Hey Fillmore- what are those "stud" looking things on the back of the seat?
I take it you're not talking about me...
That's a RoadRacing seat cowl. It's a half aluminum / half carbon fiber design and the "studs" are stainless rivets that hold the outer CF parts to the aluminum center piece.
The side panels are also made by RoadRacing (and if you look at the older pic, the RoadRacing front fender), and carry the rivet theme as well.
Mod recommendations? Well, my bike has been through enough changes that most of the list of mods are the things that I've found that I liked or worked well. The things that top the list are the FCR carbs (if you've got a carburated bike), Nichols flywheel, magnesium Marchesini wheels, and the whole front end swap made possible by the equally functional and beautiful Cycle Cat products.
If I was going to start from scratch on a a stock bike, I'd save for the wheels, mount some clip-ons, and get the suspension as sorted as I could with the money I had. Those are the things that make the biggest difference to me on every ride. The engine stuff is nice, but it's mostly icing on the cake after the bike goes where you want it to and quits fighting you.
--Fillmore
