So I bought the blue 2009 Versys with the matching Givi hard bags with 16k miles. I'll get some photos later today, since the CraigsList ad has been taken down.
Friday, I went to test-drive a 2014, so I could know what I was in for. It was really nice, but like the PC800, the bars are flatter and make me lean into them just a little. The seat also tends to slide you forward into the tank. I thought that this probably would not be "the one", but we made an appointment to go look anyway. While I was on the phone arranging the appointment for Saturday morning I asked about the seat. Seller said, "Yeah, everybody says that about the seat, that is why when I had the custom seat made, with the heater in it, I had them address that. This one doesn't do that." We went up into the Washington mountains to Buckley, near Mt. Rainier, where he lives. He really is a motorcycle mechanic, "Owens Customs". He has a beautiful shop at home with many bikes. He also builds those show choppers that are otherwise impractical and useless, with the aftermarket V-twin motors and the wide drive belt between the engine & transmission. He had two of them there ready to sell too. He said he works on all the engines and even builds the frames himself. So great! When I sat on it it was wonderful. This custom saddle couches yer arse in the perfect position and leaves the legs in the perfect position for standing on the pegs or sitting & riding, or just flatfoot on the ground. The bike was wonderful, in beautiful shape and had great response on the road. It vibrates, of course, but has good power all the way through the RPMs. Yes, there is no marked kick at any particular RPM, but it is tight and powerful at any RPM. I have to concentrate on making it work above 6k since it is so easy/natural to keep it below 5k. When above 6k it smooths out and is even more aggressive. It red-lines at 10.5k We talked him down an insignificant amount and gave him cash, since he really had done an excellent job on the bike. It is SOOO nice to have fuel injection!!! That's all I can say about that. This thing actually has some sort of alarm and two-way remote on it, where the bike will communicate back to the remote. I have not even looked into that yet. That evening I raised the handle bar riser 1.25 inches. I also removed the bars and gave both ends a gentle bend toward me and re-installed them. This makes for the perfect angle in the hands. (The bars are powder coated too, so there was little or no damage to the finish.) Now I can sit comfortably for a longer time. Next I need to get a damn higher windscreen. I am killing way too many bugs with my face. I also need to verify the Versys lowering kit has been applied. It would be nice to have an extra inch lower. I will then need to pull the whole two-way FRS radio harness (charger, headset cable and PTT switch) off the old bike and install it on this one. Then the GPS power and mounting. No more fixing or restoring the latest broken thing on the Nighthawk before a weekend trip! Now I can take my time and do a more meticulous restoration job. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
