I present for your consideration: the FireBob

It's true: undressed is sexier.

What's going on? Where's the chrome? Where's the pimp? Well, it's at the back of the garage, waiting to be put back on if the urge ever takes me. You know, the next time it rains. In 15 minutes, in other words.

Until then, I'm liking the bobber look. Liking it a lot. It's not a full bob - I haven't (yet) chopped off the frame behind the rear shock mounts, but even with the slightly protruding tail it's still a big change from the dressed look.

There actually aren't that many changes, it's mostly removal: front and rear mudguards, the crash bars, screen, side panels. The changes are: 4.5" headlight - the electrics very nearly fit inside it - smaller indicators front and rear (the rears mounted into the holes on the back of the frame proper that used to secure the mudguard and rear luggage rack), straight bars, a custom seat in place of the stock one, and a bullet stop/tail light on the far side, mounted on a bracket off the top shock mount. The battery is simply covered over with a 4-thickness layer of black plastic fabric. Usefully, there's a black plastic inner-guard running up from the swing arm mount to just behind the shock mounts, which I've kept on - no fettling required.

The only real design decision was to mount the plate up behind the seat as a legal UK plate looks unpleasantly large placed on the traditional bobber position, on the side of one of the shocks. Putting it up there also helps to blend in the trailing frame behind the shocks.

There's only a few bits of custom work, just brackets to hold the plate and the stop/tail light in place.

Further bobbing options are: reduce the instrumentation to just the speedo; chop the exhausts; chop off the frame behind the shock mounts. Two of those are non-reversible, so I'll leave them for a rainy day. Well, a rainy day followed by a sunny one.

The bob went remarkably smoothly. The wiring for the indicators took the most time. The rest of it was just bolt-off, bolt-on. There was an oops moment when it revved its nuts off when I started it up, but some adjusting of the accelerator cable connectors sorted that.

How does it ride? It rides like it looks: like half a bike. There's not that much weight taken off, but - particularly in comparison to my 250 Lifan - it feels so light and nimble that it's Grin Factor 7, Mr Sulu. The only point of issue is the straight bars, which are a £5 worth of 745mm x 22mm 16 gauge aluminium. With the stock bars on, and rotated backwards and down, the ride was amazing. With the straight bars, there's more of a lean-over-the-tank style, which I'm not sure I like yet. The bars themselves feel bizarre, like they're pointing forwards, and they may be too much style-over-substance to keep. I'll give them another few rides, but might either have to bend them back, or splash out on some pre-bent "drag" bars.

Well, it's not like I'm ever going to be done, is it?