Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Farkling in the dark

The Mad Farkler at work. 

I have a very patient Moto hubby and he knows how long I've waited for all the pieces to arrive for my side bags and racks.  You'd think it would be easy to buy bags & racks to install them on the bike, apparently it's not.  We started this project at the beginning of June with the purchase of the bags at a very good price. When it came to sourcing the racks, not so easy. I ordered the racks from two different places only to find out they were both out of stock with no idea of when or if they'd be back in stock.


Hello internet - the best ever Farkle finder! We found the racks in Italy at Speedmania and they actually ended up costing less than if I had bought them here in Canada. Their service was fast and efficient and it took 5 days! The best part was how excited the courier was about delivering a motorcycle part from Europe.




The odyssey wasn't over yet though, as it still required another part which I was able to source from a Canadian internet retailer, again thank you world wide net. There were a few anxious moments due to a looming Canada Post strike and the package was due to arrive July 4th and the strike date is July 2nd, thankfully it arrived on June 28th. 




After work K decided he was going to get them installed, I was thrilled as I was expecting for it to be on the weekend. Daylight turned to dusk, dusk to night, and the giant light was hauled out.  I didn't realize how indepth the farkle installation process was going to be, gotta say it's a lot easier bungy cording a backpack to the back.  I was happy when it was all complete.  The bags look great and now I'm ready for long distance adventures!



Viola! Givi monokey V35 side bags installed. 
 
Update:  Some of you have asked a few questions the first being - Any trip planned and where to? Well unfortunately my hubby and I have already booked a 7 day stint of camping in Tofino and we are going it the luxurious way in a motorhome.  Our holiday time doesn't really groove together either, I have the entire month of August off and he only has two weeks that he can take in that time frame, so it leaves us with little time to take long road trips.  After I come home I think I am going to pack up the bike and go solo for a week up the island. 
 
The bags were supposed to come with two liners, but when we bought them there was only 1 - the shop owner misplaced it and the bags were on clear-out and at a steep discount, so I have plenty of bags that will suit the purpose and I also have a friend who is a master seamstress and can make one for me, so that is the route I am going to go.  The liner bags are pretty steep to buy about $98 Cdn and I can make them for a lot less. 
 
Still thinking about the heated grips - I have them down in my hoard in the basement, just not sure if I want to install them, right now I would rather have my hubby wire in a charger for my iphone, and with all of the things he has done to my bike I am not wanting to stress him out anymore on farkles for awhile.  Apparently I am not a good farkle assistant because I am not very good with tools, so I will leave it the master farkler. 

 

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Hmm, it seems like everyone is farkling around these days (I hope it's contagious :-) ).

HAPPY NEW FARKLES, Dar!

Dar said...

Thanks Ry! Trying to decide if I am going to install heated grips and buy a new helmet. I think a new sleeping bag for moto camping is on the list,

Unknown said...

If I may weigh in on heated grips: My GS came standard with them, and IMHO, they are more a novelty than they are a necessity. Spend your pennies on heavier gloves and other goodies.

Of course, that's just one fella's opinion. I imagine that RichardM might have different feelings about heated grips.

Shybiker said...

They look great! Projects like this are always harder than you expect which is why I dread them. Can I hire your hubby to come over? :-)

RichardM said...

The bags look great on the bike. When is the inaugural trip? Somewhere exotic?

The farkle list is always too long. I've given up on heated grips and working on installing some heat pads inside of the bars with the wiring protected. These are from a snow machine shop and were $12. The wiring on moto heated grips kept breaking.

redlegsrides said...

+1 on heated grips!

Did the bags come with liners to facilitate the unloading of contents from the hard cases?

SonjaM said...

Happy Farkles Day, Dar! Of course that begs some questions: what will you pack, when will you leave, where will you be headed to, will it be a solo, couple or group ride, do you need a passport... and the list goes on ;-)

David Masse said...

I'm a fan of heated grips. That said, I have two suggestions: get Hot Grips if at all possible and don't use super glue even if that's what the manufacturer recommends. It will fail. Use a high temperature epoxy.

Adrianna said...

Beautiful bike, thanks for the share!

Trobairitz said...

Great job on the install K. Isn't it nice to have a handy hubby?

For saddlebag liners try dry sacks or compression/stuff sacks. Sea to Summit is a great brand and you can find them online or REI etc. Your items will be dry and easy to take in and out of your saddlebags. We use them for moto-camping and regular camping.

Andrew Thomson said...

Nice! I'm a long-time Givi user and their gear is pretty good and definitely not as dear as other brands. Put those hot-grips on - the best money you'll spend. No idea why you need a battery tender...I've never had one.

Lynne Goebeler said...

The bags look great! I would vote yes for the heated grips, but we ride all year and they can make the difference between freezing and a pleasant cool ride. Enjoy the motor home trip...now you're getting into our territory! But then, we tow the bikes so we can combine the fun. :-)