04-17-2015, 12:11 PM
Novice, I think Ferret missed a step. From being a Novice brother, you are now brother Novice. Well done and welcome.
As to the broader question posed by the Windy City's pre-eminent CB philosopher, brother EmptySea, let's perhaps start with some definitions. The 'farkle' has been defined by brother MetallyGuitarded with help from his urban dictionary. Simply put, it's bling. An 'accessory' is best defined as something adding appearance or function not present on the original bike—a top box or engine guards. A 'modification' is similar to an accessory, although it is generally designed to enhance the performance of the bike in some way—an aftermarket exhaust or PCV or some such.
An RLET is not a farkle. There's nothing resembling bling in this critical feature of the bike. It could be an accessory as it adds appearance. So, too, could it be a modification as all owners who have fitted them report a sublime improvement in performance—and not just in the performance of their bike!
The truth, though, is that it's neither accessory nor modification. It's an essential feature, an integral component if you will. Consider two curious things. The leading historian of the RLET, Brother Ferret, has correctly pointed out that no restored CB750 would be complete without its RLETs. Similarly a CB1100, which takes its design cues from that superb machine cannot be complete without its RLETs. And yet they are not fitted. That is the first curious thing.
The second curious thing is that you can still buy them.
Actually, there's a third curious thing: in all the elegant propaganda about the design and construction of the CB1100, there is no mention, no hint, of the RLET.
A critical design feature, not mentioned in the official bulletins, not fitted to the bike, yet still able to be purchased can mean only one possible thing. They're meant to be on the bike, but the owner is obliged to fit them him or herself as a rite of passage. Hence brother Ferret refers to angels getting their wings and brother Popgun brings on the secret handshake he learned from the ghost of Mr Honda in a seance.
In conclusion, brothers, novitiates, lurkers and tedious search engines, the RLET is not farkle nor accessory nor modification. Rather, like the fuel tank or the seat or the superior plastic bag that holds the manual, it is an integral component of the bike designed to make and sustain its spiritual connection to its venerable ancestors: the Honda CBs of the 1960s.
As to the broader question posed by the Windy City's pre-eminent CB philosopher, brother EmptySea, let's perhaps start with some definitions. The 'farkle' has been defined by brother MetallyGuitarded with help from his urban dictionary. Simply put, it's bling. An 'accessory' is best defined as something adding appearance or function not present on the original bike—a top box or engine guards. A 'modification' is similar to an accessory, although it is generally designed to enhance the performance of the bike in some way—an aftermarket exhaust or PCV or some such.
An RLET is not a farkle. There's nothing resembling bling in this critical feature of the bike. It could be an accessory as it adds appearance. So, too, could it be a modification as all owners who have fitted them report a sublime improvement in performance—and not just in the performance of their bike!
The truth, though, is that it's neither accessory nor modification. It's an essential feature, an integral component if you will. Consider two curious things. The leading historian of the RLET, Brother Ferret, has correctly pointed out that no restored CB750 would be complete without its RLETs. Similarly a CB1100, which takes its design cues from that superb machine cannot be complete without its RLETs. And yet they are not fitted. That is the first curious thing.
The second curious thing is that you can still buy them.
Actually, there's a third curious thing: in all the elegant propaganda about the design and construction of the CB1100, there is no mention, no hint, of the RLET.
A critical design feature, not mentioned in the official bulletins, not fitted to the bike, yet still able to be purchased can mean only one possible thing. They're meant to be on the bike, but the owner is obliged to fit them him or herself as a rite of passage. Hence brother Ferret refers to angels getting their wings and brother Popgun brings on the secret handshake he learned from the ghost of Mr Honda in a seance.
In conclusion, brothers, novitiates, lurkers and tedious search engines, the RLET is not farkle nor accessory nor modification. Rather, like the fuel tank or the seat or the superior plastic bag that holds the manual, it is an integral component of the bike designed to make and sustain its spiritual connection to its venerable ancestors: the Honda CBs of the 1960s.