My dear wife bought my other sweetheart an Ilumberger carbon fiber hugger! I had hinted at Nippy Norman's fiberglass version, since I thought that the carbon fiber, while tres classy, was extravagant. Of course, I was surprised and pleased when I saw what was in the box. Unfortunately, Nippy sent the model for the K1200R/S instead of the R1200R. I am hoping that a trans-Atlantic exchange is not going to be a gigantic hassle.
Another problem is that the instructions from Wunderlich are in German, and the pictures are small and low resolution. Installing it is going to be more of a hassle than I anticipated since you have to drop the drive shaft. I am afraid that I am not mechanically adept enough to mess with the bike to that extent, and will probably have the dealer do it.
So, how did your R make out (hopefully more successfully than mine)?
'07 R1200R
Life Member #599
NAUI Inst. #1434 (since 1969)
I also have the Ilumberger carbon fiber hugger for the R1200S. It is the right one for your bike. It is not at all hard to install. I took the rear break caliper loose so I could get the tire out of the way. Others loosened the muffler to get the wheel off. Either way will work.. I have never had one ounce of trouble out of my hugger. Way cool Christmas gift! Much better than the fiber glass one.
Mark
What is happening to my skin?
Where is that protection that I needed?
Air can hurt you too
I got a Spot Satellite GPS tracker. Now I can signal the wife I am OK when I am out of cellular range. (sort of a long electronic leash!) It has an on/off button, so it is at least a step below supervised custody.
Dan-A wrote:I got a Spot Satellite GPS tracker. Now I can signal the wife I am OK when I am out of cellular range. (sort of a long electronic leash!) It has an on/off button, so it is at least a step below supervised custody.
My wife doesn't interfere in when, where or for how long I ride, but I know a Spot would significantly decrease her worrying. I think it is a good idea and when I make my trek to the Upper Peninsula this Spring I think I'll have one with me. Thanks for mentioning it.
I have a seat-heater kit from RideWarehouse.. 'cause I didn't order the heated option on my Sargent seat when I had it made. If anyone wants a Sargent low-seat - and is willing to ship me their stock seat and $300, that might save me the trouble of adding heat to this one (I'd just order one with heat this time..) Looks like a nice enough kit, with decent instructions.
Figuring nobody is gonna bite on that - anyone know the length of the staples used to hold the seatcover on?
And got two Neil Peart books, and the DVD trilogy for "On Any Sunday" (which pretty much is what got me on two wheels..)
What I didn't get was the Garmin map updates for my Nav-III. Guess that will be out of my wallet.
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
Dan-A wrote:I got a Spot Satellite GPS tracker. Now I can signal the wife I am OK when I am out of cellular range. (sort of a long electronic leash!) It has an on/off button, so it is at least a step below supervised custody.
My wife doesn't interfere in when, where or for how long I ride, but I know a Spot would significantly decrease her worrying. I think it is a good idea and when I make my trek to the Upper Peninsula this Spring I think I'll have one with me. Thanks for mentioning it.
My wife doesn't either actually. I have been testing it, and it seems to work as advertised. It is a good thing to have for anyone who ventures out of cell phone range, which kind of goes with the territory for motorcycle riders.
Finally got the correct Ilumberger hugger from Nippy Norman's. The first (incorrect) one came exactly ONE WEEK after it was ordered--pretty darned good from the UK, especially at Christmas, and very quick to ship on the part of NN. I had the wrong one packed up and sent back before January 1, so the r/t took 2 weeks each way. Not too bad, considering the trade had to be done at all.
I am more than a little teed off that NN is not refunding the $30 it cost me to mail the first one back. They claim my wife ordered the wrong one, which is patently untrue, and we sent them the email exchanges to prove it. At least I didn't have to resort to threats (for all the good they would have done) and/or transatlantic phone calls to effect the trade. All and all the exchange was pretty slick with no further misunderstandings, and I guess I'd deal with NN again if necessary. First choice of course, would be to go through a US dealer.
Man, is carbon fiber light! I had no idea. If I had the $$ I'd get all of the cf bits available for the R, just for the panache.
'07 R1200R
Life Member #599
NAUI Inst. #1434 (since 1969)
I got my Ilumberger hugger from someone here in the US. The only thing I ever orderd from Nippy took for f-ing ever to get to me. It was the correct part but I would hesitate to order from them again if I could find it state side.
Mark
What is happening to my skin?
Where is that protection that I needed?
Air can hurt you too
deilenberger wrote:
And got two Neil Peart books, and the DVD trilogy for "On Any Sunday" (which pretty much is what got me on two wheels..)
Don,
You're going to really enjoy the Neil Peart books. Fast read, he gets to the heart of why we like to ride, an explorer's tale on a couple of levels.
Doug
Ghost Rider - is - ummm.. a bit slow, and rather whiny in parts. Not to lessen the tragedy that happened to Peart (lost first his daughter in a car accident, then his SO to cancer), but he spends a good portion of the book with quoting his own letters to various friends and family. In the letters he repeats himself many times about how unhappy he is. In detail. Great detail. After hearing the same complaints (often word for word) 3 or 4 times it gets a bit old.
I do see a slow rebirth in the letters, but this isn't what I'd call a fast read, I can only take a few pages a night. It is excellent to put me to bed with - I fall asleep easily after a few pages. He's an excellent writer, and perhaps he has dealt with what is a difficult subject (accepting loss and moving on from it) as well as it could be, but this one.. don't look for a fast or cheerful read. When I finish it - I'll let'cha know if I found it inspiring.
Hopefully the other book is more along the lines of one that keeps me awake way too late at night.
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
When I ordered the Sargent seat - I debated over getting the heat option installed in it. Heat was $100 extra (per butt) - and since I had a bad experience with another Sargent seat - I was hesitant to add to my $$ risk by adding the heat.
So - I didn't get heat from Sargent.
Once I got the seat, and put 1,000 miles on it - it became really quite good - good enough that I don't give it any thought when I'm riding, which is about as good as it gets. Then I was sorry I didn't get the heated option. So.. in circling things in a Rider Warehouse catalog, I happened to put a question mark next to the heat pads that Andy sells.. and SWMBO took that for desire - and ordered me one. The pad is about 6"x9" and 3/8" thick soft foam with contact adhesive on one side. Wire coming out the back edge. It draws about 18W (1.5A @ 12V). Cost was about $80. Came with wire harness, illuminated switch. Nice kit - made in USA even.
When I got the pad - it looked like a neat way to add heat to the seat, but I hesitated for two reasons: (1) It requires R&R of the cover to install. It looks as if Sargent sews some material to the edge of the vinyl cover, and uses that to pull the cover tight, and staple it in place. It also looks like they then trim off the excess material. Problem I could see - getting the cover back on tight and smooth looking. (2) R&R means more staple holes in the seat base - and I could see where this might result in a zipper effect on the plastic base, add enough holes in a line and it's likely to start cracking between the holes (3) the heat pad has a thermal switch built into it to regulate how hot it gets (turns out they ALL have this) - and while not huge, it is about 1/8" thick x 3/8" x 1/2" - and I could definately feel it in the heat pad. I was afraid it would also be the Princess and the Pea sort of thing - with me feeling it in my sensitive butt under the vinyl cover. So - I hesitated on installing the heating pad.
I finally decided to talk to a pro - Asbury AutoTop seemed cooperative when I called. It's a very old time shop - located in an old building in Asbury Park. Guy named Joe runs it. I stopped by on Friday afternoon with the seat and pad (and instructions) to talk to Joe.
I showed Joe the seat - and the pad - and asked what he thought. He thought he could do it - figured a few hours work, $80 to install it. But - he also recognized my concern over the Princess and the Pea - and agreed it might just be annoying if it was permanantly mounted in the seat. So.. I asked - what about making a cover for the heat pad, with some loops on it - so it could be put on with some small elastic cords, only when I needed it. Joe liked the idea..
He went to town. Digging around he found he had some of the same carbon-fiber pattern vinyl that Sargent used - and he was a wiz with his big industrial sewing machine. In short order - I had a neat bag sort of cover - open at one end - to fit the heat pad in. I fit it in, and then Joe sewed the end shut to make it weather proof. Done.
I asked "How much do I owe'ya?" His response (and he'd never met me before) was "Get outta here.." I gotta drop off a good 6 pack of some German brew for him this week.
Anyway - no photos yet - but yesterday started out at 34F, so I got to try it out. It works great. It surprised me how much having a warm butt added to my comfy warm feeling on the bike (heated grips on, and Gerbing jacket liner heat on.) It makes a big difference - and my suggestion for anyone having a saddle made - get the heat installed when they're making it. It's a wonderful thing for winter riding.
I'll take some photos (not a lot to see - square vinyl thingie with loops on it) when I have a chance and add them to this post.
Hot sh1t!!
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
I had hinted at Nippy Norman's fiberglass version, since I thought that the carbon fiber, while tres classy, was extravagant. Of course, I was surprised and pleased when I saw what was in the box. Unfortunately, Nippy sent the model for the K1200R/S instead of the R1200R. 
I am hoping that a trans-Atlantic exchange is not going to be a gigantic hassle.
Finally got the correct Ilumberger hugger from Nippy Norman's. The first (incorrect) one came exactly ONE WEEK after it was ordered--pretty darned good from the UK, especially at Christmas, and very quick to ship on the part of NN. I had the wrong one packed up and sent back before January 1, so the r/t took 2 weeks each way. Not too bad, considering the trade had to be done at all.
I am more than a little teed off that NN is not refunding the $30 it cost me to mail the first one back. They claim my wife ordered the wrong one, which is patently untrue, and we sent them the email exchanges to prove it. At least I didn't have to resort to threats (for all the good they would have done) and/or transatlantic phone calls to effect the trade. All and all the exchange was pretty slick with no further misunderstandings, and I guess I'd deal with NN again if necessary. First choice of course, would be to go through a US dealer.