2013 Progressive International Motorcycle Show

This post isn't specific to the V-Strom 650, but it is motorcycling related, so I thought I'd throw it in anyway.  Besides, the weekend weather here has been absolutely dreadful lately, which has resulted in no riding for me whatsoever for almost 6 weeks now, so at least this is something I can do that involves motorcycles.

Last month, the 2013 Progressive International Motorcycle Show stopped in Dallas, TX, so I packed up the family and made the road trip to see what they had to offer.  I was really hoping to find some great deals on new riding gear.

The show was at the Dallas Convention Center, so we decided to check out rates at the Omni, which is connected to the DCC.  It just so happened that the hotel was offering a pretty substantial discount on a regular room, which made it cheaper than any other hotel that I checked in the downtown area right around the DCC.  The fact that we could walk indoors to the show made it all that much better.  By the time we finished eating breakfast, we could hear the rumblings of the many people who had ridden their bikes to the show.  I would have been jealous were it not for the fact that it was overcast, cold, and looked like it could rain at any moment.  Did I mention that we could just walk over there while remaining comfortably indoors?

The free motorcycle parking lot filling up in front of the Dallas Convention Center

I hate to admit it, but I didn't really take too many pictures while I was there.  For the most part, I had already seen most of the new bikes that were there.  The main ones that I wanted to see but hadn't already were the Star Bolt cruiser, the new Suzuki V-Strom 1000, and the Yamaha FZ-09.  I'm not really a cruiser kind of guy, but if I were to get one, I'd give the Bolt R-spec serious consideration.  I found the V-Strom 1000 to still be a bit of an odd duck aesthetically speaking, but it was very comfortable and did not feel any bigger than its 650 sibling.  I liked the FZ-09, but it actually felt a bit on the small side.  I am curious, though, to hear how its triple cylinder engine sounds compared to the Triumphs.  I apologize for the lack of eye candy, but I was more focused on sitting on the bikes and helping my 5 year old son on and off the bikes without knocking anything over.  I really would have liked to have had the opportunity to sit on the Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200 NTX and KTM 1190 Adventure back to back with the likes of the V-Stroms, Triumph Tigers, and BMW GS, but neither Moto Guzzi nor KTM were there.  If they were, I totally missed them, which is not entirely impossible.

They had some stunt riding demonstrations as well, but because they were inside the same hall, it was extremely loud, and my son wanted nothing to do with it.  Sorry.

We did enjoy looking at all of the custom-built motorcycles that were displayed throughout the hall. Again, cruisers and choppers really aren't my thing, but you could not help but be impressed by the craftsmanship involved with these one-of-a-kind machines.  Very impressive!

Progressive had a really cool slot car racetrack set up, complete with lap timers for the cars.  My son wanted to give it a shot, so my wife stood in line while he watched the races from trackside.  They even had cameras set up around the track which were displayed on overhead screens.  When his turn came up, he drew the middle car and ultimately came in second.  Not bad, considering the car came flying out of the slot on the first turn, and he had to wait for it to be rescued.  It was all worth it for the prize -- a lollipop.

By this time, he was starting to lose interest, so we headed over to Al Lam Honda.  They had a big shop set up and were offering a show special of 25% Off all inventory.  I was encouraged as there were some specific items I wanted to get.  The primary item was to get my wife a riding jacket so she could go riding with me.  We bought her a helmet last year, but she wasn't able to find a jacket that she liked.  The secondary item I wanted to get was a new helmet.  My Shoei RF-1000 is now seven year old, which is well beyond the recommended 5 year lifespan for a helmet.  While we can debate the merits of this 5 year limit, I am convinced that helmet technology, design, and materials has improved a bit over the past 7 years.  Plus, Shoei had just announced the new GT-Air and RF-1200, so I was hoping to try them on and maybe even get one at a discount.  Finally, I wanted to get a 3/4 length high-viz jacket.  There wasn't really anything wrong with my Tour Master Intake Air jacket, but if I could find a good deal and make myself that much more conspicuous, then that could only be a good thing.

We were able to find my wife a high-viz armor mesh jacket by Fly.  While not a mainstream brand, I've read about them, and they seem to get good reviews.  Hopefully we won't ever have to test the armor and fabric durability (knock on wood).  I tried both the GT-Air and the RF-1200, and while both fit pretty well, I decided to go with the GT-Air, which actually seemed to fit more like my RF-1000 than the RF-1200 did.  Plus, it has an internal sun visor and has received great reviews for its ability to move air within the helmet, which is pretty crucial for the Texas summer heat.  They only had the GT-Air in S/M/L and one graphics style, but they not only ordered the size and graphics style I wanted, they also gave me the show discount.  While I was browsing the jackets, I came across a single high-viz Tour Master Sonora, which is basically a 3/4 version of my Intake Air, including separate wind/rain liner and quilted liner, and it was the right size.  Score!  As we made our way to check out, I spied the Scala Rider G9 comm set, which also was discounted for the show and priced lower than anywhere else I had ever seen it.  My wife scored big points by telling me, "Go ahead and get it.  It's a great price!"  Now I'll be able to talk to my friends Kari and Jess when we go riding.  Jess had already researched comm sets and decided on the G9, so it was either get the G9 or not be able to talk to anyone!  Seriously, though, it's a great headset with a very robust set of features.  All I have to do now is figure out how I want to mount it.  Overall, it was a good haul.  The guys were very helpful and friendly, and they saved me a lot of money.  Or should I say they enabled me to spend a lot of money?  Cha-ching!

Got to see a lot of great bikes, share one of my hobbies with my family, purchase a riding jacket for my wife, and upgrade my riding gear all in one afternoon.  Not too shabby.

Underwear for the V-Strom

Rev. Brian posted a comment on my previous posting "Summer, Seats, and Stelvio" and included that he was trying to decide between getting the OEM under cowling or a real skid plate.  I started writing a reply and then figured it would make a good posting, since it's been a while since I've added anything to the blog.  This, of course, then reminded me that I never made a post after attending the International Motorcycle Show in Dallas, TX last month, so that's something else to add.  Look for that soon.

Anyway, back to Rev. Brian's conundrum.  Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that the following is merely my opinion based on my experience and observations, be they correct or wildly not.  Much of it is supposition, because I have direct experience only with the OEM under cowling.  If you have better information from which Rev. Brian can benefit, then please leave a comment.  Flames or trolling will be deleted with extreme prejudice.  It is my blog, after all.  :-)

So for those of you who have not read his comment, Rev. Brian is planning an adventure to the Black Hills in June and is trying to decide what kind of underwear to buy his V-Strom.  My advice is to take a good hard look at the type of riding that you intend to do, and then purchase the appropriate item to meet that use case.

For me, very little, if any, of my riding is going to be off-road.  If I do go off-road, it will most likely be limited to fire roads or groomed gravel.  Certainly nothing requiring a 4x4 vehicle, so the risk of high-centering (maxing out the bike's clearance) or sliding over rocks/logs and needing to protect the exhaust pipe or engine casing is practically zero.  In my use case, the OEM under cowling should be adequate protection from any road debris that might get kicked up and threaten the oil filter and/or exhaust pipe.

Seeing as how Rev. B is going to be visiting the Black Hills, I would hazard a guess that he may see some off-road action during his trip.  Even so, the OEM under cowling may be adequate if sticking to roads such as those I described above.

Givi makes a belly pan that I think offers a level of protection between the OEM under cowling and a skid plate.  It's also quite cost effective at $160.99 from OneidaSuzuki.com.

It appears to be a light-weight aluminum belly pan that I think can be mounted without engine guards/crash bars.  It seems like it would provide a bit more off-road protection than the OEM under cowling, but not quite as much as a skid plate.  Having not seen one in person, I can't really comment on just how durable it is.  From posts on Stromtrooper.com, it seems to be fairly durable in light off-road duty.  I still think the OEM under cowling looks better on the V-Strom, but this option might look better with a coat of matte black paint or spray-on rubberized truck bed liner.

Another option that doesn't require engine guards/crash bars is the SW-Motech skid plate, which is available at TwistedThrottle.com for $259.99.

Some posts I have read showed concern for the fact that it attaches directly to the engine case and may potentially cause greater damage than the protection it provides.  I believe that the concept is that the mounting struts are designed to flex in the event of an impact, absorbing some of the energy.  This is SW-Motech's bread and butter, so I'd like to think that they thought this through and did some testing to make sure that impacts to the skid plate would not bust up the engine case.  Maybe I'm just too optimistic.

There are other skid plate options as well -- Hepco & Becker, AltRider, and many more that can be found on Stromtrooper.com -- that require engine guards/crash bars to be installed.  These are probably the strongest solutions, but I guess it all boils down to how the skid plate connects to the crash bars.  It would be interesting to see some crash testing done to find out how each solution performs and up to what impact levels.  The skid plates alone are probably on par with the SW-Motech, but then you have to factor in the cost of the engine guards/crash bars if you don't already have any.

So I guess to summarize, I would rank these as follows:

• On-Road Only -- OEM under cowling is definitely adequate; expensive but looks great
• Light Off-Road -- OEM under cowling is probably adequate; the Givi belly pan would be better, less expensive, but not as factory-looking
• Light to Medium Off-Road -- Givi belly pan on the lighter end; SW-Motech on the medium end; both have that after-market add-on look
• Serious Off-Road -- skid plate incorporated with engine guards/crash bars; after-market add-on or bad-ass adventure look, your choice

Remember, this is just my opinion based on what I've read and what I think about a product based on its manufacturer's description.  Rev. Brian, I hope you found this to be somewhat helpful in making your decision on what to get.

Summer, Seats, and Stelvio

It's been about two months since my last update, so I thought I'd post a quick update for anyone who might actually be following this blog.  Despite the 100F+ weather we've had this summer (this is based on the ambient temperature reading on my dash), I have managed to get the bike out just about every weekend this summer.  As hot as it was, I actually found that I didn't mind it as much this summer for some reason.  I initially thought it was because I was being diligent about staying hydrated or perhaps the humidity had a role in it, but then it occurred to me that it was quite possibly the bike itself.  As you may recall if you've been following along from Day 1, I just bought the V-Strom back in October of last year.  Last summer, I was riding my Ninja 650R.  Although it was fully faired, the wind protection that it provided was quite different than that of the V-strom.  The Ninja's bodywork directed the wind into my chest, which left my head and shoulders out in the windstream.  Thus, I always compared riding during the summer heat to standing in front of the world's largest hair dryer.  The V-Strom, on the other hand, directs the air above my head, leaving me mostly in the "protective bubble" of the cockpit, and I really need to lift my elbows up to really feel like any part of me is out in the wind.  As a result, I don't really feel like I'm standing in front of a hair dryer like I used to.  I could be totally way off base as to the actual reasons, but the result speaks for itself.  Simply put, I've put on more miles this summer than I probably did all of the summers combined while I owned the Ninja.  In all fairness, we did have a child shortly after I bought the Ninja, which also led to a scaling back in miles ridden, but I found it very easy to justify not riding due to the heat.  While riding back home yesterday, I read "103F" on my dash and merely thought, "Wow, it's actually pretty hot out."  So the bottom line is V-Strom continues to meet my expectations.  Almost.

Last weekend ago, I went on a long ride with my co-worker, Kari, who rides a Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 (beautiful bike, by the way).  We rode down to the coast to Freeport and up the Blue Water Highway to Galveston for lunch at Gaido's.  The total round trip took us about 4h 30m total.  I was finding that within an hour or so the seat had become a bit uncomfortable, which puzzled me as I've ridden 2-3 hours at a time previously without much discomfort that I could recall.  Having thought about it, I thought that it might be because this time I decided to wear my cycling shorts with the gel pad.  My guess is that the gel pad had opposite the desired effect and actually created pressure points between the sit bones, wreaking havoc with the perineal nerve.

Yesterday, I decided to forego the cycling shorts to see how things went.  I still started feeling some discomfort within an hour or so, but it wasn't as bad as before, but not quite as good as I recall previously.  Perhaps my rear end got soft while I was on vacation with my family, or there's a deeper underlying problem that should be fixed.  At any rate, I'm now considering an aftermarket seat that will let me keep up with the V-Strom's 5.3 gallon tank.  Unfortunately, there's nowhere to try before you buy, so there's a bit of a leap of faith involved here.

I've read nothing but good things re: Russell's Day-Long custom seats, but I'd be looking at anywhere from $555 for vinyl to $695 for all leather and would have to ship them my stock seat, leaving me unable to ride the bike until they shipped it back.  They do seem to have a very reasonable buy-back policy, where they will buy back your saddle if you do not find it comfortable after the break-in period, provided that you give them two tries to correct any problems with the seat.

Corbin gets fairly consistently high ratings on comfort and improvement over stock, but apparently their customer service leaves something to be desired.  Again, this is all based on stuff I've read, so don't take it personally.  I'm just sharing my research here.  Their Canyon Dual Sport saddle looks pretty nice, with the tractor-style cupped seating for both driver and passenger, similar to the Russell but without the wings.  It's a little less costly at $493.  There's an option for a heated seat, but I can't really see myself needing that in Texas.  Corbin provides a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser, but no refunds or credits.  I find it very hard to spend that amount of money on a product sight unseen without any recourse should it not meet my needs.

Sargent gets consistently high ratings as well for both comfort and customer service.  They also have a 30-day money back guarantee less shipping.  Their World Sport Performance Plus clocks in at $450 and features some nice touches such as colored piping to match the bike, an underseat storage tube, and available heat option.  I must admit that the Sargent's profile looks suspiciously like the stock seat's, but it's supposed to be wider; their foam comparison diagram indicates that they address the central high pressure issue; and they do have a 30-day return when you order direct.

The last contestants are from Saddlemen -- the Adventure Tour and Adventure Track seats.  I haven't found many posts from people who have either of these seats, but the ones I did find raved about them, specifically the Track.  They both use a combination of gel and progressive density foam.  The gel is used to create a channel to relieve pressure on the perineal nerve (see comment about my discomfort above).  The Adventure Track seat takes this one step further and actually has a physical channel for the front seat, similar to the seats that you now find on bicycles.  The Tour runs $375 and the Track is $400 with optional heat available.  There is no indication on the Saddlemen site that they do returns/refunds/credits, but I was also unable to get the Warranty PDF to download.  On the plus side, I found them on RevZilla.com for $338 and $360 respectively, and RevZilla has a 30-day return policy as long as the item is in new, unused condition with the original packaging.  At $90 less than the next least expensive competitor with a design that takes advantage of existing tech from cycling and addresses the discomfort issue I'm experiencing, I have to say that the Saddlemen Adventure Track from RevZilla option is the most attractive at this time.

UPDATE (2013-08-25) -- I have since read on Stromtrooper.com that people are having issues with the Saddlemen Adventure Track's fit where the seat meets the tank.  It seems to be a fairly consistent problem with the product line, and apparently their customer support is indifferent at best.  One poster said the guy asked him three times what he would do if the replacement fit exactly the same.  Sounds like someone knows the fit of his product sucks.  I think I'm scratching the Saddlemen off of my list, which puts the Sargent at the top now.

So that covers the Summer and Seats, now you're probably wondering, "What about Stelvio?"  As an avid motorcyclist, you probably know about the motorcycle mecca called the Stelvio Pass in the Italian Alps with its 84 hairpin turns rising to an altitude of over 9,000 feet.  Well, that's the inspiration for Moto Guzzi's large displacement adventure bike, not coincidentally named the Stelvio 1200 NTX.  I only bring this up, because my friend Kari has been trying to convince me that I really needed to get one, particularly because it also is available in a color not unlike that of my alma mater, The University of Texas at Austin.  It really is an attractive bike and loaded with standard features, such as a monstrous 8.5 gallon tank, aluminum side cases that look like they're made by Trex, center stand, adjustable windshield, handguards, sump guard, crash bars, halogen aux lights, 12V power port in the dash, and high end suspension and brake components, all at a price of $15,990 MSRP.  It really is a great deal when you break it down by how much all of those things would cost, many of which you would want to add anyway.  It weighs in at around 600 lbs, depending on who you ask, which puts it right in the running with BMW's much uglier R1200GSA, which does not come with side cases and some of the other standard items on the Stelvio.

While I like the looks of the bike and the fact that it's simply different, I can't help but wonder why I would trade in the V-Strom.  At this time, I don't do any two-up riding, so the 650 is plenty of engine for me.  I have been averaging 53.6 mpg since I bought it, which means I have a possible range of about 350 miles on a full tank.  Probably less, since that would be running it dry, which is a bad thing, but you get the idea.  Meanwhile, the Stelvio would probably get around 40 mpg, which translates to 340 miles on a full tank, so range is a wash as well.  So it seems the only thing I'd be getting in exchange for the additional $8K or so above what I've already spent on the V-Strom is more horsepower and torque.  Since I can't see my wife and I embarking on any transcontinental bike odyssey in the near future, I think I'm standing pat with the V-Strom.  It's a great bike in its own right,  does everything I need it to do (with the noted exception above), and does it well.  So let's change "Stelvio" to "Status Quo".

MRA-Xcreen Update -- Wing Position and Air Flow

Just a quick update here.  I had a chance to take the bike out for a couple of hours today and play with a number of different positions for the wing on the X-creen.  I had originally been riding with the support arms pretty much straight up 12 o'clock with the top of the wing angled slightly backward since this is how it appeared in the pics from MRA.  This worked pretty well, and after installing the spacers, it even seemed to work better.  After several starts and stops to test various positions, I've now settled on having the support arms positioned so they are pointing directly forward with the top of the wing angle back so it's almost, but not quite, parallel to the primary shield.  It's probably about two clicks away from being parallel.  Sorry, I didn't take any pictures, since it was a trial-and-error process.  If you want a picture of the final position, leave a comment, and I'll go take one and add it to this post.

It was fairly windy today, with the winds blowing out of the south, so I was able to test the position with and without a headwind as well as with crosswinds.  This new position seems to push the air high enough that the air intakes on the top of my Shoei RF-1000 can catch it, but it leaves the helmet itself alone.  I'm not sure, but I think this works better than the original position due to the wing being further forward.

I have also come to the conclusion that the primary source of any buffeting is now the mirrors.  Installing the mirror extenders helped tremendously, so I may experiment with angling the mirror stalks in a little more to see if that helps.  I also considered buying some Saeng Micro-Swirl Generating Edging and putting it on the front of the mirrors to see if that helps.  Then again, the temperatures are quickly ratcheting up into the 90s, so it's probably worth it to have a bit of wind for evaporative cooling.

UPDATE:  At the request of Mark Collins, I took a picture of my current wing position setting for your reference. As you can see, the support arm is pointing directly forward, almost parallel to the ground.  The wing is angled at about 45 degrees from the arm, which gives it a little upward angle relative to the primary shield. In case you missed it in the original X-Creen post, I'm 6'-0" with a 32" inseam, so your mileage may vary with this setup.

MRA X-creen Re-mount or "Oops, need to RTFM!"

So here's a bit of a lesson in RTFM.  That would be Read The Farkle's Manual in this case.  Now in my defense, I didn't read it, because I didn't know about it.  If you read my original post, you'll know that I bought this screen second-hand from a fellow Stromtrooper.  When I opened the package, all I saw was the windshield itself, so I figured it was just a direct replacement, using the stock screen's screws to mount it.  Apparently that is not the case.  As I was throwing out boxes that have accumulated, I was separating out the packing material that could not be recycled, and lo and behold, there was a plastic ziplock bag at the bottom of the box with... you guessed it... the installation sheet and some parts!

The mounting parts are essential for proper fit.

The parts baggy included two 15mm plastic spacers, two 10mm plastic spacers, washers, and longer screws with which to mount the windshield.  Interestingly enough, I was contemplating going to the hardware store to look for these very items to see if that would help move the wind off the top third of my helmet.  I installed the parts today before I went for a ride, which took all of 15 minutes.  The key to  installation is to put the washer on the screw, then insert the screw through the front of the windshield.  On the back side of the windshield, put the spacer on the screw, and then put the well nut on the screw and turn it 2-3 times to keep it from falling off, but not far enough to compress the rubber.  The two long screws go with the 15mm spacers in the top holes.  The short screws go with the 10 mm spacers in the bottom holes.  Once all four screws and spacers are installed, it's a simple matter of pushing the well nuts into the holes in the fairing and tightening them down with the included allen wrench (3mm).

 Back side of the windshield with all screws, spacers, and well nuts fitted.

I was very surprised at how much of a difference it made.  I can still hear some wind roar with my ear plugs, but I don't really think that's going to ever go away, but the main thing is that there is minimal turbulence hitting my head now.  I had been considering trying out a Parabellum windshield, but I don't think that's necessary any more.  The main reason I know it's made a difference is because there is quite a bit less wind noise being picked up by my helmet-mounted Drift HD.

I still need to play around with the angle of the spoiler, though.  I angled it back two clicks from the straight up position, and it seems to have improved things a little bit.  I'm going to rotate it forward one click to see how that changes things, or perhaps rotate the arm forward to move it down and out front a bit more to see what that does.  Overall, the proper mounting pieces have improved this windshield, and I thought it was pretty good to begin with.

First Impressions: Richland Rick's Fork Brace and Mirror Extenders

So two weeks ago, I installed the fork brace and mirror extenders that I bought from Richland Rick, but that happened after I got back from a ride, so I didn't have a chance to take the bike out for a test spin. Today, the weather was screaming "RIDE TODAY!!" So I did.

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about the fork brace after reading all the rave views about it on Stromtrooper.com, but I figured the brace wasn't heinously expensive, and I could always sell it if I didn't notice any difference. Well, I think I'm going to be leaving this on the bike. As I was riding today, I was constantly hit by some pretty heavy crosswinds. Previously, I could feel the bike get pushed around a lot, and the steering could get a little sloppy. It also felt like the wheel wanted to wander a little on the long, curved freeway interchange ramps. With the fork brace, the steering does, in fact, seem to be a lot more stable and precise, just like what everyone else said. Go figure. In crosswinds, the bike pretty much tracked true, only needing to lean into the wind to offset the lateral force. I'm a believer!

The mirror extenders give me a great rear view now. Not only can I see the lanes to the side with minimal blind spots, but they now have enough overlap that I can now see right behind me. An added benefit to the improved visibility is the windblast seems to have decreased as well, although the jury is still a little out on just how much of an effect this has had since it was so windy today. Just moving my hand around at speed, it now feels like most of the wind comes from around the MRA X-creen and hits me in the body, which will probably be quite welcome once the weather returns to its typical hot, humid Texas self. I'm still thinking about giving the Parabellum windshield a try since they have a 30-day money back guarantee, but the X-creen is doing a fine job so that may sit on the back burner for a while.

So a thumbs up for the fork brace, and so far one for the mirror extenders as well. In other news, I discovered that letting the bike sit in the sun for a few minutes was more than enough to make it easy to remove the warning stickers from the tank and instrument panel. I know, it took over 1,500 miles to get to it, but it's done, and that's the important thing. The bike now officially feels like it's mine. Here it is in all its current glory, and for now, I am done with accessories. I think I just heard my wallet start celebrating...

Graphic Language Reflective Wheel Stripes, Part Deux

One of the things that I did to my previous motorcycle, the Ninja 650R, was apply reflective wheel striping to the rims to provide greater visibility at night.  It also added a lot aesthetically as the color actually matched the 650R's red frame.  Since the V-Strom's rims are all black, I thought a little color would be nice to give them a little more definition in addition to increasing nighttime visibility, so back I went to the Graphic Language website to order up a new set.  I was able to specify 19" diameter for the front wheel, 17" for the rear, and went with the orange in a 10mm width.

I won't recount the installation procedure here as it is the same as it was for the 650R, which you can find here.  The only differences this time were:

• I used an LED headband mounted lamp instead of a desk lamp (much more convenient)
• I used 409 to clean the wheels, because the build-up on the rear wheel was insane.  I think it was mostly the result of chain lube being flung off while riding.  The rear wheel took 2 hours to clean and stripe vs. 45 minutes for the front wheel.
• This time, the stripes were cut a bit better than last time in that only the vinyl stripes were cut, not the wax paper backing.  This made separating the backing from the stripes a LOT easier than last time.
• The V-Strom has lead balancing weights that clamp onto the rim as opposed to the weights that are mounted with adhesive like the 650R had.  As a result, I had to start/stop the strip at the weights.  I suppose I could have cut a small strip from the left over striping to apply to the weight, but I really didn't think it was necessary.

After finishing the installation and moving the bike out into the sun, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the reflective orange was a very complementary shade to the V-Strom's Fox Metallic Orange.  Here's a pic:

My wife approved of the addition, and seeing as we are both alumnae of The University of Texas at Austin, and the orange is pretty darn close to burnt orange, she said I should put a Texas Longhorns emblem on the bike.  I can't say that it's beyond the realm of possibilities...

Hook 'Em!

Richland Rick's Fork Brace and Mirror Extenders

I've read on StromTrooper.com that fork braces make a world of difference in the stability of the V-Strom.  I have noticed that the bike is fairly susceptible to crosswinds and windblast from large vehicles, but I just attributed it to being taller than my old Ninja 650R and/or the fact that I've got the largest top case that Givi makes hanging out on the tail rack.  Richland Rick's fork brace got a lot of good press for being well-built and affordable, so I decided to check out his website: AdventureTech, LLC.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that it only cost $85.  I also saw that he made mirror extenders, also at a reasonable price, so I thought I might get some of those, too, but more on that later.  After trading a couple of emails with Rick, who was VERY responsive,  I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger and order a fork brace and a set of mirror extenders.  The morning after placing my order, I received an email from Gloria letting me know that they were waiting on the delivery of more braces and would ship mine as soon as they arrived.  I got them shortly thereafter.

The fork brace is exactly as it appears on his website.  It's two symmetrical halves, joined by four screws.  He has excellent installation instructions on the website, so I'm not going to repeat them here.  Suffice it to say that if you can't operate a 5mm hex driver (aka Allen wrench), then you can get this installed.  The fit and finish was very nice, although mine had a couple of nicks in the powerdercoating, but nothing I consider to be major.

Tools Used:
- 5mm hex driver
- Blue Loctite

I chose to install it with the bolts entering from the front rather than the back.  My reasoning was that the brace sites at an angle with the front higher than the rear since it's bolted to the forks, so the bolts aren't as likely to back out since they'd have to work against gravity.  I also went ahead and used Blue Loctite for good measure.  I didn't have to remove any existing parts.  The brace halves slid right into place with minimal maneuvering around the brake hoses.

Be sure to follow the instructions and tighten in longer inside bolts first.  These bolts seem primarily to hold the two halve together.  They pretty much tightened right on down with little to no "snugging" necessary; they simply stopped tightening.  The shorter outside bolts are really the ones doing the clamping, as there is a small gap between the brace halves to allow this action.  I tightened them until they were good and snug, and that was that.

Next up were the mirror extenders.  I decided to go ahead and get the extenders with threaded holes on each side so that I can install a 1" RAM mount ball to potentially mount accessories.  I don't currently have any plans to mount anything here yet, but the price was only $5/hole more than the base $33 extenders.  I figured it was a small price to pay for having some flexibility in the accessory department.

Tools Used:
- Adjustable wrenches (2)
- 8mm hex driver
- 30" metal ruler
- Blue Locktite

Again, Rick has some very good installation instructions on his website, since there's more to it that two metal halves and 4 bolts, I thought I'd add some pictures of  my installation.

The first step is to remove the mirrors.  You need to pull the rubber boot off of the base and slide it up the mirror stalk so you have access to the nuts.  The bottom nut attaches the mirror to the mounting bracket.  The top nut is the cinch nut which holds the mirror stalk in place and prevents it from swiveling around.  The cinch nut is also reverse or left-hand threaded, meaning "Righty tighty, Left loosey" does not apply.  The cinch nut loosens by turning it clockwise (right) and tightens by turning it counterclockwise (left).  I found that you don't need to loosen the cinch nut in order to remove the mirror.  I just took my adjustable wrench, tightened it to the bottom nut, and after a bit of a struggle, the mirror was turning freely, and I was able to unscrew it from the mount.  For the left mirror, you need to turn the handlebars all the way to the left and vice-versa for the right mirror.  Once you've removed the mirrors, be sure to place them somewhere safe and out of harm's way.  If you still have any chrome bits on the handlebar, you removed the cinch nut, so you'll need to remove the base nut from the handlebar mount and re-attach it to the mirror.

Left mirror partially removed

The next step is to attach the extenders.  There are two things of note here.  1)  The longer 20mm spacer goes on the left, and the shorter 10mm spacer goes on the right.  2) The long side of the extender goes to the outside for the mirror, and the short side goes inside for the 1" RAM Mount ball.  I applied a Blue Loctite to the threads and tightened the bolts using an 8mm hex driver.  I was only able to finger tighten them so far and had to use my ratchet for the majority of work.  The threads were pretty snug, but never did I feel like I was damaging them.

Long spacer on Left Extender (L) and Short spacer on Right Extender (R)
Correctly oriented with long arms out/short arms in

 Once I got them tight enough that the extenders would barely move, I used a long metal ruler and pressed the edge against the sides of the extenders so that they were both flat against the ruler.  This should reasonably make them parallel to the center of the handlebar, and place the mirrors as far out as possible.  I then tightened the extenders' mounting bolts the rest of the way until they were snug.  Unfortunately, it was very tough to gauge the "snugness" since the threads were so tight, but I got them to the point where they would resist reasonable attempts to turn the extenders.

Using the metal ruler to position the extenders

With the extenders mounted and positioned properly, it was a simple matter to mount the mirrors in the outside holes.  Before doing so, I tried to place the mirrors in as identical and neutral positions as possible, which would then only require a minimal amount of fine adjustment later.  After tightening the  base attachment nut as much as possible, I got on the bike to position the mirrors so I could just barely see the edges of my shoulders and then tightened the cinch nut.  After getting a visual reference of the mirror placement, I used two adjustable wrenches to tighten down the cinch nut to keep the mirror stalk from rotating out of position.  This step was a bit of a challenge for me as I sometimes caused the base nut to come loose while trying to tighten the cinch nut.  I think I finally got it all tightened properly.  I guess I'll find out whether or not I'm wrong if I come back from my next ride with both mirrors.  After getting the mirror stalks tightened up, slide the rubber boot down and back over the chrome nuts.

After that, it was a simple matter of fine adjusting the mirrors themselves.  I found that with the extenders, I can now see things directly behind me with a little overlap in coverage between the two mirrors.

View from the tail rack showing the width of the mirrors,
note the 1" RAM Mount balls
(Looks like the left mirror is a bit rotated up...)

Left handguard contacts MRA X-creen at full right lock

No contact on the right side at full left lock

As of this writing, I don't have a verdict on either product performance, as I was unable to take a test ride immediately after installing them, but I can definitely recommend AdventureTech.  Rick and Gloria were fantastic to deal with and very responsive.

So far, I like the expanded view while stopped that results from the addition of the extenders.  The proof in the pudding will be how images appear at speed.  I'm hoping there is no introduced vibration or anything, since that was not a problem at all in the stock position.  I'm also hoping that the airflow is somewhat improved, as it felt like the mirrors were directing some air right at me at highway speeds.  Hopefully I can sneak out for a quick ride tomorrow.

UPDATE:  Read about my first impressions of the fork brace and mirror extenders here.

My Wonky Drift Innovation HD170 Stealth

If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that I have two Drift Innovation HD170 Stealth POV cameras that I like to mount to my motorcycle to capture forward and rearward facing footage.  Over the last several rides, I've been having problems with one of the cameras.  It initially started as the random file being corrupted, but then I'd find that the camera would be powered off after a random period of time, or the camera would be locked up and couldn't be reset unless the battery was removed. After a lot of testing, I determined that there was a loose connection in the camera.  I dug up the original order from Amazon.com and found that the camera was 2 months past the end of the 1 year warranty period at this point, but I figured I had nothing to lose by contacting the good folks at Drift Innovation.

I initially used their email contact form on their website but didn't get a response, so I hit them on FaceBook and got a near instantaneous response from Laura, who recommended I open up a service request on their Support page.  I opened the ticket, got a response asking me to send a video of the behavior I was describing, made the video and uploaded it, and waited.  I then received an auto-generated email from their Support site asking me to complete a satisfaction survey, which I thought was odd since the ticket was still open, so I figured I'd just give them a call.  I got a hold of the Support Tech who had my ticket, and he said this definitely looked like an odd problem, but since they do not manufacture the HD170 Stealth any more, he couldn't offer me a replacement camera.  He did, however, offer to send me a refurbished Drift HD camera, which is an upgrade to the HD170 Stealth.  That seemed to be a very good deal to me, especially since they could have simply told me that my camera was out of warranty and that I was SoL.  He even offered to send me an additional battery to offset the fact that I would not be able to use the additional high-capacity batteries that I had purchased for my HD170 Stealth in the new camera.

The next day, I took the camera to FedEx, and despite shipping it via FedEx Ground for which delivery is 3-5 business days, the camera was delivered to Drift Innovation's offices 2 days later.  Kudos to FedEx!  Even more amazing was that 3 business days later, I had my replacement Drift HD camera!  Unfortunately, the tech forgot to pack a spare battery, but that's okay since it uses the same standard capacity battery as the HD170 Stealth.  Once I have a chance to spend some time with the new camera, I'll post some thoughts on it versus the old one.

So thumbs up to Drift Innovation for stepping up and standing behind their product rather than leaving a customer high and dry with a faulty product because of an expired warranty period.

UPDATE:  Shortly after I received the replacement camera, my other HD170 Stealth started exhibiting similar problems, so I contacted Drift Innovation again.  Again, they stepped up to the plate, and they provided another refurb Drift HD to replace this unit.

I am pleased to say that these cameras seem to be working perfectly.  I am, however, having to adjust to having only ~90 minutes of record time with these standard sized batteries.  I really do miss the HD170 Stealth's 4 hour long lifers.  Perhaps I'll sell these cameras on eBay and upgrade myself to the Drift Ghost, which has batteries with a claimed 3 hour run time.

Windshields, iPods/iPhones, Wheel Stripes, and POV Cams

Of windshields...

Just a quick update to share some additional thoughts on the X-creen now that I've had a chance to go on two extended rides with it installed.  The two rides I've been on since installing the X-creen were both over 100 miles each, and I have to say that I'm very please with it still.  I've tweaked the wing angle just a tiny bit, but for the most part it's where I had it positioned after my initial test rides.  I no longer feel the side-to-side buffeting that I used to, and it seems that the wind roar is a bit less than with the stock shield, too.  I can still duck down a little bit and notice some change in the amount of wind roar, but nothing like before.  I think it would be nice if the X-creen had some standoffs like the stocker's to raise the angle of the primary shield a bit more.  One bit of concern to me is that the X-creen does seem to flex quite a bit in the wind at highway speeds.  I haven't seen any cracks or anything yet, so I'm assuming that it's performing as designed.  I'll just keep an eye on it as time goes by.  On the whole, though, I'm very pleased with it and will keep it installed in favor of the stock windshield.

I have to admit that I'm still curious as to how well the Givi AirFlow AF3101 windshield works in comparison, but at $200+ it's not a curiosity I can see satisfying any time soon, especially considering how well I think the X-creen is working.

I'm also curious about the Saeng Micro-swirl edging, and at only $12.50/foot, I can even justify buying it even if I ultimately don't use it.  I'm wondering if a combination of this edging and the X-creen might be an even better solution.  Stay tuned as I may well place an order.

Of iPods and iPhones...

When I ride long distances, I usually wear ear plugs, but sometimes I want to listen to music instead of my own random thoughts or humming.  Yes, I actually hum to myself and even perform private karaoke while motoring down the road.  When I delegate the music performance to my digital stable of better-talented MP3s, I've been depending on my trusty old 4th Generation iPod Photo 30GB.  Unfortunately, I've noticed lately that the battery only lasts about 2.5 hours, forcing me to take up the slack again and go back to humming and karaoke.

I've looked into eBay and purchasing an after-market replacement battery to prolong its useful life as well as simply replacing it with the current 160GB iPod Classic.  The replacement battery is a much cheaper solution than the 160GB iPod Classic, but 160GB will just about hold my entire library.  I then realized that I still have my perfectly functioning 32GB iPhone 3GS sitting idly in my drawer resulting from my 4S upgrade, and it is perfectly capable of providing music and more.  So on this last ride, I loaded it up with some Pink Floyd and the MotionX GPS app.  Even though it may not be quite as accurate without cellular data, the GPS still worked quite well.

The MotionX GPS app is nice in that while cruising along, it will give me audible updates every 10 minutes, telling me how long I've been riding, how far I've gone, and what my current speed is.  The current speed information was a little bit sketchy, considering it's GPS-based, and often wasn't even close to my actual speed if I had sped up or slowed down significantly prior to the update.  If I had traveling fairly steady, then my indicated speed was approximately 4mph higher than my GPS-reported speed, which is also good to know.  At the end of the ride, it shows my track on a map, which I can then share or store for future reference.  The app also has the ability to send regular updates to people via email, FaceBook or Twitter.  I haven't tried this feature yet, but I will.

With the music running along with the GPS app, I had about 45% of the battery life available at the end of my 2h 45m ride.  This means I would get approximately 5 hours of total battery life, which isn't too shabby.  For a multi-day truly long-distance trip, I can see where an extended battery pack or tying into the bike's electrical system would be warranted.  I would eventually want to get a weatherproof case for the iPhone and a RAM mount so I could actually see the controls (or even use MotionX GPS Drive) instead of just leaving it in my jacket pocket, but that's not really a necessity for me right now.

Of Wheel Stripes...

I finally received my order of orange reflective wheel stripes from the good folks at GLSigns.com, but I haven't had a chance to install them yet.  The orange isn't a perfect match, and it's even arguable that it's close.  In the shade, you would say it's close, but I need to pull the bike out in bright sunlight and do a comparison just to see if it's so different that it would annoy me.  I figure my fallback position would be to order some black reflective stripes that reflect silver.  The primary goal is to increase my night time visibility to other drivers.  The secondary goal is aesthetic.  I was lucky with my Ninja 650R in that the deep red stripes matched the red frame almost perfectly.  I may look at this in the morning.  Check back later for an update.

That's it for this update.  I hope you learned something or at least enjoyed the read.  The next post will probably be about my POV camera's woes and their hopefully pleasant resolution.

MRA X-creen

As I've been riding, I've noticed that the wind buffets the top-third of my helmet at highway speeds.  Raising the windshield didn't really seem to make much of a difference, so I started looking into different aftermarket solutions.  I'll save everyone the pain of reading through my thought process and just say that I decided on the MRA X-creen, which is similar to the Suzuki V-Strom Adventure Touring Screen, except the wing on the X-creen is attached with a single arm on both sides (vs. two), which allows it a greater range of motion.  I got a great deal on mine after seeing it for sale on the Stromtrooper.com For Sale forum.  It cost me $115 shipped, which is a great deal considering TwistedThrottle advertises it for $209.99 before shipping.

MRA X-creen (Photo from TwistedThrottle.com)

Installation of the windshield is very simple, requiring only a 3mm allen wrench.  Simply remove the four screws, remove the stock windshield, and mount the X-creen in its place.  I left the X-creen in the top position where I had the stock windshield.  The X-creen with the wing in the lowest position is approximately the same size as the stock screen.  Raising the wing makes the X-creen quite a bit taller.  I would guess approximately 2-3".

Because the X-creen does not have the built-in stand-offs like the stock screen, it sits quite a bit closer to the instrument pod and is raked further back as well.  It's more like the screen was on my old Ninja 650R.  You can see the direct comparison in the pictures below.  It looks like the Suzuki Touring Screen may be designed to provide a positioning similar to the stand-offs.  I would have liked to try it, but they want almost $300 for it!

NOTE:  Please be sure to read my update on the X-creen installation here.

Stock Screen Profile View

MRA X-creen Profile View

Seeing as how I do not own or have access to a wind tunnel, I had to take the bike out and make a lot of runs up and down the freeway frontage road to make my adjustments to the wing.  I started out in the  position you see above, but I got as much if not more wind blast to the helmet.  I then tried adjusting the wing angle, but it didn't do enough.  So I then flipped the arm into the upright position so that the wing was in the highest position.  When the arm is upright, you cannot adjust the wing to be more vertical, only more horizontal, so I ended up adjusting the arm to get the wing more vertical to move the airflow higher.

Final Arm/Wing Position

After several stops and adjustments, I think I've found a good setting that gets most of the turbulent air to go over my helmet.  The arm is pretty much vertical, and the wing is rotated back about 20 degrees.  Just for reference, I am 6'-0" with a 32" inseam, and I'm riding on the stock height seat.

I no longer feel like someone's pushing to top of my helmet side to side, but it's not like I'm riding inside my car, either.  I will still be wearing ear plugs to dampen the wind noise.  I'm sure more adjustment will be required, because there was a good 10-15 mph wind yesterday.  Unfortunately, the forecast is pretty much crappy for the next few days, so it will probably be a while before I can get out for an extended ride to see how well this screen does long-term.  Until then, I think it's a keeper.

UPDATE:  Please be sure to read my follow-up posting on the X-creen and my posting on replacing the wing/spoiler.