the same kind of thing since it looks like it might be a few weeks until Motech gets its act together with the top rack. I ordered the Givi universal mounting plate for monokey cases (which I use successfully on my 1050 Tiger) and I will try to see if I can mount it directly as you have, or if that doesn't look doable, to have a plate fabricated to put the Givi mount onto which then bolts onto the bike using the 4 mount points that are already there. It doesn't seem like the stock plastic rack can really take any significant weight since there's not really anything underneath it. Are you mounting it using the stock holes drilled into the rear subframe or are you just mounting it to the stock rear rack?
I wanted a wider rear rack that would support things like tents and dry bags a little better but I could also use my Givi adapter plate (see above post) for when I want a top case. The aftermarket is still pretty scarce on racks and I didn't feel like spending the money on a Touratech or Happy Trail quite yet so decided to go the cheap route. I bought a 14" by 17" black plastic cutting board at Target for $12: I figured out the pattern I wanted to go around the love handles: I used a fine tooth finishing blade in my table saw, some files, and a sanding block to get it cut out and smoothed up. The plastic melts pretty good when you're cutting, but it worked out. For mounting just the rack, I used 40mm SS button head bolts, fender washers, and 1/2" tall nested spacers sandwiched between washers. Here's the rack mounted w/o the Givi plate: I replace the two rear bolts with 50mm long socket heads and the Givi plate mounts on. Much sturdier now that it's sitting on top of the new rack: At some point I'll get out the drill and jigsaw and make some tie down holes or slots if I think I need them.
With just the Givi plate, the 6mm bolts go through the stock plastic rack thing down into threaded bosses underneath.
Everybody's got an opinion on tires.... mine is that Battlewings are just about on par with the rest of the 90-10 tires which means they are darn good on pavement and damn poor in mud, sand, and loose dirt/gravel. I'm also of the opinion that Trailwings acquired the "Deathwing" moniker because they are sold routinely on small dual-sports that novice riders buy and then immediately take into tough off-road conditions, promptly falling on their ass. And this has very little to do with the brand of tire. - Mark
When I picked mine up there was some residue on the cylinder, which concerned me. The dealer said it was just an anti-corosion product. They cleaned it off and it hasn't returned. Fortunately it didn't look like yours does. I hope it isn't going to be a problem.
Ahh, unfortunatly not my bike, I was just test riding it... I think I will wait for the 2012 model, Dark frame and hopefully bolt on passenger peg brackets and a couple more color choices.
The stock seat gets a little "lumpy" after riding for a few hours. It's like I can feel the plastic bits underneath the foam. :huh .