Thanks, man! I do get quite a few compliments on the paint. Most don't believe that it's stock, but it is. My only gripe is that they didn't clearcoat the red!! Ugh... It cleans up well enough, though. Seeing that I have nearly no chrome on it, I wax the entire thing (short of the engine) a few times a year and it stays quite nice. I'm a cleaning freak, and it's not uncommon for me to detail the thing. Usually over the winter, I'll take 5-6 hours just to do the TANK!! lol (Process: Clean, dry, Ultimate Compound, ScratchX, cleaner wax, Gold Class or better wax - 2 coats with atleast a day's drying time inbetween. All Meguiars products.)
When I went looking for a bike, the Meanie was the only one that I had in mind. I sat on a Vstar 1300, but it just didn't feel right. I sat on a big M109R and it was just way too bulky, eventhough the size of it was more a match to my size. The Meanie just felt comfortable to me. My dad has a Nomad and was always a Kawi guy, so that's where I went and I'm glad that I did. 3 years riding so far, and the bike has about 24,000 miles on it. Yeah... I like it.
Your pipes do look nice, and I bet they do have a good sound to 'em! The big straights look ok, and the bigger pipes would look good on yours, but sticking way out is definitely a disadvantage of 'em. When I looked for pipes, I wanted something more unique. I almost went with HK Sideburners, but don't like how far the big turnout sticks out. The ones I have are Fuggin Fabrications "Hellions". Little bit of baffle in them, but otherwise just a curved straightpipe. No heat shields on 'em, either. The noise? Yeah... I drown out most Screamin' Eagles now, but since they aren't tiny little 1.5" pipes (they're 2.5" with 3" ends, solid pipes), it's more like a drag car. Low rumble at idle, plenty of growl when I get on it. And yeah, I have set off car alarms!!!!
Only problem is that they are rusting through the ceramic, and the company went under so I'm on my own to deal with it. I'll probably sand them down and recoat them with header paint this year just as a cheap fix. In the future, I may seek out a high-temp powdercoat or send them off to JetHott to get re-ceramic'ed. (<-- yeah, cause that's a word!)
Only rough part about a Meanie is finding aftermarket parts. There is a TON of stuff for the VTX, Vstars, and other bikes in the class, but not much for a Meanie. So, when in doubt, make it! The flame plates on the frame - hand made. The radiator cover - custom laser cut stainless steel (painted black), my design. The side mount for the license plate, custom. Do whatchya gotta do, ya know? lol
Oh, and by the by, at night, the "Wicked Streak" becomes the "Hot Streak". At last count, 156 LEDs on it, alternate red and amber. It glows like an ember in the dark.
