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.