Wow, 2017! Solar Panel Battery Tender and some new accessories to install

So here we are, and it's May 2017. This blog probably would have continued to be neglected were it not for someone asking me a question about repositioning the wind screen's well nuts. I am ashamed to admit that I have not had my butt in the saddle for...well, too long, except for riding to the dealer to get two recall notices and a state inspection taken care of. I am planning on rectifying this situation in the latter half of 2017 even if I have to just set a notice to go riding on my calendar.

Life Support for the Battery
The downside of the V-Strom sitting idle is that my battery had gone complete flat. Again. The place where I park it does not have power readily available, so putting it on a trickle charger really isn't an option. I found a solar panel battery tender that I thought would do the trick, but I wasn't really sure how I would route the wire into where I park the bike. For whatever reason over the past year since I bought it, I have completely overlooked the fact that there is a translucent skylight in the roof, which allows plenty of light for the solar panel to generate power. Just to be sure, I put my multimeter to it, and it read 17-18VDC at the leads. Bingo! Two nails and a hammer later, I now have the solar panel battery tender mounted up on the rafter just below the skylight, and all I need to do is install the charging pigtail on the battery so I can just plug it in when I get back from a ride. For those of you who are have a similar need, it is a Sunforce 12V Power Sports Battery Maintainer. Click on the link for more information. Please note that this is specifically to maintain a battery that already has a charge. If your battery has gone flat, then you will need to use a charger.

UPDATE: So due to some surgery at the beginning of 2018, I was unable to ride pretty much for the first half of the year. By the time I was recovered enough to do so, it was just too damned hot, and then I started a new job. In mid-October, I decided to go for a quick shakedown ride and was disappointed to find that my battery was dead, even though it had been connected to the solar battery maintainer. Apparently all the recent rainy days had conspired against me, and the solar panel was unable to keep up. So the lesson to be learned here is to occasionally check the battery even though it's on the maintainer or just disconnect it altogether. *sigh*

Upcoming Goodies to be Installed
As you may or may not recall, my wonderful wife bought me a Garmin Zumo 660 GPS, but despite the Zumo having a rechargeable battery, Garmin only provided the powered cradle for it. This left me without any means for mounting it until I made the time to figure out where to run the wires. I have since decided against a RAM mount solution and went with the SW Motech vibration damped GPS mount from Twisted Throttle. My original thought was to simply run the power to the AUX power port under the right fairing, but the Garmin cradle also includes additional wiring a 3.5mm headphone/audio jack and a 2.5mm mic jack as well as a mini-USB port for a traffic receiver antenna which is pretty useless for a motorcycle as it integrates with a 12V DC power plug. While I have bluetooth and won't really need the additional inputs/outputs, I thought it might be good to have available. There's still a part of me that's considering stripping open the primary cable casing, cutting off and sealing those other leads, and still running the power to the AUX power port. I can always buy a replacement Garmin cradle for $50.

The other item to be installed is a Givi side stand foot enlarger plate. This will help to keep the side stand from sinking into soft ground or dirt by providing a larger surface area. I had been meaning to do this since I bought the V-Strom, but I never got around to doing it. I figured it was time to fix this.

When I get around to installing these items, I'll be sure to post an update of the installations complete with pictures and any lessons learned. Until then, keep the rubber side down!

2015? Where did it go?!

Well, it seems that 2015 has managed to slip by without so much as an edit to the ole blog here. I believe that a lot of it is due to the fact that I didn't get to do any riding of note this year. During the late winter and spring, it seems that Fridays were the unofficial rain day of the week. Fridays were also the only free day that I had to go riding since I try to keep my weekends open so I can maximize time spent doing things with my wife and son, and I am a self-proclaimed fair-weather rider when I can manage it, i.e. like being caught in a random shower or expecting to ride in inclement weather as part of a roadtrip.

If it wasn't raining, then there would be some bit of administrivia requiring my attention during my day off, such as doctor visits, car maintenance appointments, or visits to the vet for my dog. The next thing I knew, it was the dead of summer, and while I'm not averse to warm weather riding, my level of enjoyment plateaus quickly when the ambient temperature is significantly higher than my body temperature. Don't get me wrong, I did take the bike out, but it  would mainly be for a quick morning/lunch run and quick shot back via superslab. I was also able to get the V-Strom inspected during this time, which was only...6 months late.

Work then interfered for the remainder of the summer, and fall really has yet to manifest itself in Texas this year, so we'll probably go straight to winter. Work is no longer a hindrance as I've resigned and am pursuing new opportunities that are hopefully a lot more fun, but that's another story. Suffice it to say, the weather has again turned generally crappy. Crappy, except for those beautiful days while I was suffering from strep throat and then a cold which quickly followed. So timing-wise, riding wasn't really in the cards.

And now it's 2016. I am hopeful that 2016 will be a much better year for riding. For starters, my lovely wife bought me a new Garmin zumo 660LM GPS unit for the V-Strom! While not a necessity, I think it will make my life a lot easier since I'll have maps/navigation easily at my disposal rather than having to stop somewhere, take my gloves off, dig out my phone, and using my GPS apps from there. With the country and Farm-to-Market (FM) roads in Texas, there is really no telling what direction you will ultimately end up heading as they turn and wind around long-forgotten farm boundaries. Now I can just ride, make a random turn, and not really be majorly concerned about where I'm headed, because I can track my way back using the zumo, or I can simply instruct it to take me home.

I've only played with the zumo off-bike, but I've got it updated with the latest maps, customized the icon with a motorcycle, and tweaked the settings for how I think I would like it to work. One of the things I have to figure out is how I want to handle the bluetooth pairings, which I think will involve re-reading a few manuals. In addition to my iPhone, there's the Scala Carda G9, and now the Zumo. I currently have the phone paired with the G9, but the G9 can be the hub and also pair with the zumo, or the zumo can be the hub and pair with the phone and the G9. I'm currently inclined to use the G9 as the hub even though it would be nice to use the zumo for playing MP3s since it could be controlled from the touch screen. I think the G9 is the better hub option mainly for this reason: if for some reason I should be thrown off of the motorcycle beyond BT range, the G9 would still theoretically be paired to the iPhone (assuming it has survived the unexpected dismount and is still operational in my pocket), and I could initiate an emergency call. If the zumo is the hub, then the G9 would no longer be able to find the iPhone for emergency calls. I will, of course, have to validate this assumption, but that's currently where my head is.

Before any of that can happen, though, I need to get this bad boy installed on the bike. I have an auxiliary power pigtail that I bought from Eastern Beaver, which will plug directly into the V-Strom's auxiliary power port, which is bundled up inside the right front fairing. It should be a simple matter of plugging it in and then splicing the power leads from the zumo cradle to the pigtail. The zumo came with all of the RAM mount hardware necessary to mount the unit using a RAM ball system, and I fortunately have two 1" RAM ball mounts on the handle bar courtesy of the Adventure Tech mirror extenders. I will probably go with this option first just for proof of concept, but I am considering buying the AdventureTech GPS mounting plate that goes under the windshield to mount the GPS unit front and center above the dash. My understanding is that it makes it a lot easier to use with a quick glance. As long as I'm doing all that, I may also get an AdventureTech auxiliary shelf to mount a voltmeter and AUX power outlet, but since I don't have anything that currently requires power, I may hold off on this since my actual needs might vary from what I choose now.

At any rate, those are my first thoughts of the new year. Look for an update in the near future for however I decide to mount the zumo. I'll probably document both the temporary mounting using the bar RAM mounts and then the final mounting using the dash plate.

I hope 2015 treated you better than it did me, and here's looking forward to a much improved 2016!

MRA X-creen Wing Replacement

If you've read my previous posts, you know that I bought my MRA X-creen second hand.  Once I got it mounted properly and the wing adjusted to my liking, I have really liked it.  I did notice that there were a couple of tiny cracks around the screws that clamped the mounting hardware to the wing itself, but I accepted that as part of purchasing on the secondary market as well as part of the significant cost savings.  Over time, the cracks have increased significantly to the point that I became concerned that the wing might eventually break loose.

I went to the MRA website (www.mra.de/en) to see about ordering a replacement part, but I only found where you can order the entire X-creen.  I clicked on the Contact link and submitted a request for pricing on a replacement wing, and I received a reply from Nicole asking me to send her pictures of the wing and the cracks as they may be able to replace the part free of charge.  I sent her the pictures (shown above), and she sent me another email saying that they would replace the wing for free!  I love it when a company stands behind their products, no questions asked.

The part arrived a little over a week later, and instead of just the clear plastic wing, it was the wing plus the mounting hardware that is screwed onto the wing.

When I went to replace the wing, I couldn't really see how the locking mechanism came apart.  Mentally, I had an idea of how it should go together just based on how the locking mechanism works, but I didn't want to force anything and break something else.  I went back to the MRA site and started looking at the installation instructions for their other products that use the same mechanism and finally found an exploded diagram of the locking mechanism.  As it turns out, it is assembled as I had visualized it, and the diagram and associated instructions confirmed my suspicion that the pieces simply snap into place.

X-creen Mounting Hardware - Exploded Diagram

The key to the whole thing is part 2, which is the locking knob for adjusting the angle of the wing itself.  The instructions said to turn it so that it is in the open position (parallel with the length of the shield), but I found that it would not budge.  When I turned it to the locked position (perpendicular to the length of the shield), it came out fairly easily.

After removing the locking knob on the other side, it was a simple matter of removing the shield from the arms.  You need to be careful when removing the shield, because part 4 will be loose and can fall out of the arm.  This is the piece that the locking knob slots into in order to lock the shield into place.

Installation of the new wing was a simple matter of reversing the steps above.  I found that I had to pinch the locking mechanism at part 4 and the outside of the new wing in order to get the locking pin to insert fully.  This makes sense since the pin serves that very function.  With the arms and wing adjusted back to what I believe is their original positions, everything is ready to go again.

I want to thank Nicole at MRA for the excellent customer service!

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.

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!

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.

Riding and Service

So two weekends ago, I took the bike out to give it a good run now that I'm no longer limited to 5,000 rpm.  The motor continues to be very smooth compared to the Ninja 650R's parallel twin.  It seems to pull a little harder, too, but that may also be due to being able to rev past 5,000 when accelerating from a stop.  The transmission seems to be a little stiffer, requiring a little more "deliberate" action when upshifting.  The Ninja 650R's transmission edges the V-Strom here as it was very easy to upshift, sometimes not even needing the slight tug I gave to the clutch lever.

Taking advantage of the new rev freedom, I decided to blast down the interstate towards my riding location of choice, which is about 30 miles away.  It's nice to be able to keep up with traffic instead of concentrating on not being run down from behind.  Keeping up also meant maintaining higher revs.  As a result, the indicated mileage suffered accordingly, dropping from 59.2 mpg (US) to 47.2 mpg.  Interestingly enough, my mind has already accepted the upper 50's as the norm and was somewhat disappointed with the resulting 47.2 mpg despite the fact that the Ninja 650R averaged only just above that in highway riding.  Part of the decreased mileage might also be due to the fact that for a good portion of the ride, there was a significant headwind.  I also can't help but think that the Givi topcase might also be adversely affecting the mileage.

So speaking of headwind -- I'm not quite sure at this point that raising the windshield had the desired effect I initially thought it had.  When headed into the wind, I could feel some wind buffeting on the top 1/4 of my helmet.  At times, it was bad enough that my vision was somewhat buzzy, which was only exacerbated by the fact that I wear glasses.  I can duck my head a couple of inches, and all wind buffeting goes away, but this isn't a comfortable way to ride.  I've been eyeballing the MRA X-screen, but Twisted Throttle wants just over $200 for it, so I've been hesitant in pulling the trigger.  That is until I saw a listing on the Stromtrooper.com For Sale board for just that very windscreen for $115.  So we'll see if that fixes the buffeting problem when I get it.  I think there's a good chance it will, because it has the little spoiler/wing at the top that can be adjusted to redirect the air flow off the top of the screen further over my helmet.  Hopefully, the side-to-side buffeting isn't a result of the redirected air flow from the hand guards in combination with the paddle-like rearview mirrors.

This highway ride brought the total mileage to 640, which meant that it was time for the V-Strom's first service.  Now I know there are many of you out there who believe in doing your own wrenching, but I'm a firm believer that it's money well-spent to have someone with the proper tools and greater experience do work that I could just as easily screw up with greater consequences.  So I called around and was quite surprised at the wide variance in prices quoted for the initial 600 mile service.  I'm not going to go into the price, because that's just going to lead to comments like "you got ripped off" or "you need to learn to do this yourself".  Suffice it to say that I was happy with the job the service guys did and the price wasn't too bad even with the upgrade to Amsoil synthetic.  It took less than two hours for them to get to it and complete the service, so my bike was ready and waiting by the time my buddy Erik had come to get me for lunch and dropped me off afterwards.

Hopefully tomorrow will be nice and sunny, so I can enjoy another winter's day ride.

RAM Mounts for the Drift POV Cam

I like having my POV cameras going when I ride for two reasons.  The first is to be able to create a video of my ride if it's particularly interesting that day.  The other is for documentation just in case the something happens.  Lately, I've been riding with only one of my cameras mounted to the side of my helmet, which quite frankly, makes for some nausea inducing footage, particularly when checking around for lane changes or making turns.  It is probably a preferred mounting point for the second of the above reasons, though, as I'm more likely to see things at least from the front cone of vision.

I've been thinking of mounting points on the bike itself, and the two obvious locations are the mounting posts for the frame sliders and the passenger footpeg supports for a rear-facing camera.  Unfortunately, the handle bar mount that came with my Drift Innovation HD170 Stealth POV cam is for a 1" diameter bar, and the footpeg supports are smaller than that.  That meant buying a new mount.  RAM Mount makes a U-bolt mount that will fit anywhere from a 0.5" to 1.25" bar.  Perfect.  The part number for the base is RAM-B-231ZU, and I got ordered it through Amazon.com with 2 Day delivery since the vendor was part of Amazon Prime.  I also had to order another camera mount as well as a double-socket arm so that I could mount both cameras simultaneously.  I already had one set from a previously purchased mount.  The camera mount is RAM-B-202AU and the arm is RAM-B-201U.  These also came from Amazon.  Here are the Amazon links for the mount and arm.

Tools Used:

• Ratchet Handle
• 7/16" Socket
• Cordless Screw Driver with Flat Head Bit
• Flat Head Screw Driver

Time to Install:  ~45 minutes

RAM-B-231ZU U-Bolt Mount

I installed the U-bolt mount shown above on the upper support tube for the left rear passenger footpeg.  The insert on the left will swivel around the support to find its preferred position to take advantage of the V-shaped grooves for grip.  I used the 7/16" socket and ratchet to tighten the nylock nuts until they were snug.  A good tug on the double-socket arm confirmed that the mount did not slip or shift positions.

Mount Installed on Rear Passenger Footpeg Support

With the RAM Mount fully assembled, it was a simple task to mount the camera and position it.  After mounting the camera, I sat on the bike to make sure that my leg would not bump into the camera.  Even with the camera positioned towards the front of the bike as shown below, there was not interference with my left leg.

Drift POV Camera Mounted Facing Rear

For the forward facing location, I contacted Blair at SVRacingParts.com to find out the diameter of the post.  Blair said they are 32mm, which is 1.259".  Unfortunately, the RAM mount U-bolt solution only goes up to 1.25", and I was pretty sure that .009" would make a difference.  I bought their base that uses a metal strap clamp like what is used on rubber hoses, and it comes with the U-bolts as well, so I could check first to see if that would work.  It didn't.  The part number is RAM-B-231Z-2U.  I got this through Amazon.com as well, although this part wasn't from an Amazon Prime vendor.  The package came with the U-bolts as well, so I test fitted the large U-bolt to the post and, as expected, it was too small.  Even if I had pried it appart, the rounded portion of the bolt would never fit around the post, and I didn't want to mess up the finish while attempting it.  I've since been in contact with Blair, and he said he would see what they could do to accommodate the RAM Mount in future production runs.

The base of this mount is a bit wider than the length of available mounting post for the frame slider.  The edge of the base closest to the frame actually sits up on top of the washer that sits between the mounting post and the spacer.  I was hoping to orient the base so that the ball mount is actually away from the frame, but if you do that, the metal clamping strap sits right on top of the washer, which is not ideal.  So I turned it around such that the ball mount is next to the frame and the strap can cinch around the aluminum post.  Be sure to measure the rubber strap cover before putting it on the metal strap as it will need to be cut shorter than it is.  If you leave it at its original length, you won't be able to fully tighten the strap.

Metal Clamping Strap Cinched Tight 

Drift POV Camera Mounted Facing Forward

Drive POV Cameras Mounted Fore and Aft

After taking this picture, I sat on the bike and found that the front camera hit my shin pretty easily.  I ended up having to loosen the metal strap to rotate the mount so the ball mount was pointing a little bit forward.  If you look from the end of the slider puck, the ball is pointing between 10 and 11 o'clock.  I also angled the double-socket arm forward a bit, too, which got it away from my leg, but also brought it in a bit closer to the bike than I originally wanted.  I may look at getting a second double-socket arm for more adjustability.

With everything mounted and connected now, I took the bike out for a shakedown ride as well as to burn off some more break-in miles.  I had both cameras going on the RAM Mounts instead of having the forward facing camera on my helmet mount.  The resulting video was quite stable and showed only the slightest amount of rolling shutter/Jell-O effect.  Sorry about the first 25 seconds or so of non-action while putting on my gloves.  I just edited the video on YouTube to cut that out, but it doesn't seem to have updated fully yet.

When I got back from my ride, I found that I had just hit the 500 mile mark!  With the initial break-in stage completed, I can now rev up to 7,500 rpm, which will make leaving stop signs and lights a lot easier, not to mention avoiding getting run over on the highways!

I hope these posts have been at least interesting if not helpful.  Please feel free to leave comments.

Connecting the Givi Maxia 3 Brake Lights with help from Eastern Beaver

The Givi Maxia 3 Luxury B top case came with the padded liner as well as the brake light kit pre-installed.  There are some things that are commonly accepted regarding the Givi brake light kit:

1. The contacts in the case itself suck and result in intermittent contact, which in turn makes the brake lights sometimes work and sometimes not.  So far, mine seem to be holding up well, but this may be a time will tell kind of issue.
2. The wire taps provided to splice the brake lights into the bike's wiring harness suck.
3. It's a pain to get to those wires, so you may as well splice it properly before putting it all back together.
4. The Givi LEDs are somewhat hard to see during the day, but are quite visible at night.

So with all this in mind, I did more research on how best to connect the brake light when I came across Jim Davis' Eastern Beaver Power page, specifically the V-Strom products page.  Apparently, all V-Stroms use a wiring harness for the brake, tail, and turn signal lights, which connect to the main electrical harness towards the rear of the subframe inside the left rear side panel.  Jim makes a harness that will patch in at this connection, using the same type of plugs, and provides an auxiliary set of wires with which to control another set of lights, such as the Givi brake lights.  I went with the Version 2 harness as it seemed the most flexible in case I want to install some different types of brake lights, and I also purchased additional plug housings so that I could have a clean factory-like installation instead of wire nuts or posi-taps.  The plug housings are the Sumitomo 6-wire .090 HM-series connectors, or part number 6P090-HM on the Eastern Beaver site.

6P090-HM Connector

Tools Used:

• Wire Stripper/Cutter
• Crimping Tool

Time to Install:  ~1 hour (I was taking my time with the wire stripping and crimping so as not to screw anything up.)

So the first thing I had to do was determine which way I needed to mount the contact lead for the Givi brake lights in the mounting plate.  There are two contacts, but neither are marked.  I installed the contact pod into the mounting plate with the wires coming out towards the front of the bike.  Then I mounted the top case on the bike and connected the two wires to a 9V battery to see which combination of +/- would make the lights go on.  As it turned out, the contact pod was installed such that the black wire was the ground (-) and the blue was the signal (+).

Now I took the Eastern Beaver (EB) harness and plugged it in-line with the factory wiring harness for the brake/tail/turn signal lights.  Fortunately, it's very easy to separate the connectors by pressing down on the top of the male housing and pulling apart the plugs.  The main harness (front of the bike) has the female connector, and the rear light harness has the male connector.  With the EB harness in place, I turned on the power to the motorcycle in order to confirm that all the lights were working as expected.  I had to cross-connect the purple and red wires, because the Version 2 EB harness has separate brake input and output wires to allow the installation of in-line brake light modulator units.  If there isn't such a unit installed, then these two wires need to be connected so that the stock brake light still works.

Eastern Beaver Harness plugged into OEM Harness

Now I had to install a connector housing on the auxiliary lead, which would be used to connect the Givi brake light.  Interestingly enough, the male pins go in the female housing, and the female pins go in the male housing.  To keep with the factory installation, I put a female housing on this lead, which meant that I had to install the male leads on the ends of the wires.  After crimping on the leads, I inserted them into the housing so that they matched the factory configuration.  The only difference is that I had to use the 6th pin for the red (brake light output) wire, where the factory plug only uses 5 pins.

Plug Mounted on Auxiliary Lead

I wanted to route the Givi brake light lead in such a fashion that it would remain stable and wouldn't have much of a chance of being snagged by anything.  I removed the top cover of the mounting plate and wove the wire through one of the holes and back down so that it would take any strain from being tugged instead of the directly at the connector pod.

Givi Brake Light Lead Under the Rack

I then ran the cable across to the left side under the factory rack, wound it around the rack's left front mounting post, across to the rack's right mounting post, and then down the side of the rear panel to bring the cable inside the rear body panel via the hole for the exhaust's mounting point.  Inside the tail section, I used a cable tie to secure the Givi brake light lead to the subframe.

Givi Brake Light Lead Routed into Tail Section
Through Exhaust Mount Hole

With the lead inside the tail section, I could put the male connector on it.  This required crimping the female pins to the lead wires.  Again, since I had the Version 2 EB connector, I had to install the red jumper wire to connect the brake light input and output wires so that the motorcycle's tail light would work as well as the Givi brake lights.  After inserting the pins into the housing, I plugged everything together, powered on the motorcycle, and tested everything to make sure all the lights were working, especially the brake lights on the motorcycle and the case.  Everything checked out fine.

Plug Mounted on Givi Brake Light Lead with Jumper

With all the lights verified as working correctly, I simply tucked the auxiliary lead underneath the crossbar in the under seat tray where the seat lock is mounted to keep it safe and out of the way.

EB Wiring Harness Tidied Up

The nice thing about going to this level of effort is that if I decide to install the Admore brake/turn/signal light upgrade on the Maxia 3, all I have to do is unplug the Givi lead, re-pin the male connector housing with the Admore lead, and plug it in.  It's a $140 upgrade, so I'm not sure if I would do that or just install one of their light bars so that I have that extra visibility regardless of whether or not the top case is being used.

At any rate, I now have the added visibility of the Givi brake lights in the top case.