Being in the U.S., specifically Columbus, Ohio, it seems no one really appreciates these bikes but I'm certainly very fond of mine. After having ignition troubles with my 90' CBR 600 I bought her used from a college kids parents and she was well maintained. It had fallen over in a parking lot so the left side plastics had some damage. I had originally started welding the parts together with an ABS slurry but the plastic was so brittle I ended up replacing it. I still have them and may still "rebuild" them.
Here is what I have:
- 97 YZF 1000R Thunderace (Lumiya, yes I'm an odd one that names my vehicles)
- 26k miles on it when I bought it last year, sitting at 31k miles and going up
Modifications/changes:
- Switched to LED for turn signals and tail lights
- Replaced the mirrors with LED integrated mirrors
- Added a Stebel Nautilus air horn (hidden under the rear fairings)
- Replaced the fairings (Had to go with the cheaper Chinese ones but they are not too bad. The color difference between the tank cover is barely noticeable.)
- Replaced fairing hardware with stainless hex bolt kit from the U.K. (You guys get all the good stuff for these bikes, including a longer production run.)
- Re-upholstered the riders seat and added memory foam (Man what a difference for long trips, the longest yet is 220 miles.)
- Replaced the scratched handle bar ends
- Replaced the clear windscreen with a darker double bubble
Planned additions:
- Rear height modification with the dogbone kit
- USB port using a DC/DC power reduction
- 12v auxiliary port for a radar/laser detector
- Re-upholster the pillion and add memory foam
- Clean up the previous upholstery work (had to get a new staple gun)
- Re-paint the tank cover
All in all, I love this bike. Such an awesome value in my opinion. The smooth power throughout the rpms is quite nice. Plus having the power to take me and my girlfriend without a complaint makes it all the better. Not to mention the much bigger pillion compliment. Oh and I will say it's amazing how stable this bike is, we have a few race tracks around here and I've taken her out. Got her up to 160 mph with 1/4 of throttle left to go and she was straight as an arrow and solid as a rock. My helmet/wind was another story (vibrated like crazy, lol)
Pictures today: (I have before and after fairings on my site http://www.outofboxideas.com/oobi/info/index.html)

