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.

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.