dinsdag 17 juli 2012

Disc Lock

Little update re security.
I've got a Granit Detecto 8000 which I found to be brilliant on the VFR.
It actually looks good (not that that matters but hey...), it fits over the front disks easily and fits under the seat no problem. It does however not fit on the rear disc.
However, I lost it this week and I thought I opted for the one with the additional chain:

Now, I thought that was brilliant, very practical and because you can loop it through for example a ground anchor, it is actually very long. On a "normal" chain you can only use half the length as you have to make a full circle, on this you can use a lot more.

Anyway, I tried to fit it and... it doesn't. It's hard to describe but let me just say that the part that goes through the disc lock is in the way for fitting it properly. I just wanted to give this heads up, so that you don't have to go back to the store like me.
So a little tip: try and fit it at the store if possible, or in front of it when you purchase it so you can return it immediately. Tbh looking at the design I think there's a lot of bikes it won't fit. The VFR is on the "ok" list for the disc lock, but there's no way it'll fit with the attached chain.

So, I'll go back to the store and just get the disc lock without the chain.

woensdag 4 juli 2012

Luggage on the VFR1200F

So, a lot can be said about just transporting general stuff on a bike. From day-to-day use, doing groceries or going away for the weekend.
For the VFR I've found several ways to transport the stuff I want, and I just thought I'd elaborate on them.

Day-to-day

Well, for everyday use I don't need that much. In general I have to take a pair of jeans, a pair of shoes and a backpack containing a laptop.
Like I already stated, I've got this Givi tankbag that can (with a little pushing) contain the pants and the shoes. It's also a good bag to take with you everytime, contains the wallet, a piece of clothing you want, keys, ... for me it's a great size bag.
The only downside I'd say is that when you want to "lie down", you've got your chin on top of the bag.
The backpack then easily goes on the pillion seat with a 40x40 bungee net over it. The mounting points for the OEM boxes are brilliant for that by the way, 4 nice big holes, perfectly positioned.

With a pillion

So, sometimes the OH can go with me and I drop her off at work. The backpack on the pillion then has to go. I have the OEM panniers, and the most important thing I have to say about them is that they DO fit full-face helmets, unlike a lot of reports I read (I bought them thinking it won't fit them because of that). I can easily put the OH's Shark Vision R or my own Schuberth C3 in either panniers. Other than that, they fit great and complete the look of the bike very nicely. A little shudder over 160 but not much.

So, in short, I've got a Givi tankbag, a €6 bungee net and the OEM panniers, and I'm very happy about them. They complement eachother great for various needs. The net can easily be stored under the seat alongside a disk lock and the papers and a wallet for example.

All this is tried and tested at over 200 leptons by the way :).